Schwarzenegger Calls the Running of L.A. Unified ‘Horrible’

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger escalated the war of rhetoric Tuesday in the battle over reform and control of Los Angeles schools, calling the way the school district is run “horrible” and implying that Supt. Roy Romer deserved to be fired.

In an interview, Romer responded that Schwarzenegger was “just blowing in the wind.”

Schwarzenegger has said consistently that he would sign legislation giving Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa more authority over the Los Angeles Unified School District. But he has never been so publicly critical in his assessment of Romer and the nation’s second-largest school system.

The governor made his comments about Romer unprompted, speaking to reporters at a campaign stop in Corona.

“What I am trying to do is I am trying to be helpful to the mayor,” Schwarzenegger said, “because whenever you say you want to change something, immediately you get attacked by the status quo, by those who want to hold on, like Roy Romer. He wants to hold on. He thinks it is perfect the way L.A. Unified School District has been run. He’s wrong. It is horrible the way it has been run. It is disastrous. With any business in the world, if you had that kind of progress, you would be fired and they would change the system immediately.”

When read a transcript of the governor’s remarks, Romer’s first reaction was a long, bemused laugh.

“The exaggeration in his remarks is absolutely surprising,” Romer said. “There are many things that we are working on, that need to improve, but this district is very far from the status quo. I need to remind the good governor that when I came they hadn’t built a new high school in 30 years. We have undertaken the most rapid development of new schools in the United States, in the history of the United States. He’s just blowing in the wind.”

He added: “On test scores, we have exceeded the state’s average gain for six years. We’re driving the state average up. We’re changing more rapidly than any school district in the state of California -- building our test scores, breaking into smaller school units.

“I meet few people in public office who grasp at total untruths,” he said, swiping back at Schwarzenegger.

The governor is hardly alone in finding fault with L.A. Unified. Also on Wednesday, Villaraigosa, the school district’s lead critic, repeated his mantra about the urgency of changing the status quo when he introduced his new education advisor, Ramon Cortines. Villaraigosa muted his frequently harsh rhetoric about the school system’s high dropout rate, allowing that “there are some islands of success and we should acknowledge them.”

Villaraigosa welcomed Cortines to his team at a city-run day-care center before a group of 5-year-olds. The former New York City and Pasadena schools chief served for six months in 2000 as L.A.’s interim superintendent before Romer took over.

Cortines pledged to work with all parties to improve city schools.

In Corona, Schwarzenegger also discussed the issue of teachers union influence in the schools. “I think what Villaraigosa is doing will take away half their power,” Schwarzenegger said, “but it does not mean they will take it out of the mix.”

Romer disagreed, saying that union influence was not diminished in the deal worked out between Villaraigosa and union leaders. Union officials have tried to reassure their membership with the same conclusion.

The details of the plan still are being worked out in Sacramento and must pass the Legislature before reaching Schwarzenegger’s desk.

The governor commented on whether Villaraigosa’s plan should go before local voters. As it stands, only the approval of the Legislature and Schwarzenegger would be required. He said he would support a takeover plan ratified by local voters, but only if that were the wish of Villaraigosa and lawmakers.