LAUSD Candidate Kahllid Al-Alim on Governance

“I will assert myself as a leader on the School Board and shift its functioning toward one of holding Carvalho accountable”

– BD1 Candidate Kahllid Al-Alim

Kahllid Al-Alim is running for the seat currently occupied by the retiring George McKenna in LAUSD’s Board District 1. As part of my ongoing Candidate Forum series, he has previously answered questions about PROP-39 Co-Locations and Special Education.

Al-Alim’s answers to five questions about the governance of the District are provided below. They are presented exactly how he provided them except for some minor formatting edits. For the introduction to this subject and answers from other candidates, please see the article LAUSD Candidate Forum: Governance.

• Would you agree with the statement: “The elected LAUSD Board is responsible for setting policy. The job of the Superintendent is to ensure that the bureaucracy follows this policy.”? YES
• Do you agree with the statement: “The bureaucracy of the LAUSD is too big to be managed effectively.”? YES
• Do you think that the evaluation of the Superintendent’s job performance is something that the school board should do in full view of the public? YES
• Should the number of Board Districts be increased beyond the existing seven? YES
• If elected would you introduce the proposed “Board Meeting Accessibility to the Public” resolution? YES
• Do you have any other thoughts that you would like to express about this subject?

The LAUSD School Board has not done nearly enough to hold the Superintendent accountable. I'm an LAUSD parent AND a Community Organizer. I have experience organizing folks. I will assert myself as a leader on the School Board and shift its functioning toward one of holding Carvalho accountable, making Board meetings accessible to teachers, families and students, AND involving myself directly in making sure we are serving our kids. I will not allow a bureaucracy or a Superintendent to undermine what our children and families deserve.

From Kahllid's website:

Dear family and neighbors,

I am excited to be running for School Board in Board District 1. I was born and raised in South Central LA and attended LAUSD schools. I have been a parent in Board District 1 for 20 years. My kids have attended Crenshaw and Dorsey. I believe that our public schools are the foundation for community development and revitalization.

I remember listening to the radio in 2003 and hearing this beautiful voice talking about getting involved in the fight for public education. I showed up to a meeting of Black parents at an Elementary School. I have been organizing and advocating in this community ever since.

Since then, I have served on African American Education Task forces and the LAUSD Parent Advisory Committee. I have been on the front lines of fights to stop the closing of Black Schools AND fought for Community Schools and the creation of the Black Student Achievement Plan. Holding LAUSD accountable to us and our communities and demanding that LAUSD engage parents has always been my priority.

I am a proud union member of SEIU 721 and have always stood shoulder to shoulder with educators.

As a father of five and now a grandfather of two, I am really concerned about the state of public education. We must interrupt the School to Prison Pipeline in our schools. We must make sure kids get the supports they need. We must make sure parents are engaged. And we will hold LAUSD accountable to our community. All of this will help us to create young leaders of the future.

I have been doing this work for 20 years, I am confident that I have the skills, leadership, experience, and motivation to serve as your School Board Member.

I think it’s time to put a Black dad on the School Board!

Peace,

Kahllid

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Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.