Sacramento, Calif. – After tough negotiations with powerful teachers unions, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa struck a compromise Wednesday that would give him significant sway over the troubled Los Angeles Unified School District but falls short of the total takeover he had sought.
Under the compromise, Villaraigosa would gain a major say in selecting the district’s next superintendent. The seven-member school board, which the mayor has accused of micro-management, would lose management authority and would instead become what Villaraigosa called a “policy board.”
Villaraigosa also would gain control over three clusters of low-performing schools.
The compromise would give teachers greater flexibility in which classroom materials to use and make it easier for Los Angeles schools to get waivers from state curriculum requirements. At the request of the mayor, the proposed legislation includes a six-year sunset provision and assessment.
“I didn’t run to be king of Los Angeles,” said Villaraigosa. “I want to be mayor and a consensus-builder, and we’re going to use these broad powers to innovate, to create the kind of environment that really can be an incubator for great ideas and success.”
L.A. Unified School District officials condemned Villaraigosa’s deal with the union as a power grab that would undermine a school system that has shown marked progress in raising student achievement levels and building schools to ease overcrowding.
Superintendent Roy Romer, a former Colorado governor, said there were serious concerns about any proposal in which the superintendent would have to answer to multiple bosses.
At a midday press conference hastily arranged on a sweltering elementary school playground, the district’s six elected school board members erupted with anger and frustration, rebuking the mayor and teachers union officials for cutting a deal that ignored the board, parent groups and several other unions that represent district employees.
