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Monica Garcia Takes a Job, Becomes Part-Timer on Board

Hillel Aron | September 12, 2013



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Garcia LAUSD Board Meeting 9:10:13In an under-the-radar move, Monica Garcia has taken a job in LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina‘s office, which means she’s now a part-time member of the LA Unified school board.

“For seven years, I did the LAUSD Board member job full time,” Garcia told LA School Report. “While I appreciated that intense focus on education, I took this opportunity that came through with Supervisor Molina’s office. I wanted to learn. I respect her a lot. She is a model for serving for the public.”

Garcia’s official title is Senior Legislative Deputy, focusing on three areas in particular: the LA County Office of Education, the Probation Department and the Fire Department. She took the job in June, shortly before her six-year tenure as school board president came to an end.

“Certainly, my role changed, and it did give me an opportunity to accept a new responsibility,” said Garcia. “Change is good.”

School Board members have the choice of either working full-time, earning $45,637 a year, or part-time, making $26,347 with the freedom to take another job. Besides Garcia, only one other member of the board is part-time, Tamar Galatzan, who has a full-time job as an assistant city attorney.

It’s worth noting that both part-timers, Garcia and Galatzan, have settled into their role as the minority faction on the school board, after years in the majority. On a number of votes at Tuesday’s Board Meeting, they found themselves on the losing end of 5-2 decisions.

Garcia had been rumored to be considering a run for State Assembly in 2014, but she said she is “one hundred percent” not running and is committed to finishing off her last three years on the School Board.

“There’s a lot to do,” she said. “People don’t understand how much there is to do.”

Previous posts: LAT Editorial: Full-Time Pay for Full-Time Board JobsIs Monica Garcia Running For State Assembly?Board President Garcia Talks Policy & Politics

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