District Breakup to Be Discussed

Activists seeking to break up the Los Angeles Unified School District will gather today on the Westside for a public meeting to discuss boundaries and other details, organizers said.

An estimated 60 teachers, parents and community leaders from the San Fernando Valley, South Bay, Eastside and Westside are expected to attend the All-District Alliance for School Reorganization’s 9:30 a.m. meeting at Mar Vista Recreation Center, 11430 Woodbine St.

“There’s agreement about the need to reorganize,” said Richard Close, chairman of Valley VOTE, the group pushing for the Valley to form its own city and spearheading the LAUSD breakup movement. “There’s not agreement about the nuts and bolts.”

The school reorganization alliance formed last month after the first citywide summit attracted 110 participants who strongly agreed that the 710,000-student district was too big and too dysfunctional to help students succeed academically and socially.

Students, parents and school faculty would be better served if Los Angeles Unified were split into four to six smaller districts, they agreed.

But what communities would comprise the districts is up for debate. As is how to initiate the process--for example, whether to push for legislation, conduct an in-depth study or gather and submit signed petitions to state officials.

Close said he believes the group will focus on legislation as well as petitions. Early next year, he said, he hopes the group can gather and submit at least 65,000 signed and verified petitions, a move that could help prompt legislation and support among local and state school board members.

Although activists have received support from some state board members, many members of the Los Angeles Board of Education, including President Genethia Hayes, oppose their efforts.

“I am not going to waste my energy worrying about what they’re doing,” Hayes said recently. “I am going to use my energy to reform the district and improve student achievement.”

Improving student achievement will also be a main topic at today’s meeting in Mar Vista, Close and others said.

“We have to focus, focus, focus on providing students with the maximum learning opportunities,” said Yvonne Chan, principal of the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, a highly praised charter school in Pacoima. “We need better compensation for teachers, more technology, smaller classes. We need to work with families and stretch our dollars.”

Representatives from communities throughout the city will also report on concerns about and reactions to district breakup.