Trustees Formally Oppose Prop. 8

The Los Alamitos Unified School District Board of Education unanimously voted this week to oppose Proposition 8, a ballot measure that board members said would create unnecessary bureaucracy.

Proposition 8 would create the position of state school inspector who would evaluate and rank the state’s 8,000 schools.

It would also shift some authority over spending and curriculum from elected school boards to parent-controlled councils at each school.

Supporters, including Gov. Pete Wilson and other Republicans, say it would emphasize school performance and return some local control to parents.

But the Los Alamitos school board sided with opponents such as the state PTA and teachers unions when it passed a resolution saying the “poorly crafted initiative” would “create a new education bureaucracy, reduce accountability and undermine California’s new academic standards.”