Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday signed legislation giving Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa more control over the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Schwarzenegger signed AB 1381, by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles and Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, which would overhaul the governing structure of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The bill creates a Council of Mayors to make major policy decisions and gives more power to the school superintendent. Both moves would reduce the power of the elected School Board.

The bill signing caps a year-long effort by Villaraigosa to deliver on a campaign promise to assert mayoral control over the troubled Los Angeles school district, the second largest in the nation with more than 700,000 students.

Villaraigosa’s bid for more mayoral control over the district had garnered support from most of the region’s business groups including the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce long dissatisfied with the district’s performance. But the Valley Industry and Commerce Association opposed the bill, saying it would blur the lines of accountability.

School district officials have fiercely opposed the bill and earlier this month, the school board filed suit in L.A. County Superior Court seeking “clarification” over the bill’s constitutionality.

Nonetheless, Schwarzenegger signed the bill Monday at a ceremony at the Los Angeles Public Library.

“I want to congratulate Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for having the vision and fortitude to put our children first with this effort to increase accountability in L.A. public schools,” Schwarzenegger said. “With this bill, schools with the biggest problems can get the most attention and direct oversight by the mayor, so he can focus on what counts moving test scores up and dropout rates down.”