Judge blocks law giving Los Angeles mayor partial control of city schools

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A judge on Thursday struck down a law granting Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa partial control of the nation's second-largest school district. <br/><br/>The law, scheduled to take effect

Thursday, December 21st 2006, 9:39 pm

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A judge on Thursday struck down a law granting Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa partial control of the nation's second-largest school district.

The law, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, violated the state constitution by interfering with the governing authority of the Los Angeles Unified School District board, Superior Court Judge Dzintra I. Janavs ruled.

``The statute makes drastic changes in the local governance of the LAUSD giving the mayor a role that is unprecedented in California,'' she wrote.

A coalition of parents, students and administrators sued in October, contending the law takes too much power away from the elected school board. The city and state maintained that such a move was needed to reform the education system.

``We already have a school governance structure in place, and our focus needs to be on academic achievement,'' said Scott Plotkin, executive director of the California School Boards Association.

Villaraigosa said he was considering a direct appeal to the state Supreme Court.

``I believe we have the law on our side. I believe we have the Constitution on our side,'' the mayor said. ``More than that, I believe we have the people on our side.''

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement supporting Villaraigosa.

``The status quo simply isn't working, the current system is failing too many of our students,'' Schwarzenegger said.

The law would have shifted some power from the seven-member school board to the mayor, the district superintendent and a new council comprised of more than two dozen other mayors within the district's boundaries.

The legislation would have also given Villaraigosa direct control over the city's 36 worst-performing schools. The mayor had initially sought near-complete control over the district.

The district includes more than 727,000 students, more than 1,130 schools and 78,000 employees.