Lauritzen's flip-flop

From Andy Rotherham's excellent blog, Eduwonk.com, some good news from LA.  What a great man-bites-dog story -- a politician flip-flopping IN FAVOR of charter schools!

New LA Blog, WitnessLA, focusing on social justice issues. They're all over the Green Dot situation and have plenty on education.

And, there is some flip-flopping going on out there:

But after being heavily criticized for his vote, and surely thinking about how it would play on election day next month, he flip-flopped and agreed to back a plan to allow the highly successful charter program to cooperate in reforming Locke.

This is pretty signal. As a rule, when there is flip-flopping on this it's because a pol flirts with education reform and then gets the talking to from the local/state/nat'l teachers' union about "what a nice career you got here, shame if something happened to it..." Is the tide turning? Remember, in America, when consumers and producers fight, bet on the former, even if it takes a long time...

And, if that's not enough, Atty Gen. Jerry Brown is getting engaged on the issue:

Brown says. He did not want to comment on the merits of the Green Dot case, but said he finds it unacceptable that more and more school districts statewide seem to be rejecting charters for political reasons.

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Lauritzen's flip-flop

Valley school board member gets enlightened on charters

04/09/2007

http://www.dailynews.com/portal/opinions/ci_5629975?_loopback=1

 

JON Lauritzen must see the writing on the wall when it comes to charter schools. That's why the Los Angeles Unified School District board member from the San Fernando Valley, who's in a ferocious fight to win re-election against challenger Tamar Galaztan, has suddenly gone from opposing a charter-school expansion in Watts to being a friend of charters.

 

When it came to a vote, Lauritzen opposed a plan to grant eight charters to Green Dot Public Schools at Locke High School.

 

But after being heavily criticized for his vote, and surely thinking about how it would play on election day next month, he flip-flopped and agreed to back a plan to allow the highly successful charter program to cooperate in reforming Locke.