Rebel with a Cause

As Marta Perez has discovered, the school board can be a very lonely place when you're trying to be a reformer

A A A Comments By Rebecca Wakefield Thursday, Feb 15 2001

...continued from page 5

Steve Satterwhite

Perez needs a little help from her friends, such as former school principal Cindy Morgan, who recently signed on as Perez's chief of staff

More About

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

Old community council ally Paul Angelo, who has kept an eye on Perez's career since she left the relatively benign world of local zoning, says he's glad Perez keeps poking her stick. He resents paying the lion's share of his property taxes to an entity that squanders it. "It's got to be a lonely, frustrating job for her," he muses. "Of course she could have become the player and been buddies with everyone and gotten things done behind closed doors, but I'm guessing the only way she can work for change is to focus attention on the problems. Marta's not crazy. She's not saying Martians are landing at Holmes Braddock High. She points out real problems. I think that's part of why she has such an active fan club out there. She'll say the emperor has no clothes. She might scream and she might cry while she's saying it, but she's the only one who will say it and be remembered for saying it."