Okay, perhaps the situation doesn’t warrant a “gate.” Maybe “Waterloo” is the term we’re looking for. But, when Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent David Brewer is replaced—which the smart money says will happen far sooner than anyone is admitting—it will not be because of the year’s worth of colossal foul ups with teachers’ payroll system, or the staggeringly high school drop out rate that the district has been unable to dent, or the fact that, despite big plans, many upbeat speeches and lots of initial enthusiasm for the job, Brewer has accomplished…well…not much.
(Here’s how bad it is: When asked by the LA Times editorial board about his proudest moments since he arrived Brewer, in all seriousness, pointed to the Locke/Green Dot charter conversion victory as one of his main achievements. Earth to the Admiral: Dude! It happened in spite of the district not because of it. In fact, your local district people actively tried to derail the conversion deal!!!)
But while all of the above will play into Brewer’s eventual ouster, I predict the final straw will not have been the fact that the district is failing disastrously in so many ways with so many of LA’s children, the true tipping point will have been last week’s ridiculous PR boondoggle.
In case any of you somehow missed that fun little story: Last week someone leaked to the Daily News the fact that Supt. Brewer had decided to hand out consulting contracts worth more than $350,000 a year to a bunch of PR guys who were supposed to tart up—er polish the district’s image—never mind that the district already has a six-person communications team with a $1.4 million budget. One of the PR guys, Michael Bustamante, has been given $90,000 for six months to focus solely on the payroll fiasco.
Since the PR news broke there have been scathing editorials in both the Daily News and the LA Times. Then, there was this Sunday’s Daily News Opinion piece by conservative talk-radio host Doug McIntyre, who compares the district to the Hindenburg.
Apparently, we’re not quite bright enough to pick up on all the good vibes generating from South Beaudry Street. We need the help of professionals. Those killjoys at the Daily News and L.A. Times only drink from half-full glasses.
According to Victor Abalos, the newest LAUSD spin doctor, the real problem is “the two largest daily newspapers in this town would rather focus on what’s wrong rather than what’s working.” Again, the Hindenburg did not explode in a giant fireball until it was at the docking tower in New Jersey. About 99.999percent of the trip was a stunning success. All that “Oh, the humanity” stuff was just a bunch of hooey.
I wonder how much it’s going to cost to spin away State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell’s letter notifying the district that it’s failed the benchmarks set under the No Child Left Behind Act?
The LAUSD is the King-Drew of school systems. All the admiral’s spin doctors and all the admiral’s publicists won’t be able to put it together again.
I’m anything but a Doug McIntyre fan, but in this case he’s got it exactly right.
I really don’t blame Dave Brewer for any of LAUSD failures. The LAUSD was a sinking ship way before anybody in L.A. knew Brewers’ name.
It’s like hiring a new captain to take the helm of the Titanic after it hit the Big Ice-Berg. The Big ship is sinking and it should be given a quick memorial, and then it should be replaced with many smaller swift rescue boats.
Don’t forget that Brewer is also paying for one of the spinmeisters to complete his college degree! What a slap in the face for the rest of us suckers who had to pay our way.
Dear Abby,
Our local school board hired some Yankee liberal as the Supt. of Education, and he promptly hired a PR person, who runs interference for him and is heavily involved in campaigning for more school taxes and bonds, which oversteps her purported purpose. I wrote the Superintendent a nice email, something about what did he do with the last tax increase that we gave him (they built a school where no one lives or moved), and this lady PR person responded for him. One note led to another until I caught her in a bald-faced lie and there was no squirming out of it. Now she has quit responding to me altogether. My question is this. How does Hillary Clinton run for president and serve as the PR director for my county’s school board at the same time, and would it be improper for me to ask if she slept with the Superintendent to get her job? Thanks.
Woody