Council Creates Schools Panel

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously agreed Wednesday to create a commission to explore the governance of Los Angeles schools, in a move that could threaten the division between City Hall and the school district.

The action came as Supt. Roy Romer invited Mayor James K. Hahn and Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa to his first “state of the schools” speech next week and as the candidates continued to spar over who would best fix city schools.

“Education is the most important debate in town right now, and I happen to run the shop,” Romer said. “It is my obligation to lay out the facts.”

By city charter, the Los Angeles Unified School District has historically been shielded from City Hall on the premise that politicians shouldn’t meddle in schools.

Council members said they had no choice but to get involved as the school district continued to grapple with overcrowding, high dropout rates and low-performing campuses.

Councilman Bernard C. Parks, who represents parts of South Los Angeles, said, “Many of the issues we think are significant in the 8th District all stem from a lack of education.... I think this is a step that will actually bear some fruit.”

The schools panel is the brainchild of council President Alex Padilla and Board of Education President Jose Huizar, who announced the idea April 14. Since then, the mayoral candidates have increasingly made education a campaign issue.

“Whatever extra minutes I had in the last two weeks were consumed by this,” said Padilla after the vote. The council motion attracted a crowd to the meeting, with more than three dozen people -- including former mayoral candidate Bob Hertzberg -- speaking in favor of it.

The commission’s main task will be to examine the role and formation of the school board. Should board members be appointed by the mayor instead of being elected? Should there be term limits? Should board members be paid for full-time positions instead of part time?

The commission will include 30 appointed members selected by the City Council, school board members, the mayor and cities outside Los Angeles that are part of the district. Most resistance to the commission’s composition in recent weeks has come from the school board and the outside cities, which wanted greater representation.

Romer, who is in his fifth year as superintendent, said he had long planned his address for this year. He acknowledged, however, that the speech had taken on increased significance. “For this discussion of education policy to be useful, it must be an informed one,” he wrote in his invitation to the mayoral candidates.