by Matthew Alvarez: Editor in Chief
If you’ve been clued in to district happenings, you might know that this year the Los Angeles United School District voted a new superintendent into office on May 1st of this year, with a 5-2 vote from a “charter majority.” His name is Austin Beutner, and he has held a variety of positions prior to his contracting- former deputy mayor of Los Angeles (LA), publisher of the LA Times, as well as investment banker. You may take notice that none of these are related to educational experience. It is because Mr. Beutner has none, which was one of the catalysts for the two votes against his selection. “The new superintendent is in the business of education,” United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) teacher representative Ms. Coyle of Carson High School said, “I’m in the education business.” The reasoning behind Mr. Beutner’s selection as the new LAUSD superintendent is that there are long-standing issues within the district such as “soaring pension costs, underfunded benefits for those who retire, and disappearing state dollars due to lack of enrollment” (LA Times) that the superintendent is expected to address. What is the significance of Mr. Beutner’s selection regarding the future of LAUSD and its schools? Teachers, who wish to remain anonymous, have expressed concern over planned reductions of resources overall, both for them and for students. This includes, but is not limited to, a reduction in salary and benefits, an increase in classroom population, work hours, and testing. Additional concerns regarding Beutner include his assessment of the treatment of educators. Mr. Beutner is under the impression that teachers’ salaries are too high and that their medical benefits are too expensive. He also seems to consider some student resources- like librarians, mental health experts, and nurses- expendable. A notable effect of Mr. Beutner’s prospective plans for the district is the organization of a teacher strike. This would indeed entail teachers picketing outside of the school rather than staying in their rooms and directing lessons . The prospect of such an event is as alien as the selection of a superintendent with no experience in the positions of educators or board members. Have you ever entertained the mental image of teachers and staff doing that sort of thing? Perhaps, though, this new “acquisition” by the district is not to be permanent. According to UTLA representative, Ms. Inouye, who is working to inform teachers here at Carson High of the superintendent’s actions as well as organize the planned strike, Mr. Beutner has a history of holding stable occupations for only a few years at a time. His contract states that he is to be our superintendent for three years, but knowing him, that may be cut short. “Give [the district] feedback in terms of what you want to see,” Ms. Inouye said. As one student in an ocean of thousands, you may feel that your significance to the school is similar to an ant. This is actually not the case. The school district is built to serve and educate you, not the other way around. Your feedback allows the district to know which things require change and improvement. If you have a problem with something, staying silent is definitely not going to help. Voicing your opinion on such matters and speaking up gives you a viable chance at causing change, or at the very least, making the issue known, and your teachers, counselors, and even the principal are always available for assisting you in matters that are important to you in regards to your learning environment.
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