Retiring LAUSD employee Linda Perez with board members Bennet Kayser (L) and Richard Vladovic.

The LA Unified school board honored two people at its meeting Tuesday as retiring 20-year employee Linda Perez received a certificate of appreciation and late board member Marguerite LaMotte was remembered with a moment of silence.

LaMotte was a long-serving member of the board when she passed away on Dec. 5, 2013 at the age of 80. On the year anniversary of her death, the district named a school in her honor, the Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte Elementary School at 4410 Orchard Ave. in south LA.

Before a moment of silence, each member of the board offered words of remembrance of LaMotte. (Click on the below video links to see portions of the meeting when LaMotte and Perez were honored.)

“I’m probably more personally involved with Marguerite than most, although I didn’t sit on the board with her. We were colleagues in many endeavors and friends,” said George McKenna, who won LaMotte’s vacant seat in a special election earlier this year.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines described the ribbon cutting ceremony of the school named for her and said he could feel her presence there.

“She was so focused on the importance of schools and children, and opportunities for children, and this ribbon cutting ceremony was just beautiful,” Cortines said.

Monica Garcia recalled how LaMotte was always friendly despite their often being on opposing sides of issues.

“When I think about Miss LaMotte, I think about the compassion she showed me,” Garcia said. “When I first got elected, and it was a turbulent time, she was the only board member who came out and wished me well. She brought me flowers and a smile and a hug, and I appreciated that.”

Steve Zimmer lightened the mood a bit with a story that captured what many say about LaMotte, that she was a kind and caring person to all those around her.

“I wore a tie today that she bought me,” Zimmer said. “She said, ‘Zimmer I’m going to need to buy you some ties because yours are looking very raggedy these days.'”

The board also honored Perez as President Richard Vladovic and Bennett Kayser presented her with a certificate of appreciation. Perez worked as a secretary in the special education division and also served as president of the California School Employee Association, LA Chapter 500.

A number of board members expressed gratitude to Perez, including McKenna, who said, “You were a visionary. Tenacious. Sometimes stubborn, which I love. I hope you enjoy your retirement.”

Perez also addressed the board, saying, “My passion for my union, my commitment has been very strong. And I’m stubborn, yeah. You know, sometimes you have to be to get what you want, what you need, what your members need more than anything.”

As the meeting concluded, Vladovic played a song by singer Etta James in honor of LaMotte. He said it was one of her favorite songs, in particular because James was a graduate of Jefferson High School, which was in LaMotte’s district.

Late LA Unified school board member Marguerite LaMotte

Today, on the one-year anniversary of her death, LA Unified today named a school after Marguerite LaMotte, a decade-long member of the school board.

The district held a celebration event at what is now known as Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte Elementary School at 4410 Orchard Ave. in South LA that was hosted by George McKenna, who won LaMotte’s vacant seat in August, Superintendent Ramon Cortines and the school’s principal, Doramanda Higuchi, according to a district press release.

The school originally opened in 2012 as South Region Elementary School #10. LaMotte herself was at the school’s groundbreaking ceremony.

“Today was a day of celebration,” LaMotte said at the school’s groundbreaking ceremony, according to a district press release. “I was so pleased with today’s speeches from three students who indicated that this school will make a positive impact on their lives and the lives of others. One the speakers is the daughter of one of my former students. I am so proud of her and every child here today. This new school will bring us closer to relieving two nearby elementary schools.”

LaMotte died on Dec. 5, 2013 at the age of 80. A former teacher and principal, she was first elected to the board in 2003 and was reelected in 2007 and 2011.

Click here to read LA School Report‘s story about her death.

George McKenna on election night

And now there are two.

LAUSD school board candidates George McKenna and Alex Johnson outpolled five others in yesterday’s election, but neither reached a majority, moving them into an August runoff to fill LA Unified’s vacant District 1 seat.

McKenna, 73, a career school administrator and early favorite to replace the late Marguerite LaMotte, was the clear winner in a low-turnout election, winning 15,442 votes, or 44.28 percent. Johnson, 33, an education aide to LA Country Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, was second, with 8,605 votes, 24.67 percent.

Sherlett Hendy-Newbill, a teacher and one of three candidates endorsed by the LA teachers union, UTLA, was a distant third, with 3,293 votes, just 9.44 percent.

McKenna had been the clear choice for a temporary appointment to the board when board members were debating whether to fill the seat through an appointment or an election. Early on, he said he only wanted the seat by appointment, but when that option faded, he jumped into the race.

His near 2-to-1 margin over Johnson, now gives him a clear edge as they now begin a two-month campaign to a runoff scheduled for Aug. 12.

“Our most heartfelt thanks and appreciation to everyone who knocked on doors, called neighbors, and engaged friends on social media. Let’s keep it going in the weeks to come!” was the message on McKenna’s Facebook page.

McKenna’s victory came despite Johnson’s overwhelming money advantage in the race. While both candidates piled up dozens of endorsements, Johnson raised more than $244,000 in individual contributions and needed almost every penny of it to prevent McKenna from winning just 2,447 votes more, which would have given him an outright victory.

McKenna raised just $154,000.

Nevertheless, Johnson’s finish was a strong showing for a political neophyte who had none of the name recognition within the district that McKenna had. His runner-up status was a tribute to his campaign tactics, which include a heavy boost from his boss, Ridley-Thomas, and the benefits of money. He spent the equivalent of $28 a vote, compared with McKenna, at $10 a vote.

