Here We Go Again! Exclusion

The editorial board of the Orange County Register endorsed Republican candidates for the Orange County Board of Education in Districts 2 and 5 for the June Primary Election. The primary reason according to their endorsement is that “Orange County has lagged neighboring counties in charter schools and the board is in need of unwavering advocates for educational choice.” I get that, but why Lisa Sparks and Mari Barke? Is it because they are entrenched with the Republican Party of Orange County? Is it because of their connectedness to the wealthy power structure in Orange County? Other than one or two campaign statements, what have they done to foster charter schools in Orange County? One is a dean and professor at Chapman University and married to the University President, the other is a family business owner and married to a school board member for the Los Alamitos Unified School District. How do charter schools mesh with their backgrounds? How have they become champions of the cause?

Lisa Sparks told the Orange County Register’s Editorial Board that she “will be a staunch advocate for parent rights and educational choice.” What other candidates did the Editorial Board speak with? Who was excluded? I know Kimberly Clark was excluded, an African-American woman, who is a current charter school developer/petitioner, has a background in public education, and firsthand knowledge of struggling students and the need for parental choice, none of which Lisa Sparks has.

Mari Barke “wants to be an advocate for children and families, to give them access to great schools and options like free public charter schools.” Honestly, will she advocate for charter schools in Rossmoor and Los Alamitos? She claims that “if your local public school is not fulfilling its duty, you should have a choice to move to a different community public school or public charter school. How do you determine if a public school is not fulfilling its duty? Public schools do not always meet the needs of every student. Shouldn’t every parent/guardian have that choice no matter what? Parental choice and charter schools are not listed as one of her five key issues on her campaign website.

Why does the Orange County Register’s Editorial Board feel that those two candidates “have the interests and parents at heart? The editorial board also found Matt Nguyen to be an “impressive candidate” despite being a law student at Yale. Am I wrong, does Yale Law School have an online program? I’m not sure how he would conduct business as a board trustee. The editorial board also said David Boyd “will continue to do a fine job should voters return him to office.” Really! None of these candidates except Kimberly Clark have talked about closing the achievement gap which is endemic to many of the school districts in this county. It appears that the OC Register Editorial Board should do a little more research, and not be exclusionary.