Speak UP has conducted interviews with all of the 2020 LAUSD board candidates who responded to our candidate questionnaire for the March 3 primary. This is the first installment in a series of candidate interviews that will run over the next few weeks on our 2020 Election Watch page. Speak UP has made no endorsements.

Elizabeth Badger is a candidate for the LAUSD Board of Education in District 3, which includes much of the San Fernando Valley. She is the mother of six children, a small business owner in Canoga Park and the founder of the nonprofit Minority Outreach Committee. She serves on the board of the North Los Angeles County Regional Center and has been elected to seven terms on the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee. She ran for the District 3 board seat in 2015 and placed fourth.

Speak UP: Tell us about yourself and why are you running for school board?

Elizabeth Badger: I am running because I know I can do good work and make a difference in the lives of our children. As you know, in L.A. Unified, our children are continuing to fail, and we need new leadership. Not only do I think that, parents think that. It's really time that we have someone who cares about our children. It's also important that we have a qualified LAUSD parent on that board, and we don't. There's nothing wrong with old men. There’s a lot of old men up there in our district who never had children. Not that that's a criteria, but it's important to know what children are about.

Speak UP: The District 3 incumbent, Scott Schmerelson, is not a parent.

Elizabeth: I know that he's been a school teacher, but you know, that's a job. That is not the same thing as day-in, day-out parenting. I have a supporter, he has children with special needs and he was like, "I would never vote for somebody who hasn't walked the hallways in the middle of the night with their children, people who don't understand what it feels like, even as they get older, to pace the floor, to wait for them to come home and worry about their safety.” And I'm like, "You are so right." It is so true. Being a parent is really important.

Speak UP: You're a mom of six kids, and one of them is still in school, right? Where does your youngest go?

Elizabeth: Yes, my baby is 15 years old, and she's at Canoga High.

Speak UP: I know you have kids with special needs. Is your older child with special needs in college now?

Elizabeth: Yes, he is. God is so amazing. He's on the [autism] spectrum. When he was four years old, we got him diagnosed medically. We had to access [services through] L.A. Unified. I remember the day we took him to be assessed at some school in Pacoima. He was 4 years old, and L.A. Unified told us, “Your son will probably never be able to compete as a general [ed student] in the school system. We'll keep him housed and protected. We'll give him all the support he needs." Which means they were not going to do anything. They'll warehouse him. But I don't think so. I'm thinking to myself, "That's not true. That's not what God told me. He said he was a perfect child, and I believe God, not you.”

It was a long route to where he's at now. We had a lot of struggle. Every IEP [Individualized Education plan], we had to go to due process. We fought tooth and nail. I had to learn the IEP system so I could advocate for my son. And 14 years later, he just graduated from Canoga High School in June with a 3.4 GPA, and now he's a freshman at Cal State Northridge.

Speak UP: Congratulations, that’s amazing. And you work with the Regional Center, which helps kids with disabilities, right?

Elizabeth: I'm on the board. Fabulous organization. They supported us, but we got most of our support from L.A. Unified -- only because we fought. We had to fight for everything. [Special education attorney] Valerie Vanaman educated me. She’s been our attorney for years. She don't take no for an answer. I learned a lot of my advocacy from her.

Speak UP: You also started a nonprofit called Minority Outreach. Can you talk about that?

Elizabeth: Every entity is started because there's some deficit. I’m in the political arena, doing a lot of volunteer work, and I noticed that we didn't in the Valley have any type of representation that has to do with minority inclusion. So I founded my own nonprofit organization in 2005. Our goal is to encourage political, economic and social development within the communities in the Valley. We have a lot of political support, a lot of community support. We have a huge event yearly at Cal State Northridge, where we focus on specific issues that are important to the community. We were endorsed by Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. I’ve been supported by a lot of people.

Speak UP: You’ve also been a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. It sounds like you've been very involved in Democratic Party politics.

Elizabeth: Yes, for both of Barack Obama’s national conventions, I was a delegate. I'm also an elected member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.

Speak UP: Were you surprised to see some Democratic clubs in the Valley endorse Scott Schmerelson, who was a lifelong Republican until very recently?

Elizabeth: All his life! As a matter of fact, it blew me away. One of the endorsement meetings I went to the other day, I came up, and I talked specifically about the fact that he's a lifetime Republican. He just changed his party because UTLA asked him to change his party. They said, “If you don't change your party, then we will not give you the endorsement.”

The truth is, I guess he has been voting their interest. I understand that UTLA was supporting him because they would rather support the devil that they know rather than somebody they don't. They don't know how I will vote, but they know that he's going to vote their interest. So that's why he's it.

Speak UP: But L.A. County Democratic Party endorsing a lifelong Republican?

