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Los Angeles County, CA | November 4, 2003 Election |
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Special Interest GroupsBy Claude TodoroffCandidate for Governing Board Member; Torrance Unified School District |
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Should candidates be allowed to get the support of the special interest groups that serve the district?Heidi Ashcraft and Terry Ragins have both been endorsed by the Torrance Teachers Assocation. Salaries make up 85% of the costs of the district's general fund. Terry Ragins has received $4,000 from the Torrance Teachers Association (per the County Registrar of Voters). Are Ashcraft and Ragins going to be able to go to the Teachers Union and ask for their help in reducing next year's deficit? This September we saw what happened in Los Angeles Unified when their deficit came before the L.A. Board of Education. Their teachers union controlled the agenda and the board and the district now needs to figure out where they can get the $40 million in budget cuts that the union vetoed through their controlled Board of Education. Is that what we want in Torrance? Terry Ragins has also received $2,500 each from two developers (per the County Registrar of voters). I will let the reader draw their own conclusion. The only special interests I care about and whose support I want is you taxpayers/parents. Our kids need to come first and not the unions or the developers. Let's return the board of education to the people. |
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