Break Up Ineffective LAUSD Bureaucracy

* As a longtime teacher in Woodland Hills Elementary School, I feel well-qualified to comment on the proposed need for breaking up the Los Angeles Unified School District discussed June 18 in “Two More Reasons For Breaking Up the School District” by Douglas Lasken. I support his conclusion. His two reasons are only two of many for breaking up the district into manageable sizes.

The huge L.A. district shelters thousands of inefficient, ineffective drones. One trip to its headquarters Downtown makes it clear why the money never gets to teacher and the child. One viewing of the televised school board meetings makes you understand why we are mired in bureaucracy and double-talk. It is simply out of control!

I teach in a LEARN school and am working harder than ever to maximize the involvement of our community and enhance the education of our students. The LAUSD should be proud of us! Instead they decided we must now pay a utility fee for each child in our school, further diminishing our funds. The budget is kept as complex as possible to avoid dissection and inspection. There is no incentive within the administration for streamlining; instead, there is just job protection and business as usual. Excellent schools feel stymied and strangled by the layers of regulations and mismanagement.

Our union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, sends me lots of propaganda opposing the breakup of the district. Its opposition is really in fear of a splintering of its huge membership base.

What we need most are true advocates for the student , the individual schools and teachers. These are overlooked in the LAUSD. I say, break it up and let’s get to work putting the talent, focus and funding where it should have been in the first place.

SANDY ENFIELD

Woodland Hills