Editorial: What L.A. needs from Mayor Karen Bass
There have been a lot of talk the past year about how the city of Los Angeles is facing massive cutbacks in its budget. And, as we learned earlier this year, those talk-show hosts, the L.A. Times, the CBS affiliate, the Times’ reporter and editors have their own ways of expressing how much they hate the city government. In their latest missive, they have focused on the city’s former mayor, Mark Ridley-Thomas’s apparent lack of communication with the public.
For the third time in as many months, we are writing a column, telling you about an issue that is not even in the headlines of our city newspapers: how the L.A. Unified School District needs its new mayor. It is time for L.A.’s citizens to get involved to find a new mayor they can be proud of.
The school district has been under the auspices of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education for 42 years. The board has been plagued by controversy and has a few “tough” policies that are a burden on parents. Yet, there has been a lack of communication and a lack of leadership by the board.
When a large number of students are failing in class and when students are not getting the attention that they need, it is necessary to take action.
Last year, L.A. Unified announced changes to the way it grades students, adding more points to a failing grade which previously had only two points. The changes seemed too little too late, so the voters of Los Angeles passed Measure C.
There was no communication with the public and the school board was criticized. The board then chose to adopt a new grading system, which is based on the new Common Core curriculum.
Many of us want a change in leadership.
The district is now trying to get the voters to approve the $3 billion bond issue this year. A vote must be taken in March, or the bond will not pass. At that time, we will be hearing from the new board of education.
All of the past statements and actions