Schools Secession Gets Mixed Review

A plan to split the nation’s second-largest school district and form two school systems in the San Fernando Valley meets most of the state’s criteria but could lack funding and result in ethnic segregation, according to a report released Wednesday.

The two-volume report examined the feasibility of breaking up the 711,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District and creating two new, autonomous Valley systems. It will play a significant role when the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization recommends next week to the state Board of Education whether to put the issue before voters.

The committee’s 11 members, who are elected by school district governing boards throughout the county, declined to comment until they announce their recommendation Wednesday.

One of half a dozen school breakup proposals in the works, the Valley plan by the citizens group Finally Restoring Excellence in Education calls for two 100,000-student districts with Roscoe Boulevard serving as the primary boundary between them.

But the report by an independent consultant stated that splitting the district would decrease the percentage of white students in the remaining L.A. Unified from 11% to 6%.

The proposed north and south Valley school districts would be made up of 17% and 27% white students, respectively, according to the report prepared by Caldwell Flores Winters, a consulting group based in Cardiff.

Although the white student population is decreasing in the district, the report said a split could accelerate the process and impede the district’s ability to maintain its desegregation program.

The report also stated that the prospective loss of desegregation funds could financially hurt the district. And the two Valley districts wouldn’t have enough money to cover expenses.

“I am not surprised that the proposal was not able to meet those two criteria,” said school Board President Genethia Hayes, who is opposed to breakup. “I would like to see the Valley residents really and truly get behind working to make this district the best it can be.”

Stephanie Carter, a leader of the Valley breakup effort, said she would not comment on the report until she had a chance to review it.

The report stated that the proposal complies with state criteria for school districts with more than 500,000 students. These include complying with laws to protect the rights of disabled and minority students and honoring collective bargaining agreements and existing retiree health, dental and vision care benefits.

The report gave little indication of how the committee will vote next week.

Pamela Johnson, secretary to the county education committee, said the report is only an analysis of census figures, public comments and documents from the state and the district.

“The committee has discretion,” Johnson said, pointing out that even if the breakup plan meets all requirements, the committee still can reject it.

Regardless, the proposal and recommendation will be forwarded to the California Board of Education, which ultimately will decide whether to call an election.

The report comes at a time of mounting support for the breakup, as school officials continue to grapple with overcrowding, toxic school sites, low test scores, outdated books and tangled layers of bureaucracy. The search for a superintendent has been rocky, with four of the five original candidates spurning the job.

State Board of Education member Marian Bergeson said the board will take the county recommendation “very seriously.”

“Everyone is looking for ways to make [the district] better,” said Bergeson, a former legislator. “A great city like Los Angeles doesn’t deserve a school district with so many problems.”