OpEd: Conflicting views on the “State of the City.”



The South Los Angeles Power Coaltion released their response to Mayor Villaraigosa’s address, citing specific instances where South LA is missing out on the improvements he listed.


A People’s View of the City

As the Mayor of Los Angeles delivered his annual “State of the City” speech touting various improvements in recruiting new businesses, improving test scores and expanding rail projects, residents in an area commonly known as South Los Angeles remain stuck in an alternative universe.

While the Mayor spoke passionately about Google and a handful of other corporations moving into the city, thousands of South Los Angeles renters and homeowners are at risk of losing their housing because they don’t earn enough or can’t find work. Just a few months ago, activists had to go to the streets to save the home of Faith Parker, a 79 year old retired school teacher, who was facing foreclosure as a direct result of the rising cost of living in the city of Angels. As a number of corporations – lured by the promise of tax breaks and a business-friendly government – move into Los Angeles, low-income residents in neighborhoods like Jefferson Park, Pico Union and King Estates are facing eviction from their homes because the University of Southern California (USC) and the new football stadium needs land to entertain and house wealthier individuals.

While the Mayor spoke proudly about the number of schools within LAUSD that met minimum state standards, thousands of South Los Angeles students, parents and teachers continue to be exposed to deteriorating classroom conditions. Last year, children at the newly-opened Barack Obama Preparatory Academy in Chesterfield Square were forced to go to class without textbooks and other basic necessities for learning. While test scores for some increased, African American students in LAUSD were being disproportionately suspended at a rate 3 times their population. Latino and African American students were being served by the District so poorly that the Federal Government initiated an investigation, which led to the development of an exhaustive list of corrective actions. Recent proposals like reducing the importance of homework and making D grades passing clearly shows that leaders within LAUSD are finding little solace in test score increases.

While the Mayor spoke on the urgent need to pass another tax increase to fund mass transit, South Los Angeles residents continue to suffer the negative impacts of past projects like the Blue and Expo Line. There have been disruptions in traffic patterns, accidents and yes, even deaths. In spite of his understanding of this history, the Mayor, who controls multiple votes on the MTA Board, practically ignored the pleas of hundreds of South Los Angeles residents and leaders who packed a public meeting to demand that the coming Crenshaw-LAX Line stop at Leimert Park and go underground in the Crenshaw corridor. Despite the enormous show of unity among civil rights activists, elected officials and other stakeholders, the Mayor and his supporters on the board simply voted no. As a result, South Los Angeles residents, even those in middle-class communities like Baldwin Hills will be subjected to years of travel detours, a train going dangerously fast down a busy corridor and worst, very few jobs and business opportunities for the people from the area.

The State of the City is, and has always depended upon where you live, work, attend school and shop. For the millions of residents who call South Los Angeles home, the City presents a future without a clear path to significant improvements and prosperity. Our leaders are currently divided and fighting among each other over ideas and influence. Many of our great advocacy and service organizations are struggling to keep their doors open. If we want good schools, affordable housing, quality jobs and other benefits of a free and humane society, it would appear that the regular, everyday people of South Los Angeles will have to once again rise up and fight for it. This fight will require nearly every man, woman and child in the region to make the conscious decision to take part in this movement by supporting courageous organizations who genuinely fight on behalf of the people, voting for candidates and policies that improve the quality of life (instead of relying on big-name endorsements) and organizing consistently to force elected officials to serve the needs of the community. The words spoken by the Mayor in the State of the City were indeed true. I agree with him that “we can do anything we put our minds to, and we know what we need to do.” Unfortunately, the optimism contained within the Mayor’s State of the City address does not accurately express the complete reality of those who live on both sides of the 110 freeway.

