Jon Meyer’s time on the Long Beach school board has been marked by a number of history-making events, among them,

• In 2003, the school district won the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education, which recognizes excellence in student performance at large urban school districts.
• Four years later, LBUSD became the first school district ever to be a finalist after previously winning the Broad Prize. 
• In 2007, the district won its sixth Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association, this time recognizing the Safe and Civil Schools Initiative, which has helped to improve student behavior at dozens of schools.

To keep this momentum going, to preserve the district’s national reputation for excellence and to provide the best education for our children requires independent-thinking, community-minded individuals serving on the school board. People like Jon Meyer.

Meyer has devoted his life to our community’s children, working as a teacher, coach and principal for 40 years and currently serving on the Board of Education. He brings a vast and varied knowledge about our schools to the board, both as a former teacher and teachers-union member and as a former school administrator.

Once re-elected, he will focus his attention on an issue close to his heart: school safety.  Meyer believes that safe schools must include safe transit for students as they travel to and from school. Meyer will seek collaboration with the city of Long Beach to accomplish his goals.

He also will work to build upon past successes to ensure educational excellence for all of our children, including narrowing the achievement gap between low-performing and higher performing students.

We’ve seen what happens when special interests like the Long Beach teachers’ union attempt to commandeer the school board for their own economic well-being.

Two years ago, the union financed the campaigns of three hand-picked candidates, trying to take over the school board’s majority.  Two of them ousted well-respected community leaders sitting on the board.  One, Los Angeles school teacher Michael Ellis, has been a resounding failure ever since.

• Ellis has been censured by Board Vice President Jon Meyer and his colleagues for missing the deadline for filing financial disclosure forms as required by law.
• Meyer and the board asked Ellis to resign after he was convicted of drunken-driving, leaving the scene of an accident, and after he missed a series of board meetings. Ellis refused.
• Ellis is the subject of a recall campaign now underway.

Ellis is NOT responsible, NOT of the community, NOT a dedicated member of the school board. He clearly is NOT an appropriate role model for our school children.

And yet once again, the union is attempting to subvert the process and gain control of the school board at the ballot box. It has selected yet another candidate nobody knows to further its political agenda and is bankrolling his campaign to unseat Meyer.

Don’t let this happen again.  Don’t allow the dysfunction that plagues Los Angeles city schools take root here.  Don’t let another disaster like Michael Ellis threaten our children’s futures.

Meyer believes the schools belong to all of us, not to factions that seek to take control of the school board away from the community.

He believes in collaboration, not confrontation, in building coalitions for the good of our children, not hidden agendas to benefit a few power-hungry adults. 

Meyer will fight self-serving special interests, such as those that are tearing Los Angeles city schools to shreds. He is running for re-election for one purpose: to ensure safe, high-quality schools for all of our children.