When it appeared he would finish in the top two, Johnson said last night, “The voters of District 1 have very clearly shown with their ballots that they want an elected school board member who will bring new ideas and new energy to their L.A. Board of Education. They want a school board member who will fight to improve their schools.”

Just how many District 1 voters want all that remains to be seen.

With the school board primary part of the same primary in which voters were choosing candidates in all the statewide offices as well as for federal positions, only 34,876 of the District’s 338,986 registered voters — an almost pathetic10 percent — weighed in on the school board seat.

That’s an unusually low turnout that portends even fewer voters two months from now when nothing else is on the ballot.

Among those who did vote, they showed their preferences for two candidates who are, politically, polar opposites of LaMotte, whose decade on the board was marked by her fervent support for the teachers union. McKenna has stressed his independence on issues, and Johnson had the benefit of $62,000 in campaign spending by a group affiliated with the California Charter Schools Association.

Voters showed little interest in the three candidates UTLA supported with the maximum $1,100 donations — Hendy-Newbill, Rachel Johnson, who was fifth with 1,870 votes, and Hattie McFrazier, who finished last with 1,399 votes.

Genethia Hudley-Hayes, a former school board member and well-known educator whose campaign was marred by her inaccurate resume, was fourth, with 2,431 votes, and Omarosa Manigault, a former TV personality, was sixth, with 1,836 votes.

Aside from its sudden addition to the calendar, the election came at a critical juncture in the school year.

The current six board members are ensconced in negotiations over the 2014-2015 budget, which needs to be finalized by June 17, complete with a spending plan to help English learners, foster youth and students from low-income families. The state must approve it.

Beyond that, there are a myriad of other issues before the board that have been impacted, one way or another, by having only six members vote.

In recent weeks, Sylvia Rousseau, a veteran educator, has been serving as a liaison to District 1, largely to serve as a conduit between local residents and the board. But she has no voting rights nor even permission to sit with other board members in their meeting seats.

Before and during Rousseau’s involvement, District 1 residents have been pressing the board to provide more assets and support for students in the district, historically the city’s lowest-performing.

Part of the challenge has been addressed with new money from the state to fund areas of greatest need. But just how that money will be distributed, and for what, remains part of budget negotiations that have proceeded without a District 1 vote.

The conclusion of this year’s election ends a prelude, of sorts, to a much larger election season next year, when this same seat and three others will be contested.

While it’s unclear whether this year’s winner in District 1 intends to try again next year, two other candidates — Daymond Johnson and Rodney Robinson — have registered to run for the seat. District 3’s member, Tamar Galatzan, is facing two challengers — Elizabeth Badger and Carl Petersen; and District 5’s Bennett Kayser is facing an SEIU official, Kathryn Torres.

Only Board President Richard Vladovic, of District 7, is so far running unopposed.

Rachel Johnson

Beginning today, LA School Report is taking a longer look at each of the seven candidates running for LA Unified’s vacant South LA, District 1 board seat. The series starts today with Rachel Johnson and will continue over the weeks ahead.

After three decades as a LAUSD elementary school teacher and nine years as a member of the Gardena City Council, Rachel Johnson is hoping her extensive teaching and fiscal policy-making background will help her secure a seat on the LA Unified school board.

As one of three teachers among the seven candidates running for the District 1 board seat, left open by the passing of the board’s only African American member, Marguerite LaMotte, Johnson, 54, believes she has the practical and administrative expertise to make a difference.

“Since I put in the time in LAUSD, and I saw how policy that school board members implement and how it directly affects my practice, I said ‘you know, I think I can do better, I think I can contribute, I think I have a voice that would be valuable,’ ” she said in an interview with LA School Report.

Johnson, who teaches kindergarten at Purche Avenue Elementary school, wants to empower educators by raising awareness on several issues impacting District 1, such as why there are so many charter schools in the district.

Johnson believes low-performing traditional schools would greatly benefit if they were allowed to invest in a similar teaching model used by charter schools, giving administrators the flexibility to craft an innovative curriculum that she says would invigorate learning and motivate students to achieve.

“Let’s give those schools more independence, more time and investment and let’s see if these kinds of innovative programs will turn the tide,” she said. “We need to demand excellence from our schools, but in order to get that, we need to give them all the tools that they need.”

Another hot-button issue is seniority-based layoffs. Johnson, who benefitted from the policy, says a more comprehensive structure is needed that facilitates the replacement of ineffective teachers and supports the mentoring of young teachers.

“There is value in experience, but let that just be one variable in how a teacher is evaluated and laid off,” she said, echoing a central theme of the recently-argued Vergara case. “I would challenge UTLA as a board member to come to the table and to have that kind of discourse.”

Even though Johnson has been endorsed by UTLA, she says she will stand her ground and do what she feels is right when it comes to voting on policy issues.

“What’s good for the children is good for me,” she said. “You have to have a more comprehensive view when you’re making policy, but if our children are going to achieve, our teachers have to be supported.”

But, she says, what is best for students may not always complement initiatives that impact learning. Johnson said some of Superintendent John Deasy’s ideas are disconnected from the actual practice and implementation at the ground level because “he doesn’t hear or value teacher input,” she said.

