The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce on Thursday endorsed L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s plan to assume more control over the Los Angeles Unified School District.
After extensive and sometimes spirited debate, the chamber’s Board of Directors endorsed AB 1381, the controversial state legislation that will give the L.A. mayor a role in governing the school district.
The bill, which represents a compromise with teachers’ unions and local mayors, sets up a Council of Mayors that would share some power with the elected school board in making key policy decisions for the school district.
“This bill is not a cure, it’s the beginning of a treatment to make the LAUSD the best urban school district in the nation,” said Gary Toebben, president and chief executive of the chamber, in a prepared statement. “In order to do that, the entire community must be engaged in this issue, and the Mayor has galvanized the community around education as never before.”
The business community has heavily weighed in on the issue, largely spurred by a widespread perception that the district – the largest educator of students in the county – is failing to produce graduates who are well-educated and capable of filling jobs in an economy becoming more technically demanding.
The press release issued by the chamber Thursday afternoon went on to say that while the chamber appreciated the work of current school superintendent Roy Romer, chamber leaders expressed “frustration with the district’s current governance model and its slow pace of reform.”
While board members would have preferred to give the mayor more power over the schools, similar to changes in how New York City schools are governed, they “recognized that in the near-term, there are political obstacles in creating this key reform,” according to the statement.
Earlier in the week, the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley, an umbrella of San Fernando Valley chambers of commerce and business organizations, also endorsed the legislation, as did the Greater East Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the Encino Chamber of Commerce.
However, there is not complete support among business organizations. The Valley Industry and Commerce Association opposes the Villaraigosa plan and reiterated its opposition in a press release late Thursday. The statement called AB 1381 a “missed opportunity to implement sorely needed reforms” that would instead reduce accountability and move the district further away from mayoral oversight.
On Friday, after a three-hour hearing the Los Angeles City Council unanimously endorsed the legislation.
