Los Angeles voters have a choice on Tuesday. The city is holding Board of Education elections, and big-money backers of charter schools—one of the forms of education privatization framed as “choice” by people like Education Secretary Betsy DeVos—are pouring funds into winning the three available seats (out of seven).
The charter-backed candidates are Kelly Gonez in District 6, incumbent Monica Garcia in District 2, and Allison Holdorff Polhill and Nick Melvoin — both running against school board President Steve Zimmer — in District 4. If they prevail, they could form a majority alliance along with board member Ref Rodriguez, a charter school founder who is not up for reelection. [...]
Their votes could move the nation’s second largest school system from steady, strong charter growth to swift expansion at a time when L.A. Unified is struggling with years of enrollment decline. At the very least, a pro-charter majority on the board could make more space available for charters on district-owned campuses, a longtime goal of charter operators.
Winners of the school board seats also will have extra-long terms, 5 ½ years rather than four, because the city is changing the timing of municipal elections.
Places like Los Angeles need to be leading the fight against the Donald Trump-Betsy DeVos formula for killing public education, not letting a bunch of billionaires buy school board seats to further that agenda.