If elected, Johnson says her policy-making decisions would be fair and transparent and would involve all parties concerned. She plans on visiting school sites and talking to instructors who will be directly impacted by the policy.

She believes in standing behind every decision she makes through “transparency, accountability, integrity and being consistent with every decision.”

But while her vision is clear, she says the road to getting elected has been a bumpy one.

So far, Johnson is running a grass-roots campaign, relying on volunteers, family and friends going door to door. Campaign funding has been a major challenge and donations have fallen short of expectations. Many of her past supporters have decided to support another candidate. She raised no money through the first reporting period, leaving her more than $100,000 behind the leader, Alex Johnson, who is no relation.

Despite having no political support, she remains focused and determined to reach as many voters as possible and hopes her background and experience will help her stand out from the rest.

The decision mirrors that of SEIU Local 99, the LA Unified support staff union, which also voted not to endorse anyone in the special election for the South LA seat, left vacant by the death of longtime school board member Marguerite LaMotte.

The vote was a reversal of sorts. Last week, the County Fed’s political action committee, COPE had voted to recommend “no endorsement” in the race, a decision made after interviewing four candidates: Alex Johnson, and the three teacher union-backed candidates, Sherlett Hendy-Newbill, Rachel Johnson and Hattie McFrazier. But a day later, that recommendation was trumped by the Federation executive board, which recommended Alex Johnson’s name be put before the delegates for a vote.

Johnson, an aide to County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, and a product of the LAUSD school system and American University Law School, is the top fundraiser in the election but has little name recognition.

The other three candidates, including George McKenna, considered by insiders to be a front-runner, were not involved in any round of the process because they failed to obtain a required letter of recommendation from any one of the 300 labor affiliates in the federation.

McKenna, a retired administrator, was the subject of a made-for-TV movie and has the backing of the prinicipal’s union, AALA.

Mark Ridley-Thomas (left), Alex Johnson

LA Unified school board hopeful Alex Johnson kicked off his campaign last night at a west side home, filled with elected officials, education advocates and political funders.

“We’ve waited long enough.” Johnson told the room of supporters. “We can’t leave a generation of kids behind… every child should have an opportunity to succeed, to graduate from high school, to get a job.”

He noted that the open seat in District 1, which covers much of south Los Angeles, has the “highest number of kids being pushed out of school… the highest rate of foster youth of our schools, the second second lowest graduation rate, [the] highest concentration of poverty,” in the district.

Johnson, who serves as education aide to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas qualified for the ballot last Friday. He is competing in an usually packed field of nine candidates (two of whom are awaiting certification from the City Clerk’s office) in a June 3 special election after longtime school board trustee Marguerite LaMotte died in office late last year.

In his remarks to the crowd, Johnson made no mention his accusations against one of his opponents, Genethia Hudley-Hayes, whom he has accused of falsifying her resume. Hudley-Hayes, who once held the District 1 seat and has the support of former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Congresswoman Karen Bass, has denied any intentional misrepresentations (more on that story here) and has accused Johnson of “bullying” her to drop out of the race.

Alex Johnson

In her first public comments since a rival in the LA Unified school board race accused her of falsifying her resume, Genethia Hudley-Hayes told LA School Report today she considers the allegations to be “mudslinging” in an effort “to bully” her out of the race.

“I will not be bullied,” she said, of the charges from Alex Johnson. “My record stands for itself, with 30 years of service in this town. I consider this to be mudslinging, to change the conversation. I believe this was an effort to get me to drop out.”

The accusations intensified earlier today when Johnson, also commenting publicly for the first time, posted a statement on his campaign website, saying she “allegedly established, maintained, allowed and concealed a pattern of academic falsification.”

Hudley-Hayes and Johnson are considered among the frontrunners in a campaign to fill the District 1 board seat left vacant by the death of Marguerite LaMotte in December. The field for the June 3 special election includes five other candidates who have qualified and may include two more if the LA City Clerk’s office certifies them.

Hudley-Hayes said she has been the victim of unfounded accusations before in a school board race when she ran more than a decade ago. “This is 1999 all over again” she said.

In response to specific accusations about her academic record, she said, “There is no pattern here. There is a typographical error.”

Johnson has focused on four instances in which he claims she falsified her resume. They involve what his campaign has described as misleading characterizations of two degrees, her role on a state teacher credentialing commission and her claim to be a state-certified mediator — all supported, they claim, through research into her background.

In response, Hudley-Hayes said she stands by her MBA degree awarded in a joint program with Cal State San Jose (now San Jose State University) and the Center for NonProfit Management in the mid 1970s, and she said she has not listed her honorary degree from American World University, an unaccredited program, in recent memory.

The Johnson campaign has provided LA School Report two documents that include resumes for Hudley-Hayes that mention she received a doctorate degree from American University with a speciality in public education. The Johnson campaign also said it was told by San Jose State that the school has no record of her receiving an MBA — LA School Report has not independently confirmed that with school officials.

In response to Johnson’s saying she was never a member of the the California State Teacher Credentialing Commission (CTC), as her bio on the LAUSD website showed, Hudley-Hayes said she never would have represented that she served on that commission.

