City Hall, L.A. Unified clash again

Ongoing tensions between City Hall and the Los Angeles Unified School District flared in public Wednesday during an exchange between the mayor’s top education advisor and the school board president. Deputy Mayor Ramon C. Cortines first accused the district of withholding a report on dropouts, then later, he and board President Marlene Canter sparred over the mayor’s refusal to meet with her.

The back-and-forth, during an education forum at the downtown City Club, underscored the chill between Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles Board of Education. The frosty climate has even affected contact between Villaraigosa and new schools Supt. David L. Brewer -- who have characterized themselves as blood brothers on school reform. Their vaunted plan for weekly meetings has been dropped indefinitely.

Cortines brought up the issue of dropouts as an example of the district’s inexcusably cumbersome bureaucracy.

“The district and the mayor’s office agreed on a process and a protocol” for tabulating dropouts. Cortines said, adding that the first report was due at the end of January.

“The report is ready,” Cortines insisted, but has been withheld, “because of the damn bureaucracy.” There are “four layers of bureaucracy ... so you still don’t have it.”

The mayor has cited high numbers of dropouts as a primary justification for trying to assert authority over district decisions, and the two sides have sparred over the percentage of dropouts. The most recent official district dropout rate, based on the state formula, is 24.1%. Some researchers estimate the actual number at more than 50%.

Neither Brewer nor Canter, who were both on the panel, responded at the time. In a later interview, they said that the plan has been to release the report sometime in February. Brewer added that his own concerns slowed things down -- he was worried that some students might be counted more than once.

That issue is now resolved, he added, while declining to say when this month the report would be released.

The report in question will tabulate, on a monthly basis, which students are truant and for how long.

“It’s going to be helpful to us in helping students stay in school,” Canter said.

At the forum, Canter and Cortines clashed directly, if politely, over the lack of contact between senior officials.

“We would like to meet with the mayor and Mr. Cortines any minute of the day. We don’t need legislation for partnerships,” said Canter, referring to a Villaraigosa-backed law that would give the mayor some authority over schools pending an ongoing court challenge.

Canter commented that the mayor refused to include her, as school board president, in his proposed meetings with Brewer.

“Honestly, this is an adult issue that shouldn’t affect kids,” Canter said. “But in order for us to partner together we have to be respectful of the role that we have.” The superintendent is “hired by a board. We work together as a team.”

Cortines responded that the mayor should be able to meet alone with Brewer: “It is important, I think, that the mayor and superintendent meet and I think ultimately the board president would be included.... I’m not saying that the mayor’s office doesn’t have some blame also. What I am saying is that we have got to come together.”

howard.blume@latimes.com