Education champion says Greuel is best choice to reform LA's schools
Los Angeles -- Los Angeles Unified School District Board President Mónica García announced today that she is endorsing Wendy Greuel for mayor.
García has championed school reform at the local level. Her "Reform the LA Way" initiative calls for reducing bureaucracy, empowering parents, teachers and others close to a school's campus, and letting school communities make their own budget decisions.
"Reforming our schools is personal for Wendy Greuel. She's an LAUSD graduate who sends her son to her local public school and regularly advocates for education dollars going straight to the school site," said García. "As mayor, Wendy will fight for our student and families to make sure every student in LA has access to a world-class education, no matter what their zip code is."
"Mónica García is an educator, a reformer, a champion for our children -- and the most powerful Latina in education today. She has fought for reforms so schools have more local control, and her leadership has brought more money onto our campuses, raised test scores, and lowered dropout rates, despite tough budget cuts," Greuel said. "Mónica has spent her career fighting to put a great education within reach for every child in Los Angeles, and I'm excited to continue to partner with her to make LA's schools some of the best in the nation."
Greuel has been a consistent advocate for reforms that give parents more choice and schools more local control. But her opponent Eric Garcetti has flip-flopped in his support for the Parent Trigger law opposed by UTLA, which has endorsed him. Garcetti has also refused to back reform candidates, including García, against union-supported opponents.
García, the third Latina to serve on the Board in its 155-year history, has moved aggressively to give schools more autonomy and bring more money into the district. She helped pass a $7 billion school bond, the largest in U.S. history. In 2012, LAUSD improved its API score by 16 points, one of the best increases among urban districts in the country for the second year in a row, despite more than $2 billion in budget deficits in recent years.
García is the latest education leader to endorse Greuel, who recently earned endorsements from LAUSD Board Members Dr. Richard Vladovic and Nury Martinez, former LAUSD Board Member and school reformer Yolie Flores, and Los Angeles Community College District Board Member Mike Eng.
Greuel also has strong support from Latino leaders including Congressmembers Tony Cardenas and Linda Sanchez, Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, Supervisor Gloria Molina, State Sen. Alex Padilla, Councilmember José Huizar, and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta.