Could This Be a Job for Superman (Woman)? : Resignation of schools chief roils already troubled waters

The sudden resignation of schools Supt. Bill Anton says less about him, and the many years of service he gave the education system, than it does about how much is wrong with the Los Angeles school district. And no matter who replaces Anton, the next superintendent can expect to grapple with severe fiscal, labor and political restraints that complicate the already difficult job of educating more than 600,000 children.

The student population in the nation’s second-largest district is increasingly diverse, increasingly poor and ever more difficult to teach. Yet learn the children must, despite shrinking resources.

Problems can become opportunities. A new era of change has begun in Los Angeles’ major social and political institutions. The new superintendent must be a reformer, whether he or she comes from inside or outside of the mammoth district. Anton’s successor must be a resolute educator with vision who can overcome the sorry condition of state financing for public education, the management obstacles imposed by a powerful teachers union and the political hurdles created by a Board of Education that too often micro-manages.

In the face of the ever present threat of fiscal paralysis, the new superintendent must manage creatively. In an era of shrinking school budgets, Anton’s replacement must figure out how to balance the budget without crowding more kids into every classroom. He or she can achieve that balance only if every district employee makes a sacrifice for the sake of the children.

To improve public education, the new superintendent also must find common ground with United Teachers-Los Angeles and other employee unions. Achieving immediate consensus won’t be easy because of the recent history of acrimony. Perhaps LEARN, the civic-business organization dedicated to reforming the schools, can act as a mediator and get the teachers and the new superintendent on the same team.

The new superintendent also must lay down the law to the school board. A majority of the board often puts politics first and education second. It was the board that approved a series of generous raises for teachers a few years ago. Teachers deserved those raises, but there was no guarantee that the state Legislature would provide the money for the higher pay. When the state failed to come through, the board was forced to cut deeply to make up for that huge gap and compensate for other shortfalls.

The likable Anton, who has been superintendent for only 26 months, inherited many of these problems from Leonard M. Britton, a nationally respected educator who had improved Miami’s schools with the support of the local union and school board. Britton, like Anton, found no such cooperation in Los Angeles.

In explaining his resignation, Anton emphasized that he did not have the authority to say “no” on spending decisions to a board that could vote to reverse him. During his two-year tenure, he oversaw more than $1 billion in cuts in the district’s budget.

Anton was the first Latino to head the predominantly Latino district. He was also an insider who knew the obstacles to change. He can take pride in his rise from playground coach to superintendent, but his decision to leave is sure to make parents and other observers wonder if anyone can successfully manage a school district this big, with this many problems--and with so much dissension.