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East LA Debate: D2 Challengers Pile On LAUSD
Challengers at last night’s District 2 debate in El Sereno rarely invoked School Board President Monica Garcia‘s name, even though she was sitting there onstage with them. But they attacked the incumbent indirectly, with vehement criticisms of LAUSD policies and decisions (regarding standardized tests, charters schools and budget cuts) as well as Superintendent John Deasy, who...
By Hillel Aron | February 12, 2013
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District 2 Candidate Skeels’ Grassroots Campaign
There is, arguably, just one School Board candidate running a truly grassroots campaign built on dozens of volunteers and more than a hundred* small contributions of as little as $5 — and little else by way of outside support. His name is Robert Skeels. Skeels is one of several candidates running for the Eastside District...
By Hillel Aron | February 8, 2013
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Reform Coalition Launches TV Ads
LA School Report has learned that the Coalition for School Reform will begin airing television advertisements for each of its slate of three candidates starting later this week. Here is the first ad, for Antonio Sanchez: Producing TV spots and buying airtime is very expensive. That’s one reason there hasn’t been a substantial TV campaign...
By Hillel Aron | February 5, 2013
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UTLA Focus: Defend Zimmer, Defeat Garcia
As KPCC reported on Friday, United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) has endorsed Eric Garcetti for Mayor but has no plans to spend any money to campaign for him. “We’re focusing our money on the School Board races,” UTLA secondary Vice President Gregg Solkovits explained to LA School Report. But UTLA won’t be focusing equally on...
By Hillel Aron | February 5, 2013
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East Valley Forum: Differences Over Deasy, Evaluation, & Dismissal
Thursday night’s School Board candidates forum offered three political newcomers a chance to introduce themselves to voters of the East Valley’s District 6. Monica Ratliff introduced herself to the assembled group of community members and reporters as a teacher of a high-performing public school (San Pedro Elementary) in one of the poorest areas in the...
By Hillel Aron | February 1, 2013
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Preview: Little-Known Candidates Debut at District 6 Forum
Now whittled down to three candidates — Maria Cano, Antonio Sanchez, and Monica Ratliff — the race for the East Valley’s District 6 features a cast of relative unknowns endorsed by the teachers union. However, one of them — newcomer Antonio Sanchez — is the front-runner by virtue of the additional endorsements and independent expenditure...
By Hillel Aron | January 31, 2013
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On the Ballot, Everyone’s a “Teacher”
When it comes to running for School Board, it’s good to be a teacher. No less than five out of 11 candidates — Annamarie Montanez, current Board Member Steve Zimmer, Isabel Vazquez, Abelardo Diaz, and Monica Ratliff — are listed on the ballot as “teacher” (whether they’re currently in the classroom or not). Two other candidates list their jobs...
By Hillel Aron | January 30, 2013
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Reform Coalition Reports $1.2 Million Raised
The Coalition for School Reform reported over $1.2 million raised during the first 19 days of the year, according to campaign disclosure statements obtained from the City Ethics Commission (download document here). The Coalition is, which is supporting School Board candidates Monica Garcia, Kate Anderson and Antonio Sanchez, was also major force in the 2011 School...
By Hillel Aron | January 29, 2013
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Reform Coalition Weighs In for Anderson, Sanchez, & Garcia
Late on Friday, the Coalition for School Reform, an Independent Expenditure (IE) committee, filed paperwork indicating that it had spent its first money: $45,457 for District 4 candidate Kate Anderson, $33,431 for District 6 candidate Antonio Sanchez and $29,238 for District 2 incumbent Monica Garcia. Most of the money went to The Feldman Group, which has...
By Hillel Aron | January 28, 2013
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Update: January Contribution Reports, Part 2
A day later, the rest of those campaign contribution reports are in covering the first 19 days of the new year. You’ll see some interesting ups and downs, but as we’ve told you before the big money is going to be coming in through independent expenditure (IE) committees, which are reported separately. In the Eastside’s...
By Hillel Aron | January 25, 2013