Ref Rodriguez, amidst criminal charges of money laundering, relinquished the presidency of the Los Angeles Unified School District aboard but is remaining on the board. This enables the pro-charter majority to retain control. Long-time charter supporter Monica Garcia will serve as board president until a new election is held.
“Less than three months into his role as president of the Los Angeles Board of Education, Ref Rodriguez announced Tuesday that he would step down from that post to spare the school district the distraction of a criminal case filed against him last week.
“Rodriguez, 46, said he would retain his seat on the board.
“The development is a stunning turnaround both for Rodriguez and supporters of charter schools, who spent record sums in independent campaigns to elect a board majority that is widely viewed as pro-charter.
“In 2015, Rodriguez broke ground as the first member of the board to have deep ties to the charter school community as the co-founder of a charter organization.”
It would be a huge disappointment to Eli Broad, Richard Riordan, Reed Hastings, and Alice Walton to lose control of the board in which they invested so many millions.
Because Rodriguez intends to remain on the board, the charter-friendly majority should remain intact, but his legal problems have become a cloud over what he and the new majority have called their “kids-first” agenda.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I look forward to Rodriguez showing up to meetings wearing a prison jumpsuit. Orange is the new reform.
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He can become a poster boy for reform school.
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Good grief! 😷
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There was a fella in a nearby town who committed mortgage fraud. He was on the school board and he was “fired” – he was told to step down. He didn’t take a lesser spot, he disappeared – now he is in jail. It seems no matter what the reformers do, they get around it. Shame.
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The comments in all the articles relating to Rodriguez have been virtually 100% negative. This is very rare. He’s really out there on his own. I doubt that anyone at LAUSD will want to work with him on anything. Is there any possible reason to support his decision to stay on the board? I can’t think of one.
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One reason: it keeps the charter industry in control.
Other than that, it is disgraceful for him to hold onto his seat while he is under indictment.
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Back in the bad old 1980s, Ronald Reagan nominated Edwin Meese to the post of United States Attorney General. During his confirmation hearings before Congress, it came out that he was implicated, and indeed charged, in the Wedtech Scandal. His defense, as I recall, was that he had not been convicted of a crime.
At the time, one commentator, I forget who now, all these years later, asked rhetorically: Is this the new standard of probity for government officials? That they are fit to serve as long as they’ve only been charged with a crime, but not convicted of one?
That question no longer appears rhetorical, and the case of Ref Rodriquez illustrates that dramatically. He should step down immediately, as should any public servant under indictment.
Does that really need to be said? Sheesh….
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Reform School Orange Jump Suit indeed! How in the hell does he “retain” his seat? Is he chained to it?
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I like the idea of “Reform school.” That’s another term for “no excuses.”
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Lock him up! Lock him up!
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After the poop hit the fan last week, i reached out to Ref and he told me that the people supporting him the most were the employees of the District. He basically said that most of his support was coming from people that he was told were his enemies.
On a personal level, I find him to be compassionate, dedicated and supportive leader. What he did was baffling to most of us that work with him at Beaudry.
I am a proud union member and absolutely believe in accountability. Having these huge power grabs at the expense of our students does not serve our students and families.
I would also say that it makes usually rational people do dumb things. I believe in redemption and wonder if he will have a different view of things on the other end of this ordeal.
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If you believe all that then I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
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Ummm are you talking about unionized public school teachers? Or people who work at Beaudry?
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Della, are you and the Beaudry crowd aware of the despicable campaign he ran to gain his board seat? He’s an educated man. Surely he was aware of the illegality of these contributions. He needed to court the eastcoast donors who swept him into power so he created the illusion of grassroots support.
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He’s not sparing anyone a “distraction”, there will still be a criminal case. This is a diversionary PR move, nothing more.
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