Saturday, May 26, 2012

Culmination: An end and a beginning


Onward! 4LAKids
4LAKids:Sunday 27•May•2012 Memorial Day Weekend
In This Issue:
 •  ETHICS ANYONE?
 •  BROWN SIGNS LAW AUTHORIZING $3.5 BILLION IN SCHOOL DEFERRALS: All the deferrals would likely occur even if voters approve the governor’s tax measure
 •  L.A. UNIFIED CAN APPLY FOR FEDERAL RACE TO THE TOP FUNDS:
 •  ONLY ONE TEACHER DISMISSAL BILL REMAINS ALIVE AT STATE LEGISLATURE
 •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
 •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...
 •  What can YOU do?


Featured Links:
 •  OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE: What will California schoolchildren, your school district and YOUR School get when the initiative passes?
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 •  4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved!
 •  4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc.
The President, Trustees, Faculty
and Graduating Class of
Bates College
announce that
Alana Folsom
is a candidate for the degree of
Bachelor of Arts in English
with a concentration in Creative Writing
and minors in Rhetoric and Philosophy
at the
One Hundred and Forty-fifth Commencement
Sunday, May twenty-seventh
Two thousand twelve
Ten o’clock in the morning
The Coram Library Quadrangle


So, sixteen years after crossing that threshold at Mt. Washington School with the kindergarten candidate in hand we find ourselves in front of the ivy-clad red brick library of a small liberal arts college in Maine on a rhetorical-if-not-actual sunny morning in May – with a newly-minted Bachelor of Arts in English: a creative writer and a rhetorician and a philosopher.

What a wonderful strange trip it’s been.

I’m going to leave it at that. I’m not going to try and find words; I’m not going to take pictures. I’m going to allow our small frail family to inhabit the moment.

¡Everonward/Siempre adelante!

___________________________

Molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler, actor Robert De Niro and PBS “Newshour” senior correspondent Gwen Ifill will speak and receive honorary degrees during Bates College’s 2012 Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 27.
The college’s 146th Commencement activities begin at 10 a.m. (7 a.m. PDT) on its Historic Quad, at Campus Avenue and College Street.

For the first time, the event will be broadcast live online at bates.edu/live.



ETHICS ANYONE?
by smf for 4LAKids News

May 24 2012 :: THIS AMERICAN LIFE, the NPR produced program from Chicago, did an episode on monogamy (and polyamory) in mainstream America in 1998. [http://bit.ly/KCiF9D]

They pointed to a news story largely lost amid the Lewinsky scandal: Roy Romer, governor of Colorado, had an affair for nearly two decades with his family's full cooperation.

The NPR program further profiled several couples that chose open relationships. The psychological after-effects were outlined | http://yhoo.it/LiHnNC

Romer left the Colorado governorship to become Chair of the Democratic National Committee. When the story of his affair with his chief-of-staff broke – not only an affair but a public sector employer-employee conflict – broke he left the national stage to become Superintendent of LAUSD – where he served for six years and became the longest serving LAUSD superintendent in LA County.

Superintendent Romer was largely responsible of the LAUSD building program – which he kept squeaky clean and free from political shenanigans. And while at LAUSD he created the LAUSD Ethics Office, which in part set the standards and tone for the above.

Ramon Cortines came to LAUSD as Deputy Superintendent in the waning days of Romer’s superintendence from the LA Mayor’s Office (aka The Office of Political Shenanigans). Cortines eliminated the LAUSD Ethics Office during his superintendence following Romer’s, citing budget issues.

LAUSD could not afford an Ethics Office.

In Cortines defense he was never secretive about the appearance of a conflict of interest in being a paid corporate board-of-director of – and a stockholder in Scholastic – a textbook publisher with a major contract with the District. He disclosed this – and the Board president said she didn’t see the issue …which perhaps introduces a lack-of-awareness on her part. Although Cortines had no direct day-to-day decision making on the Scholastic contract, those who reported to him directly did ...and had to be aware of his relationship to Scholastic. http://lat.ms/Ld8HA7

The Scholastic contract was apparently created during Cortines previous interim- superintendency - before Romer.

Eventually there was a hue-and-cry in the media and Cortines resigned from the Scholastic Board of Directors – but continued as a stockholder.

