One Big Collective Sigh of Relief

Los Angeles has averted a teachers strike. That’s a big relief because a paralyzing walkout would have eroded what little confidence is left in the public schools.

A strike also would have accelerated the polarizing debate over breaking up the nation’s second-largest school district. And it would have encouraged support for the private school voucher initiative, a potential drain on public education funds.

But Los Angeles’ children would have been the biggest losers if a strike had disrupted their education. More than 640,000 students attend schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. They need an education they can count on.

The schools will be open on Monday because a majority of the teachers union wisely accepted the fragile compromise fashioned by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

Brown got more power for teachers. They will participate in a management audit that should satisfy some of their concerns about how the district is run. Many will choose the classes they teach and the year-round schedule they work.

The Speaker also reduced the teachers’ financial sacrifice. The district had sought a 12% pay cut to compensate for deep budget cuts that nowadays rain down from Sacramento. The final deal trimmed that pay reduction to 10%, which is still a hefty blow to teachers, who are in a traditionally poorly paid profession.

Teachers deserve much better pay. But the district can’t afford larger salaries without further decimating public education. The state is also awash with financial problems. Even if more money were available in Sacramento, few politicians would be willing to reward the unyielding and often mean-spirited power struggle between the union and the district.

The UTLA is a strong union that does its best to influence events to the benefit of its members. That’s what its members expect it to do. Few would disagree that teachers are underpaid, but UTLA tactics don’t always make it endearing, especially during a recession when many industries are laying off employees wholesale.

The school board, on the other hand, faces even bigger credibility problems. Three years ago, a majority gave in on hefty pay raises well beyond what the state was willing to guarantee. No school board would promise what it couldn’t deliver if it had to raise those funds.

Financing public education is a structural problem that requires attention from Sacramento. The schools must get better. That improvement will require some level of cooperation between the union and the district. It will also require better management by the district, and more courageous guidance from the school board.

The strike threat is over, but for how long? Anger, frustration and poor morale linger among the women and men who are asked to perform miracles in the classroom. Politics must not prevail while too many children fail.