Teachers Unions, Small Cities Meet Over Schools Bill

Officials from smaller cities met with teachers union leaders Tuesday to discuss what it would take to win the cities’ support for legislation that would give Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa substantial authority over the L.A. school district.

The mayor’s office did not take part, but it has separately tried to woo these cities to join unions in backing Villaraigosa’s efforts. Support from the cities could prove crucial if the vote is close in the Legislature, which will take up the bill next week.

The unions’ involvement in such talks underscores how important they are to getting the legislation passed.

The provisions of Assembly Bill 1381 are complicated by the fact that the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles Unified School District extends to 26 cities other than Los Angeles. Officials from these cities have complained that Villaraigosa’s plan would give him inappropriate control over schools outside Los Angeles.

In particular, the leaders take issue with the structure of a proposed council of mayors, which would choose the superintendent and review the budget. Members of this new council would have voting power proportional to their cities’ populations, which means Villaraigosa would win every vote, based on that alone. Changes to the bill that were unveiled Monday did not alter this procedure.

Villaraigosa’s team has resisted giving the other mayors a veto over his decisions -- that could leave the cities in control if they banded together. An official from the smaller cities offered a compromise Tuesday: Require the council of mayors to take two tallies.

One tally would be based on population, and Villaraigosa would automatically prevail because Los Angeles makes up about 80% of the school district. The second tally would give each member of the council a vote of equal weight. Hiring a superintendent, for example, would require a win on both tallies. Thus, either Villaraigosa or a majority of the cities could potentially veto a decision.

This model of voting is based on how Los Angeles County’s smaller cities choose representatives to the boards of the regional transportation and smog-control agencies.

“United Teachers Los Angeles seemed to be very receptive to our suggestions,” said Jeffrey Prang, a West Hollywood city councilman who also serves as president of the California Contract Cities Assn. “They did not discount any of them. I felt somewhat optimistic.”

The teachers union requested the meeting, Prang said. A union spokesman confirmed the meeting but could not provide information about what occurred. Union officials did not return phone calls.

The legislation emerged from a deal struck between Villaraigosa and teachers unions -- the locally based United Teachers and the California Teachers Assn., based in Northern California. Both were represented at Tuesday’s meeting.

A spokeswoman for Villaraigosa declined to comment, saying the mayor’s office had not been involved. She added that the mayor is still accepting and considering suggestions.