Then we had the rather colorful misadventure of former Superintendent Ruben Zacarias (the superintendent before Cortines interim regime) and his badge-flashing escapade – where he allegedly used an honorary LAUSD Police Badge to make a traffic stop of a woman late one night. Zacharias pleaded no contest to the charge. http://bit.ly/KGv3rs

Superintendent Deasy came to LAUSD under a well documented cloud about his relationship with convicted felon Robert Felner and his own Ph.D. degree – and allegations of resume inflation. http://lat.ms/JA58pS | http://lat.ms/hQuBQi

And now this current sexual/employee harassment half-a-million dollar settlement over Cortines' alleged actions.

• Half-a-million dollars could pay half a dozen classroom teachers for a year.
• And parents and the school community at the Cortines School for the Visual and Performing Arts (The School Formerly Known as #9) are upset anew that they were not consulted as Board Policy requires in the naming of that school.

Excuse the double negative (4LAKids: No rule of grammar left unabused!) but maybe LAUSD cannot afford to not have an Ethics Office.

That’s my opinion and I’m sticking with it.


Updated: L.A. UNIFIED TO SETTLE HARASSMENT CLAIM AGAINST CORTINES + Other coverage



BROWN SIGNS LAW AUTHORIZING $3.5 BILLION IN SCHOOL DEFERRALS: All the deferrals would likely occur even if voters approve the governor’s tax measure

By Kimberly Beltran, School Innovations and Advocacy.Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/KmOMgF

Thursday, May 24, 2012 :: A week after it was publicly unveiled – and a day after two Republican lawmakers proposed a constitutional amendment outlawing the practice – Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Wednesday that would protect the state’s cash flow next year by deferring $3.5 billion in payments to schools during the 2012-13 fiscal year.

The bill, AB 103, would authorize the payment delays to schools, as well as the deferral of hundreds of millions more due to local governments and the state university system. Officials said all of the deferrals likely would occur even if voters approve the governor’s tax measure in November.

Members of the governor’s staff have said the deferrals are consistent with cash management schedules employed over the past two years and must be adopted now to give local officials time to make necessary adjustments to their own budgets – in the forms of more cuts or short-term borrowing.

Brown had hoped to be in a position to begin paying back some of what the state owes schools, but given the magnitude of the problems the state still faces, he said last week he has few options.

On Tuesday, Republican Assembly members Brian Nestande of Palm Desert and Kristin Olsen of Modesto held a press conference at the Capitol to announce they were filing ACA 29, an Assembly Constitutional Amendment prohibiting the state from deferring payments to California schools. Passage of the measure requires a two-thirds vote of the Democratic-majority controlled Legislature.

“We believe education funding should be a top priority, and this ACA will end the use of budgetary gimmicks that result in our schools being short-changed,” Olsen said in a statement.

“Deferrals are driving some school districts into bankruptcy,” added Nestande.

Just last week, the state’s watchdog on school finance – the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team – forecast the number of districts in California at risk of insolvency would reach a record number this year.

As proposed, AB 103 would put into motion a series of deferrals and repayments where no more than $1.9 billion would be held back from schools at any time.

The moves would begin in July, when $1.2 billion would be deferred. In August, another $600 million would be held. In September, $700 million of the outstanding payments would be paid back. And in October, another $800 million would be deferred.

In January 2013, the state would return $1.9 billion. Then, a $900 million payment due in March would be delayed until April.

An even bigger deferral is being contemplated if voters approve the governor’s tax measure in November. As part of the revised May budget, Brown has committed to paying back $2.6 billion of the $9.5 billion in total payment deferrals.

But, based on a scheduled released by the Department of Finance this week, that repayment is not likely to happen before May or June 2013.

PUBLIC COMMENT FROM HEATHER MATSON of Palos Verdes Estates, a former educator, an active member of the local PTA, and parent of one elementary school and one middle school student:

Here we go again! How are schools supposed to operate with deferred cash? Do you suppose that the mortgage holders on teacher's houses will take a deferred payment? Or will the government take a deferred payment on taxes? What are we doing to our schools?

It is time for our elected officials to stop fighting with each other and the governor and begin to take the steps needed to address the spending and the 'kick the can down the road' crisis that got us here, and they need to do it now! The concerns about re-election should be the last thing on their mind. Our financial crisis continues because no one wants to pay for services but everyone wants to have them. Every single resident of California needs to have some ownership, both in the problem and in the solution!

