Business Group Backs Dismantling School District
The San Fernando Valley’s most prominent business group, the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., on Monday officially endorsed dismantling the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The association’s board of directors voted to support a proposal that would break up the nation’s second-largest school district and divide the Valley into two independent school districts, northern and southern.
Association spokesman Bob Scott said the Los Angeles district has failed to adequately prepare its students for the business world, and a reorganization is necessary. The result would be more manageable and more accountable, Scott said.
“After studying the issue for several months, we felt the fundamental structure should be revised to attack the problem in smaller pieces,” Scott said. “The success of charter schools proves it--smaller is better.”
The behemoth district has about 670,000 students, which some academic experts say is more than 10 times the recommended size for a school district. The breakup initiative would put 100,000 students in the northern valley district and 90,000 in the southern.
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