Reform for L.A. Schools Advances

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s bid to assert significant control over the Los Angeles Unified School District cleared its first legislative hurdle Wednesday, with state lawmakers voting 7-1 in support of his plan despite expressing deep reservations.

In one of many critical comments by members of the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) told Villaraigosa, “In looking at this bill, it’s going to be more top-down than it’s ever been with you in charge.... There is less engagement by parents, the school boards become rubber stamps ... all of which is not, in my opinion, what everyone wants.”

Other lawmakers questioned whether the mayor’s plan would add to bureaucracy, leaving it unclear just who is in charge of the nation’s second-largest public school system. Some worried that the bill might violate the state Constitution, and they questioned whether residents in the district should have a chance to vote on the plan.

Still, after applauding Villaraigosa’s passion for seeking to improve public schools, Speier and six of her fellow committee Democrats voted to pass the bill, while one Republican opposed it and two others abstained. One Democrat did not attend.

The measure would give Villaraigosa and a “council of mayors” from other district cities final say on the school board’s choice of a superintendent, and that official would have new authority over the district’s $7.4-billion budget and school construction program. It would also give the Los Angeles mayor direct control over three troubled high schools and dozens of elementary and middle schools.

The bill embodies a deal that Villaraigosa struck earlier this month with the California Teachers Assn. and United Teachers of Los Angeles -- powerful unions that had strenuously opposed his original call for a complete mayoral takeover. On Wednesday, both the mayor and top school district leaders traveled to the Capitol to appear before the committee.

L.A. Unified Supt. Roy Romer testified against the bill in sometimes testy exchanges with the mayor. Romer said he and the seven-member elected school board faced a “stacked deck” because the bill has the backing of legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But “there was great anxiety” among Education Committee members, Romer said afterward. “You could tell from their questions. This is the beginning of several chapters of this struggle.”

The bill -- AB 1381 by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Sen. Gloria Romero -- Los Angeles Democrats -- now faces a vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee after lawmakers return Aug. 7 from a monthlong break. The bill must also pass the full Senate and Assembly before it can go to Schwarzenegger, who has promised to sign it.

Romer has accused Schwarzenegger of embracing the legislation without knowing the details. But in a press briefing Wednesday, the Republican governor said he had “talked about it endless amounts of hours” with Villaraigosa. Schwarzenegger -- who rarely takes a position on legislation until it passes the Legislature -- said Romer was only interested in protecting the status quo.

Schwarzenegger described Romer as “a man that is screaming for help because he believes in the status quo, and the mayor and I don’t. We believe if something doesn’t work, fix it. And that is as simple as that.”

Villaraigosa has made a high-risk political bet that he can improve the 727,000-student district by creating a “historic partnership” with the school board, teachers and parents, with the mayor at the center of accountability for school performance. He originally sought direct control of the district and elimination of the school board, but scaled back that plan in the face of resistance from lawmakers and unions.

“I know there’s no magic solution here, just hard work,” said Villaraigosa. “I’m prepared for that hard work.”

The mayor credited Romer and the board for improving test scores in the elementary grades but complained that nearly half of the district’s students drop out -- a contention disputed by district officials -- and 81% of middle school students are in schools identified by federal officials as “failing.”

In a blunt presentation to legislators that included large charts, Romer countered that Los Angeles school system students have posted gains on standardized tests and other assessments that outpace state averages. Romer called the mayor’s presentation “a misrepresentation” and the bill unnecessary.

“We’re doing something there you ought to replicate in the rest of California rather than micro-manage in the Legislature,” Romer said.

In response to questions from Sen. Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), Villaraigosa expressed confidence that with greater control over the district, he could attract more than $100 million in foundation money to L.A. Unified.

“But they won’t invest now,” Villaraigosa said. “I can tell you the Gates Foundation is not investing in L.A. Unified the way they did in Chicago and New York, and they won’t until they see there’s an opportunity to create the kind of public accountability that’s necessary.”

Romer shot back, “The mayor just doesn’t know his facts.”

Romer said that representatives of the Gates Foundation would be in Los Angeles today to “culminate an eight-week discussion” about redefining high school curriculum.

After the hearing, Romer declined to offer more specifics, saying he did not want to jeopardize any financial support that the Gates Foundation might eventually offer.

“I felt I had to respond to it because it was being used in such an unfair way,” Romer said.

Torlakson, Sen. Nell Soto (D-Pomona) and Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) offered quick support for Villaraigosa. But Speier and Sen. Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara) asked for several amendments, including that an assessment of mayoral control be performed after a year and a half.

Sen. Jack Scott (D-Altadena), the committee chairman, said he would like the bill to have more clarity on how much freedom schools and teachers would have over which textbooks to use.

“I don’t want this bill to suggest that textbooks will be selected school by school,” Scott said.

Scott’s demand for changes could pose a new challenge for the mayor, who sought to secure union support, in part, by granting teachers an increased say over curriculum.

Romero -- also a member of the Education Committee -- promised to work with her colleagues on all of their suggestions.

Republican members were far less enthusiastic. Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria), who cast the only “no” vote, said he was uncomfortable with potential conflicts of interest between the mayor and the superintendent, who would be beholden to the mayor for his job.

He urged Villaraigosa to instead back a slate of candidates for the school board, who could then help him carry out reforms. Sen. Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside), who abstained from voting, said the bill seemed to cloud rather than narrow accountability. He questioned the legality of allowing the mayor to take direct control of dozens of schools and said the notion of mayoral control of the public schools should go before L.A. Unified voters.

In response, Romer predicted, “There’s undoubtedly going to be extended litigation over this if it passes.”

Roughly 50 parents of L.A. Unified students, most wearing yellow T-shirts that said “Parents -- not politics,” crowded the hearing room in opposition to the bill. One of them, Bill Ring of West Los Angeles, told lawmakers, “LAUSD is an easy dog to kick, but it’s our dog. We want the right to work on it.”

After the vote, Ring said he was optimistic that the legislators’ skepticism would lead to more debate and changes to the mayor’s plan.

“My sense is there were people who wanted to raise questions but didn’t want to be responsible for killing this particular legislation in this committee,” Ring said.

At least one of the groups that testified Wednesday in favor of the reform bill received a large donation from United Teachers Los Angeles this year. One-LA, the Los Angeles affiliate of a national network of community groups, received a $20,000 check from UTLA in April, according to documents obtained by The Times.

Other grass-roots organizations that have come out in support of the union’s calls for an overhaul of the district have also benefited financially, receiving donations ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.

UTLA President A.J. Duffy said the union has been aligned closely with the groups for years and long made donations to them. “These are community-based groups doing wonderful work,” he said. “For us, it is all about partnerships.”

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Times staff writer Robert Salladay contributed to this report. Vogel reported from Sacramento and Rubin from Los Angeles.