LOS ANGELES : Council Panel Backs Bill to Break Up School District
A City Council panel voted 2 to 1 Monday to support a state bill to break up the Los Angeles Unified School District.
“We’ve come to a point where a system is not serving the children of this city, in any part of this city, that the system has failed, that those who brought it that way resist the change, and that someone has to have the courage to try to bring about that change,” Councilman Joel Wachs said.
Wachs is chairman of the Arts, Health and Humanities Committee.
The panel’s decision foreshadows a potentially contentious debate when the full council votes on the matter today, a day before an Assembly committee considers the legislation.
The bill made it through the state Senate last month, where it was shepherded by its sponsor, Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys).
The proposed legislation calls for creation of a commission to draft a plan to split the nation’s second-largest school system into at least seven districts.
Opponents fear it would lead to several segregated school systems, with rich ones in the Valley and underfunded, crowded districts in the inner city.
“This is one of those color-coded votes,” said Councilman Mike Hernandez, who voted against supporting the Roberti bill.
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