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School Board President Richard Vladovic, leading his first full meeting on Tuesday, created a slew of new “ad hoc” committees, naming as chairs each of his colleagues — with the exception of his predecessor as president, Monica Garcia.
Vladovic asked Board member Marguerite LaMotte to continue in her role as chair of the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee; somewhat surprisingly, he asked Board member Tamar Galatzan to continue in her role as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.
Galatzan is known as being one of the more fiscally prudent board members; she also ran against Vladovic for president.
As School Board Vice President, Steve Zimmer will chair the Committee of the Whole, which holds in-depth debates on various topics.
Vladovic also proposed the creation of five new ad hoc committees: adult education, to be chaired by Zimmer, who will work closely with Mayor Eric Garcetti‘s staff; Common Core technology, to be chaired by teacher and newly elected member Monica Ratliff; early childhood education, to be chaired by Bennett Kayser; “great schools,” also to be chaired by Ratliff; and one last committee, also to be chaired by Galatzan, which will focus on trying to make Board meetings more efficient.
“I look forward to changing these meetings,” said Vladovic. “We feel they could be more transparent and more efficient.”
That left every Board member besides Vladovic and Garcia as chair of at least one committee. Garcia suggested the creation of a facilities committee, but Vladovic reminded her that facilities fell under the purview of Galatzan’s budget committee.
“Today, committee chairs were given to those board members who requested to chair those committees,” said Michael Trujillo, a media advisor to Vladovic. “As more committees are formed more chairs will be named.”
Besides adding committees, Vladovic also asked instructional superintendents and other senior staff to attend board meetings.
Garcia’s six-year tenure as president was marked, in recent years, by a dearth of committees, allowing some board members visit LAUSD’s downtown headquarters only once or twice a month. Now board members will have to brave the drive downtown at least once a week.
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