Local government reacts more than responds

An editorial.

By Lakeya Keynerd

City Hall was what I had expected, the headquarters of Los Angeles. It was my first visit, and that meant a lot to me. I would like to share my views on my local government.  

It is apparent that this city does more reacting than responding. Although these two terms are used relatively the same they have two separate meanings. I honestly feel that LAUSD does not commit to their promises and does not extend equal education to schools across the district. The government feels that it is okay to make these small learning communities (SLCs) or separate programs to make things better within a school. It really makes the school worse. I say this because it sets students against each other at schools, and communities are already competitive enough. Students are not comfortable at their own school. 

I attend Crenshaw High School and now I am a senior. I have been at that school for three years and counting and it is nothing compared to what it was like when I first started. I can recall several representatives – Bernard Parks, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Superintendent Roy Romer, and a host of other individuals – during our accreditation situation. All of these people wanted to help afterwards or they were forced to do so. None of them did a good job of avoiding such a bad situation in the first place. Our city reacts to schools being overcrowded, accreditation being lost, low test scores, and racial tension instead of planning and investing in the youth who will become the future leaders. 

The problem is that our government is not accustomed to responding because it is still playing catch up on things it needs to react to. Yes, it looks good that an issue is not left silent, but it is too late to stop it from occurring once it has happened.

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