“I don’t know how it got there,” she said. “I never looked at it. Maybe I should have.” Instead, she said she worked on a teacher credentialing task force as part of her job with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

In his website statement today, Johnson said:

“I was shocked and disheartened to learn that the findings from research undertaken in reference to one of the candidates in the race for L.A. School Board revealed a clear case of alleged academic falsification involving candidate Genethia Hayes, a former L.A. School Board President. The research was conducted because my campaign had received unconfirmed information regarding that candidate and there was a need to determine whether the unconfirmed information that had been provided was true or false.

“The research demonstrates that Genethia Hudley-Hayes allegedly established, maintained, allowed and concealed a pattern of academic falsification. I respect Genethia Hudley-Hayes and wish the facts were untrue. However, these are serious allegations. Genethia Hudley-Hayes is the only person who can fully answer the troubling questions involving the credibility of her academic background. Voters want and deserve to know.”

In Hudley-Hayes’ defense, her political consultant, Parke Skelton, accused Johnson of “character assassination and “extortion” for using disputed allegations to drive her out of the race.

“I am shocked that Alex Johnson is engaging in a campaign of character assassination in his campaign for School Board,” Skelton said in a statement to LA School Report. “He hires a private investigator to comb through his opponent’s past for the sole purpose of trying to extort Mrs. Hudley-Hayes into dropping out of the race. All he uncovers is one typo in an old resume. And a statement in some extinct document put out by the LAUSD stating that Hudley-Hayes was a member of a Commission, when in fact she was a member of a Task Force convened by the Commission.

“Mr. Johnson falsely claimed Mrs. Hudley-Hayes did not have a Masters’ Degree and falsely claimed she was not a mediator. Extortion is not pretty. If Mr. Johnson had what he believed was damning information, he could have released it, or called us up for a response. Instead he chose to threaten and bully. And our schools should have a no tolerance policy for bullies.”

*Adds details about doctorate degree.

This report is based on reporting by Jamie Alter Lynton and Michael Janofsky

The recommendations grew out of a meeting this week chaired by Steve Zimmer, the most vocal school board member to support installing an interim appointment. A document (see below) lists 20 responsibilities and five qualifications he devised as well as the timeline for filling the seat.

If his proposal is approved, an interim would be identified and voted into place by the board’s March 4 meeting. As a caretaker, the new member would have no ability to cast a binding vote nor the right to attend closed sessions without permission from the board.

The timeline lays out the process leading to a selection, starting with the launch of a special website on Feb. 18 where nominations can be made. Once selected, the board’s new colleague will serve only through the June 3 special election — or an Aug. 12 runoff if necessary — which puts a fully enfranchised member in the seat to complete the LaMotte term, ending in mid-2015.

The board voted last month to call a special election, rather than make an appointment. Nonetheless, board members have argued that an interim appointee should be selected, an idea that was shot down by legal counsel as impossible. Zimmer’s plan represents a compromise.

While Zimmer tells LA School Report that his proposal has been cleared by LAUSD general counsel, a lively discussion at the February 11 board meeting (see agenda here) is expected, especially with two lawyers, Monica Ratliff and Tamar Galatzan, on the board.

Zimmer presided over an ad hoc “committee of one” — no other board members attended — that was charged with defining the role and scope of a temporary representative for the vacant District 1 seat while the city awaits a special election.

Turnout was sparse — barely a fraction of the crowd that showed up for a board vote last month, when it approved the appointment of a non-voting advocate for the south LA region after the death of Marguerite LaMotte in December.

But Zimmer used his platform to build a case for bestowing voting rights on an appointee.

“The enfranchisement of the vote and opinion of District 1 is both possible and it’s permissible” he said, before launching into a series of questions for LA Unified general counsel David Holmquist.

–“Theoretically, what would it take to enfranchise the vote of an interim representative?”

–“To be able to have that vote be counted…the remedy would be the courts?”

–“Is it your opinion that a binding vote would be prohibited?”

Holmquist answered with a question of his own: “If the board chose to recognize the vote of an interim representative? That would be problematic.”

The city charter bars anyone who is not permanently appointed or elected to the board from casting a binding vote. Neither can they access confidential or privileged documents nor participate in hiring and firing decisions. However, Holmquist said there may be some limited ability for a person to be included in a closed session.

He also said there is existing precedence for a “virtual” board member, whose vote would be recorded but not counted, something Zimmer has been advocating.

But the only way to expand the powers of a temporary fill-in to match those of an elected board member, is to change the city charter, Holmquist said.

The exchange between Zimmer and Holmquist was riddled with so much legalese — lots of “in your opinion…” and “isn’t it true…” — that near the end of the 25-minute exchange Holmquist jokingly said, “I have to tell you, it feels a little like I’m being cross-examined.”

That got a laugh from the 15 people in audience, a surprisingly small turn-out.

Meetings leading up to the board’s decision to hold a special election drew hundreds of concerned parents, teachers, and students. Several played to standing room only crowds, even after an “over-flow” room was opened to avoid violating fire code regulations. Speakers lined up hours early for the chance to weigh-in, three minutes at a time, on how the board should handle the vacancy.

That was less than a month ago.

This time there were four speakers and no controversy. They want a representative who can vote.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Michelle Walker. “We had a packed house.”

She thanked Zimmer for his dedication. But she said, “I’m sad and disheartened that no one joined you.”

Whatever the committee of one concludes will be presented to the other five board members at their next meeting, Feb. 11– if they show up.

Previous Posts: City Clerk to hold workshop for LA Unified board candidates; Want to Run for LAUSD School Board in the Special Election; LAUSD cannot appoint an interim board member.

