Board Member and Ass’t. City Attorney Galatzan

Via the Los Angeles Times

Running the schools was a lot simpler before there were federal standards and accountability tests and a commitment to closing the achievement gap for disadvantaged students. Back then, the Los Angeles Unified school board oversaw the district in much the same way as, say, the Police Commission now oversees the Police Department.

Education experts — the superintendent and administrative staff — directed the day-to-day operations of the district, while school board members put the stamp of approval on budgets, contracts, new hires and new curricula and got directly involved in particularly gnarly issues.

A spot on the school board required relatively little time or expertise in those days. But now, that’s no longer the case.

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