A month after pushing through the winning plan for the Belmont Learning Center, school board member Jose Huizar looks to be on his way to another victory; he is expected to be named school board president this Tuesday. School board insiders say Huizar is likely to get the votes of Julie Korenstein, Marlene Canter, incoming board member John Lauritzen and possibly additional board members. (Former president Caprice Young was ousted in a recent election for new school board members.) Having garnered support from labor groups and the Coalition for Kids, two rival factions that have traditionally defined the battles over the city's educational system, Huizar says he will be able to unite the board. "In a time when we're going to face some very difficult fiscal times ahead of us, we want to have a unified board that could put aside the labels and focus on our priorities," he said. The 34-year-old part-time attorney said he hopes to steer the school board away from political infighting to focus on raising student achievement. Huizar recently left his job at the City Attorney's office to join a small Pasadena law firm, which he said will allow him a more flexible schedule to concentrate on the board.
(page 2, 06/30/03)
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