Never one to be accused of being soft-spoken or timid, the newest member of the Los Angeles Board of Education wasted little time getting to work Wednesday.
At 11 a.m., Monica Garcia walked briskly into the school district’s Friedman Occupational Center. Doing away quickly with pleasantries, she peppered officials with questions about campus programs and its expansion plans.
Garcia also said she would call for school leaders to be given greater autonomy from the district’s behemoth central administration to make budget and instruction decisions.