ADVOCATES SAY CHARTERS ARE SOLUTION FOR TROUBLED LAUSD.

Byline: NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN Staff Writer

As the mayor, LAUSD and its teachers union debate how to improve Los Angeles' public schools, the burgeoning charter movement has quietly created a parallel system that supporters say may provide the best solution to overhauling the troubled district.

Affiliated with Los Angeles Unified but not subject to many of its rules and regulations, charters have more freedom in hiring staff and designing curricula. With more independence, charters have successfully lured thousands of students from traditional schools, forcing LAUSD to open itself to reform.

Former Assemblywoman Paula Boland, who spearheaded a campaign in the 1990s to dismantle LAUSD, sees the charter movement as a common-sense solution to solving the lagging test scores and high dropout rates that plague the district.

``Every child we get out of the LAUSD system's status quo into anything like a charter is one more kid that we've saved,'' she said. ``It's the next best alternative (to breakup). A breakup would be far better, certainly, but I'm really happy to see what is happening here because without the charter system, there would be that many kids lost in the LAUSD system.

``Charter schools are really the only answer right now.''

Raphael Sonenshein, political science professor at California State University, Fullerton, sees a parallel between the San Fernando Valley's efforts to break up the district and its effort to secede from Los Angeles.

``Charter schools are to school breakup what charter reform was to secession -- a reform within the existing system,'' he said. And it's not only parents who are enamored of the independent campuses.

Billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad announced last week he was donating $10.5million to Green Dot Public Schools for the creation of 21 more charters during the next four years.

The charter schools operator also received $2.8million from Broad's foundation in 2004, $6million in April from the Casey Wasserman Foundation, and $1.8million in September from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

``It gets really clear that nothing will change in this city until there is a total and complete and focused parent revolt,'' Green Dot founder Steve Barr said. ``I think what charter schools are are little skirmishes of parent revolts dispersed across the city.

``We have to figure out how to get the 90percent of people who aren't in the schools to tear down the walls to get schools like that.''

Building on the success of the movement, the California Charter Schools Association last month launched a $500,000 public-relations campaign designed to reach 300,000 additional parents statewide.

LAUSD has 103 charters, more than any district in the nation. However, the charter association wants to double the number of California parents who have access to the independent campuses.

However, the movement faces stiff resistance from the LAUSD board and its teachers union, who are supporting legislation that would cap the amount of taxpayer money for charters. The independent schools get their money directly from the state, while the district is responsible for allocating state money among its traditional campuses.

The district had also hoped to stem the flow of students to charters by granting charter-like freedoms at traditional campuses.

However, a pilot program at Parkman Middle School -- now Woodland Hills Academy -- failed after just three months, and teachers at the suburban campuses have now petitioned for charter status after all.

But A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said he hopes to resurrect the Parkman model, which he saw as a way to compete with the charter system.

``The district had an opportunity to move ahead with a truly cutting-edge reform by giving these charter-like freedoms to this school and building on that, and they blew it,'' he said. ``I'm not going to let them do that.''

He also said he hopes to be able to reach a compromise with teachers at Woodland Hills Academy and retain the pilot program.

With so many powerful political interests focused on LAUSD now, Barr said he sees an amazing opportunity to partner and share charter schools' best practices. ``We already have a flourishing parents union, we're already doing a lot, and it'll be awesome if we end up partnering with somebody,'' Barr said.