LAUSD takeover threat remains 

The future of established, local governance of the Los Angeles Unified School District hinges on developments now under way 500 miles north in the state capital, where a series of votes are pending on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s bid to take much of the authority now vested in the district’s elected trustees.

The issue’s importance extends far beyond Los Angeles. A similar bill, introduced a year ago to give control of seven school districts around the state to mayors, was defeated by the vigorous opposition of CSBA and its allies. But the threat remains, as Sen. Jeff Denham demonstrated during a hearing of the Senate Education Committee in late June. Denham, R-Merced, urged that legislators extend the powers that Villaraigosa is seeking to the mayor of Fresno.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has rescheduled from Aug. 7 to Aug. 14 its hearing on Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez’ takeover bill, Assembly Bill 1381. Rick Pratt, CSBA’s assistant executive director for governmental relations, expects the hearing to be followed by final committee action on the measure on Aug. 17.

Faced with widespread opposition to his initial bid for outright control of the 727,000-student district, Villaraigosa struck a deal in June for a slightly toned-down bill that would create hazy lines of overlapping accountability over district education, hiring, spending and construction policies, among others.

“AB 1381 is a direct challenge to the role of district boards through the state,” said Pratt. He urged supporters of local control of schools to contact senators on the committee and stay informed via CSBA's special "School governance in Jeopardy" Web page (http://www.csba.org/co/lausd/index.cfm).