Korenstein Blamed for Alienation : Challenger Says Parents Disenchanted With Schools

Los Angeles Board of Education candidate Jerry Horowitz charged Wednesday that incumbent Julie Korenstein has alienated parents and caused them to lose faith in their local schools.

Korenstein “has allowed the situation in the West Valley schools to disintegrate to the point where parents are not only disenchanted with our schools but actively seek means to have their children educated elsewhere,” Horowitz said during a news conference at Sepulveda Junior High School.

Six parents who support Horowitz attended the news conference to talk about their dissatisfaction with Korenstein and their complaints about bad teachers, school violence and overcrowding.

Horowitz and Korenstein face a runoff Tuesday made necessary April 11 when Korenstein fell 57 votes short of the margin she needed to win reelection to the West San Fernando Valley seat.

Principal Angry

Wednesday’s news conference was one of five that Horowitz has scheduled for the last week of the campaign. His choice of a location angered Sepulveda Principal Wilbert Whitaker.

“This is not a violent school,” said Whitaker, who was not told in advance about the event. He said scheduling the event at Sepulveda implied that it was plagued by the problems that Horowitz cited. Asked about the choice of Sepulveda, Horowitz said it was chosen because it was near several freeways.

Asked about Horowitz’s statement that she had been inaccessible and had alienated parents, Korenstein responded angrily: “I have been probably the most accessible board member this district has ever seen.” She said her telephone number is listed, and she meets frequently with parents.

JROTC Program

Among those parents who turned out to support Horowitz was Bobbie Hamilton, who said she has three children at three district schools. Hamilton said she turned against Korenstein because Korenstein opposed establishing a JROTC training program last year at Granada Hills High School, where Hamilton’s son Cameron is a sophomore.

Korenstein’s opposition came despite support for the idea from parents, students and the school principal, Hamilton said, claiming that Korenstein “was the one person who didn’t want it.”

Pat Zeke, another parent at the news conference, said she supports Horowitz because Korenstein had acknowledged her own ineffectiveness at a community meeting. “She said to get anything done, you need four votes . . . so there wasn’t much she could do,” Zeke said.