Woo Has Dual Position on Schools : Campaign: His private remarks on proposed split-up differ from his public pronouncements.

Los Angeles councilman and mayoral candidate Michael Woo has privately told a group of black leaders that he opposes creation of a separate school district in the San Fernando Valley, The Times has learned.

In his public pronouncements, Woo has generally said that the Los Angeles Unified School District should be reorganized or reformed to give parents, teachers and local school officials more authority. But he has said he would oppose any reorganization plan that isolated or “ghettoized” minority schoolchildren.

At a private meeting with black civic officials last Saturday, Woo said he was opposed to any breakup that allowed San Fernando Valley schools to secede from the district. Woo said at the meeting that he had not publicly stated his opposition to a Valley district but that he was prepared to do so.

On Friday, however, when Woo was interviewed on a local cable television show, he avoided such pointed statements and reverted to his earlier comments that he would object to any plan that ghettoized minority children, according to a recording of the show played by Woo’s campaign office.

The racially divisive issue is a particularly tough one for Woo, a candidate who wants to hang on to his minority base but not at the risk of forfeiting vital support among Valley and Westside Anglos.

According to a Times poll released this week, Woo is leading a crowded field of candidates for mayor. But his support, coming primarily from blacks, Latinos and liberal Anglos, is shallow. Twenty percent of registered voters surveyed said they support him, but only one in five of those said Woo will definitely get their vote. In addition, 42% of voters surveyed said they are undecided.