Instead of trying to patch and Band-Aid the budget, let's start from scratch. Identify the most important needs first: 1. Education of our citizenry, 2.Infrastructure, 3. Safety and Protection, and 4. Health and Welfare. In order for California to work no one gets a free ride. We can't expect the 'wealthy' to foot the bill because the definition of wealth is very subjective; what constitutes wealth in one area is middle class in another based on the cost of living. In many areas of the state it is impossible to make ends meet without both partners working full time. The income may look good on paper but in reality these families may be just getting by. Increasing their taxes would actually keep them from 'just making it.'

The persons who use the services need to have some financial obligation for the maintenance of those services. How about tolls our freeway users pay? How about community service opportunities for those who are unemployed and receiving benefits? I am sure Caltrans could use some help cleaning up. Instead of offering babysitting, how about setting up co-ops so that parents can help each other? This was once a country of creativity and invention and has now become a country of crybabies wanting Big Daddy (aka government) to take care of them. Really? Give our schools the tools to train our young citizens to use their minds to create and innovate and thus eliminate the crybaby mentality that pervades our society. Enough already!!


L.A. UNIFIED CAN APPLY FOR FEDERAL RACE TO THE TOP FUNDS:
FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WILL LET DISTRICTS BYPASS STATE OFFICIALS. L.A. UNIFIED WANTS FUNDS TO ALTER THE TEACHER EVALUATION PROCESS

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/LfoNG7

May 23, 2012 :: For the first time, L.A. Unified and other individual school districts can apply for federal Race to the Top grants, bypassing California officials, including the governor, who had objected to the rules for receiving the education-reform incentives.

The draft rules, announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education, will allow school systems to vie for funds that had been unavailable to any state that was unable or unwilling to compete for the grants.

"We're wide open to new strategies, new approaches," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a conference call. "Every district in America can apply."

Race to the Top was launched by the U.S. Department of Education under President Obama in 2009. It was intended to spur states into adopting education policies favored by the administration, including revamping teacher evaluations to include student test score data. Three times California applied and lost.

Most recently, in 2011, senior state officials took California out of the running: They declined to endorse an application submitted by a consortium of districts, including those in L.A., Long Beach, San Francisco and Sacramento.

The money was too little to pay for what was required, a particular burden during the current budget crisis, according to state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, Gov. Jerry Brown and other officials. But there also were philosophical objections to using student test scores as one measure to evaluate teachers.

The largest state teachers unions also have opposed using this data in performance reviews, unless teachers approve it as part of a collective bargaining agreement.

In 2010, the state's first application was weakened by the unwillingness of some teachers unions and school districts to sign on.

The new guidelines for the $400-million pool include the requirement that districts remake teachers evaluations. In Los Angeles Unified, schools Supt. John Deasy is moving in that direction.

"We intend to apply," Deasy said. "We've been waiting for this. We're ready for this. Everything we've done has laid the groundwork for a strong application."

If successful, L.A. could receive $25 million, much less than the $100 million the district could have obtained in an earlier funding round.

Still, the money would prove valuable for advancing such district initiatives as an evaluation system now being tested by volunteers in some schools.

Deasy is planning to expand the program districtwide, but faces a legal challenge by United Teachers Los Angeles, the teachers union.

UTLA could play a role in the Race to the Top bid.

"Local buy-in," including from teachers unions, "and commitment to reform is very important," Duncan said.

Stanford education professor Linda Darling-Hammond believes the emphasis is misplaced.

"Evaluation is actually a tiny aspect of the entire puzzle," Darling-Hammond said at a talk Monday to teachers and union activists at the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Koreatown. "The big issue for the U.S. is inequality." The nation has "continually disinvested in schools that serve children who live in poverty."

A contrasting view appeared in a report released Tuesday by Communities for Teaching Excellence, a locally based organization funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

[smf: You can't tell the players w/o a scorecard - C4TE is Yolie Flores' Astroturf/Grass Roots org | By the numbers: HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT IS INFECTED BY THE BROAD VIRUS http://bit.ly/jqDocs #29 also http://bit.ly/ejZdRT]

The report called for linking improved evaluations — including the use of student data — to decisions on whether teachers should receive and retain tenure protections.

The group saluted recent changes to tenure laws in other states. In Tennessee, teachers now must work five years to earn tenure; California teachers earn tenure after two years. Tennessee teachers also must rank in the top two of five categories for overall performance in the two years before achieving tenure. And teachers can lose tenure if they are rated ineffective for two consecutive years.