In Solidarity,

Coordinating Committee
2nd Annual South Los Angeles People’s Convention

Join Us May 12, 2012 from 8am-4pm
Maya Angelou Community School – 300 E. 53rd Street Los Angeles, CA
www.southlapower.org

South Los Angeles teacher opposes mayor’s education reform proposals



Listen to an audio story by Annenberg Radio News:

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image Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spent most of his recent “State of the City” speech addressing education reform. Villaraigosa proposed getting rid of the “first in, last out” system, which refers to the order in which teachers are hired and eventually laid off or fired.

“What that equates to in our mind is we get rid of the more senior teachers because they get paid a lot more,” said Dr. Aissa Riley, a teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School. “So if a teacher’s making $80,000 because they’ve been working here for 20 years, well, we can fire that person and hire two more.”

Dr. Riley also expressed concern regarding public-private partnerships in the South Los Angeles community.

“So what happens is, when a student isn’t working out at one of their schools, they get sent here (Jefferson),” Riley said. “And we end up having larger class sizes in the middle of the year because all these students are coming mid-year because they’ve been kicked out of their other schools, and it also has a lot of students who if they couldn’t cut it at the other school, now we have to deal with them. Our school somewhat becomes a dumping ground for all these charter schools quote unquote bad kids. And then it lowers the quality of education for other students who we’ve been working with all year long.”

LISTEN: State of the City address



imageMayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued his sixth State of the City Address from a podium at Jefferson High School in South Los Angeles Wednesday.

During the 33-minute speech, he highlighted improvements in policing and transportation and called for improvements in the Los Angeles educational system.

Listen to highlights from the speech:

Los Angeles mayor gives State of the City address



Listen to an audio story by Annenberg Radio News:

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image Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa promised to focus on education reform at the annual State of the City address on Wednesday.

“Well, it is true that I don’t have any formal authority over our schools,” Villaraigosa said. “I do have a bully pulpit, and I will continue to use it.”

Villaraigosa called for a shift in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He says school leaders are the most important agent for change and that expiration of union contracts in June could open up a new door.

“With the stars aligned, we have to seize the opportunity,” Villaraigosa said. “Let’s negotiate a new contract that empowers teachers, parents and principals at all schools. Let’s stop dictating at the district level, and let our local schools make the calls on budget, staffing, curriculum, schedule and professional development.”

The mayor also proposed compensating teachers for their proven effectiveness in the classroom.

“We need to create career pathways that reward our most effective teachers,” Villaraigosa said. “We need to reform a broken tenure system and do away with the last hired, first fired seniority system. It’s demoralizing to teachers, and it doesn’t serve our students. We need to create a multiple level evaluation system.”

But Dr. Aissa Riley, a world history teacher at Jefferson High School, opposes the mayor’s proposal.

“What that equates to in our mind is we get rid of the more senior teachers because they get paid a lot more,” Riley said. “So if a teacher’s making $80,000 because they’ve been working here for 20 years, well, we can fire that person and hire two more.”

Dr. Riley also expressed concerns regarding the prospect of more public-private partnerships. She said the private school operators do not accept all students.

“So what happens is when a student isn’t working out at one of their schools, they get sent here (Jefferson),” Riley said. “And we end up having larger class sizes in the middle of the year because all these students are coming mid-year because they’ve been kicked out of their other schools, and it also has a lot of students who if they couldn’t cut it at the other school, now we have to deal with him. Our school somewhat becomes a dumping ground for all these charter schools quote unquote bad kids. And then it lowers the quality of education for other students who we’ve been working with all year long.”

Villaraigosa used the rest of his State of the City speech to address unemployment rates. He noted that unemployment rates in South Los Angeles dropped from last month. He also praised the America Fast Forward plan – a plan that would create 166,000 new jobs in the city.

INFOGRAPHIC: Mayor talks education reform, budget during State of the City address



Education reform was the focus of Mayor Villaraigosa’s sixth State of the City address Wednesday.

Located at Jefferson High School in South Los Angeles, Villaraigosa encouraged lawmakers, educators and residents to take a stand in improving Los Angeles’s schools.

That education focus is clearly seen in the infographic below, a look at the most commonly used words in Villaraigosa’s speech.

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