Walkouts at Schools Called at a ‘Crisis’

As sit-ins or walkouts hit 15 additional Los Angeles school district campuses in the ninth day of a widening student revolt, the political and administrative apparatus of the city’s huge school district launched a series of new initiatives to respond to what the school board president termed a “crisis.”

Friday’s protests involved an estimated 4,300 students--the largest single-day total yet--and included a dozen high schools and three junior high schools from Carson to Granada Hills and East Los Angeles to Venice. Most of the demonstrations continued to be peaceful, and no injuries were reported.

However, the potential for the student-led protests to get out of hand was dramatized at San Fernando High School, where hundreds of students decided to march down the center of Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Some threw rocks and bottles at police who ordered them to return to school. Other protesting San Fernando High students swarmed en masse into a convenience store and stole items off the shelves.

‘Very Serious’

“This is getting very serious. . . . I think we’re reaching the crisis point,” said school board President Roberta Weintraub.

The dual theme of the protests, which are an outgrowth of a bitter labor dispute between the Los Angeles Unified School District and its teachers, remained the same. Students support teachers’ demands for higher pay, but they want their official midyear grades filed with the district.

Teachers, as a pressure tactic on the board, have threatened to withhold student grades from the district if a contract settlement is not reached by next Friday. Students would be able to obtain grades from teachers on unofficial, union report cards.

College Admissions

Despite assurances from teachers that students will not be affected by the action, many students, particularly high school seniors, are demanding that the grades be filed. They fear that they may be put at a disadvantage in the competition for college admissions if preparation of official midyear transcripts is delayed.

A flurry of new efforts surfaced Friday to address the protests and the slow-moving contract negotiations that have been going on for almost a year. It was not clear, however, whether the efforts were producing actual progress toward halting the protests or resolving the underlying labor dispute between the school district and teachers. But they were clearly the result of the spreading student demonstrations and represented some of the most visible movement in weeks toward accelerated bar gaining.

Three board members--Warren Furutani, Julie Korenstein and Jackie Goldberg--held a press conference to declare that it is time for around-the-clock bargaining between board members and leaders of United Teachers-Los Angeles.

“Things have taken a decided turn for the worse,” said Furutani, a Harbor-area representative. “We can’t stand by while the situation continues to deteriorate.”

Union officials quickly endorsed the move.

Furutani and Korenstein called for an emergency school board meeting and bargaining through the weekend, but late Friday, Weintraub said some board members were not available and the matter will not be taken up until the board’s regular meeting Monday.

Widespread Disbelief

In another development, Weintraub, acknowledging widespread disbelief of the district’s claim that it lacks the money to significantly improve its pay offer to teachers, called for an independent audit of the district’s books. The auditor, she said, should be selected jointly by the school board and the teachers’ union. The matter is expected to be taken up Monday.

Because of the protests, administration officials also said they plan in the coming days to make an unusual mass mailing to all parents in the district. The mailing, officials said, is expected to explain the district’s position in negotiations and assure parents and students that the district will do everything possible to fulfill its legal obligations.

But, in an effort to boost its side, district spokeswoman Diana Munatones said the letter may also warn that the district does not recognize the union report cards and that withholding of grades could harm some students.

It was not clear Friday whether the student protest tactic of skipping homeroom period--during which the official attendance is taken that determines state funding for the district--was having a significant financial effect. The district loses $15 for each student not present. Homeroom attendance was down at some schools Friday, but officials had no estimate of the impact.

New Appeal

Meanwhile, Wayne Johnson, president of the teachers’ union, issued a new appeal for students to stay in class and stop the walkouts, “because they are not accomplishing anything.”

Johnson also sought to place responsibility for the protests on Supt. Leonard Britton, who he accused of being “very irresponsible” earlier this week. Britton, in well-publicized remarks, warned that some college-bound students could be harmed if grades are not filed with school offices.

The union insists that no harm will result and that grades will be forwarded to college admissions officials. Johnson said if the teachers capitulate on the grade issue, the only collective-bargaining tactic left would be a strike.

But board member Alan Gershman insisted that the contract and the grades are separate issues and the key to ending the protests is release of the grades.

“There would be no more problem if the teachers do what they are supposed to do,” he said.

WHERE THEY STAND SALARY INCREASES BOARD: 6% increase first year at a cost of $69 million, 5.2% in each of the second and third years, more if additional state funds are available. Estimated total cost is $420 million. TEACHERS:12% first year. Estimated cost is $138 million. TERM OF CONTRACT BOARD: Three years. School board says it needs extended period of labor peace to work on improving educational quality. TEACHERS: One year. With passage of guaranteed school funding, teachers believe more funds may be available in coming years and do not want to agree to lower increases now. AVAILABLE MONEY BOARD: To go above the current offer will require cuts in a variety of administrative and curriculum-development programs that would eventually hurt students. TEACHERS: The district has plenty of money buried in its $3.5-billion budget to meet teacher pay requests. POWER SHARING BOARD: More decision-making authority over spending and instruction should be pushed down to the neighborhood school level. Teachers, parents and principal would share power on new school councils, but principal would have to agree with council before any changes are made. TEACHERS: The district should move ahead now with so-called school-based management. Decisions should be made by school councils, with teachers having a majority of voting positions and principals having no veto. PREPARATION TIME AT GRADE SCHOOLS BOARD: Giving elementary school teachers paid preparation time during the school day would cost $82 million in the first year, and appears to be too costly. TEACHERS: Like junior and senior high teachers, elementary teachers need time set aside for instruction preparation. DOCKED PAY BOARD: There is no basis for paying teachers for duties they have not performed as part of their boycott of yard duty, parent conferences and other activities. TEACHERS: District is illegally withholding millions of dollars from teachers and every penny will have to be released before a settlement. Staff writer Steve Padilla contributed to this story.