Consuelo Lara Archives

Police probe postgame shooting as schools react to mix of football and firearms

By Yinuo Shi | October 1, 2019

Suspects remained at large amid an ongoing police investigation of the shooting that wounded three teenagers outside De Anza High School after a football game last Friday, September 27.

West County leads the state in pushing for a moratorium on new charter schools

By Edward Booth | May 16, 2019 |

Consuelo Lara takes up her seat on the West Contra Costa School Board.

In December, the DeJean Middle School multipurpose room brimmed with onlookers—community leaders, public officials, parents and students—who cheered wildly as Stephanie Hernández-Jarvis and Consuelo Lara took their new seats on the West Contra Costa Unified Board of Education. The two newcomers had arrived ready and confident. The celebration was a pleasant, gratifying end to their…

Graduate tutors still threatened by school district budget cuts

By Edward Booth | March 22, 2019 |

Graduate tutors arrived at the meeting to protest the proposed cut.

Graduate tutors appeared in force at the meeting alongside officers from the Teamsters 856, who represent unclassified (or non-teaching) employees. “We’re here, we’re devoted, we’re intelligent, we’re amazing,” said tutor Marsha Williamson. “You will never find people like us to help the children in this district ever again.”

A final trustee-area map emerges as lawsuit resolves

By Edward Booth | March 7, 2019

Mister Phillips and Tom Panas at the School Board Meeting

The map, known as the January Map, was agreed upon in a 4-0-1 vote by the board in a closed session meeting on February 28, with board member Mister Phillips abstaining.The map was designed through negotiations between the district and Ruiz-Lozito. Both sides considered prior public feedback, represented in the map chosen in November. The January Map was approved by a Contra Costa County Superior judge on Wednesday, and further details of the settlement were presented at a board meeting later in the day.

School board discusses charter school moratorium

By Edward Booth | February 7, 2019 |

United Teachers of Richmond President Demetrio Gonzalez speaks before the school board

The proposed resolution, inspired by several others—including one that passed last month following the teachers strike in the Los Angeles Unified School District—calls for a moratorium on charter school expansion from the California State Board of Education and seeks to establish additional oversight over existing charter schools.

West Contra Costa school board will soon release its trustee-area map after a year of controversy

By Edward Booth | December 17, 2018 |

The journey toward the new voting system in the school district began in 2002, when the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 was enacted, making it easier for minority groups to prove at-large elections dilute their vote. Though most California elections have historically been held at-large, the voting rights act has caused a surge of lawsuits in recent years, either threatened or real, prompting more than 100 school districts and cities to shift to trustee-area elections.

School board approves trustee-area map

By Edward Booth | November 19, 2018 |

The final map will divide the district into five separate voting areas, each of which will elect one board member in future elections. This area-based system will replace the current at-large elections where school board winners are determined by a district-wide popular vote.