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Update: Reform Coalition Faces Power Vacuum
Education reformers met Friday afternoon to discuss the disastrous results of the 2013 School Board elections and to consider what form the their efforts should take in the future. “It was a meeting to discuss what had happened in my election and what we should think about the future of LAUSD,” said Kate Anderson, who unsuccessfully...
By Hillel Aron | June 6, 2013
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Campaign 2013: What Next for the Coalition for School Reform?
“The Reformers Are Dead, Long Live the Reformers,” ran the headline to a story by Howard Blume, noting that reformers faced an “uncertain future” after losing two out of three School Board races. But that story was actually written in 2003 — back when Blume was writing for the LA Weekly rather than his current gig...
By Hillel Aron | May 30, 2013
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New Mayor’s Wife Has School Reform Past
A recent LA Times piece looks at Amy Wakeland, wife of newly elected Mayor Eric Garcetti, calling her “a powerful player in [Garcetti’s] political life” and noting that in the past she has worked for unnamed L.A. Unified School District board candidates. A helpful tipster pointed out to us that in 2003, Wakeland served as spokesperson for former...
By Hillel Aron | May 28, 2013
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Campaign 2013: How Ratliff Won (& Reformers Lost)*
The results are (mostly) in, and the LAUSD School Board District 6 election looks like the shock result of the evening, with Monica Ratliff having apparently defeated Antonio Sanchez, 52 percent to 48 percent — a complete reversal from the primary results in which Sanchez bested Ratliff by 10 points. Sanchez has now conceded the...
By Hillel Aron | May 22, 2013
Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools
Podcast: What a Mentorship Mindset Can Do for Student Motivation
Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12 Education
Teen Activist Rhea Maniar on the Power of Abortion to Turn Out Young Voters
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Election Day: Voter Turnout Will Determine Outcome
In today’s School Board District 6 election, Antonio Sanchez remains the strong favorite over his opponent, Monica Ratliff, thanks in part to the overwhelming advantage in campaign contributions to both Sanchez’s campaign and two independent campaigns on his behalf. Sanchez’s Latino surname and fluency in Spanish is also a built-in advantage (though Ratliff’s mother is from Mexico). “You’re...
By Hillel Aron | May 21, 2013
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Campaign: Walking San Fernando with Antonio Sanchez
Antonio Sanchez always introduces himself to voters the same way, telling them within ten seconds that he grew up in Pacoima, went to San Fernando High School, and graduated form Cal State Northridge before going on to UCLA. And so when he canvases precincts in San Fernando on Saturday, he knows most of the streets. He...
By Hillel Aron | May 20, 2013
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Reform Coalition Focuses Massive War Chest on Mailers
As of May 4, the independent expenditure (IE) committee known as the Coalition for School Reform had a staggering $850,000 left in the bank, according to papers filed with the City Ethics Commission. That dwarfs the $55,000 left in the coffers of the Antonio Sanchez campaign, whom the Coalition is supporting, as well as the $21,000 held by the Monica...
By Hillel Aron | May 16, 2013
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Why the Coalition’s Going All Out to Elect Sanchez
The Coalition for School Reform has already spent nearly $200,000 since the March 5th primary to support Antonio Sanchez‘s bid to replace Nury Martinez as District 6 Board Member. With around $1 million left in the bank thanks to recent donations by former Mayor Richard Riordan ($50,000), New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ($350,000), and philanthropist /...
By Hillel Aron | May 1, 2013
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Undaunted, NYC Mayor Gives $350,000 to Reform Coalition
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has given another $350,000 to the Coalition for School Reform, an independent expenditure (IE) group supporting Antonio Sanchez for School Board in the East Valley District 6 LAUSD School Board race that will be decided May 21. “For years, the funding in these sorts of races was only on...
By Hillel Aron | April 25, 2013
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Morning Read: Did UTLA Leaders Make a Deal With Candidate?
Rumor of Deal Roils Teachers Union The leadership of the Los Angeles teachers union is roiled over whether its officials made a private deal with a Board of Education candidate whom critics view as an ally of anti-labor forces. LA Times New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Donates $350,000 to LAUSD Reformer’s Campaign With the runoff...
By LA School Report | April 25, 2013