Principals Deny Classroom Campaigns

Responding to allegations that teachers have used their classrooms to campaign illegally against the school voucher initiative, officials at three San Fernando Valley schools strongly denied Friday that any wrongdoing had occurred.

The principals of Germain Street, Lockhurst Drive and Mayall Street elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District said accusations are unfounded that teachers had illegally distributed literature or aired videos against Proposition 174, which would give parents tax-funded vouchers to help pay tuition at private and parochial academies.

The three schools were among 18 campuses statewide that the initiative’s backers said were the site of campaign improprieties. On Thursday, pro-voucher campaign leaders called on the state attorney general’s office to investigate such activities, which would represent an improper use of taxpayer money, they said.

Lockhurst Drive Principal Ilene Meyers said her staff had been instructed to not hand out politically oriented literature during class time. The initiative’s sponsors have made the charge, citing an unidentified parent.

“I have absolutely no evidence of anything like this happening,” she said. “This claim is being made by some unidentified source.”

At Germain Street, Principal Linda Pacheco acknowledged that a teacher had sent anti-Proposition 174 literature home with students but said the woman had done so accidentally, passing out material that was intended for other teachers during an after-school meeting.