LAUSD School Board Elections Upsets Union Officials

In a surprising upset, school choice groups made a big dent in the Los Angeles Unified School District Board elections. Media has concentrated on the unprecedented amount of money these and parent groups have spent on the election, the spending must have made a difference if it has unseated the entrenched union-selected officials who previously sat on the school board.  Howard Blume Anna M. Phillips have the story in the Los Angeles Times.

Los Angeles’ teachers union, for decades a dominant political force in school district politics, suffered a crushing defeat this week that speaks to a larger power shift away from labor and toward the growth of the well-heeled charter school movement.

Two candidates opposed by United Teachers Los Angeles — Nick Melvoin and Kelly Gonez — won seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education, creating the board’s first-ever, pro-charter school majority.

And tomorrow, Mike Antonucci will talk about the NEA’s resolution to ramp up their resistance to charter schools.