Schmerelson ran as educator, became politician as board member

By Gregory McGinity, Executive Director of CCSA Advocates

When Scott Schmerelson first ran for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) School Board in 2015, he told us that as a retired educator, he would use that experience to improve our schools and he envisioned that “all money went first to the classroom.”[1]

However, once elected, he took full advantage of the self-serving perks available to him and now makes more than $250,000 a year with two hefty pay checks. He makes more than long-serving teachers while voting to make budget cuts that included layoffs.[2] Then in 2019, Schmerelson was the only board member to vote against the budget that included additional funding for high-needs students, reduced class sizes, and teacher raises.[3]

This is especially egregious knowing that at a 2015 United Way of Greater L.A. candidate forum, Schmerelson was asked specifically about increasing board member pay, and responded: “I agree that the salary should be a teacher’s salary, because we are working for the kids, and the closest people to the kids are the teachers.”

But less than two years later, Scott Schmerelson flip-flopped when given the option to take a modest salary, he opted for the full amount getting a 174% raise in salary[4] while the district’s budgets moved into the red.

Not only is he double dipping by taking in more than $130,000 annually as a retired educator that Los Angeles families helped finance, but he’s also taking the highest board salary rate possible, tripling his pay.

When asked about the two incomes by the LA Weekly, he said, “I don’t consider myself a double-dipper. I earned the pension. I paid into it. It’s not free.”[5] He’s right, it’s not free. Taxpayers also pay into it. Today, those retirement and benefit costs are nearly 40% of the LAUSD budget. In fact, the LAUSD Chief Financial Officer predicts that in 10 years, pensions and benefits are going to take up 50 cents of every dollar that LAUSD takes in leaving far less money for our classrooms.

Sadly, taxpayers are not getting their money’s worth with Scott Schmerelson. Instead families have gotten:

1. Cuts to arts and education[6]
2. Deficit spending[7]
3. A looming state takeover of the district[8]

Tonight, Schmerelson is going to fight to keep his seat at LAUSD Board District 3 candidate forum. This is his opportunity to clear the record. He needs to answer why he took a massive pay increase when he told voters he believes Board Members should get paid the same as teachers. Does he think his work is harder than LAUSD teachers? Maybe he’ll actually be honest and say, “Because I can.”

[1] “2015 Candidate Forum Board District 3,” United Way of Greater Los Angeles YouTube channel, February 17, 2015

[2] “LAUSD cuts positions to plug a budget hole without increasing class sizes,” LA School Report, June 13 2018

[3] “LAUSD approves $7.8 billion budget for next year: Here’s what it means for high-needs students, lowest-performing schools and district finances,” LA School Report, June 21, 2019

[4] “LAUSD Board Members Get 174 Percent Pay Raise,” CBS Los Angeles, July 11. 2017

[5] “L.A. school board members just got yuge raises. Should we be pissed?” LA Weekly, July 19, 2017

[6] “Budget cuts leave LA schools stripped of arts education,” Study International, March 29, 2016

[7] “‘Very much’ the same thing: LAUSD continues to struggle to stay afloat as it waits for new revenue, latest financial report shows,” LA School Report, March 20, 2019

[8] “LAUSD’s dire finances could lead to state takeover in 3 years if parcel tax fails,” LA Daily News, May 12, 2019

---

Gregory McGinity is Executive Director of CCSA Advocates, which supports California's nonprofit charter school community. CCSA Advocates engages in efforts to provide education and resources to help more charter schools increase civic participation, including youth civic engagement.