Schools
Local Residents Voice Concerns on Redrawing of School District Lines
The Los Angeles Unified School District Redistricting Commission hosted a public hearing to listen to the apprehensions of parents, as they get ready to create a new district map that is to be reflective of the current population.
Last Monday night, local residents voiced their concerns regarding plans to redraw lines in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), with a particular focus on neighborhoods in the fifth district, which include the city of South Gate.
The public hearing, which took place at , is part of the LAUSD Redistricting Commission’s first phase of finding out the needs and concerns of the public before constructing the future map.
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Last October, the Los Angeles city mayor and councilmembers from affected areas appointed commissioners to draw a more up to date map. Around 30 people attended the meeting and over half of them spoke to the commission. The 5th district is very large and commissioners were eager to hear from those present.
“This district is massive, it’s huge,” said Lester Garcia, one of the redistricting commissioners. “It’s important, as commissioners, that we listen to the people in these communities, because nobody knows their communities like they do.”
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The LAUSD is required to redraw district lines at least once every ten years to take into account the shifts in the total population that was reported by the most current Census.
County residents such as former Huntington Park mayor, Richard Loya, went as far as accusing the LAUSD of gerrymandering district lines. Stating that some of the included neighborhoods, such as Eagle Rock and Griffith Park, had few commonalities with the Latino communities of the Southeast region.
David Diaz, director of urban studies at Cal State Los Angeles, also shared the same view of the district lines.
“Virtually all the maps seem to be reasonable except this district,” said Diaz “The entire northern part of this district has nothing to do culturally, socially or even geographically with the rest.”
Apart from comments regarding the structure of the district lines, South Gate resident Angela Saez, complained about the lack of communication on behalf of the commission to inform parents about the public hearing.
“I have not seen any [other] mother’s here, I am the only one,” said Saez. “This will turn into a revolution if they don’t inform parents.”
The commission must complete a final draft by March 1 for the Los Angeles City Council to adopt.
Information regarding the process of redistricting LAUSD, and on on future meetings can be found at the commission’s website, redistricting2011.lacity.org.