Zimmer Feels the Heat at School Board Debate

By MATTHEW MEYER | Reporter

A forum last week that featured all four District Four school board candidates started with comments about setting aside political squabbles, but quickly took the tone of a referendum on incumbent Steve Zimmer.

The event, slickly hosted by the grassroots group “Speak UP” at the Rose in Venice, featured spirited debate on school safety, charter schools and managing school district funds.

On most of these issues, Zimmer’s challengers attempted to establish a contrast between their platform and the incumbent’s track record. They included education activist Gregory Martayan, Brentwood teacher and attorney Nick Melvoin and Allison Holdorff Polhill, a Palisadian lawyer who served on the board of Palisades Charter High School and other local schools.

Event moderator Katie Braude—a Speak UP founder and member of the Pacific Palisades Community Council—occasionally served as an additional contender, probing the incumbent with follow-up questions and even prodding Zimmer with a few barbs of her own. This was met with plenty of cheers from the audience but murmurs from others; one parent said they would have preferred if the conversation were more “gently guided.”

Issues affecting charter schools often took center stage. Zimmer, oft criticized for the board’s failure to renew certain charters, argued that Los Angeles Unified has actually authorized more charters than any board in the nation. “We have 114,000 students in charter schools,” he said. “The idea that this board is opposed to choice … is a compelling narrative, it’s just a fictional one.”

“It is perplexing to us to hear that there’s a pro-choice board when we hear a lot of high quality options being denied,” Braude shot back, before moving on.

Zimmer’s challengers spoke unanimously in favor of school choice. In her opening statement, Polhill listed supporting all school models as one of her platform’s three key tenets. Martayan called for “the stigma and polarization [of charters] to come to an end” and Melvoin rejected the notion of a “one-size fits all” district.

The challengers also posited approaches to the district’s estimated $1.46 billion deficit. (Zimmer reminded the audience that this estimate did not take Prop. 55 into account, which extended taxes that benefit public schools.)

Melvoin drew enthusiastic applause for his promise to make board finances more transparent, suggesting that he would make the district’s detailed financial information available online immediately upon taking office. Melvoin—who at thirty would make the board’s youngest member—exuded the energy and confidence that’s made him a favorite in pockets of the Westside.

Polhill seemed most in her element when dealing with the details, speaking from experience when vowing to negotiate with teachers and untangle complicated pension and benefits issues. Referencing her experience balancing PaliHi’s budget and bridging gaps between teachers and administrators, Polhill offered specific plans of action.

Martayan stood out most on safety issues; he grew fiery when accusing the district of mishandling both sexual and physical abuse cases and vowed to provide greater security.

For his part, Zimmer stood by his record, referring to a flurry of programs that started or expanded during his tenure and pointing out that graduation rates are at their highest point in history. “I’m running to finish this job,” he told the crowd.

With two four-year terms already under his belt, term limits dictate that March 7’s election will be the incumbent’s last in District Four, which reaches from the Westside all the way to Hollywood and parts of the San Fernando Valley.

A full video of the Speak UP forum is available on their Facebook page.

The group will host another debate on Feb. 2.