Elizabeth: The Democratic Party endorses anything UTLA [wants]. If UTLA endorses a candidate, that's who [the party is] going to endorse. That's the message that has been sent out to the Democratic clubs in the Valley.

I've been a member of LACDP [Central Committee] for 15 years, elected for seven terms. As the only African American woman in this race, I was not given the dignity of speaking to my own 300-member board [at their recent endorsement meeting]. They changed the rules a month before, and most people had no idea. The endorsement committee makes recommendations, and then they bring it back to the body. They changed the rules to not allow [members] to be able to debate [candidates recommended for endorsement]. Now, the committee [members] who made the recommendations are the only people that could pull it [for discussion]. What are the chances of that?

I said, "I'm a lifetime Democrat. I've never changed my party like Scott Schmerelson,” and the chair immediately said, "Out of order, Ms. Badger.” We were not allowed to debate. I’ve never seen anything like that. What they did was take the voice away from the body.

Speak UP: So they don't care that Schmerelson voted in the 2016 Trump Republican primary?

Elizabeth: They don't care about that. I even mentioned that the other day at [a Democratic club] endorsement meeting. He did vote in that primary. I pulled his record. So I made a statement. I said, “So it didn't offend you when Trump came down the escalators and said that Mexicans are rapists and thieves and murderers? It didn't offend you when Trump said he can grab women by their private parts? That didn't offend you?” He didn't respond to that. It’s sad.

I made a big presentation, and I'm like, "We're going down the wrong path. You don't have to endorse me. Don't endorse anybody. But please don't step outside of your own foundation, your own moral base, and vote for a Republican." Republicans would never allow us to come into their house and then give their highest honor, their endorsement, to a Democrat. That makes no sense.

And he hasn't been doing any good work at all. He hasn’t even been visible in the community until the last few months when the campaign is coming up.

Speak UP: What kind of job do you think he’s done on the school board, and how you would be different?

Elizabeth: I think he's done a lousy job on the board. He's done absolutely nothing, as a matter of fact. I can't pinpoint anything he's done that's significant or beneficial to the children in our community. When he came in second [in the] last [primary] election, he asked me for support. I said, “I will support you if, in fact, you will promise me that you will do something to support the special needs community." He did absolutely nothing.

In July only, when the new term started, he voted himself to be the chair of the special needs committee so that he can tout [that.] Nobody’s going to go back and check to see he's been doing this for [just a few] months. He doesn't seem to care about our children.

Speak UP: You ran for this seat in the last election, and you ran for City Council and state Assembly one year, too? What keeps you going, putting your hat in the ring, saying, “I'm going to try this again?”

Elizabeth: Education. If you look back, every race I ran, my focus was education. I knew when I ran for City Council, it wouldn't have a direct impact, but I would have a strong bully pulpit for education. Assembly, that's where the money for education comes from. That was a three-month election right after the City Council, and I'm like, "You know what? I'm still in the mode. I still want to do good work. I can still advocate for children.”

My whole focus in every political race I ran was education. I haven't lost my zeal for focusing on our children. And when I ran for my first election, my children were young, and I was right in the fight [with] LAUSD.

Speak UP: What do you think needs changing in LAUSD, and what change would you prioritize if you were to become a board member?

Elizabeth: The first thing I would do in this era of safety and security, I would make sure that our schools are as close to 100% safety as possible. The only thing schools do is they have a fire drill twice a year. Did you know in L.A. Unified the teachers have to lock the classrooms from the outside? They should have the ability, if there's an emergency, to lock the classrooms from the inside. That's just a basic thing that LAUSD ought to do, and to have one entry onto campus.

Special needs, of course, is a very important, wrap-around services for special needs children. L.A. Unified School District seems to believe that the money belongs to them. So they give a child what they want, and if they fall through the cracks, so what? I would definitely want to make sure that [the district] invests more in our special needs community.

And of course, early childhood education. Statistics tell us that if you invest early, in the beginning of education, you will reap the benefits at the end. Another thing, I would make sure, since multi-languages are important, that we start early learning Spanish. My children didn't know a word in Spanish. They're being forced in their high school years to take Spanish 1 and 2. I would go into classrooms and sat with [my son] at least twice a week to help him with his Spanish. I’m blessed that I had the ability of leaving my office. We own our own business. I was going to his Spanish classes so I could come home and re-teach it at the same time I was [learning] myself. I think it's so important that we put Spanish into early education.

Speak UP: What kind of business does your family own?

Elizabeth: My husband owns an automotive repair [shop]. He's been in business for 40 years, successful, at same location in Canoga Park. We've been married for 23 years, and I’ve been involved with his business, our business now, for the last 23 years. That taught me a lot: business skills, how to read contracts, how to write contracts, learning budgets, writing budgets, community relations, all the skills necessary to run a business. And let's be clear, L.A. Unified is a business, a $7 billion business. Someone said, “Well, you're not a teacher.” Well, I'm a businesswoman, and you know, I am a teacher. I'm my children's first teacher. As parents, we are our children's first teachers. So I have all the skills necessary to sit on that board.