LA Unified board member Steve Zimmer

Steve Zimmer isn’t giving up.

Despite legal opinions against him, the LA Unified board member for District 4 is still seeking a way to give voting rights to a temporary appointee to the vacant District 1 board seat until a permanent member is elected later this year.

The board voted earlier this month against such a possibility. So he knows it’s a long shot, as he told LA School Report today, conceding that he might not convince three other board members to join him in challenging the LA City Charter, which denies an appointment the same voting rights other board members have. With the board now comprised of six members, four votes are required to approve anything.

But Zimmer may have found an acceptable compromise: a “virtual” board member, whose vote would be recorded but not count. In that way, he said, the district represented for a decade by the late Marguerite LaMotte would get as full representation on the board as possible during a time the district is facing major financial and structural issues.

“This is the line in the sand for me,” Zimmer said. “I’m adamant about the vote being recorded. I’m adamant about the interim representative fully participating in the debate process — offering amendments, participating in committee work, all the things a board member would do — and Board District 1 just doesn’t have that now.”

While district lawyers have counseled against the appointee attending closed sessions of the board, which generally include discussions on employment and legal matters, Zimmer said that prohibition “is not make or break for me.”

However it all turns out starts with a public meeting on Feb. 4, when Zimmer presides over an ad hoc committee to consider the possibilities. What comes out of it goes before the board at its regular meeting a week later, and the board is expected to name the appointment on March 4.

That person will serve through the conclusion of a special election, which begins with a June 3 primary. If no candidate secures a majority of votes, a runoff would be held on Aug. 12.

“I don’t concede there is no way to enfranchise this vote,” Zimmer said. “But there’s a practical dilemma — I need to be able to get four votes. I need to be able to present something that honors the concept of representation, but something acceptable to my colleagues who care about representation as much as I do but may be less willing as I am to challenge the City Charter.”

Previous Posts: Memo from legal: LAUSD cannot appoint a ‘voting board member; LA Unified board votes against filling vacant seat; Kayser changes vote, board approves non-voting board member.

Hattie McFrazier

Another candidate has thrown her hat into the ring.

Hattie McFrazier is the latest contender in the special election race for LA Unified’s District 1 seat.

She is another district lifer. McFrazier spent 31 years with the district, retiring in 2012, and held a variety of positions including teacher, counselor, School Attendance Review Board Chair and Health and Human Services Director.

She also held leadership roles in the National Education Association and California Teachers Association, and she continues to sit on UTLA’s board of directors.

In an interview with LA School Report, she said, “The only way to make sure our schools are functioning the way they’re supposed to be, is to bring teachers and health and human services and administrators back to the schools.”

And thanks to the extra revenue coming in through Prop. 30, a ballot initiative that raises about $6 billion annually, the district can afford to do that immediately, she said, adding, “Not only that, but I think we should give everybody a raise. They deserve it. We have the money, there is no reason why they should not receive it.”

UTLA conducts several reviews before endorsing any candidate, and given her lifelong affiliation with the union, she would to have a good shot at gaining union support. McFrazier received once received UTLA’s “Unsung Hero Award.”

Still, the competition will be stiff. Among the other candidates for the June 3 special election, teachers Sherlett Hendy Newbill and Rachel Johnson have told LA School Report that they hope to get support from the union. And former school board president Genethia Hudley Hayes said she planned to meet with UTLA leadership soon.

Retired school administrator George McKenna has U.S. Representative Maxine Waters’ political force behind him while Alex Johnson has the support of his boss, LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The ultimate winner of the race — in June or an August runoff, if necessary — replaces the late Marguerite LaMotte, who died last month.

Previous posts: The LA Unified board sets June 3 election to fill vacant LaMotte seat; Alex Johnson becomes the fifth candidate to end June 3 election; Two teachers join the field for the vacant LA Unified board seat.

Alex Johnson

Alex Johnson has made his decision.

Johnson, who is the Assistant Senior Deputy for Education and Public Safety to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, confirmed to LA School Report that he is running for LA Unified’s District 1 seat in the special election this June.

In a statement he said:

“I’m running because the children of our communities are being left behind by a school system that doesn’t address their needs and doesn’t put children first. The parents, children, and taxpayers of our communities deserve to have a school board representative who is independent – independent from the status quo, from the past, and from the special interests.”

Johnson’s bid for the seat sets up a political proxy battle between Ridley-Thomas and U.S. Representatives Maxine Waters and Karen Bass, who are backing retired LAUSD administrator George McKenna.

Johnson’s entry to the June 3 primary brings to five the number of people who have declared an intent to run. The other candidates are Genethia Hudley-Hayes, Sherlett Hendy Newbill, and Rachel Johnson.

The seat was previously held by Marguerite LaMotte, who died last month.

Previous posts: Two teachers join the field the race for LA Unified Board seat, Ex-board president emerges as candidate for LaMotte seat.

Marguerite LaMotte

A public memorial service for LA Unified Board Member Marguerite LaMotte, who died last month, will be held  at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Washington Prep High School.

The address is 10860 S. Denker Ave.

LaMotte served 10 years representing District 1 on the board. She died attending a conference in San Diego.

Previous Post: Marguerite LaMotte, Long-Serving Member of LA Unified School Board, Dies, at 80.

