The Looming Fight to Fund L.A.’s Schools

Just before a school board meeting Monday, an assistant was telling Los Angeles School Supt. Bill Anton about a trip to Sacramento.

The assistant, lobbying for state assistance, had wielded some of the political clout inherent in representing California’s largest school district. In fact, he confided to Anton, he’d engaged in some “back room stuff.” He’d even requested help from the Legislature’s Mr. Muscle, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

Anton nodded approvingly. That is what the superintendent would have done--call in Willie Brown. The schools are in trouble. A fight is on. “We’re supposed to be muscling to take care of our own, for Christ’s sake,” Anton said.

I was eavesdropping on their conversation from my seat at the press table, too far away to catch every detail of this particular Sacramento intrigue. It didn’t matter. What interested me was the attitude of the superintendent, a short, blunt, earthy man who must have been a terror to goof-offs when he was a teacher.

This year, more than ever, the Los Angeles Unified School District needs muscle, clout, influence--all the political tricks they never taught you in high school civics.

The district’s financial troubles have been amply reported: The school district faces a $341-million deficit for the coming year. Much of that comes from a huge cut in state education money to wipe out the state’s $13-billion budget deficit.

Los Angeles teachers, custodians, administrators and all the other employees may be asked to take a 7% salary cut. Class size might be increased by three students in grades 4 through 12. And on and on and on. . . .

Moreover, the Sacramento political situation facing Anton and the seven school board members is more complicated than in the past, thanks to the new governor, Republican Pete Wilson, and his political and governmental agenda.

Wilson’s Republican predecessor, George Deukmejian, was a simple man. If he was going to make a name for himself, it would be as Gov. Crimestopper, and he didn’t care about much else. His agenda was to put some stiffer criminal penalties on the books, authorize a few more prisons and keep taxes down.

That left the Democratic legislative leaders, Speaker Brown and Senate President David Roberti of Los Angeles, great freedom to maneuver. From those maneuvers, and from Deukmejian’s indifference to most policy matters, came the opportunity for Roberti and other L.A. powers to slip more money into the budget for the Los Angeles school district.

Wilson’s ambitions are much loftier. He can see himself in the White House. He’d like to be remembered as the architect of a new, more efficient, fairer financial structure for the state. You may see him campaigning for President in 1996 as a man for the new century, the “Can Do” Republican.

It’s early in what promises to be a rollicking budget season, but already school officials are convinced that if Wilson prevails in negotiations with Democrats, they will have less money for their districts.

They are also aware, however, that in Wilson they have a more formidable opponent. Already, the schools are attempting new approaches.

I talked to Mark Slavkin, an ambitious young Democratic school board member who represents Los Angeles’ Westside, about the changes.

For one thing, he said, the school board, which had become infamous for bickering over small details, has put aside some of their differences and for once appear to be marching together into the budget battle ahead.

At this point, the L.A. board favors Senate President Roberti’s approach, a combination of state budget cuts and tax-the-wealthy revenue measures. Wilson wants to raise money by increasing the sales tax, which the school officials suspect will produce less revenue for Los Angeles schools.

It’s early in the game. In late June, as the legislative session ends, expect an intricate political fight, with all sorts of proposals emerging, all kinds of back room deals. Wilson needs just a few converts to stand head-to-head against Roberti and Brown.

Expect, too, to see Bill Anton spend a significant amount of time in Sacramento, fighting for his share.

That will not be easy. Liberal Democrats control the L.A. board and most of them have been elected with the help of the teachers union. Teachers unions opposed Wilson in his 1990 election and he’s put them high on his political revenge list.

But Anton has shown a taste for political gamesmanship. When he asked the teachers to take a pay cut, he said he’d cut his own salary. A man clever enough to do that probably understands that, in the heat of the Sacramento summer, when the final decisions are made, Los Angeles school officials will need brains as well as muscle to take care of their own.