School Advisory Panel Named

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa introduced a group of teachers, principals and education experts Friday who will advise him on education reform, one of the primary goals of his administration.

The group, which he has named the Council of Education Advisors, will focus on ways the city can help the Los Angeles Unified School District. It will also suggest ways the district can institute its own changes.

During his campaign, Villaraigosa said he believed the mayor should have ultimate control of the school district. The mayor of Los Angeles has no formal role in running the public schools, which are overseen by an elected board. Villaraigosa said he wanted the power to appoint the members, but since his inauguration has said he would postpone a takeover effort until he can build a consensus for the change.

In the meantime, he said, the advisory group would work on other ways to improve the educational environment, including lowering dropout rates and truancy, and making schools safer.

“I want to look at what we can do right now,” Villaraigosa told the group during a break in their first meeting at Los Angeles Trade Technical College.

The group has 30 members, but that may grow in the coming weeks.

The mayor’s office offered a partial list Friday that included Genethia Hayes, a former school board member; Miranda Ra’oof, an assistant principal at AP Manual Arts High School; Judy Burton, executive director of the Alliance for College Ready Schools; and A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, the city’s teachers union.

Also on the advisory council is Paul F. Cummins, executive director of the New Visions Foundation. Cummins is highly respected in educational circles for his novel ideas, which include founding the New Roads School on the Westside, a private school that spends at least 40% of its budget on financial assistance for low-income students.

Cummins said Friday that he was especially interested in expanding the role of nonprofit groups in public education.

But he said the best way to fix the schools -- an option not readily available -- was to lavish money on them.

“The big fat elephant sitting in the room is the issue of money,” he said.

The meeting was closed to the public, but Villaraigosa spokeswoman Janelle Erickson said others would be open.

The next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 26 at the Museum of Tolerance, 9786 W. Pico Blvd.