L.A. Schools Breakup Bid Faces More Hurdles : Education: Despite legislative panel’s passage of bill, many say process may take years and predict bitter legal challenges.

It took an act of a legislative panel to ease the way for a breakup of the Los Angeles Unified School District Wednesday but it will take even greater acts to finish the job.

The Senate Education Committee’s approval of Assemblywoman Paula Boland’s bill lowering the number of signatures needed to put a breakup measure on the ballot was met with trepidation by supporters and critics, who say the struggle to dismantle the huge district is yet to come.

“This is Step 1 of 50 steps,” said Los Angeles Board of Education member Julie Korenstein, who supports a separate San Fernando Valley school district.

Under the bill by Boland (R-Granada Hills), the movement to split the massive district could shift from the halls of the Legislature to the community--where proposals for new districts could be developed.

But Board of Education members, community activists and union officials said they anticipate the process to take months or even years, and ultimately they expect bitter legal challenges.

“It’ll be like the busing battles all over again,” Board of Education President Mark Slavkin said. “I think you’ll have prolonged focus on the politics of this and we’ll be arguing about districts and voting groups. It’ll be more politics and less education.”

Stephanie Carter, a Tarzana parent who has been actively pursuing breakup efforts for five years, said, “It’s very exciting but you still have to be guarded. It’s just the beginning of a long process.”

The legislation, which still must be approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and the full Senate before it can proceed to the governor, paves the way for activists to create plans for separate school districts. Those plans then must be reviewed by the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization, which would hold hearings and prepare a report for the State Board of Education. The state board would hold another hearing and ultimately vote on the proposal. Then, it would be up to supporters to gather signatures to qualify the proposal for the ballot.

The state board also must decide a crucial issue--who will vote on the new districts. Boland’s legislation did not address whether residents in an area seeking secession would vote or residents of the entire Los Angeles Unified School District.

Korenstein said she believes the voting issue could make or break attempts to split the school system.

“Now the struggle begins,” Korenstein said. “You’ll have two sides tugging at each other--the people who want to break away and the people who don’t.

“The greatest question is: Who makes the decision.”

Still, community leaders began Wednesday to plot their move to break away from the beleaguered school district. “First thing we’ll do is call Paula Boland’s office and ask for guidance,” said Gerald Curry, president of the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley, who was gleeful to learn the news of the bill’s passage.

Added Bob Scott, president of Valley Advocates for Local Unified Education (V.A.L.U.E.): “When people believe that there is really an opportunity for this . . . I think you’ll see a rebirth of the spirit that you saw two years ago.”

For some, however, the whole movement--beginning with the legislation itself--is flawed.

United Teachers-Los Angeles President Helen Bernstein blasted the legislation, saying Boland’s bill won’t pass legal challenges.

By focusing solely on Los Angeles Unified, Bernstein--whose position is similar to the district’s--said the bill is unconstitutional and favors one group over another.

“What people envision is going to happen with this bill is not going to happen,” she said. “For sure, this one will be stalled in the courts.”

School district lobbyist Ron Prescott agreed, saying the district will continue its efforts to have the bill amended to include all other districts in the state. Further, he cautioned that the legislation will not in itself split the district.

“We’re moving toward a process . . . where the community can do what they want to do,” Prescott said.

To that end, the county already is planning how it will handle the petitions. Mark Forgy, the secretary to the County Committee on School District Organization, said the panel is “very concerned” about receiving overlapping proposals from different groups seeking to break up similar portions of the district.

But, he added, “We could get a million petitions or one. It’s hard to tell right now.”

* EFFORT ADVANCES: Move to ease rules splitting district clears a test. A1