Governor Joins Struggle Against Teachers

Governor Joins Struggle Against Teachers

Stewart A. Alexander
2006 Candidate
California Lieutenant Governor
Peace and Freedom Party

Governor Schwarzenegger has joined forces with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in his bid to take control of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The takeover move has been opposed by district officials, teachers and the union; however some view the move as a power grab by the mayor and election year politics for the governor.

The LAUSD is the nation’s second largest school system and the district has been plagued with many problems including a high drop out rate, low test scores and administrative problems; the district is ranking among the worse in the nation.

Similar district takeovers have occurred in districts with great success however critics believe this is not the best solution for the LAUSD and would strain relations with district officials.

Stewart Alexander, a candidate for lieutenant governor, says, “Governor Schwarzenegger’s involvement is strictly political and this take over is not good for the district, the teachers, students or parents. The governor should have been thinking about our children when he was cutting funds for education.”

Stewart Alexander attended George Washington High in Los Angeles and he says, “There were problems in the district in the late 60’s, and a high drop out rate, but students had something to look forward to; a free college education, after school jobs, and much assistance in making career plans. Today many of our kids have no vision and are losing hope.”

Alexander is opposed to the takeover and has a plan that he believes will fulfill dreams and create hope for our children. His plan is to develop programs that will involve schools, businesses, industry and government. In the 8th and 9th grades the district would have a program to assist in identifying a student’s career interest and goals.

At the high school level all students would participate in a program that would have the student actively involved in On the Job Training, OJT. Students in the 10th grade would spend 2 hours weekly in real work environments, 11th grade students would spend 4 hours weekly in OJT, and 12th grade students would spend 8 hours weekly in OJT.

Students would spend productive time with doctors, attorneys, engineers, clerks, accountants, builders, government officials, administrators and employees. This program would provide mentoring, school credits for graduation and advancement into college or a trade school.

The program is designed to help our kids gain a head start and to encourage responsible behavior. Alexander says our kids have too much free time and too few after school jobs; they have no vision to motivate them to move in a positive direction.

When Alexander was 18 he participated in a school program that allowed him to be a Judge for a Day; for one day he was Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Max Deuce. He sat on the bench with Judge Deuce, spent the entire day with the judge touring the court system and Downtown City Hall. That experience was very rewarding for Alexander and directed his interest to get involved in government.

Alexander says, “I am hoping the governor, the mayor and Sacramento allow the district to operate independent of the mayor’s control and leave election year politics out of this debate.”

For more information, search the web for Stewart A. Alexander for Lieutenant Governor.

http://www.salt-g.com