Plaintiffs Seeking Teacher Tenure Reform Endorse Challenger for State Superintendent

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Marshall Tuck was endorsed today for state superintendent of public instruction by several student plaintiffs in the lawsuit seeking to overturn state laws governing teacher tenure and layoffs and their parents.

Joe Macias, the father of plaintiff Julia Macias, said he endorsed Tuck because “we need leaders that will start working toward solutions today, instead of just denying that there are even problems.”

There was no immediate reply to a request for a response from Tuck’s opponent in the nonpartisan race, incumbent Tom Torlakson.

Ruling in the case of Vergara v. California, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled in June that state laws governing teacher tenure and layoffs are unconstitutional. The decision is on appeal in the state court system.

The endorsement came at Sherman Oaks news conference attended by former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Villaraigosa endorsed Tuck on April 17, praising him for his work as the CEO of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, the independent educational nonprofit organization formed by Villaraigosa when he was mayor to operate 21 schools in a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“Partnership schools are successful because we believe that every child deserves a great education,” Villaraigosa said.

“Under Marshall’s leadership, we were able to start on that path by enabling local decision making, fostering better parent engagement, ensuring that schools have effective teachers and great principals and employing 21st century technology to a college- and career-ready curriculum.”

Villaraigosa’s successor, Eric Garcetti, last month endorsed Torlakson “because of the work he is doing to combat bullying, expand after-school programs and keep gangs, drugs and guns out of our schools.”

The news conference was part of a six-county bus tour by Tuck, who also visited Animo Inglewood Charter High School and conducted a roundtable discussion about the state takeover of the Inglewood Unified School District with Inglewood community leaders today.

Tuck is also a former president of the Los Angeles-based charter school operator Green Dot Public Schools, which operates Animo Inglewood Charter High School. Before working in education, he was an executive at a software company and worked in finance.

Torlakson was a fireman in the U.S. Merchant Marine during the Vietnam War and was a high school science teacher in the Bay Area before being elected to the Antioch City Council, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, Assembly and state Senate.

--City News Service

PHOTO Courtesy Marshall Tuck campaign.

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