You may have thought I was exaggerating in my last post that the race for LAUSD school board is getting national attention. But Diane Ravitch's Blog , a nationally renowned source for public school issues, posted this story from retired public school arts educator and longtime Venice resident Robin Lithgow:
I would add a few things to the list of reasons to vote for Steve Zimmer in the upcoming election for School Board.
1. He is a crusader who has devoted his entire career to public education and knows schools inside and out.
2. He is by far the most “hands on” board member, in schools ALL THE TIME, asking the important questions and supporting strong programs.
3. He is a steady and articulate and passionate supporter of the Arts Education Branch and all of the arts programs in the schools, attending and promoting student arts festivals and events, writing a regular blog for Arts for LA, co-authoring Board resolutions on the arts, and keeping the arts on the Board’s agenda at all times.
4. His opponent, Kate Anderson, is spreading lies. One example (of several – but the one that offends me most personally): yesterday, one of her (presumably paid) canvassers made the unfortunate mistake of knocking on our door and telling my husband to vote for her because “Steve Zimmer is against the arts”! (Some of you may know that only the day before I hosted a house party fund raiser for him precisely because he has been such a strong supporter of the arts in our schools.) Please read on below, and PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD. The corporate “reformers” have bottomless purses and there is no way Zimmer can compete with them in funding for this campaign, but he has an army of teachers, administrators and parents who know what he has done, how brave he is in speaking truth to power, and how important this election is. Robin
You can read the whole post on Diane Ravitch's Blog--and learn a lot more about how much is at stake in this election.
