Union-Bought Huntington Park City Council Declares War on Charter Schools

For the past three city council meetings in Huntington Park, residents, parents, students, teachers have been filling up the Huntington Park City Council chambers.

Active residents–citizens!–have demanded that the city council rescind its moratorium on the construction and establishment of these differing and effective educational institutions.

Only this past week, at the October 18th, 2016 city council meeting, did it become clear why the city council was pushed to stop the expansion of the charter schools:

The four city councilmembers who voted for it are receiving big money from the LAUSD teachers union UTLA.

Once again, teachers unions expose that they are all about unions, and do not care about parents, teachers, or students.

It was particularly appalling to find teachers, with their communist red T-shirts, assaulting pro-charter forces in the city.

I recall the September 2016 meeting, where they hallways were lined with pro-charter protesters. Students were carrying signs that read "I love my charter school."

Students deserve a choice. They deserve the opportunity to get the best education possible — as soon as possible. Lethargic school reforms will not permit young people the best learning. How long can these students wait?

Here are my comments to the Huntington Park City Council in September:

Parents of all backgrounds criticized the city council for this abusive decision.

The only city councilman to vote against the moratorium was Valentin Palos Amezquita, the same councilman who was removed from the chambers at the last meeting on October 4, 2016.

At this time, the Los Angeles County Public Integrity Division of the District Attorney's office deemed that the presiding officer had the right to remove Amezquita. But there are presumably other reasons for removing Valentin, like his opposition to the lawlessness and corruption of his colleagues.

They insist on handing out exorbitant contracts to their friends and political allies.

They have favored the perverse expansion of pot shops in the city.

Their connection to the pay-for-play Puppet Master Efren Martinez should alarm anyone who is paying attention in Huntington Park.

Just as a reminder: The four Corruptitos on the city council approved the expansion of Marijuana shops in Huntington Park, but won't permit more charter schools.

Talk about misplaced priorities.

The heated politics of Huntington Park has gone from bad to worse.

The council approved the appointment of two illegal aliens to city commissions.

They continue to raise operating fees and fines in the city.

The $300 million pension shortfall overshadowing the city's finances has not improved.

They continue to spend money they do not have, while basic city services remain non-existent. Community volunteers spend more time cleaning the city instead of public works. Other cities have adopted an anti-littering initiative. The same should apply in Huntington Park.

The city needs to be cleaned up, and it starts at the TOP!

I was impressed with the many parents and students who have stepped up over the past two months. Los Cuatro Corruptitos–Jhonny Pineda, Karina Macias, Marilyn Sanabria, and Graciela Ortiz–should not have reared their ugly agenda against schools. No matter how many union puppets invade the city council chambers, the parents will not stand for theirs students enduring an inferior education in Los Angeles Unified.

Now, some of the loudest supporters of the moratorium claim that education should not be treated as a business, but a right. However, the right to an education cannot ensure the best resources or the most qualified schools and teachers. Competition and choice create opportunity and accountability better than any kind of bureaucratic oversight.

Complaints have also surfaced that charter schools are using non-credentialed teachers who are not fingerprinted.

Yet in Los Angeles Unified, the teachers who have abused and molested their students already passed through those strictures, and yet nothing was done about them. Swift action in response to corruption, abuse, and incompetence is far more effective than all this paperwork.

Charter schools are held to a higher standard, and they strive to abide by those standards, because if they fail, then they get shut down. The same outcome should apply to "tradition schools." True competition forces schools and their supervising districts to provide a better, safer education.

It's as simple as that. By the way, how many reports have been released to demonstrate that charter schools routinely cover up and defend pervert teachers? None that I am aware of.

The Huntington Park City Council is wrong to stop charter school construction and expansion. The city residents have the power, and they flex their political muscle to remove the corrupt city council members, starting with Corruptita Karina Macias!