LEARN Provides Local Autonomy Sought for Schools

I am writing in response to teacher Adrienne Mack’s column about legislative proposals to break up the Los Angeles Unified School District (“Breaking Up Couldn’t Hurt L.A. Schools,” Feb. 12). By merely questioning the motives of break-up opponents, she avoids any substantive review of the issues.

Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills) has introduced a bill to lower the number of signatures required for a community to petition for a separate school district. Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) has a companion measure that would require activists in the Valley or in any other community to design a new school district and then gain voter approval for its creation. The complete process needed to actually begin operating a new district would take a few years. The school board is reviewing the two bills and has yet to take a position.

Our goal is to provide local control at the school site level and hold all schools accountable for high standards of student achievement. I believe this goal is shared by most Valley parents and teachers. We are open to considering any and all proposals that are likely to achieve these goals.

Ms. Mack suggests that smaller districts will be more likely to empower local schools. She cites no evidence for this prediction, and she acknowledges the financial and operational liabilities facing a new district.

Mack does not mention that the Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now (LEARN) already provides the local school autonomy she is seeking. Our 87 LEARN schools already have the power to select their own principal and hold that person accountable. LEARN schools already have broad control over their local school budget. All LAUSD schools already have the flexibility to purchase supplies from private vendors and bypass the district warehouse.

Interestingly, in an earlier column Mack praised LEARN while listing the many reasons her teacher colleagues are fearful of these exciting reforms. She does not explain how a new school district will change the attitudes of her colleagues.

As LEARN gains momentum in more and more school communities, I hope our efforts will motivate people to ask how they can help improve our schools. We can step forward right now and support our schools or we can wait for theoretical “solutions.” Unfortunately, our students can no longer wait.

MARK SLAVKIN

Los Angeles

Slavkin is president of the LAUSD Board of Education.