Small Cities Would Get More Say on Schools

Bowing to pressure in his attempt to take over the Los Angeles Unified School District, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has agreed to share more authority with the mayors of neighboring cities if he wins control of the giant school system.

The compromise from his initial position is meant to quell unrest among the mayors of West Hollywood, South Gate and other cities, who had complained that Villaraigosa’s plan would place too much power in his hands at the expense of smaller cities served by the district.

Villaraigosa had proposed that 27 cities form a “council of mayors,” with proportional voting based on the size of the cities. Because Los Angeles accounts for 80% of the population within L.A. Unified, Villaraigosa would have commanded ultimate power.

Under his revised plan, expected to be contained in state legislation, Villaraigosa would continue to wield the same power. But any of the mayors could overturn a council decision by securing a majority of votes, or a two-thirds vote in the case of the school district’s budget.

Villaraigosa would also modify his plan in order to give residents of unincorporated areas -- such as East Los Angeles -- a greater say on the council. The panel would include two, and possibly three, members of the county Board of Supervisors, rather than one as originally envisioned.

The nation’s second-largest school district is currently run by an elected seven-member board.

“Mayor Villaraigosa wants to create a governance structure that gives all the cities within the LAUSD a voice and empowers them in the decision-making process,” said Janelle Erickson, a spokeswoman. “Reforming our public schools must be a collaborative process, and Mayor Villaraigosa is working hard to make that happen.”

Villaraigosa’s revision was greeted skeptically by some of the mayors, who continued to voice concern about his power in a new school district governing body.

“I think it’s clear that he has the major role,” said Mayor John Heilman of West Hollywood, where the City Council this week decided to study plans to secede from Los Angeles Unified or join the neighboring Beverly Hills district. “It puts him in the driver’s seat.”

Gardena Mayor Pro Tem Oscar Medrano Jr. said he was encouraged by Villaraigosa’s responsiveness. But he too said he was uneasy about whether he would have an adequate voice in school district affairs.

“I think he’s heard what we want. It sounds like it could be a fair compromise, but I have my reservations,” Medrano said. “It sounds easy, but to get half of any [governing] body to agree on anything is difficult.”

San Fernando Mayor Nury Martinez, meanwhile, said she still had questions about how the mayoral council would involve parents and students, but added: “It seems to me like we’re headed in the right direction.”

Villaraigosa has been courting the smaller cities in recent months, knowing that he must win their backing to gain control of the 727,000-student district. He has met privately with several of his fellow mayors and appeared publicly with some of them to portray a united front.

The district’s elected board has also tried to reach out to the mayors. On Thursday, board President Marlene Canter invited them to meet to discuss the ongoing debate over control of the district and other issues.

Many of the city leaders say they agree on the need for change in a school district with dozens of low-performing schools and worrisome dropout rates. And they say Villaraigosa has been receptive to their concerns, noting that he followed their recommendation to modify the mayoral council.

“He really is a consensus builder,” said Bell City Councilman George Cole, who like his colleagues had not heard of the proposed change until being informed by reporters. “I think it’s a good, positive step.”

Behind the scenes, however, many local city leaders, including those from Bell, have been exploring their own alternatives, and some have even voiced outright opposition to Villaraigosa’s proposal.

Five cities in the school district’s southeast corner -- South Gate, Huntington Park, Bell, Cudahy and Maywood -- have been working to form a joint-powers authority that would allow them to govern schools within their boundaries, an idea that Villaraigosa supports.

Under the terms of that proposed agreement, the cities would hire a local superintendent and take control of a portion of the district’s $6.8-billion budget.

It remains unclear whether the cities could legally form such a coalition or whether the move would require state legislation. Also uncertain is what role the five cities would play on Villaraigosa’s proposed council.

About 50,000 Los Angeles Unified students -- roughly 7% of the district total -- live in the five cities, according to district figures.

South Gate Mayor Maria Davila welcomed Villaraigosa’s overture but said she remained concerned about the balance of power.

“It is something we need to think about,” Davila said. “We would still be in the minority.”

Those who study mayoral politics say Villaraigosa is wise to recognize the growing discontent in the outlying cities.

His gestures might be seen in the San Fernando Valley or elsewhere as giving away too much power to more distant interests. But Villaraigosa also risks running afoul of his smaller neighbors, which have become adept at forming coalitions to challenge big-city power.

“Los Angeles underestimates them at its peril,” said Raphael Sonenshein, a political science professor at Cal State Fullerton. “Any time Los Angeles thinks it can have its way, it gets brought down, not by a single city, but by a coalition.”

Sonenshein added: “The mayor made a proposal that clearly was going to be unacceptable to the other [cities]. Theoretically he could have said, ‘It’s my plan; take it or leave it,’ but he didn’t. I think we’re only in the middle of an ongoing chess game.”

Villaraigosa’s takeover ambitions must win the approval of the Legislature; Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger has already indicated his support. The mayor has been lobbying lawmakers to win passage of a bill being fashioned by state Sen. Gloria Romero, (D-Los Angeles).

“We look at this as an empowering move,” Romero said. “I think there will be ... strengthened opportunities for cities outside Los Angeles to have a voice at the table.”