Re: “No Contenders? Chardiet Delivers Reasons”
Amidst reports that the first candidate for the Nov. 3 School Board election will file his papers today in Norwalk, within reach of the registration deadline, speculation roamed wide and far as to why no one has applied for the two open seats.
The most colorful suggestion came from the mother of a Culver City High School senior who closely tracks the Board’s heartbeats.
While one person closest to the nerve center, Board member Steve Levin says he has no idea, the parent believes she struck a bullseye when she traced the cause to the governing style of Supt. Dave LaRose. “I think Mr. LaRose has asked the School Board to muzzle itself,
not to discuss things publicly,” said the mother who would not allow her name to be us. “And they have not.
“They have not engaged the public in issues. Matters are settled behind the scenes.
“There has not been a big public issue since Karlo Silbiger left the Board.”
Scanning the landscape, the parent cited several examples of what she called supporting evidence of her theory about Mr. LaRose.
- “Four separate late night (end of meeting) raises they awarded themselves.
- “The court ordered rewriting of a request-for-proposals document that contained ‘no-bid’ language.”
The parent went on to ask, provocatively, “Did you know about this?
“What I am talking about is, what seems to me, a determination not to engage the community, not to ruffle feathers.
“It takes two to stir a controversy. If one side isn’t talking, where is the controversy? What you get then is lack of sparks, lack of controversy, and subsequently a lack of general public interest.”
As for Mr. Levin, midway through his first four-year term on the School Board:
“The short answer is, t I don’t know why no candidate has yet announced,” he said.
“We do have some time remaining before the deadline. Culver City has a lot of good people who care about the schools. I believe several people are giving serious consideration to running.”
Mr. Levin recalled that in the last School Board election, “the field of candidates expanded dramatically near the end of the filing period. I’m sure we will get some well-qualified candidates this time as well.”
One Comment on ““Will First Board Contender File Today?””
CCHS senior mom evidently doesn’t attend school board meetings or she wouldn’t be questioning these particular Board actions (regardless of the time).
I am inclined to believe SOME of what she stated about things being swept under the carpet.
I think that the biggest failure of the District right now is its lack of communication on the so-called “Summer Projects” There needs to be information communicated as to why they have not happened. And there is a good reason why they haven’t happened!