David Tokofsky Apology
Update – Tokofsky apologized to the community on Wednesday with the following statement: “I apologize to anyone who might have been hurt by any hyperbole on my part,” he said. “I remember going to the (Los Angeles International) Airport as a young student and seeing for the first time in my life extreme racial epithets spray-painted on walls. It’s still in my mind as a horrible time with horrible tensions.”
My only reply to Tokofsky is to remind him and others that what goes on at LAX is in no way a reflection of the community. I’m sure that their are many disturbed individuals from throughout the region who see the 60 million passengers passing through the airport as a perfect setting for their racial and political slurs. You still see that today on occasions when you drive through the Sepulveda tunnel. I’ve never once associated those scrawls with the attitudes of our community. Tokofsky is a smart guy, he should see that too.
This is a comment from an “esteemed”, tenured LAUSD board member that followed Kelly Kane’s wonderful opening remarks to the regular LAUSD School Board that was held on Tuesday Feb 27, 2007.
“I’d also like to thank you (Kelly) for your involvement. Certainly your tone and message represents a different Westchester than the one I grew up with when, (it was) one of the few towns in LA where the American Nazi Party or the KKK found fertile grounds. I appreciate your engagement in, in (sic) the change of tone… A couple of questions…”
Wow, Where do I start?
In a mere 30 seconds, David Tokofsky painted a picture of two, three and four generations of hard working, family caring, Westchester residents as goose stepping neo-Nazi’s and hood-wearing, cross burning Klu Klux Klan’ers.
Even in a historical sense, THIS IS NOT the Westchester that I am familiar with. My wife grew up in Westchester, she went to Westchester Elementary (sold to LAWA during the last expansion), Airport Junior High (sold to LAWA during the last expansion), Orville Write Junior High, Westchester High School and our kids are growing up in this community. Her mother, who lived here in the 50′s and 60′s and is eighty years old says she has no idea what he is talking about.
Even if there were one or two instances of bizarre individual behaviors in the community, I am absolutely stunned that a board member of Los Angeles Unified School District, Board of Education would characterize an entire community the way he did in Tuesdays LAUSD board meeting. Tokofsky, by the way has NO ties in any way with Westchester. He acknowledges that he grew up in Pacific Palisades. (Note: The board meeting is available online at http://audio3.lausd.k12.ca.us/cgi-bin/qt-dir-audio.pl?Reg_Bd_Mtg//2007regbdmtg/ and it will be shown on TV again on Sunday, March 4th at 7:00 AM on Channel KLCS Channel 58)
Frankly, I have had enough of this district. EVERY one of our schools should go completely charter. There is nothing in the integrity of this school board that makes it worthwhile to negotiate with them, when it comes to the education and futures of our children.
It is readily apparent to anyone listening to these remarks that the district hierarchy has no respect for the communities it represents. Unlike most other districts, we only vote for one(!) of the board members, all of the others can make these incredibly outrageous remarks without any worry of recall or sanctions.
David Tokofsky is SICK and he should resign immediately from the Los Angeles Unified School District, Board of Education for attempting to paint generations of Westchester families the way he did Tuesday morning.
I would hope that everyone who reads this, will listen to this video or watch the board meeting on Sunday and confirm for yourself what this elected official said and then WRITE to the LAUSD as well as your local paper. The remarks come within the first ten minutes of the meeting.
I am very sorry that he chose to say this to community and to this wonderful person Mrs. Kelly Kane who has tried very hard to put the community back into our public schools.
