The State Senate on Monday narrowly approved a bill that gives Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa more control over the troubled Los Angeles Unified School District. The reform bill now moves to the Education Committee of the State Assembly and then to the full Assembly. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has indicated that he will sign the measure, which could happen as soon as next month. The bill passed in the Senate by a 23-14 vote strengthens the school superintendent’s authority, gives the mayor control over certain underperforming schools and creates a council to help run the district. Villaraigosa said the Senate’s vote proved that there was broad, non-partisan support for reforming the school district. “Together, we took a step towards change a step towards giving our parents, teachers, and communities a voice in their children’s education and a step towards giving our children the education they deserve,” Villaraigosa said in Sacramento after the vote. The Valley Industry & Commerce Association opposed the bill because it lacked a provision to allow parents and voters a say on the future of the district and the decision making function of the council of mayors. The move has also been strongly opposed by the elected school board and in a statement released after the vote, Board President Marlene Canter said she hopes the state Assembly will step in and kill the measure. “I’m hopeful that lawmakers in the Assembly will send a strong message about LAUSD reform by sending this conversation back to Los Angeles,” Canter said. Villaraigosa had pushed for near total control over the school district, which includes more than 800,000 students in Los Angeles, 30 other cities and some unincorporated portions of the county. Those plans were scrapped earlier this summer.
