Teachers Strike Settlement Rekindles School Board Race

The bitter teachers strike may have ended, but the fight for power within the Los Angeles Unified School District continues--and the Westside is the arena for the next round.

It is the June 6 runoff election between incumbent school board member Alan Gershman and challenger Mark Slavkin, the candidate backed by the 22,000-member United Teachers-Los Angeles.

The teachers union has poured money and volunteers into Slavkin’s campaign in the hope of unseating Gershman in the Westside district that stretches from Topanga Canyon to Los Angeles International Airport, and inland to Hollywood. The union is also supporting incumbent Julie Korenstein against Jerry Horowitz, a popular Sun Valley junior high school principal, in another runoff election in the West San Fernando Valley.

By supporting Slavkin and Korenstein, the union hopes to secure a sympathetic majority on the seven-member Los Angeles school board.

For the most part, the race for the Westside seat has been on hold while public attention focused on the strike that crippled the school system for nine days. But now that the dispute is resolved, both candidates have once again begun revving up their political engines to get out the vote next week.

“Now we can get into full gear and devote more time, energy and intelligence into this campaign,” said Gershman after the tentative settlement was announced Thursday morning.

Both sides are predicting a low voter turnout. The only other race on the ballot, in the Los Angeles Community College District, is not expected to draw large numbers to the polls.

A low turnout, according to political observers, will help Slavkin, who has a ready-made core of support in the teachers. Slavkin forced Gershman into the runoff last month by polling 36% of the vote in the four-candidate race. Gershman had 48%, but needed a majority to win reelection outright and avoid the runoff.

Slavkin, 27, a political aide to county Supervisor Ed Edelman, has supported teacher demands for higher salaries and more of a voice in the running of the schools. He has also accused Gershman of being in league with high-salaried “fat cat” administrators in the district.

“The public understands the problem,” he said. “They support the kinds of reforms that the teachers have been struggling for, and they are willing to work together with teachers rather than fight against them. The public is sick and tired of the adversarial relationship between the board and the teachers and they want someone to bring them together.”

Gershman, on the other hand, accuses Slavkin of being a “puppet of the teachers union” and of lacking the experience necessary to work with six other board members to reach compromises.

“His biggest problem is that he mistakes campaigning for governing,” Gershman said. “He has no idea what it takes to be a school board member.”

Gershman said that many voters have been turned off by the union’s demands for “excessive” salary increases.

“Nobody is saying that they don’t deserve a decent salary increase--they do ,” Gershman said. “But what they are demanding may lead to deep cuts in educational programs, and people will scream bloody murder when cuts have to be made to meet these salary demands.”

Gershman said he is not sure whether he will be able to support the current agreement calling for a 24% increase over three years if it means making drastic cuts.

Slavkin hopes to meet Gershman in a face-to-face debate. Gershman was forced to drop out of two scheduled debates because of contract negotiations. “I am ready to debate him anywhere, any time,” Slavkin said.

However, Gershman said Thursday he was not ready to take up the challenge because there was still too much work to be done. “I am going to have to sit down and check my schedule,” Gershman said. “My number one priority is getting the schools back on track. To assist the parents, teachers and administrators to get back into the flow of school. . . . I can’t make commitments, not today.”

Some Westside voters say the strike has helped them decide which candidate to vote for.

‘Don’t Trust Credentials’

“I have seen Slavkin’s sign all over the place, but I really don’t trust his credentials, I wonder whether he will act independently,” said Phyllis Sewall, the mother of two public schoolchildren. “I believe that teachers deserve a decent salary, but the children have been hurt in this strike. My kids have been trapped in the house for two weeks.”

Barbara Herman, a parent of a sixth grader, said she too has been bothered by the strike, but said Gershman’s leadership in the district also troubles her. “It would be hard to imagine someone with a lower profile,” she said.

In the meantime, each candidate has accused the other of accepting illegal campaign contributions. Gershman has asked the state Fair Political Practices Commission to investigate Slavkin for accepting more than $20,000 from the teachers. Slavkin has asked the commission to investigate Gershman for accepting contributions from O’Melveny & Myers, the law firm that represents the district. The commission is looking into both allegations.

Gershman, 49, a former teacher and educational consultant, is supported by unions representing 8,000 school district blue-collar workers, many school administrators, state Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig and Westside City Councilmen Zev Yaroslavsky and Marvin Braude.

Slavkin, in addition to his support from the teachers, is backed by a number of Democratic leaders and clubs. He has been endorsed by Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles)--for whom his mother is a longtime field representative--and former U.S. Sen. John V. Tunney.