On February 26, community members took our fight for charter accountability to the workplaces, businesses, and educational institutions of the members of The Accelerated Schools (TAS) Board of Trustees. Trustees choose to ignore our community when we attend board meetings, so we took the community to them. First, we stopped at the real estate offices of Board President Leonard Robinawitz in Beverly Hills, where luxurious mansions are sold for millions. Standing in front of his lavish office, it’s no wonder he is completely disconnected from the needs of our South L.A. community. While we were there parents, former TAS staff, and community members shared leaflets with passersby to inform them of how TAS is shutting out our community.

In the afternoon, we stopped by the University of Southern California. Here is where trustees and Professors Lawrence Picus and Elisabeth Weiss work. While they teach at a prestigious university in South L.A., it’s clear they also have no connection with our community. They sit idly on The Accelerated Board of Trustees as our cries are ignored. They have witnessed our speak outs and heard our demands for more parent oversight, moving meetings to the evening so working families have greater access to decision making, and increasing diversity on the Board of Trustees. Yet, they take no action to correct the egregious offenses of the board. While they are recent additions to the board, we want to let them know that they have an obligation to act on behalf of the students and families the Board claims to serve. TAS must deliver on the promise it made long ago to guarantee parent involvement and respect for our students.

At USC, we shared more information with students about our plight at TAS, expanding our support beyond those directly involved with TAS and into the broader area. We hope you can join us for our next action at the TAS Board of Trustees Meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 23 at 10am (Location is pending). If you can attend, please contact Jorge Roman at jroman@seiu99.org

In Solidarity,

Hilda Rodriguez-Guzman
South LA Resident
Former TAS Employee and Shop Steward

P.S. As if this weren’t enough, TAS has also been subject to legal actions for violations of the California Public Records Act and the Brown Act. You can find more details here.