蜜桃影视

Updated Jan. 30

Hours after about 3,500 charter school supporters rallied at Los Angeles Unified鈥檚 headquarters, the school board approved a resolution Tuesday calling for a moratorium on new charters.

Only the state can change charter law, so the 5-1 vote directs the district to ask state leaders to study potential changes to the law and to impose a temporary moratorium on new charter schools in the district while the eight-to-10-month study is conducted.

The resolution鈥檚 passage was secured when board president M贸nica Garc铆a said late in the discussion that she would vote for it, to gasps from the packed boardroom. She had appeared at the rally before the meeting, thanking charter supporters for showing up and for offering needed options for students when the district鈥檚 schools had been overcrowded. She told them, 鈥淚 hear you, I鈥檓 with you. No matter what happens here today, don鈥檛 give up your power as parents to choose the best education for your children.鈥�

District 4鈥檚 Nick Melvoin, who cast the sole 鈥渘o鈥� vote, said at the rally that he supports charters because all families, regardless of income or where they live, deserve the same opportunity to have a good education like he did. At the board meeting, he expressed 鈥渃onsistent frustration鈥� with the heated political battle over charters. 鈥淲e鈥檙e blaming others for our financial problems without getting our house in order.鈥� To loud applause, he added, 鈥淚鈥檇 like to see a moratorium on low-performing schools.鈥�

A board vote on a moratorium was a key element in last week鈥檚 that ended the six-day teacher strike, though it鈥檚 not mentioned in the actual contract and there was no guarantee it would pass. The teachers union listed the deal first in its of what the agreement had accomplished.

That contract won unanimous board approval Tuesday, even though board members had just received a stern warning from their county overseers. Shortly before the meeting, the Los Angeles County Office of Education approved the contract but released a letter stating that it 鈥渃ontinues to move the District toward fiscal insolvency鈥� and that its costs 鈥� including more than $400 million in new hires and to lower class sizes 鈥斅燼re 鈥渘ot sustainable.鈥� It gave the district until March 18 to show how it will make cuts or find new funding, or the county could take over all fiscal decision making.

Speaking to the charter resolution, Superintendent Austin Beutner emphasized that it would not impact the district鈥檚 existing charter schools.

鈥淚 do support strongly school choice for families and recognize charter schools are one of the options for a high-quality education,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is nothing in this resolution to close any existing charter schools or reduce the many choices available to families in Los Angeles Unified.鈥�

Beutner said at the board meeting and in a statement that he had agreed to the resolution in order to end the strike, that it came up late in the teacher contract negotiations, and that it had been introduced by a board member.

A day after the contract deal was reached, District 7 board member Richard Vladovic announced he was the resolution鈥檚 sponsor. On Tuesday, he stridently defended it, rejecting a suggested amendment by board member Kelly Gonez that offered multiple changes, such as including local representatives and parents in the study on charters.

鈥淭his is not acceptable,鈥� Vladovic said of Gonez鈥檚 amendment, because 鈥渢his doesn鈥檛 keep our promise to our labor partners.鈥�

Charters were 鈥渘ever meant to supplant a district, but supplement a district,鈥� Vladovic said. 鈥淪o I want to step back 鈥� and look at the financial impact, the educational impact. Has it made a difference?鈥� Vladovic said he helped write the contract language of the district’s first two charter schools 27 years ago, following state passage of the Charter Schools Act of 1992.

Vladovic did offer his own amendment to his resolution, which he said he didn’t want to do but did in order to get it passed. He added the eight-to-10-month聽time frame. And he deleted a聽provision that would have required Beutner to present a plan within 90 days 鈥渢o pursue laws intended to authorize a moratorium on new charter schools within the boundaries of the District鈥� and to 鈥渞eport if the authority for such a moratorium requires a聽voter approved聽ballot initiative at the local or state level.”

Charters are public, nonprofit schools that are privately run. There are currently 225聽independent charter schools within L.A. Unified serving聽more than 112,000 students, according to the district. L.A. Unified has the most charters of any school district in the nation. Ten new charters were approved last year, the district reported.

The resolution will now be sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom, the State Board of Education, and the California Department of Education. While the resolution doesn鈥檛 force the state鈥檚 hand, it likely will provide political cover for state leadership, namely Newsom, to pursue restrictions on new charters. The new Democratic governor is union-backed and has said he supports for charters.

The board’s approval of the resolution stood in stark contrast with the throngs of protesters who rallied outside district headquarters hours earlier 鈥� some as early L.A. Unified School Police said they estimated that about 3,500 people attended the rally.

Hugo Hernandez, a charter parent and a business owner, said at the rally that 鈥渃ompetition is good for our kids鈥� education.鈥� He said charter schools compete for students 鈥渢o serve them better, what鈥檚 wrong with that?鈥�

About two dozen parents and community members stayed to speak at the board meeting. Emotions were tense, with some charter parent speakers breaking into tears.

One charter school parent was particularly overcome with emotion as she addressed the board.

鈥淚鈥檓 not going anywhere. I鈥檓 going to be here,鈥� Roxann Nazario said through tears. She pointed to Vladovic, her board member. 鈥淵ou were the one who [told me that] charter school parents should not feel like they have a Scarlet A on their chest. Well, do you think this helps? What are you doing to bring us together now?鈥�

An L.A. Unified graduate, who now has a bachelor鈥檚 degree from UCLA, also spoke against the resolution, fondly remembering her charter school in Huntington Park that gave her access to seven AP classes and four SAT practice tests her senior year.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I would have made it to UCLA without my charter school, without my mother鈥檚 choice to send me there,鈥� she said. She added for Vladovic, 鈥淚 am the educational impact of charter schools. Although I am one person, if you want to see the educational impact, you can go outside.鈥�

Others, however, viewed the resolution as necessary. Julie Regalado, from East Los Angeles, said already existing charters don鈥檛 need to leave. But she doesn鈥檛 think there needs to be more.

鈥淭here’s a charter school in each corner; we don’t need any more,鈥� she told the board. 鈥淭he ones that are there, they can stay, but [these schools] are taking a lot of money from my child’s education.鈥�

Scott Mandell, a teacher at Pacoima Middle School, said, 鈥淒r. Vladovic鈥檚 resolution was a central part of the agreement鈥� to end the teachers strike and the board needed to uphold that promise.

The resolution was the latest fallout in the battle against charters that engulfed the district during the six-day teacher strike. Charter schools have become a political lightning rod, with United Teachers Los Angeles portraying them as a threat to traditional public schools.

The union has labeled charters as , purporting that they siphon away money from district public schools and into corporations.

While charters are privately run and have more discretion around decisions involving curriculum, the length of the school day and year and hiring and firing, they are public schools and nonprofit. They 鈥渁re open to all children, do not require entrance exams 鈥� may not discriminate, may not charge tuition [and] must achieve a racial and ethnic balance reflective of the District population,鈥� according to the district website. They are typically not unionized.

After the vote, charter school students, parents, teachers, leaders, and advocates announced they will fight back. In a news release, they said that 鈥渢he voice of LAUSD charter public school students and families was completely disregarded during recent contract negotiations,鈥� and they denounced the 鈥渂ackroom deal that threatens to compromise high-quality public school options throughout the Los Angeles area.鈥�

Myrna Castrej贸n, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association, stated, 鈥淔or parents, the issue isn’t about politics, it is about what their child needs and what learning environment will help them thrive. Without a doubt, this charter school ban will unfairly target the most vulnerable students in Los Angeles.鈥�

She added, 鈥淭his resolution to ban charter schools is a solution in search of a problem. The real problem facing Los Angeles public schools is the persistent achievement gap.鈥�

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