As Mayor, Connell Would Promote Charter Schools

Mayoral candidate Kathleen Connell on Friday announced a plan to have the city sponsor 60 charter schools over the next four years if she is elected.

Connell, currently the state controller, said she would create an office of education under the mayor to assist groups trying to start charter schools.

The new schools would be required to use instructional designs proven successful in other schools and establish rigorous performance standards, she said.

Their enrollments would be limited to 500 students at the elementary level, 1,000 in middle schools and 1,500 in high schools.

Connell unveiled the plan at Fenton Avenue Charter School in Lake View Terrace, where she toured classrooms filled with computers.

“As we have seen here, charter schools work,” she said. “If the city gets behind this effort, more of our children will have access to this kind of educational opportunity.”

State law allows campuses to obtain charters from local school districts, the Los Angeles County Office of Education or the state Board of Education.

The parents, teachers and administrators at these schools can then establish their own academic programs, salary schedules and budgets.

Fenton is one of several Los Angeles schools that have gained independent status by obtaining charters.

Supt. Roy Romer has said he looks favorably on the creation of more charter schools as one way to add badly needed classrooms. But, in reality, very few such charters have been established, mainly because of the high cost of obtaining a suitable building.

Although the mayor has no legal authority over schools, Connell said the mayor’s office can help find the sites, process any city permit requirements and apply for the charters.

She said she envisions neighborhood schools serving students in the communities where they live.

Many would partner with businesses and industries to provide work-study opportunities for students, she said.

Besides Connell, the five considered to be in the running for the April 10 primary are Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), City Atty. James K. Hahn, businessman Steve Soboroff, former Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa and City Councilman Joel Wachs.

Although all have incorporated education into their campaigns, Connell is the only one who has proposed a city role in forming charter schools.