United Teachers Los Angeles, the union that represents L.A. Unified\u2019s instructors, announced Thursday a 91 percent vote of no confidence against school district Superintendent John Deasy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to share with the school board our belief that, in many ways, the educational program is not on the right track,\u201d said union president Warren Fletcher at a news conference to announce the vote results.<\/p>\n
Less than 60 percent of the union\u2019s 32,000 members voted at school sites on a ballot that had two questions. One question asked teachers whether they have confidence in Deasy\u2019s leadership. The responses: 16,040 voted no; 1,647 voted yes.<\/p>\n
Fletcher said teachers are upset that Deasy\u2019s reforms are creating an environment in which teachers aren\u2019t being treated as education professionals. \u201cThe excessive reliance on testing, the excessive reliance on what we in the teaching profession call \u2018phony reforms,\u2019 are taking the focus away from what teaching and learning are really about and are harming the district,\u201d Fletcher said.<\/p>\n
The teachers’ union hasn\u2019t had a sympathetic majority on the L.A. Unified school board for six years. A largely pro-union board member, Steve Zimmer, fended off a re-election challenge last month. And a pro-union candidate is in a runoff next month. \u201cThis isn\u2019t about political capital,” said Fletcher, “it is about making a better LAUSD.”<\/p>\n
Teachers also approved a road map for the school district called \u201cAn Initiative for The Schools L.A. Students Deserve.\u201d The plan calls for reducing class sizes, ending excessive student testing, and restoring funding to adult education and early childhood education. That initiative was approved by 77 percent of teachers who voted. Union leaders said they will present this plan to the school board at a later date.<\/p>\n