Engagement and communication matters! This is why the LAEA teachers’ union is proud to endorse two very qualified and engaged candidates for LAUSD School Board. We are fortunate to have Candidates Matt Bragman and Farnaz Pardasani running to fill the shoes of Meg Cutuli and Scott Fayette.
Candidate Bragman is running in trustee area 5 and has been unanimously endorsed by the teacher’s union as well as the long-serving board member he hopes to replace, Meg Cutuli. Matt Bragman is a former teacher, assistant principal and principal, and is currently involved in educational resources. He is exceptionally well qualified as an educator and is a parent in our district.
Farnaz Pardasani has a consulting background where she advised companies like IBM and Deloitte. She has children at each level in our schools and is a founding member of LAEF Leadership Circle where she has been integral to raising funds for our schools and managing their disbursement. She knows firsthand what the financial challenges are for our district and has the background to guide us through these challenging financial times. Candidate Pardasani has the unanimous endorsement of the current school board and the teacher’s union.
Communication with one another and a willingness to learn are fundamental to our success as a community and as a school system. It is telling that both of our endorsed candidates, announced their intention to run early, reached out to stakeholders regularly, and attended all of the meetings they were invited to attend including meetings with teachers, the union, and the LAUSD Board of Education candidate information session.
Not all of the candidates running have been willing to engage teachers or the current school board. Candidate Pardasani’s opponent chose not to engage teachers and neither he nor Candidate Bragman’s opponent attended September’s candidate information session. Pardasani’s opponent in area 4 announced his candidacy early but wrote to the union on May 12, “I will respectfully decline being endorsed by the teachers union.” He has also chosen not to participate in interviews/questionnaires put forth by Spotlight Schools and the Orange County Register.
We’d like to remind our community that the positions being sought are non-partisan positions and encourage everyone in trustee area 4 to vote for Farnaz Pardasani and for Matt Bragman in trustee area 5. Our students deserve school board members who engage with them, who engage with teachers, and who are willing to learn from previous school board members.
Editor’s Note: The language in this endorsement article has been changed since it was first posted.
