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L.A. School Board Seat is a Pivotal Win for Charter School Movement
5/20/15 | Los Angeles Times

Behind the Headline
Palace Revolt in Los Angeles?
Summer 2010 | Education Next

Ref Rodriguez, the co-founder of a charter school, won a seat on the school board in Los Angeles this week. He defeated Bennett Kayser in what the L.A. Times’ Howard Blume called “a high-cost, bitter proxy campaign between charter advocates and the teachers union, a face-off with implications well beyond Los Angeles.”

An article by Bruce Fuller in the Summer 2010 issue of Ed Next provides background on political tensions in LA Unified and battles over reform plans that took place when then-Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa “united working-class Latino parents, civil rights leaders, and big-money Democrats to challenge union leaders” in his quest to turn around the schools. (Current L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti “has declined to be actively involved” in this year’s school board election, Blume notes.)

—Education Next