Speak UP: The district is in a difficult financial period right now with the County installing fiscal experts. It's hard to get a clear picture of the LAUSD budget, but can you talk about some of the financial issues and how you think they can be fixed?

Elizabeth: First of all, they need somebody with business skills on that board. And we need to be able to see that budget. They don't let anybody see the budget. As matter of fact, Scott Schmerelson said the other day he doesn’t know anything about the budget. I mean, you’ve been there four years and you don’t know nothing? I would think in four years you would at least research and find out what's going on. He admitted he didn’t know anything about the budget, and yet, the [Democratic] club that I went to the other day endorsed him. It just blew my mind. He said, “We don’t get to see the budget.” I said, “Wait a minute. You’ve been in the organization for four years and you don't know? Excuse me.”

Speak UP: We have parent members whose kids attend all kinds of public schools: traditional district schools, pilot schools, independent charter schools, affiliated charter schools, magnet schools. As a board member, do you consider yourself the representative of all these parents and kids?

Elizabeth: Absolutely. I have chosen to keep my children in the [traditional] public school system. But I'm not mad at parents who are looking for other options. When they run up against that brick wall in the LAUSD public school system, I'm not mad at parents. I think they ought to. That’s what parents do. We want the best for our children. So my responsibility is to advocate for all of our children. That's the thing that I hate about UTLA. They are pitting children against children, and that doesn't make any sense to me. I'm an advocate for all the children, period. Parents, if they're looking for something different, if they’ve worked hard, working with the system so long, and they’re running up against brick walls, I support them finding something that’s going to support their children. And ultimately, it supports society. Society is made better when our children are educated.

Speak UP: Right now there are huge achievement gaps for groups of students, especially African American students, English learners, kids with disabilities and low-income students. Do you have any plans to lift achievement of some of these underperforming student groups and close these achievement gaps?

Elizabeth: I would certainly invest in professional development because you've got to have the right staff to teach these children and bring them to the level that they ought to be.

Speak UP: There's a lot of evidence that having more teachers of color helps kids of color. Can you think of ways that we can increase the diversity of the teaching workforce, get excellent candidates as teachers, retain the good teachers and incentivize them to teach in the highest-need schools?

Elizabeth: You want them actually be qualified. You want them to have all the skill sets necessary, but you also have to give them a working salary, a salary that's impressive. That would incentivize them.

Speak UP: Did you support measure EE, and do you also support some of the funding measures that might be on the ballot in 2020 to increase education funding?

Elizabeth: No, I did not support [EE] because I thought it was ill-planned, ill-advised, and I'm not doing anything that's going to touch Prop 13.

Speak UP: So you don't support split roll to change Prop 13 for commercial properties?

Elizabeth: I probably would not support that. You know, businesses are people. My husband owns a business. If people knew how much in taxes that businesses are paying. Let me look at my own budget. I would say 10% comes to us personally. The other 90% goes to staff and all the other things that we have to pay just to run the business, and taxes. We have a more than just state and federal tax. We pay the city, a fire department tax. We pay at least five or six taxes. We have a small business. We pay at least a good $20,000 at the end of the year to all these various taxes the city is asking us to pay. People believe that just because you own a business, you’ve got money, you’re just pulling money off a tree. Every dollar we make, 10 cents goes to us personally, and the other goes to maintaining the business.

Speak UP: Parents recently had to fight to get LAUSD to release student growth data to show how much improvement kids are making at schools. The three UTLA-backed board members, including Schmerelson, also initially opposed a resolution to examine enrollment data at magnet schools to see if there's equitable enrollment and to decrease school segregation. What do you think about that? Should parents be able to see the data to know what's going on?

Elizabeth: The public should be able to see every piece of data that their children are being included in, absolutely. I don't understand Scott. I don't think he's done anything.

Speak UP: A lot of the times the interests of the kids and the interests of the adults who are working in the system align. What's good for teachers is good for kids. But occasionally there's a competition of interests. For instance, there are must-place teachers that have problems, so LAUSD transfers them and forces them on a school that doesn't want them. If there's a competition between the interests of the kids and the interests of the adult employees in the system, whose side are you going to be on?

Elizabeth: Children win, all the time. Our children matter, and I think our children deserve, and our community at large deserves someone who cares about our children. Who will advocate for them even when the going gets rough. Even when everybody else on the board is voting in a different direction, we need to be advocating. I think it’s our responsibility to be assertive in pushing the children's agenda.

Electionwatch

LAUSD Board District 3 Candidate Elizabeth Badger: 'It’s time we have someone who cares about our children’