LAUSD's Misinformation Problem

Yesterday a parent at my younger son’s preschool told me, quite ferociously, that he doesn’t understand why LAUSD doesn’t return the brand new math textbooks they just purchased.  Apparently, they are the same - with the exception of one unit - as the current textbooks.  He postulated that they must have cost several hundred thousand dollars, which could pay for a few teachers.   I should mention that his wife is a teacher at a local elementary school. 

 

As I’ve said before, most things at LAUSD are much more complicated than they seem at first glance.  This guy was clearly angry and I wanted to get him some sort of explanation. Before I had even left the parking lot, I was on the phone with someone at the District.   As it turns out, all California school districts are required BY LAW to purchase new textbooks in core curriculum subjects at given intervals.  In the case of LAUSD, they put off purchasing the new books as long as they legally could.  Additionally, the cost is not several hundred thousand dollars, it’s in the millions.

 

In 2000, a class action lawsuit was filed in San Francisco against the California Board of Education – Williams v. State of California. Four years of contentious litigation later, the case was settled and heralded as landmark education reform.  And in fact it was.  It “established minimum thresholds regarding school facilities, teacher quality, and instructional materials and an accountability structure to enforce these thresholds.”  Most of the benefits went to underperforming schools, but all schools in California were to improve.

 

While researching the case, I came across this quote from the Governor’s press release in 2005.  It’s particularly rich when you consider that this same Governor is taking BILLIONS of dollars from our children just a few years later.  “Today is a landmark day for California’s students,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “No issue is more important to me than education and these reforms truly put our children first. California is the greatest state in the nation, and we will make sure that our children will have the greatest public schools to meet their full potential.”

 

So…yeah.  I’m not sure how this great state will provide the greatest public schools when this same guy has taken all the money he originally promised in order for us to do so.  I hate to think what issues that are less important to him are in for.

 

But the point of this post is not to discuss this particular lawsuit and settlement (there have been many), but to illustrate that misinformation spread on the school yard can create a lot of misplaced blame and anger.  Parents repeat this kind of thing to each other and everyone becomes angry and then someone stages a protest and they picket outside of the district headquarters and the television news is all over it and everyone is yelling – yet no one understands that they have no idea what they are really protesting. 

 

To close the loop on the story, I told the parent about the lawsuit and the law mandating the purchase of textbooks.  I thought he would be, if not happy for the information, at least understanding.  He wasn’t. He looked at me coldly and said, “Well, isn’t there a law mandating 20 students in a classroom?  They’re ignoring THAT.”  But no, in fact there is no such law.  Class size is determined by the budget, not by law.

 

I’m willing to extend an offer to every LAUSD parent. When you hear something about the District, the budget, the union, layoffs or anything else that makes you angry, ask me.  I’ll find out the truth for you.  Superintendent Cortines laughingly tells people that Ginger and I are “constructively critical” of the District.  We are.  We're the first people demanding answers. The district must be held accountable for the decisions that they make and they owe us, as parents, explanations.  We may not like the explanations, but at least when we’re dealing with the full picture and all of the facts, we can work to make positive changes.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

Comments

[Laura Laser Galperson]

Great post Victoria and I will certainly ask you questions about items that are confusing. I also find it ironic that our governor's first appeal to the public was a ballot initiative (which passed) called English for the Children - and the purpose was to mandate English as the primary language in California public education schools. Of course, I am sure he never sent his kids to these schools. I would not be surprised if they were at Lycee Francais.