What Romer wrought

ROY ROMER’S WELL-CONDUCTED reign as head of the Los Angeles schools might end up being the strongest argument for bringing in the mayor to run them next. Sometimes an education outsider -- as Romer was before he became superintendent six years ago -- is the right fix for a dysfunctional school system.

And dysfunctional is the adjective for the Los Angeles Unified School District, with its high dropout rates, shortage of qualified teachers, low test scores and rigid teacher contracts that make it difficult for administrators trying to do what’s best for students.

But it was oh-so-much worse before the arrival of Romer, a former Colorado governor who had never led so much as a classroom before. The superintendent’s announcement that he intends to leave before his contract ends provides a perfect moment for the school board to contemplate how much outsiders can help.

In the BR (Before Romer) years, the district was blowing bond money meant to build schools. Despite a desperate need for teachers, administrators let resumes sit for months before telling applicants they had even been received, by which time promising candidates had landed jobs elsewhere. Children were promoted from the classrooms of uncredentialed, undertrained teachers without learning to read.

With precision and command that sometimes struck people as militaristic -- and he’ll certainly be remembered as the schools chief who loved to hire former Marines -- Romer broke through educational bureaucracy to build schools and computerize the hiring process. Under his oversight, the district brought in the Open Court reading program, which gave inexperienced teachers the tools to produce literate students. Test scores have risen steadily in the elementary schools.

But Romer also has become part of the system he was brought in to reform. He has centralized money and control in district headquarters that might be better allocated to campuses. The district and its many departments remain defensive and insular, and they continue to need the outside eye that will question long-held assumptions about running schools. There is no need for Romer and the school board to be so resistant to the idea of an audit by City Controller Laura Chick, who could bring a useful perspective to school operations.

Romer clearly has been frustrated by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s occasionally misdirected criticisms of the schools in his bid to take them over. The schools chief also has tried to achieve major new initiatives with a board that has yet to break the habit of tying itself up in minutiae. It’s a phenomenally tough job that he performed well and leaves with honor -- and probably considerable fatigue.

As unhappy as the school board is with the mayor’s efforts to govern the schools, it would do itself a favor by making Villaraigosa a player in the search for a new superintendent. Whether or not the mayor succeeds, he is in a position to be a useful partner. A good working relationship with the new superintendent can only help.