The School Board Race

On Tuesday, San fernando Valley residents will vote for two members of the Los Angeles Board of Education. The Times asked the two candidates in the East Valley and the seven in the West Valley questions on issues before the board. DISTRICT 4: THE WEST VALLEY

THE CANDIDATES DAVID ARMOR, 49 A consultant, former Rand Corp. social science analyst, he is a former Harvard and UCLA education-sociology professor and a mamber of the National Council of Education Research. He ran for Congress, unsuccessfully, in 1982. BETTY BLAKE, 56 A community education volunteer, she has held a variety of leadership positions in Valley PTAs since 1958 and has served on a number of Los Angeles school district committees, including ones dealing with textbook selection, dropout prevention and math improvement. CAROLYN BRENT, 61 A former Los Angles schoolteacher for 27 years, she holds a doctorate in the sociology of education and is now on a part-time teaching contract with Los Angeles schools. ELIZABETH GINSBURG, 60 A government and history teacher at Chatsworth High School, she has been a teacher in Los Angeles city schools for 20 years. She holds a master’s degree from Teachers’ College at Columbia University and a special-education credential from California State University, Northridge. She has sat on the board of Southern California Social Science Assn. and on a committee of National Council for Social Studies. CLAUDE PARRISH, 37 A businessman, he is a former leasing agent for ABC Entertainment Center in Century City and has a stockbroker’s license. zhe ran for Congress in 1984. CARIE VACAR, 38 She is chairman of Valley Organization for Improved Childhood Education. She spent 12 years teaching in Los Angeles schools. Using VOICE as a platform, she has spoken against school closings and conversion of vacant schools into shelters for homeless. ROBERT WORTH, 34

An adult education training specialist with Farmers Insurance, he holds a master’s degree in education from Cal State, Northridge. He is a tutor in remedial math and reading. He has a law degree from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law.

Q: SCHOOL DROPOUTS The school district says 44% of the students who enter city high schools do not graduate. What would you do about that?

Armor: We can keep and attract more students by increased emphasis on vocational programs. Increased instruction in basic skills can prevent future failure. Blake: Review curriculum, instruction and counseling in schools with the highest dropout rates; better inform students of alternatives; better, more thorough follow-up of chronic absentees. Brent: Revise curriculum to meet the needs of all students. Through counseling and guidance, help students to understand that education enhances job options and their lives. Ginsburg: Train teachers to identify potentials as early as possible. Individual counseling and remediation to produce success. Small classes, individual attention, home involvement to build motivation. Parrish: Stem the flow of good teachers, restore order in the classroom, eliminate drugs. Show students it is important to graduate if they want a good career by expanding the intern program so students have a feel for the real world of business and industry. Vacar: Take much of the excessive paper work out of the hands of teachers so they can focus their attention on teaching. Form school committees to coordinate more parent-teacher-child activities on weekends and evenings. Hire more guidance counselors. Provide up-to-date vocational training. Worth: Make the classroom a more desirable place: Reduce the student-teacher ratio to increase attention given to each student. Increase the number of courses of interest, such as computer and environmental studies. Counsel potential dropouts. Q: ATTRACTING TEACHERS The best and brightest students today are often not attracted to careers in education. What would you do to get the district more actively involved in teacher preparation?

Armor: Teachers with good academic backgrounds, not just education majors, are needed. The district should give new teachers special training in practical classroom management techniques. Blake: Have secondary counselors seek to interest high-achieving students in teaching; invite teacher-credential candidates to work as paid teaching assistants. Brent: Offer salaries comparable to professionals in other fields. Provide student loans for those pursuing teaching credentials. In general, create a greater awareness of the important role teachers play in society. Ginsburg: Recruit the most idealistic, bright, caring, creative people by offering rewards, scholarships. Make salaries and conditions more competitive with other fields. Use peer teaching by older students to provide role models and excite interest in teaching as a career. Parrish: We will continue to find it extremely difficult to hire people when the school system insists that all new teachers start their career at schools far from home and in schools that are not any safer for the student than the teacher. Vacar: Work closer with colleges to develop academic and on-the-job curriculum to better prepare teachers. Teachers should have more in-service training, more input in decision making, more chance for advancement and higher salaries. Worth: Teachers who are able to see results will always be more motivated. Reduce class size. Reduce teacher obligations to non-teaching, clerical duties. Salaries should be based not only on a teacher’s being there, but also (as it is partly) upon degree attainment, specialization, merit for superior performance; more should be paid for working in “hazardous” areas. Q: DAY CARE Finding good day care is a growing concern among working parents. Do you believe the school district should expand before- and after-school care services for school-age children?

