ANYONE WITH DAYTIME AVAILABILITY PLEASE MOBILIZE TO LAUSD THIS TUESDAY TO FIGHT THIS REACTIONARY EFFORT TO DISMANTLE PUBLIC EDUCATION. PLEASE SHOW UP BEFORE 1:00PM SINCE ASTROTURF GROUPS LIKE GREEN DOT'S SO CALLED PARENT REVOLUTION WILL BE THERE IN FORCE TO SUPPORT THIS POTENTIAL CASH WINDFALL FOR THEIR HIGHLY PAID EXECUTIVES AND STAFF. THE VOTE ON THE RESOLUTION IS SCHUDULED TO OCCUR BEFORE 5:00PM.This Tuesday, July 14, 2009 LAUSD will vote on Yolie Flores Aguilar's Orwellian-named resolution "Public School Choice: A New Way at LAUSD." Sadly, Mónica García and Dr. Richard Vladovic are also on board with this disastrous resolution. The resolution essentially calls for LAUSD to hand over newly built schools to the corporate pirates of education, charter schools. Given Yolie Flores Aguilar's long-standing ties to the wealthy elite who run charters like Steve Barr, Marco Petruzzi, and Ben Austin, this isn't surprising.
It's imperative that every parent, student, community member, and social justice activist make their voices heard. Ms. Flores Aguilar and LAUSD we don't want you to hand our schools over to corporate interests. Keep the public in public schools!
Here is an example of the rhetorical trickery their resolution contains:
Whereas, Given the chronic academic underperformance of a majority of public schools in the District, parents and communities have expressed a strong interest in playing a more active role in ensuring that students have more choice and access to high quality instructional programs;
Underperforming? Let's look at just two articles which conflict with their corporate line.
Charter Schools Fall Short of Public Schools Overall
http://4lakidsnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/national-charter-school-studypaid-for.html
Green Dot revolution targets school that outperforms current Green Dotters
http://www.examiner.com/x-356-SF-Education-Examiner~y2009m6d11-Green-Dot-revolution-targets-LA-school-that-outperforms-its-own
The list of evidence against charters goes on and on. The answer isn't to hand over schools to the same people who gave us the dot com and housing bubble disasters. Furthermore, if LAUSD had deep pocketed corporate interests like the Waltons, Gates, and Broads pouring millions of dollars into our public schools, we wouldn't be discussing this.
The giant corporate entities that are and support charter schools are hardly advocates of progressive education or social equality. In fact, they are a short step away from vouchers and other failed extreme right wing ideas.
I urge everyone to either attend or contact their LAUSD board members immediately and demand they vote no on this corporate HAND OUT. Our children, schools, and communities are too precious to be sold to the highest bidder. If the elected school board wants to sell off our schools to these corporate charter pirates, then it is high time we consider recalling them.
The July 14, 2009 LAUSD Agenda. The corporate hand out resolution is item number 33.
http://laschoolboard.org/files/7-14-09OrderOfBusiness.pdf
Yolie Flores Aguilar once said to me & others during the hunger strike that the threat of "recall" was not going to work on her, that not passing the budget would put the many progressive programs this school board has put into effect in jeopardy, like "all day kindergarten", and that her passion for public education cannot be questions. Really? Since announcing the recall, she's made a 180 on public education and didn't make a sound to media when kindergarten was eliminated. Yet another reason to remove her from office before things get worse.
ReplyDeletethank you for all of your posts. you are doing a tremendous service to all of Los Angeles. keep up the good work and keep spreading the truth.
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