Inner-City Teacher Says No to Measure K

Make no mistake about it, a “yes” vote on Measure K is a vote of confidence for the L.A. Unified School District. As an inner-city teacher, I am acutely aware of our need for more schools as well as improving the ones we have. This, however, is secondary to our need for an administration and school board that value education. They need Measure K to pass so they can do business as usual, which puts them first and the students and teachers a distant second. If the hierarchy were reversed, there would not be such a desperate need for Measure K.

Those in the current hierarchy allow the money to come in at the “top” and to be spent on their salaries, benefits, offices, amenities, consultants, political back-scratching, etc. By the time they take what they “need,” it is no wonder that schools, students and teachers must do without. If the hierarchy were reversed, we already would have more and improved schools, and the LAUSD executives might have to conduct their business in trailers or dilapidated buildings like the ones in which we have to teach. Does Measure K provide a solution for the real problems in our district and in education? You decide on Nov. 5. This teacher is voting “no.”

Denny Hallam

Los Angeles