Armor: I would work to form cooperative programs with private industry and nonprofit groups to increase before- and after-school child care centers. Blake: Yes; encourage responsible, well-screened agencies to operate low-cost programs on school grounds and lobby for necessary state funds to facilitate such programs. Brent: Child care centers should be attached to every elementary school. I would also like to see that supervision is available on the school sites from early morning until 6 p.m. Ginsburg: Identify geographic areas where child care is needed. Provide facilities within the communities and safe transportation to bring children from neighboring areas. Parrish: Many senior citizens would love to volunteer for a special program to care for latchkey children. I would offer such a program as one of my first proposals as a new board member. Vacar: I support day care expansion in underutilized schools. The district could seek more support from community groups and work more closely with businesses by contracting with them to use available space for the day care of their employees’ children. Worth: I am already on record as supporting such a move. Closed schools that are just sitting vacant and costing the taxpayers money, and that have little or no chance for being reopened in the near future should be used for just such a purpose. Q: SCHOOL CLOSURES How would you vote if closing a West Valley school for districtwide savings came before the school board? Why?

Armor: Increasing enrollments in the West Valley will prevent any further school closures. Some closed schools will have to be reopened in the near future. Blake: No. Facilities will be needed for projected enrollment growth; additional closings pose a safety hazard or distance problem, and transportation costs cancel any savings. Brent: Schools must be kept open and used for educational purposes. Despite a downturn in recent years, demographic indicators (including increased enrollment) suggest that these schools will be needed in coming years. Ginsburg: The board has already announced that no more schools will be closed due to changing demographics. I believe in the neighborhood school and community roots in the neighborhood school. We need to use any empty facilities for other purposes until they are again needed for educational services. Parrish: You can be sure that I will not betray the best interests of the children of the San Fernando Valley by voting to close their local schools. Vacar: Valley schools have never benefited from districtwide savings generated from school closures; therefore, I would vote against further closures. Worth: I oppose the closure of any additional West Valley schools. Demographics and the rise in the birthrate tell us that such a move is not warranted. Q: PROMOTIONS What would you do to make sure teachers of all races and both sexes have equal opportunities to be promoted into counseling, administrative and district policy-making jobs?

Armor: Promotions should be based on merit, not quotas. Training opportunities should be offered to employees interested in promotion. Blake: Fulfill board members’ legal responsibility to ensure district meets all conditions of signed consent decrees; ensure that affirmative action policies are properly implemented. Brent: Promotion should be based on a combination of exams, previous ratings and oral interviews. We must be rigid about offering the positions according to ranking. Ginsburg: Promote the idea that there be no discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or sex and that promotion should be based on qualifications. A test has to be fair, not culturally biased. Parrish: Make sure that promotional opportunities are not determined by favoritism but by ability, hard work and results. The feeling that teachers’ efforts are useless is a bigger problem than the board or public recognizes and has cost the system many good teachers. Vacar: Work to devise objective evaluation and testing to secure administrative positions and promotions for the most qualified regardless of race or sex. I would help promote studies so that all personnel, especially women, receive equal pay for work of comparable worth. Worth: I have and do support equal promotion opportunities into all of these areas. We need to constantly focus on the issue of quality education for our children. A teacher who qualifies for such a position should be given the opportunity. Q: EXPULSIONS The board has recently decided that any student found carrying weapons or drugs, or who injures a teacher, will be recommended for expulsion. Are you satisfied with the new policy?

Armor: Discipline and safety must be top priorities. Mandatory expulsion should be expanded to include participation in illegal gangs and acts of serious vandalism. Blake: I support continuation of the principal’s having the responsibility for the initial decision and the board’s taking positive action to ensure a safe environment. Brent: Yes, board policies should be toughened further to include harming of other students or administrators. I feel we cannot soften such rules. Ginsburg: Schools must be safe for all students and employees. Society should set up alternative schools for extreme cases. The schools are not equipped for this. An expelled student should be allowed to prove himself so he can be readmitted the following semester. Parrish: We must abide by the same strict standards of conduct and discipline that are in force throughout the private-school sector. We must have a safe, drug-free environment in our classrooms or we cannot even begin to rebuild our educational system. Vacar: I agree with the new tougher expulsion policy; however, I believe that some of the ambiguities inherent in the policy warrant written clarification by the school board. Worth: I support the expulsion of those caught with weapons or pushing drugs. Those who use drugs and have a desire to rid themselves of the problem should be offered the opportunity to attend school-sponsored drug programs. Q: SOCIAL SERVICES Today’s pupils seem to require a lot from the schools. Some do not speak English as a native language. Some face problems like pregnancy, drug addiction and trouble with the law. What can and should the schools do about this?

