School Board Gives More Authority to Its Staff

The Board of Education on Tuesday approved a proposal to save time and paperwork by delegating more authority to staff members to make decisions on construction contracts involving up to $100,000.

The proposal, approved on a 6-1 vote, was introduced by new board member Caprice Young. It aims to slash the volume of reports the board is required to review before acting on minor financial transactions.

Currently, staff members are limited to decisions on contracts involving less than $50,000.

In keeping with its vow to shy away from micromanaging the Los Angeles Unified School District, the newly constituted board also directed Supt. Ruben Zacarias to develop within 30 days a plan to raise the delegation of authority to include contracts involving as much $1 million.

The action followed a key recommendation by the Committee on Effective School Governance, a group of prominent business and education leaders that has faulted the school board for poor student achievement.

Harold M. Williams, president emeritus of the J. Paul Getty Trust and a member of the school governance group, said, “This means the board will spend less time on routine matters and be less tempted to micromanage.”