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Parents and callers press LAUSD board for results on school safety and superintendent evaluation
Summary
At a March 16 special meeting, parents and callers urged the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education to deliver concrete results on student safety and the superintendent evaluation, citing the death of Kimberly Sabaleta, requests for stronger supervision and calls to revisit the removal of school police.
Parents and community callers used the public-comment period at the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education special meeting on March 16 to demand tangible action on school safety and accountability.
Maria Luisa Palma, a caller who identified herself early in the public-comment period, linked anticipated litigation the board would consider in closed session to the death of Kimberly Sabaleta and urged the district to strengthen anti-bullying measures, increase supervision on campuses and improve reporting on threats and violence. "How many more, how much longer will it take before you accept your mistakes that were made?" Palma asked. She criticized policies she said have harmed students and faulted practices such as PBIS and restorative justice as ineffective, and described the tiered fidelity index as a "sham process" that lets schools self-rate.
Isabel Gonzales, speaking in Spanish and identifying herself as an ELAC and SSC committee member, told trustees parents had gathered "thousands of signatures to bring back school police." She said parents are worried about drugs and firearms near campuses and called for medical screenings — "We want results of a vision exam and audiology exam" — so the district can better identify and respond to students' needs.
Both speakers urged the board to produce clear outcomes from the superintendent evaluation and other oversight processes rather than continuing what they described as repetitive discussion without change. Palma warned that large settlement payouts reduce funds available for students' education and pressed the board for accountability.
The board did not take public action on these requests during the meeting. After public comment the board recessed into closed session under stated Government Code authorities; when the meeting returned later the clerk said there was "nothing to report out at this time" and the board recessed the meeting until March 24 at 1:30 p.m.
Why it matters: Callers pressed elected trustees to show how oversight and safety policies will change after recent student safety incidents and litigation, linking those demands to both operational changes on campuses (supervision, screenings) and to how the district conducts superintendent evaluation and policy review.