Armor: Non-English-speaking students must be taught English as quickly as possible. Closer connections between school curriculum and the world of work would help greatly. Blake: Evaluate curriculum, making necessary changes; review (and revise where necessary) test-taking instruction; provide remediation wherever needed; seek parental support in communicating importance of tests to students. Brent: The prime business of the public schools is to provide a quality educational program. This would include teaching English to non-English-speaking students. Problems of pregnancy, delinquency and drug addiction should be in the province of other agencies. Ginsburg: Include stimulating classes that take up above issues in a frank and meaningful way, such as special in-depth courses on sex, child abuse, drug addiction. More direct association with the law from elementary through high school. Parrish: An intern program is the key to showing students why a good education is so important in starting a career. Bilingual education is largely a counterproductive waste of $168 million. We are cheating students when we don’t teach them English. Vacar: Treat the new generation more like the old generation. Make students aware that poor discipline and drug use are unacceptable. Cut out some frills. Focus on English, reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic. Worth: Provide motivated teachers, creative course materials and counseling. I support (as needed) a dual language system for students that are “handicapped” by having English as their “second” language. Separate programs will better aid them--focusing on their special needs while not holding back others. Q: CURRICULUM The schools are about to start classes on nuclear weapons, and it has been proposed that ethics and energy conservation also be taught. Are there other special subjects that you would like to see made part of the curriculum?

Armor: We must improve reading, math, English, the arts and other academic subjects before we add controversial, non-academic subjects such as nuclear policy. Blake: Students have to live in today’s society; state requirements, available instructional time and an ever-expanding curriculum are incompatible; teachers must be trained to deal with controversy as it arises. Brent: The schools must address functional issues of relevance to students today. The fact that students are dropping out is one indication that the curriculum now offered is not relevant to their daily lives. Ginsburg: More emphasis on drug and alcohol abuse. Sex education should include child abuse symptoms and awareness of facts. Problems of environment and ecology, global problems, urban issues. Music and art, incorporated in teaching basics. All should be taught at the maturity level of the child and in a balanced manner. Parrish: We are going further and further away from the basics in the Los Angeles school system and that is precisely what is causing so many of our problems. Our purpose should be to produce students skilled in the basics, able to cope in the real world. Vacar: I would like to see students learn more about ethics, morals and values. Schools should concentrate on teaching the basics but should touch upon all subjects using an unbiased presentation. Controversial subjects should be predominantly for high-school-age children. Worth: Absolutely. Learning about controversial topics that concern us in our daily lives is what education is all about. I would consider other topics for the classroom, including in-depth analysis of capital punishment and the potential for rehabilitation of criminals. Q: DESEGREGATION The school board may be faced with another court challenge over desegregation. Do you agree with the board’s decision to fight any new attempt to bring about desegregation through court action? Why?

Armor: I was a member of the team that stopped forced busing in Los Angeles. I will strongly oppose any attempt to restore it. Forced busing is a failed policy. Blake: Yes; anyone familiar with the case knows that (certainly since 1969) the district is not guilty of de jure segregation and should defend itself. Brent: In view of our changing demographics, we must redefine the term “minority.” I want to see integrated schools but it must be accompanied by support systems that will make it successful. Going back to 1969 will not serve today’s students. Ginsburg: Yes. The courts have studied this matter carefully and reached a reasonable decision. Housing patterns created segregation, not schools. It is much wiser to spend our money today to provide quality education for all than to spend it on unnecessary court cases. Parrish: I support the board on their decision to fight any renewed possibility of forced busing. The ridiculous waste of busing students and the hardship on all students proved that forced busing was one of the worst disasters to ever hit the Los Angeles school system. Vacar: Yes. I would have voted to appeal the U.S. appeals court ruling that the NAACP may press suit against the district for intentional segregation from 1969 to 1981, because after 1969 the district was closely monitored by a state court, and, in my opinion, it would be almost impossible to prove that de jure segregation had occurred. Worth: I will fight any new desegregation litigation. The board’s decision was the right one. All children should be allowed to get a quality education in their neighborhood schools. Sitting on a bus unnecessarily simply wastes valuable time. Q: TRANSPORTATION Bus transportation was once provided for students who lived a long way from their schools or who lived in areas hard to get to. This ended in 1981 for budget reasons. Now many must cross railroad tracks and busy streets. Do you believe the transportation should be revived? How should the district fund it?

Armor: I support home-to-school transportation for distance or hazard. State law must be changed so that we receive the same funding as other districts. Blake: The policy should be reviewed and costs for “hazard” and “distance” separated; “hazard” transportation should be reinstated as funds are available. Brent: It is the responsibility of the schools to see that students arrive safely. The funding for this kind of transportation is small in comparison to other needs. Funding must be allocated for transportation on a school-by-school basis. Ginsburg: Every child is entitled to a safe school and a safe way to get to school. Therefore, it should be revived. Money should come from the same funds that finance all phases of the educational program, school crossing guards and the ordinary school bus program. Parrish: Funds can be available if waste is eliminated. Vacar: Yes, hazard and distance transportation should be revived. With cuts in the administrative bureaucracy and in some mismanaged programs, with a better allocation of funds to areas of need, the district could easily fund it. Worth: If the budget can handle hazard and distance transportation, I would support its revival. However, I believe that the parents have the opportunity and duty to assist in protecting the safety of their children. Candidates were asked for brief responses to questions reflecting issues arising before the Los Angeles Board of Education. In some cases, the answers have been edited for space.