Riordan Seeks Change in L.A. Schools Legislation

Richard Riordan, one of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s key supporters in his bid to gain authority over the Los Angeles Unified School District, has apparently been having second thoughts and over the last week has been quietly pushing for a key change in the legislation.

Reached late Tuesday afternoon, Riordan, a former Los Angeles mayor himself, said he believed that the efforts to make the change -- made along with former Gov. Pete Wilson and billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, among others -- had been successful.

The mayor’s office, however, politely disagreed.

At issue is an obscure provision in the legislation -- now pending before the state Senate -- called a severability clause. This clause says that if part of the bill were found to be unconstitutional, the rest would nonetheless become law. Villaraigosa’s legal advisor inserted the language precisely because portions of the bill might fall prey to legal challenges. Better to have part of the bill than none of it, went the reasoning.

But Riordan departed from that logic once he considered the insertion’s practical effect.

He joined forces with Wilson, Broad and two key Republican state legislators -- Assemblyman Keith Richman of Northridge and Sen. George Runner of Lancaster -- to argue for removing the clause.

Of all these, only Riordan is on record as supporting the current legislation.

Their problem is that the “better” parts of the bill are most vulnerable to constitutional challenge. These are provisions that give Villaraigosa direct control over specific schools and partial authority over the district through a council of mayors. If these portions fell out, what was left would be a step backward, Riordan and others concluded.

So what would be left?

Remaining provisions would give teachers greater input into curriculum decisions, would possibly limit the district’s ability to contract out, say, for janitorial services, to save money, and would leave behind a stronger superintendent paired with a weaker Board of Education.

These specifics have their supporters: Teachers have long touted the benefits of having more say over curriculum, and limits on outsourcing could preserve the jobs of district employees.

But critics counter that a stripped-down statute would strengthen employee unions at the expense of actual school reform. As Wilson put it: “That to me would be the worst of all worlds.”

He reportedly contacted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger or his top staff in recent days to lobby for removal of the clause. Riordan, in concert with Broad, his weekend house guest in Idaho, reportedly worked the mayor’s staff.

Riordan and Wilson declined to confirm their specific efforts. Broad could not be reached.

If Villaraigosa acquiesced to Riordan on the severability clause, the mayor would solidify a high-profile backer’s support, but there would also be a risk: If any part of the bill were successfully challenged in court, the entire legislation would be voided. As of Tuesday, Villaraigosa’s team was apparently not ready to take that risk.

“We have not accepted that amendment,” mayoral spokeswoman Janelle Erickson said.

“We need to shift the focus away from legislative maneuvering and put it back to the classroom,” she added. “This is really the best chance at reforming the schools that Los Angeles has seen in decades, and we must not lose sight of that.”