The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board has endorsed a member of Compton Unified School District’s (CUSD) administration for a seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board.
From the LA Times:
Five candidates are running to represent Vladovic’s district, which runs from South Los Angeles to San Pedro. The clear standout is Silke Bradford, who has experience as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in South L.A. and Compton. She’s worked in both charter and district-run schools and is currently the charter school “authorizer” in the Compton Unified School District, where she has advocated for both approving and rejecting charters’ applications.
Far from being entrenched in a pro-charter or pro-union mind-set, Bradford instead brims with smart, well-articulated ideas for all students. She was a major force in the passage of a California law that requires charter schools to provide free lunches to their low-income students.
Bradford is not tied to old assumptions, but thinks in fresh ways. Considering the teacher contract that calls for a full-time nurse at every middle and high school, for example, she wondered why the district would put the same amount of staffing in schools that might have very different needs. Good question!
One of her most formidable opponents is Mike Lansing, who is generally viewed as the most pro-charter among the candidates. Lansing, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor, sat on the school board from 1999 to 2007. He was among the most thoughtful and rational of the board members during his time there. But he is short on fresh ideas for the district and lacks Bradford’s energy, recent educational experience and creative thinking.
Bradford is not expected to win the endorsement of either charter supporters or UTLA, which will make it difficult for her to win office — but is also a very good reason to vote for her. A fresh, independent voice is exactly what the board needs.
LA Times Editorial Board