ONLY ONE TEACHER DISMISSAL BILL REMAINS ALIVE AT STATE LEGISLATURE

By Tami Abdollah, Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/LoHBTg


3/25 - 3:21pm - Only one of three bills recently introduced in the state Legislature that aim to make it easier to dismiss teachers is alive today, and may continue on to change state law.

AB2028, sponsored by Republican state Assemblymen Cameron Smyth of Santa Clarita and Steve Knight of the Antelope Valley, died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee today — the end of the fiscal deadline.

The bill, which was significantly amended last month, would eliminate the four-year limitation on introducing evidence to be used in proceedings and allow the dismissal process to begin during the summer.

AB2028 passed out of committee in its amended form last month, but was put "on suspense" in the Appropriations Committee because it cost more than $150,000; a hearing was held today to take bills off suspense, but AB2028 died without a vote, said Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for the Office of Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway.

It would have cost the state $175,000 because of the expenses associated with mandating schools keep records for longer than four years, Lockhart said.

The California State Assembly Republican Caucus has pushed the bill, which in its initial form mirrored the L.A. Unified school board resolutions adopted on the dismissal issue after a recent spate of teacher arrests for lewd conduct with children. The California Teachers Assn. has vocally opposed the dismissal bills introduced at the Legislature and called them a retraction of due process protections for teachers.

"The committee approved hundreds of bills today, and I'm sure many of them cost more than $175,000," Lockhart said.

Lockhart said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's staff testified in support of AB2028 in April and told legislators that it costs $300,000 to dismiss one teacher.

Another bill, SB1059, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Bob Huff of Diamond Bar, never passed out of commitee in April.

Of the three bills, only SB1530 remains alive. It passed out of the state Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. It will go to the state Senate next week for a vote. Democratic state Sen. Alex Padilla of Pacoima worked with the CTA and committee members to amend the bill and narrow its scope.


SB1530: Legislative Analysis and Bill Text (as amended)



HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
TICKETS TO NOWHERE: ROMNEY'S EDUCATION VOUCHERS: Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA Week of May 21-25, 2012 | http... http://bit.ly/LQ5pFE

LAUSD TO APPLY FOR PALTRY RttT GRANT: Posted by Michael Dunn, Modern School | http://bit.ly/K189iT Huck/Ko... http://bit.ly/LQ3vou

BIRMINGHAM HIGH SUBMITS PLANS TO FIX PROBLEMS, KEEP SCHOOL'S CHARTER: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily N... http://bit.ly/Lqej6Q

LAUSD AND TWO MORE UNIONS, BUILDING TRADES AND SEIU, REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENTS ON 10 FURLOUGH DAYS FOR 2012-13!... http://bit.ly/Kqy2Fo

EMBATTLED CAL STATE CHANCELLOR CHARLES REED RETIRES: By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.... http://bit.ly/LOChyz

ON.Y ONE TEACHER DISMISSAL BILL REMAINS ALIVE AT STATE LEGISLATUTE: By Tami Abdollah, Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC ht... http://bit.ly/KA3NN0

STATEMENT BY RAMON CORTINES REGARDING SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS: LAUSD, reblogged from Pasadena Star-News ht... http://bit.ly/LoG4Nb

The Condition of Education 2012: U.S. STUDENTS GET SERIOUS ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL: By Sarah D. Sparks, Ed... http://bit.ly/LnvrKq

California School Boards Association: VOTE FOR BOTH TAX PLANS - Battle between 'purists and pragmatists': By Joh... http://bit.ly/KLnpMh

A – G: FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL: AALA Update: Week of May 28, 2012 | http://bit.ly/KGKBZV ... http://bit.ly/KoHARh

PARENTS RALLY TO KEEP PRINCIPAL AT CARPENTER: Joe Martinez commits to stay at school for another year, despite o... http://bit.ly/KoHyJ7

SCHOOL DISTRICTS CUT MORE NURSES: By Tamara Audi, Wall Street Journal | http://on.wsj.com/LmOuVg May 24, 2012, ... http://bit.ly/MApI6G

THE LAUSD SOCIAL MEDIA SURVEY: John Deasy @DrDeasyLAUSD tweets Click here to take the #LAUSD's first Social... http://bit.ly/Kmf02H

LATEST LAUSD GRADUATES ‘ARE BLAZING NEW TRAILS’: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.l... http://bit.ly/Mwu0fl