Now that the City Council has approved a June 3 election date to fill the seat left open by the death of Marguerite LaMotte, the board is contemplating what to do – if it can do anything – to provide her district a voice in policy until the election.

At a special meeting last week, the six members asked chief legal advisor, David Holmquist, to produce a list of options for District 1 representation. He is planning a presentation on what form that might take.

In an interview with LA School Report last week, he suggested that it might be possible to put someone in the chair but was uncertain how much power, if any, such a caretaker might have. And with an election scheduled, he deferred to the LA City Charter, which implicitly suggests that anyone occupying the seat would be prohibited from voting on matters before the board.

Steve Zimmer, the board member pushing hardest for District 1 having a voice on the board though the election, has vowed not to give up the fight. And it continues tomorrow with a motion to appoint an “interim representative” from March 10 to July 1, a span that precludes the appointment from running in the June 3 election.

He is also proposing that the Board create an ad-hoc committee to establish a process for identifying a nominee as interim representative and report back to the Board on Feb. 11. A nominee would be installed at a special board meeting a month later.

As Zimmer told LA School Report last week, “This issue of interim representation cannot not be addressed. I am rarely as adamant about something as I am about this. And I believe I am on solid ground.”

As for the iPads, a subject that never seems to go away, the board actually might vote to proceed with Phase 2 distribution – iPads to 38 schools, keyboards for every student with an iPad and laptops to seven high schools to test their effectiveness with older students.

The go-ahead could – maybe, possibly, fingers-crossed – pass inasmuch as the proposal represents a compromise in a long-debated issue that has already been slowed down by a year. The main argument for getting more devices out the door quickly is that computer-based tests are just ahead in a pilot program, and the district needs to assess the trial run before paper-and-pencil tests are phased out.

The argument against? Could be anything. Board members remain skeptical of the district’s overall deal with Apple, which could make the $115 million price tag for Phase 2 still seem a bit pricey. And members may want to await the results of the district’s survey to learn what prices other jurisdictions are paying.

In any case, it should be a lively debate.

The meeting agenda includes two other big-ticket items worth watching:

District staff is recommending that the board approve $7.8 billion in spending for school repairs and upgrades, with most of the money — $7 billion – coming from the Measure Q bond sale approved by voters in 2008 but not begun. The agenda item serves to outline broad categories on a priority list; the real food fights over what projects to fund come later in the year.

The board is also being asked to approve an application to compete for $3 million award for a “Next Gen Learning System,” which tailors learning to  students’ individual needs and interests. It breaks down to $100,000 for each of 30 schools. A no brainer, right? Think again.

The money comes from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and there are some board members who view outside money from wealthy benefactors as poisonous to public education, no matter what good it might do.

Previous Posts: BREAKING NEWS: City Council approves June election for LAUSD; LAUSD cannot appoint an interim board member; Delay on iPad distributions shows deep division on LA Unified board.

The City Council must approve the action taken by the LA Unified school board earlier this week, after spirited debate, that called for a special election.  City Council is set to consider the schedule and instruct the City Clerk to take steps toward holding the election on June 3, 2014, which will correspond with the California statewide primary, and stand-alone runoff, if necessary, on August 12, 2014.

Only residents of the district who have been registered to vote by this week are eligible to run. Candidates then have a filing period of Feb. 10 to 18 to register and from Feb. 10 to March 7 to collect and file 500 signatures from people living in the district.

Each candidate is required to pay a $300 fee to make it on the ballot. However, the fee can be waived by collecting an additional 500 signatures.

The City Clerk’s office legally has 10 days to verify nomination signatures but because of the rushed timeline, Jinny Pak, Chief of the City Clerk Election Division, said they’ll do it in seven.

The petitions are turned over to the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office.

The Aug. 12 runoff will be held if a single candidate fails to get more than 50 percent of the vote.

Pak confirmed that the estimated costs for the election, as presented at Tuesday’s special board meeting, as about $973,000 for a primary and $2.5 million altogether if a runoff is needed.

“Once we’re done conducting the election then we’ll send a bill to the school board,” she said before adding, “but we never know how much it’s really going to be until it’s over.”

Previous Posts: The LA Unified board sets June 3 election to fill vacant LaMotte seat; Editorial boards agree on special election for LAUSD seat; Our survey results: Readers prefer a special election.

But politics is never easy, and, instead, the vacancy has sparked disagreement and paralysis at the school board, where the six remaining members have been buffeted by community groups and special interests that passionately disagree on which option to take.  Last month, the board pushed off making a decision until tonight’s special board meeting, called for 6:15 pm.

Meanwhile, we’ve complied a roundup of editorials on the decision the board faces. This week La Opinion printed an editorial supporting an election: Election for the LAUSD. That followed in the footsteps of both the LA Times which printed not one, but two pieces last month, (Elect, don’t appoint, to replace Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte and L.A. school board priority: Put students first and the LA Daily News which weighed in with this editorial: L.A. school board should let LaMotte’s district vote.  

Previous Posts: Pressure building: How, when to fill LaMotte LAUSD board seat, LA Unified board delays action on LaMotte vacancy to January, Filling LaMotte Seat by Election or Appointment? Board is Decider

Genethia Hayes

A new candidate has emerged for the LA Unified’s vacant District 1 seat, and it’s someone quite familiar with the job.

