Mayor, Foes Focus on School Takeover at 2 Events

The popular status of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s school-reform plan was a matter of geography Thursday -- both political and territorial.

An evening “town hall” meeting at Los Angeles Valley College had the vibe of a campaign event, as a mostly friendly audience heard the mayor make his case for substantial authority over the city’s public schools. Earlier in the day, elsewhere in the San Fernando Valley, a smaller group of parents and officials asserted their opposition to mayoral control.

Proposed state legislation would give Villaraigosa hiring and firing power over the schools superintendent as well as direct authority over three low-performing high schools and their feeder schools. Lawmakers are expected to act on the bill by the end of the month.

The Valley College event, before an overflow crowd of about 800, was paid for by the political action committee established to push Villaraigosa’s plan. The mayor’s committee also has paid for polling, just like any well-organized campaign.

Much of the heavy lifting Thursday night was done by Villaraigosa, who fielded questions from the audience for well over an hour.

As he has previously, he attacked the school system for its high dropout rate.

“On my BlackBerry, I get the major crimes that happen in this city as they happen on a real-time basis. I always say ... when you find the suspect, you can be certain it will almost always be a high school dropout and/or somebody who can’t read or write,” Villaraigosa said. “There is a connection, make no mistake about it, with the dropout rate.”

The questions and prompts ranged from softball -- “I want to thank you for stepping up” -- to the challenging: What made the mayor think that “expanding the school day” would help?

“That’s a good question,” the mayor said. “It’s not automatic, but I’ll tell you this: Shortening the day doesn’t work. We’ve got to try new things and that’s not the only strategy we’ll use.”

The evening included a five-minute film promoting school reform and high academic standards, followed by a PowerPoint presentation on the legislation.

The mayor’s staff defined the event as informational, but spokesman Nathan James conceded similarities to campaign mode.

His own salary comes from the Mayor’s Committee for Excellence and Accountability, set up to raise money in support of Villaraigosa’s reforms. It has banked more than $1 million.

“It’s not a campaign for a candidate,” James said. “But people are coming out for and against the bill. So there’s the idea of endorsements. And it’s like a political campaign in that we’re on a pre-fixed timeline.... The ‘election’ is, in some ways, Aug. 31” -- the end of the state legislative session. “If the bill doesn’t pass out of both houses by then, we wouldn’t be meeting the goal.”

Meanwhile, Villaraigosa’s efforts -- and the school district -- took a few blows at a midday news conference in the library at the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, one of Los Angeles Unified’s magnet schools.

“When my daughter has to run to a classroom to get a desk ... then it’s a problem,” said Gladys Cantabrana, a mother of four who was among the 15 or so parents, teachers and students at the news conference. “I don’t necessarily endorse [the legislation], but I do endorse a change,” she said. “This is my chance to tell the Los Angeles Unified School District you have a problem.”

The news conference was one more opportunity for critics from various constituencies -- especially traditional parent organizations -- to have their say.

“There are many ways the mayor can be involved, but to govern the school district is not the way,” said Linda Ross, president of the 31st District Parent Teacher Student Assn..

The mayoral “town hall” at Valley College followed others in South Los Angeles and the Westside. An East Los Angeles gathering is scheduled for Tuesday.

So why does polling -- and the other trappings of electioneering -- matter for Villaraigosa if there will be no election?

“People contact their legislators,” James said, “and through our website we are urging people to contact their legislators.”

James said top officials of the district have been, in essence, running their own opposition campaign.

That point has been taken up by state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), a co-sponsor of the reform legislation.

On Thursday she formally accused the district, in a letter, of improperly using “public funds to promote a partisan position.”

She also accused the district of refusing to provide public records to her and, in separate correspondence, asked the state attorney general and the Los Angeles County district attorney to investigate the school system for allegedly violating the public-records act.

District spokeswoman Shannon Murphy said the school system had done nothing improper.

“This is a diversionary tactic,” Murphy said. “School districts, like other public agencies, have the right to lobby the Legislature for or against legislation and that is exactly what L.A. Unified is doing.”

The district has spent close to $200,000 to date, she said, on lobbying and legal advice related to Villaraigosa’s legislation.