School Letter on Prop. 187 Draws Fire : Education: Antonovich says action violates spirit of law barring public agencies from using funds for political purposes. Officials say they had duty to report effects of the law.

A Los Angeles Unified School District mailing about Proposition 187 has drawn the ire of Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who says that, although legal, it “violates the spirit of the law” that prohibits public agencies from using taxpayer funds for political campaign purposes.

District officials, however, said they had a right and a duty to circulate information about how the anti-illegal immigration proposition would affect the district. They said the letters, sent to parents and political and community leaders, include only factual information and do not tell people how to vote.

Antonovich was one of the earliest supporters of the measure and its provisions for denying public services, including public education, to illegal immigrants. The Los Angeles Unified School District opposes the measure.

The district’s “Dear Friend” letter, sent to about 2,000 leaders late last week and signed by the superintendent of schools and the school board president, states that the measure’s passage would strip the district of $628 million in federal funds.

“I believe that you will agree that such a loss would cause a significant impact on the economy of our community, one that supersedes the magnitude of the aerospace losses suffered in recent times,” it continues.

In the multilingual version mailed by individual schools to parents Monday, the district attempted to dispel rumors that schools already were reporting illegal students to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Board President Mark Slavkin said district officials had received several reports of fearful parents keeping their children home.

Antonovich maintains that estimates of lost jobs and federal funding are not facts but inaccurate propaganda based on the assumption that the federal government will withhold funding because the proposition would violate federal privacy laws.

“We believe the possibility of that happening is nil because of Mr. Clinton’s need to get reelected,” said Steven Herbert, Antonovich’s spokesman. “He would not snub this state and its electoral votes.”

Meanwhile, efforts continued Monday to keep students in class in the wake of Friday’s particularly rowdy protests in the San Fernando Valley, which drew thousands of students into the streets.

During a news conference at district headquarters, Supt. Sid Thompson warned that if students are arrested off campus for vandalism or other crimes, that record could haunt them the rest of their lives.

Thompson also cautioned that teachers and administrators would face strong penalties--up to and including firing--if they encouraged students to walk out. Instead, Thompson has sent a letter to school principals asking them to consider organizing on-campus forums about the proposition.

“We leave it open to the school and the school community to decide what to do and how to do it,” he said.

In Hollywood, a group of Los Angeles-area high school student leaders suggested Monday that students walk precincts instead of walking out of class.

The seven leaders from schools in Los Angeles and Pasadena spoke out at the noon news conference, arranged by Taxpayers Against 187, a coalition of statewide education, health and law enforcement agencies seeking to defeat the get-tough measure.

They also released a Top 10 list of ways that students can help defeat Proposition 187, including putting “No on 187” messages on their backpacks, leading class discussions on the ballot measure, working at a phone bank or organizing a carwash or other type of fund-raiser to help pay for radio ads.

In San Diego, a different approach was taken at a junior high school that had been closed Friday by a wild anti-Proposition 187 demonstration: Six San Diego police officers greeted students when they arrived Monday morning.

A dozen parents also had volunteered to help restore order at the school, which is 85% Latino, and teachers spent the day discussing the ballot measure with students.

“By the time we’re through, our kids are going to understand 187 better than their parents,” said Ronald Williams, principal at Southwest Junior High School.

Times staff writer Tony Perry in San Diego contributed to this story.