Genethia Hayes, a former board member and president, told LA School Report yesterday that she would run if there’s an election and would serve if she were appointed. Hayes lost her seat in 2003 to Marguerite LaMotte, whose death last month created the vacancy.

The means by which the board will fill the seat is the subject of tonight’s special board meeting, starting at 6:15. The six members are expected to vote on whether to fill the seat by appointment or through an election, which could require a runoff if no candidate passes 50 percent of the vote.

The decision was postponed from last month to wait until LaMotte’s funeral had taken place.

Until now, George McKenna, 73, a retired LA Unified administrator, has been the most visible candidate expressing a desire to hold the seat. He has won the support of dozens of community groups and civic leaders, including U.S. Representatives Maxine Waters and Karen Bass.

McKenna initially said he would only serve through an appointment. But the LA Times now reports that he said he would run in an election. And, no doubt, others would, too.

One possibility is Alex Johnson, an education aide to LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Another is Jimmie Woods-Gray, a former LA Unified teacher who was recently appointed as a fire commissioner by Mayor Eric Garcetti.

After leaving the board, Hayes, 68, served served eight years as a fire commissioner, including seven as president of the commission.

In an interview, she said District 1 has changed dramatically since she was on the board, becoming much more diverse than the majority African-American community it was more than a decade ago, in part due to boundary changes that brought in more Latino families.

The result, she said, is a district in which parents care less about ideological divides than quality education.

“Most parents I talk to are not particularly interested in union bashing or union loving, in charter bashing or charter loving,” she said. “They just want a solid school experience, schools run well, faculties well-trained and teachers who understand youngsters and their cultures and the pressure we’re under as familes.”

Previous Posts: Pressures are building on how and when to fill LaMotte’s LAUSD seat; The LA Unified board postponed until January filling a board vacancy; Black Leaders Speak Out on How to Fill LaMotte Seat.

LA Country Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas

The sides are digging in.

With the holidays offering no break for the forces pushing to fill the vacant LA Unified school board’s District 1 seat, factions have firmly aligned behind US Representative Maxine Waters, for an appointment, and LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, for an election.

Whatever the six board members decide at a special meeting tomorrow night, the eventual replacement for Marguerite LaMotte, who died Dec. 5, will serve out a term that runs through mid-2015.

“A healthy debate underway continued over the holidays,” Ridley-Thomas told LA School Report. “That reflects the intensity of interest in the subject at hand, and that’s appropriate.”

It’s unclear what’s going to happen tomorrow, apart from a lively debate and comment from an unlimited number of speakers. The members could vote for an election or appoint a replacement right away. They could send the matter to a committee for further review. They could delay a decision, pending legal review of the options.

US Representative Maxine Waters

Resolution is further clouded by possible conflicts and scheduling issues involving the California Education Code, the Los Angeles City Charter, the city Election Code and LA County. So uncertain is the outcome that LaMotte’s successor could emerge as soon as tomorrow night through an appointment, or as distant as August 12, a date mentioned in a legal opinion from the county obtained by LA School Report (more on that later).

For now, the board appears split – with three members known to favoring an election – Board President Richard Vladovic, Tamar Galatzan and Monica Garcia — while Monica Ratliff and Bennett Kayser favor an appointment. Steve Zimmer has not declared a position.

Meanwhile, the lobbying and public-support building continues.

A coalition of organizations and individuals, led by Waters and her Congressional colleague, Karen Bass, has organized rallies, launched a website and circulated emails promoting George McKenna, a former administrator, for appointment to the seat. The surprise here is Bass. Last month she co-signed a commentary with Ridley-Thomas and City Council President Herb Wesson, urging the school board to choose a successor by election.

But in a statement four days later, she explained her change of heart. Noting the big issues looming for the district, she said, “These decisions will impact students—especially students from South Los Angeles—for years to come. Although I supported an election, it appears an election cannot be held in time for these important funding deadlines, and there is no way that District One cannot have a representative in these critical decisions.”

Bass’s change in position suggests that anything could happen — even an appointment who is not McKenna.

A petition drive has been underway for weeks to urge the board to consider Jimmie Woods Gray, a former teacher and UTLA activist. She would have strong support from the teachers union, UTLA, which might view McKenna less energetically because of his stated support for policy positions advocated by Superintendent John Deasy.

Those pushing for an election have been joined by six of the nine members of the California Legislative Black Caucus, who have circulated a letter urging the school board to hold a special election. The signatories include Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, the supervisor’s son, who recently won a special election for a seat in the state Assembly.  A competing petition drive is also underway.

The pro-election forces may have gotten some encouraging news through Mark Ridley-Thomas, who asked the LA Board of Supervisor’s counsel’s office to analyze the options. In his response, County Counsel John Krattli said the school board has 60 days from the time the vacancy occurred to decide how to fill the seat, putting the deadline at February 3.

But without action by then from the board, the memo says “the county superintendent of schools must order an election” in accordance with the California Education Code and the California Elections Code.

Thus, any 3-3 vote that leaves the board deadlocked on appointment or election would default to an election.

The memo also says consolidating the election with the statewide election schedule for June 3 would pose an estimated cost of $623,000.

LaMotte, the only African-American on the board, held her seat for a decade, representing a district in which blacks now hold only a slim majority over a growing Latino community. The groups aligned with Waters and Ridley-Thomas are largely composed of African Americans.

