Settlement Expected in Compton School Suit

Citing long-awaited improvements in Compton schools, attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union are expected to announce today the settlement of a lawsuit accusing the state of failing to fix deteriorating campuses and improve student learning.

Settlement of the suit is seen as a step toward returning control of the troubled district to the Compton school board. State officials have been running Compton schools since 1993, when the district in desperation sought a $20-million loan to cover its debts. Student achievement in the district was ranked last in California.

State officials at the time pledged to restore the district, then return control to the local board.

But four years after the takeover, many students were still without textbooks, struggling to learn in decrepit classrooms, some with exposed electrical wiring. Outside, there was little playground equipment and children sometimes played amid garbage and broken glass. Many of Compton’s most experienced teachers fled to other districts, seeking higher pay and better conditions.

In 1997, the ACLU filed its lawsuit on behalf of parents to force the state to fulfill its promises.

Under the terms of the settlement, the 31,000 students in the district will be guaranteed textbooks and certified teachers, as well as roofs that don’t leak, windows that open and toilets that flush.

“It’s the first time these kids have had a prayer of getting an equal education,” said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California.

State officials in 1997 had agreed to a preliminary settlement. They pledged to repair bathrooms within 24 hours of a problem being reported, replace broken windows within 72 hours, provide all students with textbooks in all core classes, and make sure teachers earned state credentials within two years of being hired.

The state also pledged to reduce teacher absenteeism and boost student attendance, as well as to encourage parent volunteerism and tighten campus security.

Nearly three years later, the district has met its goals, said ACLU lawyers and inspectors with the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, a state agency that works with beleaguered school districts.

“They have all the signs of a healthy school district, working in the right direction,” said Tom Henry, chief administration officer for the team.

“Compton when we first arrived was dysfunctional,” he said, ticking off a list of problems, including exposed asbestos in the halls, graffiti in the bathrooms and entire classrooms boarded up because they were unsafe.

“Today, you won’t find those conditions,” Henry said. Each the 40 schools in the district is inspected to make sure facilities are safe and students have books.

Improvement has been so dramatic, Henry said, that his office may recommend that the school board be allowed to begin managing the district’s building and grounds maintenance and community relations as early as July. The final decision on who runs the district will be made by state Supt. of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin.

Academic achievement, teacher hiring and district finances still need improvement, Henry said.

“We have some very positive results,” said Randolph Ward, the state-appointed administrator in charge of the district.

Reading scores have improved from the lowest percentile to the 23rd. The district has initiated before- and after-school tutoring. And a majority of teachers now hold proper teaching credentials, Ward said.

Many parents cheered news of the settlement.

“When my older daughter got out of kindergarten, she didn’t even know her ABCs,” said Jessica Perez, who has a child in fifth grade and and one in second grade at Dickison Elementary School.

“You felt frustrated and angry,” she said. “A lot of parents felt that way.”

But by the time her younger daughter finished first grade, she said, the girl could read.

The Dickison campus has been transformed, added Perez, who works as a school aide.

“There is landscaping. You come outside and everything is beautiful. The roofs are being fixed. They are putting in lines for the Internet and everything,” she said.

At George Washington Elementary School, flowers bloom in manicured plots outside the front door. Inside, the front office is decorated with posters and awards for student and teacher attendance.

“The school is much better, and teachers have much better supervision of the students,” said Sonia Juarez, who has two children at the school.

Other parents say the district still has a long way to go.

“The kindergarten bathroom smells and there’s no toilet paper,” said Sylvia Mendoza, who has two children at George Washington. She added that her older daughter, Roxanne Ordaz, 16, had left Compton High School for an independent study program. Still, Mendoza said, “the teachers at George Washington are getting better.”

Roxanne Serna, the original plaintiff in the ACLU suit, last year became frustrated by the slow pace of reform and moved to San Bernardino County.

Serna said her three children were so far behind that they needed tutoring.

“It’s a good settlement, but I still think they need to make a lot more improvements,” she said of Compton. “After all, not everyone can get out.”

Rocio Cordoba, one of the ACLU lawyers, said the group will continue to monitor the district and meet with parents.

“The problems were systemic and ongoing, and we recognized they could not be cured overnight,” she said.

“We are very pleased to have a program now in place that will let these changes take place in a systematic way.”