George J. McKenna III | |
---|---|
Member of the LAUSD Board of Education for the 1st district | |
Assumed office August 28, 2014 | |
Preceded by | Marguerite LaMotte |
Personal details | |
Born | New Orleans, Louisiana | September 6, 1940
Political party | Democratic |
Alma mater |
Xavier University of Louisiana (
Ed.D,
BMath) Loyola Law School ( M.A.) |
George J. McKenna III (born September 6, 1940) is an American politician and former educator who is a current member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education for District 1 since 2014. [1] A former principal at Washington Preparatory High School, McKenna helped reform the school as the school had issues with gang violence, with his actions being re-enacted in the 1986 biographical film The George McKenna Story where he was portrayed by Denzel Washington. [2] [3]
McKenna was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 6, 1940, and attended Xavier University of Louisiana, getting a Bachelor of Mathematics and later a Doctor of Education. In 1962, he accepted a teaching position for the Los Angeles Unified School District while attending Loyola Law School, the University of California, Los Angeles, and California State University, Los Angeles. [4]
After arriving to Los Angeles, McKenna was a math teacher and was assigned as principal of Washington High School. [5] The school was plagued by low achievement score, high absenteeism and gang violence. Under McKenna's leadership, the school banned school violence and had low absentee rates. [2] Because of his efforts, a biographical television film was made documenting his story called The George McKenna Story, with Denzel Washington portraying him. [3]
In 1989, McKenna received the Congressional Black Caucus’ Chairman’s Award and was later inducted into the National Alliance of Black School Educators’ Hall of Fame in 1997. [6]
In 1988, McKenna was hired to become the Inglewood Unified School District superintendent. After his hiring, McKenna was criticized by opponents for being arrogant and mismanaged the district. [7] In 1993, Inglewood's school board then announced that they would not renew the contract between them and McKenna, with the board voting 3-2 for no confidence. [8] [9] In 1994, Compton Unified School District hired McKenna as deputy superintendent. [10]
In August 2014, McKenna announced that he was running for the LAUSD Board of Education District 1 seat to finish Marguerite LaMotte's term as LaMotte had died in December 2013. [11] LaMotte, like McKenna, had also been a principal at Washington Preparatory High, and McKenna and supporters had previously pressured the Board to appoint him after her death, with the Board instead choosing to hold a special election. [12] Although opponent Alex Johnson accused him of child molestation charges and the state take-over of the Compton and Inglewood school districts, widely condemned by supporters including Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Karen Bass, McKenna won the seat. [6] [1] McKenna was sworn in on August 28, 2014, and was re-elected in the 2014 general election. [13] [14] In 2023, McKenna announced that he would be retiring as a board member at the end of his term in 2024. [15]