Keith Coleman is the newest member of the SMMUSD Board of Education — despite losing in the November 3 general election to fellow candidate Jason Feldman.
Coleman was sworn in by District Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati after receiving the endorsement the Board members Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, Laurie Lieberman, Maria Leon-Vazquez and Jon Kean on Friday evening.
He fills the Board position left vacant by Oscar de la Torre and will be eligible to run for a full term in November 2020.
“I wholeheartedly believe that Keith Coleman is the best and right person to fill this position,” Board President Jon Kean said in prepared remarks.
“Keith has a very compelling connection to special education in his family. I believe he will be a strong voice not only for social justice, but for all families who feel that their child has not been heard or seen.”
The appointment did not sit well with many local parents who believed the seat should have been given to Feldman, who earned 396 more votes than Coleman in the recent general election.
Feldman also earned the endorsement of The Santa Monica Daily Press.
Coleman has indicated his top priorities will include improvement of Social Justice standards within the District.
“Millions came out into the street to recognize that systemic racism runs through all of our institutions that deny equal opportunity, and none of those institutions is as important as public education,” he said, referring to this summer’s BLM protest movement.
“I hope to continue to support the powerful practices and innovations that the District has put forward with project based learning, dynamic compelling facilities improvement projects to help students move forward in the 21st century, and the continued act of work with the Noguera report to move that playbook into practical operational fashion.”
Coleman is a former education innovator, policy adviser, angel investor, and mental fitness coach. He has one son currently enrolled in Lincoln Middle School and an older son who attended Roosevelt Elementary School and Santa Monica High School.
