Yes, in case you wondered, the inmates have indeed taken over the asylum, at leas when it comes to crime, gangs and public schools in Los Angeles.
You may have seen a piece I wrote on Tuesday, the 27th called Dissin' Hizzoner and the enablers.
It concerned a high school, the Santee Education Complex, a new school some genius at the LA Unified School District had built in the heart of an area rife with illegal aliens and ruled by Latino gangs.
After months of complaints from students who were being harassed and robbed in the two block walk from the RTD bus stop to school, the Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa and the new LAUSD supervisor David brewer came up with a brilliant idea; rather than actually go after the gangs, they simply moved the bus stop two blocks up, and the Mayor, Brewer and a whole slew of educrats, officials and press took a bus to the new stop for a photo-op...which is where the kid in the picture above brazenly ran up and tagged it, scrawling graffiti on a side window...and the LA Times' Anne Cusack took this shot from right inside the bus.
The perp's now been ID'D as a fifteen year old gangbanger wannabe who's a `student' at Santee.
Now, here's where we go into la-la land.
Santee's principal, Vince Carbino, had characterized this incident earlier as a `cry for help by a troubled youth.'
Carbino said he met with the boy and his family earlier yesterday. He described them as "shellshocked" by reactions to the incident, adding that the boy "felt hunted by the mayor."
"This child is in very good hands," Carbino said. "I think what he needs the most is to be surrounded by people who are going to be — let's say — nonjudgmental and to follow the caveat that we have good students who sometimes make bad decisions."
He said a team from the school had gone through the boy's entire academic record, including elementary school, "and found clear areas where this student needed support." (which probably means he's reading and writing challenged, except for creating gang graffiti)The high school, he said, had developed a plan to `help the youth'.
I'll just bet they have.
The mayor, a little upset over his nice photo-op being ruined was a bit harsh yesterday on how he wanted the tagger caught and punished. But having huddled up with his advisors and being mindful of who voted for him, Mayor Villaraigosa changed his tune and said he now wanted to `mentor the youth personally.'
Santee's principal Gardino wasn't having any of that.
The principal said in an interview that Santee is right on the job, with a comprehensive team of people ready to help the `troubled youth', including three psychiatric social workers, one full-time and one part-time psychologist, two intensive intervention counselors and six regular school counselors.
If the mayor wants to be a mentor, Carbino said, he will have to apply through the Los Angeles Unified School District, and that the mayor would be subject to the same rules as any other mentor — including the requirement that he be fingerprinted.
"We can't just let anybody come in through the door," Carbino said. "I don't care what title they wear. If they haven't been vetted through that process, I have to follow the Ed Code and district guidelines."
You can't make this stuff up.
What the kid needs is not to be surrounded by people who are "non-judgemental", but by people who will give him a sharp smack or two.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile the gifted students parents pay council tax and wages of the pysch' people and counsellors.
ReplyDeleteAre they happy to give their money away for re-distribution?
Or were they vocal enough to demand accountability and redress to how and where their money was being dissipated?
Hi rebel,
ReplyDeleteI'm not certain of the system in NZ,but here's how it works here:
School funding comes from two sources: state and county taxes, especially taxes on real property and matching funds from the federal government, based on attendance (the infamous head count).
In Los Angeles, there is a large group of illegal aliens,mostly from Mexico who pay no taxes but still avail themselves of the public schools, abetted by the County, the LA Unified School District and the Teacher's union, who want those Federal matching funds.
Second, a great many of these people, even if here legally are not property owners and rent,but still vote, especially when egged on by greedy politicians who promise gimmees from `the rich.'
Therefore, since the lion's share of funds for the LAUSD comes from taxes on private owner occupied homes, we have a system in place where people without property can vote taxes and assessments on people who do own property to support the LAUSD - whether those property owners use the public schools or not.
In my own case, I essentially pay for schools twice: private school tuition for my own children (because the public schools here are largely dysfunctional and thus unusable ) and taxes levied on my property that go to support the public schools I'm unable to use.
That's how it stands, and when you have politicians like Villaraigosa who were elected with the aid of the highly organized and wel funded teacher's union, that is how it's likely to stay, for the present.