Candidates Try to Outdo Each Other on Education

Mayor James K. Hahn and Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday launched into their first full week of campaigning for the mayoral runoff by trying to one up each other on education issues.

Both campaigns maneuvered to present their candidates as champions of the city’s beleaguered public school system, but offered few specifics on how to improve it. The mayor has no direct control over the Los Angeles Unified School District, but voters have consistently told pollsters that public education is their top concern.

Hahn raised the topic first, announcing that he planned to attend a school board meeting today to talk about his support for smaller public schools. It would be only his second appearance as mayor before the board, according to district sources.

Hahn’s campaign also said he signed a pledge last month in support of small schools. In a news release, Hahn urged Villaraigosa to do the same.

Within hours, Villaraigosa announced a news conference Monday afternoon touting his support for the pledge being pushed by the Small Schools Alliance. Campaign officials said the timing was a coincidence, and that Villaraigosa had planned his event without knowing of Hahn’s intentions.

It was the second time since last week’s election that Villaraigosa has added an event to his schedule that mirrored a Hahn event. Last Friday, hours after Hahn announced he would campaign in the city’s Crenshaw district over the weekend, Villaraigosa said that he would too.

The sudden attention by the mayoral candidates to smaller schools delighted advocates, but surprised L.A. Unified officials.

“A great city is only as good as its public schools,” said Steve Barr, chairman of the Small Schools Alliance and founder of Green Dot Public Schools, a charter school group.

Last month, the alliance launched a $1.5-million campaign aimed at winning pledges of support from the city’s mayoral candidates for its version of reforming the school district. That plan calls for L.A. Unified to pattern its schools after the guiding principles Barr developed for his five high-performing charter schools, most of which are in low-income neighborhoods.

Those tenets include schools with fewer than 500 students, college preparatory curriculums available to all students, campuses open until at least 5 p.m. and a requirement for parents to volunteer at least 30 hours a year. The alliance also wants local school staff members -- not district administrators -- to make most decisions for the campuses, including budgeting.

Barr, who helped found “Rock the Vote” before turning his attention to education, said public schools should have local control “like a Starbucks.” The 750,000-student district has often been criticized for being operated from the top down and inflexible.

Bob Hertzberg, the former Assembly speaker who finished third in last week’s election, made the breakup of the school district one of the main planks of his campaign, forcing other candidates to address the high dropout rate in high schools.

On Monday, Hahn and Villaraigosa issued dueling news releases trumpeting their support for Barr’s plans. Hahn, whose two children attend public schools in San Pedro, issued a statement saying he admired the goals of the Small Schools Alliance “working within our education system.” Villaraigosa, whose children attend Catholic schools, also stressed his commitment to public schools. Pointing out that his wife, Corina, is a public school teacher and that he once was an organizer for the city’s teachers union, he released a statement saying he has dedicated himself to improving education.

At his news conference outside the city’s Central Library, Villaraigosa was joined by school board President Jose Huizar, who has endorsed him, and by Barr, who said he was thrilled by the attention from both candidates.

Barr also said that if school officials do not embrace his reforms, the candidates should talk about whether it is time for the mayor to be given more control of the city’s schools.

Both campaigns declined to address that issue directly Monday, pledging to reveal more about their plans for schools in the coming days.

L.A. Unified officials appeared taken aback by the sudden interest in school reform. Neither Huizar’s nor Supt. Roy Romer’s offices had been told that the mayor planned to address the school board.

This afternoon, school board members are set to discuss plans to fix failing schools. One of those plans, which Huizar introduced, calls for the six tenets touted by the Small Schools Alliance to be integrated into ongoing district reforms.

Hahn, however, plans to attend the morning meeting, where school board members are scheduled to discuss the district’s budget and approve a senior high school health textbook.

“I don’t know why he would be [attending],” L.A. Unified spokeswoman Stephanie Brady said of the mayor’s plans.

Hahn campaign spokesman Kam Kuwata said the mayor planned to be there at 10 a.m. to speak to the board during the time for public comment like any other citizen.

Times staff writer Cara Mia DiMassa contributed to this report.