Assembly Panel Rejects Breakup of L.A. Schools

A key state Assembly committee on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected a sweeping proposal to dismantle the Los Angeles Unified School District--an action likely to prompt an initiative drive to put the issue on the ballot.

After a contentious three-hour hearing and several days of intense behind-the-scenes lobbying, the bill by Sen. President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys) drew support from only four Republicans and was opposed by six Democrats, including four from Los Angeles. The others on the 17-member panel either were absent or abstained.

Leticia Quezada, president of the Los Angeles Board of Education, which strongly opposed the legislation, was elated by the defeat of Roberti’s measure, calling it “a victory for Los Angeles and anyone who represents the interests of quality education” in the 640,000-student district, the nation’s second largest.

Roberti said he was disappointed but not surprised by the committee’s action. He said he expected a tough fight because the legislation was opposed by teachers unions and their powerful ally, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco).

Brown acknowledged answering questions on the issue at a recent meeting of the legislative black caucus but denied that he pressured lawmakers.

Roberti immediately vowed to consider other options for the proposal--from trying to negotiate a compromise that could be heard by lawmakers in August after they return from summer vacation to joining with others in an initiative campaign. He declined to spell out the details of putting it on the ballot.

But he made it clear that although he may have lost a skirmish, he was not giving up the fight. “We have no intention of letting this thing drop,” Roberti said at a news conference. “We intend to carry on the battle for the public schools.”

Roberti also predicted that his bill’s defeat will be cited by supporters of the school choice voucher initiative on the November ballot to show that lawmakers are not interested in reforming public education. The initiative would give parents tax-supported scholarships to help pay their children’s private school tuition.

After winning a special election in the San Fernando Valley last year, Roberti, a longtime school district supporter, embraced the breakup issue as a top priority.

Roberti’s legislation would have set up a 32-member commission to develop a plan to break the district into at least seven smaller school systems.

The panel would have included a cross-section of members appointed by Mayor Richard Riordan, the Board of Supervisors, civil rights organizations, labor unions and parent-teacher groups. They would have been directed to put their scheme on the November, 1994, election ballot.

The Department of Finance has estimated that the breakup plan could cost taxpayers $20 million to $40 million. Roberti, however, argued that the cost of maintaining the status quo would ultimately be much more expensive.

At the hearing, the measure was advocated by parents from the San Fernando Valley, San Pedro and Carson as well as Huntington Park Mayor Richard Loya, who is a health science teacher in the Los Angeles school system. It was opposed by the California Teachers Assn., United Teachers-Los Angeles and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, among others.

Both sides turned Wednesday’s hearing into a colloquium on what ails the Los Angeles schools and the best way to improve education in a district where at least 86 languages are spoken.

Roberti argued that the public is frustrated with the district’s tangled bureaucracy and falling test scores. He contended that smaller districts would boost parent involvement in schools.

With his voice rising and his eyebrows arched, Roberti cited “frustration by the parents who are voting with their feet and getting out of (the Los Angeles distrtict) because they think it is hopeless” and he complained that “they are not even given a chance to have any autonomy over the education of their kids.”

But opponents, including Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles), argued that a smaller district would not necessarily result in classroom improvements.

School board member Mark Slavkin said the committee’s action has given the district an opportunity to implement a reform plan by LEARN (Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now), which aims at decentralizing power by giving school principals authority over campus management.

He cautioned Roberti about launching a crusade to push the breakup, saying: “I think it would be very divisive in a city already divided along racial lines.”