Mailbag: Let Blumenfeld be ‘our voice’

Just two weeks ago, the state Court of Appeals ruled on the Vergara case and said that the Legislature needs to deal with the extreme laws on teacher tenure.

Why does this matter to you? Andrew Blumenfeld is running for state Assembly and the primary is June 7.

Your vote for Andrew Blumenfeld for state Assembly will help change the major education laws in the Legislature for the first time in a generation.

These education laws are in dire need of reform. They force schools to make tenure decisions in 18 months, putting school boards in the impossible position of either granting a lifetime appointment to a teacher they have only recently employed, or firing them and risking losing someone who may have turned out to be one of their best. Teachers and children are penalized by such an extreme policy.

Andrew has the unique experience of having served as an elected school board member in a high-income community, while also teaching in a different school system with children who are almost all living in poverty. Andrew has been successful in raising outcomes for kids in both neighborhoods. He fully understands the educational challenges across the region, and knows how problem policy at the state level can create barriers for communities trying to maintain excellent schools.

The Vergara ruling puts these issues back where they belong: at the forefront of the conversation in the state Legislature. We need our voice represented by someone who has the deep knowledge, intellect and leadership to deliver the best results for kids and schools. Now more than ever, we need Andrew Blumenfeld in the state Assembly.

Cindy Wilcox
La Cañada

The writer is a retired member of the La Cañada Unified School Board, on which she served from 2003-11.