California Governor’s Race From an Education Perspective

“Budgets are statements of values, and it is inexcusable to me that California is number one in per prisoner spending, and number 41 in per pupil spending”

- Candidate Delaine Eastin

It has been almost four years since John Deasy was forced to resign from the LAUSD after a failed $1.3 billion iPad program and spearheading the “disastrous” MiSiS computer system, which cost the district over $189 million. The LAUSD had promoted him to the role of Superintendent “without so much as a job interview” and ignored his “shady history of allegedly lying about his credentials and snatching up money wherever he [could] find it”. Among the remnants of his tenure is the District’s fractured relationship with its teachers whom he constantly bullied as he led the country’s second-largest school district.

While Monica Garcia and the rest of the LAUSD Board deserve the ultimate blame for the damage that Deasy did to the LAUSD, Antonio Villaraigosa’s role in bringing him to the district should not be ignored. As the mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa made “all the moves behind the scenes to make [Deasy’s promotion] happen.” He praised the appointment by stating that “the Los Angeles Unified School District is lucky to have him”. If he could do that much damage as mayor, imagine what would happen to public education if Eli Broad’s puppet takes control of the Governor’s mansion.

For anyone who supports public education, defeating Villaraigosa must be a priority. With this in mind, I forwarded the following questions to the four candidates that I thought would be the most deserving of my vote:

1. State Senator Jim Beall has introduced SB 1362 Charter schools: petitions: chartering authority duties: oversight costs which would provide for greater oversight of charter schools. As governor will you sign this bill?
2. California consistently spends less per student on education than most other states. Would you commit to improving this? If so, how?
3. Do you support the NAACP’s call for a moratorium on charter schools?

Gavin Newsom:

Early on in this election cycle, I would have thought that Newsom would have been my candidate of choice. His political bravery in taking on marriage equality as mayor of San…