ETHICS ANYONE?: by smf for 4LAKids News May 24 2012 – Lewiston, ME :: THIS AMERICAN LIFE, the NPR produced prog... http://bit.ly/LIz9UL

California’s Budget Crisis Part XII: IT'S SUMMER. TIME FOR A CALIFORNIA BUDGET CRISIS + more: Tracy Gordon | Br... http://bit.ly/Kt3js1

CALIFORNIA WANTS OWN 'NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND' RULES: San Francisco Chronicle Editorial | http://bit.ly/JUB5sG Arn... http://bit.ly/KjUJez

ROMNEY MAKES HIS CASE ON EDUCATION: Attacks Obama Ed policies, blames teacher’s unions + Randi Weingarten respon... http://bit.ly/Lt4F6c

FUNDING INCREASES FOR SCHOOL MEALS AMID EDUCATION BUDGET CUTS: By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC ... http://bit.ly/KrMhKJ

Updated: L.A. UNIFIED TO SETTLE HARASSMENT CLAIM AGAINST CORTINES + Other coverage: The district will pay $200,0... http://bit.ly/Lb1e4E

SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIM AGAINST EX-LAUSD CHIEF SETTLED FOR $200,000: BY Howard Blume | LA Times | http://latimes... http://bit.ly/KQfwVi

RACE TO THE TOP: Count LAUSD in; others consider applying + smf’s 2¢: By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess | htt... http://bit.ly/LoD9Hb

LACCD Scandals: FUTURE OF VAN DE KAMPS FACILITY TO BE DISCUSSED. With their lease with a local charter school te... http://bit.ly/Kdwqyw

ACTIVISTS LAUNCH RECALL CAMPAIGN OF LAUSD BOARD MEMBER NURY MARTINEZ: By Vanessa Romo | KPCC Pass/Fail | http://... http://bit.ly/KdfacO

PROTESTERS GATHER TO OPPOSE CUTS TO ADULT ED: Thousands say adult education is crucial to their economic well be... http://bit.ly/Lo3dlx

L.A. UNIFIED CAN APPLY FOR FEDERAL RACE TO THE TOP FUNDS: For the first time, the U.S. Department of Education w... http://bit.ly/LCIVaR

AP EXAM FLAP BAFFLES CHATSWORTH HIGH STUDENTS: Missing test booklets force administrators to re-administer the e... http://bit.ly/KwhNp2
Expand

LACCD scandals: CHECKS TO L.A. COLLEGE FOUNDATION APPEAR FORGED: The payments to the executive director of the L... http://bit.ly/JCWNki

Torlakson: 188 SCHOOL DISTRICTS (INCLUDING LAUSD) IN ‘FINANCIAL JEOPARDY’; 12 (INCLUDING INGLEWOOD) NEAR BANKRUP... http://bit.ly/KI8SAo

®eform, Inc. Polemic Illustrated: “THE WORST UNION IN AMERICA”: 21 May :: OK: I was minding my own business, w... http://bit.ly/LdEVdX

UTLA Polemic: LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND AT THE COCOANUT GROVE TONIGHT - “The Fight for Equity and Justice in Public ... http://bit.ly/Mbqdnl

SCHOOLS’ UNHEALTHY DILEMMA: Many are cutting health classes to save money. Students, and teachers, lose out.: sc... http://bit.ly/Lu3shZ


EVENTS: Coming up next week...
MEMORIAL DAY SONNET

By Garrison Keillor, A Prairie Home Companion, May 29, 2004 | http://bit.ly/KQnNNh

We're here to honor those who went to war
Who did not wish to die, but did die, grievously,
In eighteen sixty-one and in two-thousand four
Though they were peaceable as you or me.
Young and innocent, they knew nothing of horror ---
Singers and athletes, and all in all well-bred.
Their sergeants, mercifully, made them into warriors,
And at the end, they were moving straight ahead.
As we look at these headstones, row on row on row,
Let us see them as they were, laughing and joking,
On that bright irreverent morning long ago.
And once more, let our hearts be broken.
God have mercy on them for their heroic gift.
May we live the good lives they would have lived.

*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-241.8700


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Nury.Martinez@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
Steve.Zimmer@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • Find your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Brown: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE.
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!.


Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them?




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and is Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for ten years. He is a Health Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT 2009 "WHO" Gold Award for his support of education and public schools - an honor he hopes to someday deserve. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids.
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