Secessionists to Scrutinize School District

Citing frustration with the Los Angeles Unified School District, San Fernando Valley secessionists agreed Monday to form an exploratory committee on whether to support breaking up the school system.

Activists listed several grounds for the move, including the current power struggle between Board of Education members and district Supt. Ruben Zacarias and the controversy over toxic contamination at the Belmont Learning Complex. But they also cited longer-term problems, including low test scores.

“The purpose is to have local control over Valley schools in order to improve the test scores and performance of the students,” said Richard Close, chairman of the breakaway group Valley VOTE and president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.

On a unanimous vote by its 22 board members, Valley VOTE agreed to establish a committee to determine if it should lead the effort to create a separate district.

Close said the committee would be formed over the next month. He said the panel is expected to complete its work quickly, and that Valley VOTE could begin a formal drive for district breakup as early as Jan. 1.

A school district spokesman had no immediate comment on the proposal.

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School board member Julie Korenstein, whose district includes the Valley, said she would be open to creating a Valleywide school district but could not support splitting the Valley into two or more districts.

“Smaller districts don’t necessarily equal better achievement,” she added. “They still have problems.”

Board member Caprice Young believes people should focus their efforts on turning around the district, not breaking it up, said her chief deputy, Jason Greenwald.

“The emergence of a reform-minded board is the best hope of all children in the district,” Greenwald said.

But Close said reform efforts may not cure the fundamental ills of the district.

“There’s more to the need for a Valley school district than just cleaning house downtown,” he said. “There’s a feeling that smaller school districts are more competent.”

Close said the group was open to how the district might be divided, but said one or two Valley school districts would be likely scenarios.

He said the Valley VOTE committee will also recommend whether the secession group should work independently or with Finally Restoring Excellence in Education, or FREE. That group advocates forming two new school districts with an east-west boundary bisecting the Valley, roughly along Roscoe Boulevard. Each district would have more than 100,000 students.

Although some secessionists hinted at frustrations with FREE’s lagging efforts, leaders of both groups said they would like to combine resources and work together to improve education, promote better accountability among school officials and give parents more control over decision-making.

“The only reason Belmont got as far as it did is because the [school] system is so bad,” said Gary Thomas, FREE’s vice chairman and an executive board member for Valley VOTE, referring to the Belmont Learning Complex, a $200 million, half-finished high school built on an oil field west of downtown Los Angeles.

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Thomas said one of the main reasons FREE has decreased its efforts in recent months is to give the newly elected school board members a chance. However, members are in the process of verifying tens of thousands of petition signatures. FREE needs about 20,800 valid signatures to prompt a study of school secession, one of the early requirements before an election can be called.

Valley VOTE leaders said the committee, which would include parents and educators, will also study funding sources as well as support from groups such as the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn.

“We’re just getting started in the process,” said Jeff Brain, president of Valley VOTE.