LAUSD Should Meet Charter School Needs

* Scott Harris’ column on the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Charter School policies (Aug. 19) missed the point of the debate.

The problem here is not complicated. The LAUSD has an obligation to the students, parents and teachers at Vaughn Street School to do whatever is necessary to fulfill the promises made by the Charter School law.

It also has an obligation to provide the school with all of the funds it was promised to achieve its goals. Bureaucratic nickel-and-diming is one of the problems charter schools are fleeing. It will not contribute to their success. The kids at Vaughn Street School shouldn’t have to suffer a huge hit to their budget because the district’s platoon of attorneys is working overtime to justify the reduction instead of figuring out how to help them get what they need and are owed.

Charter Schools were created because of the tremendous frustration with our educational establishment and its inability to respond to the needs of parents and students. It was indeed intended to set at least some schools free from bureaucratic binding. It promised schools like Vaughn Street the freedom to chart their own course.

Thousands of parents throughout the district have been clamoring for schools that are more responsive to the educational needs of their children. The district has been downright resistant to change and even when efforts toward reform are made, they are often crippled by bureaucratic inertia. The enormous size of the district actively works against innovation and change.

And now they are at it again.

The promise made to Vaughn Street should be honored. The LAUSD should do more than talk about good intentions. Good intentions are not enough. I want the district to creatively and actively get Vaughn Street the resources it needs to succeed--and I will do everything I can to help them do that. If that is going to be labeled political expediency, I can live with it.

One of the few bright lights in Los Angeles education deserves better than broken promises and bureaucratic excuses. Our kids can’t wait while the district fiddles.

RICHARD KATZ

Sacramento

Katz represents the 39th Assembly District in the California Legislature.