Your donation will help us produce journalism like this. Please give today.

Newly elected School Board member Monica Ratliff sat down with Warren Olney yesterday on KCRW’s Which Way, LA?. You can listen below, the interview starts at around the 8:45 mark:

Some highlights:

On why she voted for Dr. Richard Vladovic for School Board President: “The two nominees were Tamar [Galatzan] and Richard. And I asked each of them to essentially state their vision for the Board presidency. And that made a huge difference to me, what they said. I appreciated that Richard Vladovic had a vision, if you will, in terms of wanting our school district to be stronger, to win people back, to focus on education.”

On Superintendent John Deasy’s threat to resign should Dr. Richard Vladovic become the next Board president: “I didn’t have any inkling that he made that statement.”

On Vladovic’s promise to fire Deasy (as reported in LA Weekly): “I am actually very saddened by both of those assertions. I think that’s not appropriate. I think we’re all bigger than that. And I’m hoping as we move forward that people are able to put aside these differences they had, because I think this is a real opportunity.”

On local control: “In terms of choosing what text books you’re going to use, or what supplemental materials you’re going to use, how you’re going to deliver instruction. I don’t think this should be top down. I think this is something that has to be determined by the school sites, based on the needs of the students and the community.”

On Superintendent Deasy’s plan to buy iPads for every student and teacher: “If they were five dollars a piece, I would say yes, in a heartbeat. It would have made more sense to give more flexibility to the school sites to determine their technology needs. Because what’s important to me is that every student has access to that technology. Now how we do it, the configuration? I would have preferred a little bit more discussion and dialogue about that. Now, the train, in a way, has left the station. So what’s important to me now is making sure that this rollout is successful. Because the last thing I want is for this district to fail in this area.”

Previous posts: Ratliff Explains Request for Speeches, Vladovic Vote; Vladovic Defeats Galatzan for Board President; “Motley Crew” Attend Ratliff Campaign Debt Fundraiser; Board Member-Elect Clarifies Teacher Pay Position