LAUSD Board President's Staffer Attempts To Bully Student

“The office of Board President Gonez & Discovery Cube Los Angeles has partnered to host a FREE LAUSD Family Day”
- James Madison Middle School Website

As she fights to keep her seat, LAUSD Board President Kelly Gonez has shown a willingness to use her incumbency to her advantage, even if doing so is ethically questionable. With just a month left until the election, Gonez used LAUSD funds and resources to sponsor and promote a “Family Day At The Discovery Cube.” The promotional material for this event featured the candidate’s name giving her free advertising just as voters were receiving their ballots. The event, which was only open to families in Board District 6, was also featured on the websites of public schools in the district.

Marvin Rodriguez, the challenger in the November 8th election, has been visiting parks on weekends as part of his outreach efforts to the community. His volunteers were, therefore, present at the Hanson Dam Recreation Area where The Cube is located last Saturday. They were offering literature to passers-by and offering to answer any questions that the parkgoers had about the candidate.

Joining these volunteers was Heaven Rodriguez, Marvin’s oldest daughter who is a senior at Cleveland High School. Heaven is a politically involved teenager who is actively involved in her Dad’s campaign. This run for office is a family affair.

Gonez’s staff was not happy about the presence of those supporting her opponent. One approached the volunteers to tell them it was “disgusting” that they were piggybacking on the event. Apparently, they felt that only their boss should benefit from the promotion, even if it was facilitated with taxpayer funds.

To make matters worse another staffer started to film the volunteers and then directly confronted Rodriguez’s daughter. This representative told the LAUSD student that her presence was “gross and distasteful.” She also claimed that the event was Kelly Gonez’s event. Heaven held her ground and reminded the staffer that this was supposed to be a Board District 6 event, not one belonging to Kelly Gonez.

It is understandable that the incumbent had to resort to stunts like the one she orchestrated on Saturday. Gonez’s poor showing in the primary exposed the perception that she has not connected with her constituents and her biggest success during her first term was preventing the Parent Engagement and Special Education Committees from holding meetings. The fact that her staff is willing to bully an LAUSD student to prevent voters from learning about her opponent shows just how little the entire office values engagement.

Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He was elected to the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and is the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.