No comparable coalitions have emerged from the Latino community.

*This version reflects a board decision today to remove limits on the number of people who can address the board prior to any action.

Previous Posts: Morning Read: LA Unified board waits until mourning; LA Unified board postponed until Jan. 7 a vote to fill LaMotte seat; Ridley-Thomas and Waters duke it out to fill LAUSD seat.

The LA Unified school board today postponed until next month any consideration of how to fill the board seat left vacant by the death of Marguerite LaMotte, bowing to a wave of pleas from speakers asking the board to wait until after her funeral.

A 3-3 vote on a motion to allow discussion to begin effectively killed the effort. A six-member board requires four votes for any measure to pass.

President Richard Vladovic, Tamar Galatzan and Monica Garcia voted in favor of consideration; Steve Zimmer, Bennett Kayser and Monica Ratliff voted to wait. The board then voted unanimously to schedule a special meeting Jan. 7, when a debate will begin over whether to fill the seat through a special election or a board appointment.

The funeral for LaMotte, who died Dec. 5, is scheduled for Saturday.

The board’s first vote was preceded by a parade of speakers, a majority of whom urged the members to defer action out of respect for LaMotte’s family and legacy.

Typical of the passion was that from Patricia Sanders, vice president of the New Frontier Democratic Club, who argued that it was “time to memorialize and funeralize” LaMotte, who, she said, “would be pissed off to the highest point of pissivisity,” were the board to act so quickly after the death of another member.

The notion of deferring action was scarcely raised publicly until US Representative Maxine Waters, who had strongly campaigned to fill the seat by appointment, issued a press release hours before the meeting, calling for a delay.

It was also around the same time that speculation arose that the board was lining up, 4-2, in favor of approving a special election, rather than an appointment.

Waters was the first speaker at the meeting to address the board and told the members that it was “premature” to act out of respect to LaMotte and her family. That, she said, would violate “African-American custom and practice.”

Ratliff, who grew emotional during an iPad discussion earlier, was wiping her eyes as Waters concluded.

Altogether, about a dozen speakers echoed Waters’ sentiments, some of them signatories to a Waters-supported effort over the weekend to advanced George McKenna, a former LA Unified administrator, as an ideal candidate for appointment. A website promoting McKenna that included Waters’ and other community leaders as supporters made no argument to defer board action.

McKenna attended the board meeting but left before the voting.

Nearly as many speakers, including LA Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, argued strongly for a special election, saying black Americans had struggled too long for voting rights, and they should not be denied them in this case.

Xavier Thompson, president of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Los Angeles and Southern California, acknowledged the pain and division over replacing LaMotte and the scheduling issues, but said, “At the end of the day we live in a democratic society. If we err, let’s err on the side of the people. Let the people speak.”

Prior to the vote, Ridley-Thomas told LA School Report, “There’s a lot to be done, which includes respecting the family and the memory of Ms. LaMotte. I do not want a delay to be a tactic to adversely affect the democratic process. So all of this has to be dealt with in terms of the timeline that’s dictated by law. And I want to be confident that delay is not tactical with respect to a strategy to upend the people’s right to vote. Those who are advocating for a delay are really advocating for an appointment. So it causes me to wonder what’s up.”

Oddly, the competing points of view were not necessarily mutually exclusive. Proponents of delaying succession did not argue one way or another for an election or appointment, and those favoring a special election expressed no opposition to waiting in their remarks to the board.

The practical effect of the board’s decision to wait is that the seat remains vacant at least another three weeks. Despite the holidays, it gives proponents added time to build support for their preferred method of replacement and lobby board members.

Should the board vote to appoint someone, that could then occur at any time. But in the case of a special election, the city has told the school district that it needs at least 110 days to prepare for an election that does not fall on an election day not already scheduled.

In either case, the successor would only serve out a term that ends in mid-2015.

The vote followed another emotional debate, over whether the district would begin or delay — yet again — phase 2 of iPad distribution, which had been approved last month to go forward

An agenda item that amended the plan was postponed to the board’s Jan. 14 meeting. But later, a resolution from Galatzan and Garcia to start the plan as passed last month was defeated in a 3-3 vote.

Both Galatzan and Garcia argued fiercely that a further delay was unfair to district students in 38 schools waiting for iPads and those in seven high schools waiting for laptops, as well as students in all other district schools waiting for their digital devices in subsequent phases of distribution.

Ratliff, who chairs the board’s technology committee, said she wanted to honor LaMotte before acting and also wanted the Bond Oversight Committee, which is meeting tomorrow, to weigh in on any changes.

After Galatzan suggested some members might be just trying to kill the program, Ratliff said, “I don’t think that’s accurate,” and began crying. “I didn’t realize how much impact on me this loss is having.”

Previous Posts: LaMotte Funeral Scheduled for Dec. 21, Closed to Public; Black Leaders Speak Out on How to Fill LaMotte Seat; In Replacing LaMotte on LAUSD Board, Zimmer is Key.

A 3-3 vote to consider the options effectively killed the motion to take up the matter four votes were required for passage. President Richard Vladovic, Tamar Galatzan and Monica Garcia voted to waive a rule that would have opened the door to immediate consideration, while Bennett Kayser, Monica Ratliff and Steve Zimmer voted against the waiver.

The board then voted unanimously to take up the issue at a special meeting on Jan. 7.