League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Los Angeles County, CA March 5, 2013 Election
	Abelardo Díaz Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Los Angeles Unified School District; District 2

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What is the single most important issue facing LAUSD today? As a Board Member, what would you do to deal with it?

The academic success of our students is at stake. In 2006 the graduation rate districtwide was 72%, now, six years later is 61%. This is not acceptable. The irresponsible leadership of the district and the misinformation given to the public to protect charter schools and to cover the district's mismanagement needs to stop. The stakes are very clear. We can watch the money we devote to our public schools drained by standardized testing and policy decisions driven by one new political scheme after another. Or we can invest every dollar in our students, focus on developing excellent teachers, and sustain the investment we have made in secure, effective public schools that work for everyone.

2. How would you prioritize your local constituency in overseeing LAUSD management, setting District policy, and day-to-day decision-making?

I will open the district budgets for review to the public. I will hold monthly townhall meetings to review budgets, policies and listen to my constituency for changes or improvements that will support our local public schools. I will empower community participation, all stakeholders, by creating local committees to support our local public schools and to make decisions that will support the academic success of our students and increase their graduation rate.

3. What experience in general management, fiscal management, and budgetary oversight would you bring to the job of Board Member?

I will partnership with non-profit organizations and neighborhood councils to oversee policies and decisions before supporting any budget decisions. All budgets, policies and fiscal management will be driven to support our local schools and our children academic future and success.

4. How should LAUSD deal with its rapidly increasing costs for retiree and employee health care?

LAUSD needs to have an oversight committee who constantly review budgets, spending and the use of public resources at the district level. The issue is the mismanagemet and priorities set by the district and its superintendents not the cost of benefits to the district employees. All school employees + and all workers in our communities + deserve better pay and we want to attract the best professionals to work in LA schools. Teachers need salaries comparable to others with their education and experience. They need time to adequately plan their lessons and collaborate with colleagues, as well as the autonomy and shared decision-making to encourage professional judgment.

5. What part should standardized testing play in LAUSD’s educational programs?

Our public schools are not corporations, and they are not a laboratory. They must be a safe place to learn. And our mission together must be clear: To provide a high-quality education to every student, leaving none behind, and attracting, training, supporting and systematically tapping into the talents of the very best teachers we can. We need to use our resources to drastically reduce class size. We currently have some of the largest class sizes in the nation. This greatly inhibits the ability of our students to learn and thrive. Standardized testing needs to decrease and we need to rebuild and create a well-rounded curriculum with arts, music, electives, and PE. Staff each and every school with increased support service providers such as counselors, psychologists, nurses, and librarians. Educational researches and data have proven that standardized testing has minimun or none effect in educational programs.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League. 

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: January 4, 2013 20:27
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