Letters to the Editor: LAUSD’s lack of transparency and accountability is deeply troubling

To the editor: I’m a Los Angeles Unified graduate, parent and teacher and co-founder of the advocacy group Parents Supporting Teachers. LAUSD’s lack of transparency, accountability and imagination is deeply troubling as we face tough conversations about the future of our schools (“Vacant and vandalized, this $34-million LAUSD campus could be a sign of what’s to come,” Oct. 27). LAUSD families and staff simply won’t trust decisions made by those on Beaudry Avenue until we see the real numbers regarding spending on contracts, programs and departments along with some measure of their efficacy and necessity.

Why are we heading straight to furloughs without asking school staff about what district-directed spending actually has a positive benefit in our classrooms? Why isn’t our leadership directly talking and listening to the people doing the work at schools? Where is the public dashboard of all LAUSD contracts that was supposed to be ready by September?

For decades, LAUSD has made decisions isolated from the classroom and school site. In this moment, this is simply not good enough for our children and city.

Nicolle Fefferman, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Staff writer Howard Blume’s recent article about the vacant Miramar campus struck a personal chord with me. This is the community in which I grew up and the community I now have the privilege of serving.

After I attended several other schools, my mom ultimately made the decision to send me to the Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise (LAAAE) and I’m grateful she did. I graduated in 2014 and since 2018, I’ve been an employee there.

That is why having a permanent campus means so much to me. I see parents get excited about LAAAE, only to hesitate when they learn we are co-located at Belmont High School. Having grown up in this neighborhood, I’ve seen Belmont’s reputation over the years and unfortunately, it continues to discourage some families before they even get to know our school.

LAAAE deserves the opportunity to stand on its own, with a campus where students feel proud to belong and families feel welcomed from the moment they arrive. Miramar represents more than an empty building. It represents a chance for our school to grow, build its identity and give students a true place to call home.

My mom once chose LAAAE for me. Today, I want other families to feel just as confident choosing it for their children.

I urge LAUSD, state officials and LAAAE to work together to find a financially sustainable solution that puts students and families first and gives our school a permanent place to call home.

Our students deserve more than a place to learn. They deserve a place to belong.

Eileen Quinones, Los Angeles
This writer is an administrative and communications assistant at the Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise.