LAUSD case remains in lower appellate court

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s bid for a direct appeal in his effort to gain control over the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The decision, announced without comment by the court, leaves the trial court decision upholding the authority of the district’s elected school board in place while the mayor pleads his case in the 2nd District Court of Appeal. Villaraigosa is attempting to overturn Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs’ ruling late last year that state law delegating much of the authority over the district to Villaraigosa was unconstitutional.

“There will be no rush to judgment,” said Richard Hamilton, director of CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance in explaining the court’s action.

“The parents who oppose the mayor’s attempt to take control of their schools, along with the district, CSBA and the other parties who have resisted this power play, supported direct review by the Supreme Court due to the great public importance of the issues presented. However, they did not join in the mayor’s argument that a final decision was needed before July 1 and the commencement of the 2007-08 school year.”

Villaraigosa has hoped the accelerated schedule—and a decision in his favor—would help him take direct control of a “cluster” of K-12 schools in 2007-08 as authorized under Assembly Bill 1381, the law passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year.

“It was never reasonable to believe the cluster schools could be ready to operate, even assuming AB 1381 had passed constitutional muster and gone into effect Jan. 1” as the law provided, Hamilton said. “Scores of schools, thousands of teachers and other staff, and as many as 80,000 students would be involved—the equivalent of the fourth- or fifth-largest school district in the state. Realistically, more than six months would be needed to accomplish that turnover of operations.”

Hamilton said the parents and their allies have been preparing their response to Villaraigosa’s appeal while awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision. The parents and their supporters will file their appellate briefs on schedule by Feb. 16. Both sides will argue the case, Mendoza v. California, in early April. The district court is expected to rule within 30 to 60 days after that.

Whatever that decision is, Hamilton expects an appeal to the state Supreme Court to follow.