ANTONIO SCHOOLS CAPITOL ON ISSUES U.S. EDUCATION PLAN GETS PREVIEW IN D.C.

Byline: LISA FRIEDMAN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- In a broad effort aimed at ending urban poverty across the country, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is scheduled to reveal a multibillion-dollar national education plan today in the nation's Capitol.

The plan, part of a sweeping assessment on poverty by a U.S. Conference of Mayors task force that Villaraigosa led, calls for everything from universal pre-kindergarten to federally matched tax-free college savings accounts.

``This is a down payment on America's future that we can no longer afford to postpone,'' Villaraigosa said Wednesday at the National Press Club in a preview of the plan.

There were few details -- such as the ultimate price tag -- in his preview, but Villaraigosa said local, state and federal investments in the plan would pay off.

``The cost is in the billions,'' he said. ``The dividends are in the trillions.''

The proposal is the highest-profile effort so far by Villaraigosa to take aim at urban issues, and it raises his national name recognition in an anti-poverty campaign he is expected to head as chairman of the mayors' Task Force on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.

The plan also dovetails with Villaraigosa's own efforts to reform schools in Los Angeles and stamp out the city's rising gang violence.

The mayor has vowed to add 1,000 officers to the Los Angeles Police Department over the next five years, and he maintained Wednesday that improving education goes hand in hand with increasing the number of police on the streets.

``When you talk about crime and poverty, there's a connection with our schools,'' he said. ``There is no clearer predictor of economic success, no more powerful weapon against poverty, than educational attainment.''

Wednesday's speech was the centerpiece of Villaraigosa's latest trip to Washington -- a three-day, West Coast to East Coast jaunt that has become increasingly frequent.

Burnishing his stature in the national political arena, he was a guest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at President George W. Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday evening, and Villaraigosa was to meet with other political luminaries, including presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton.

On Tuesday at a meeting of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, he called for increased federal aid to crack down on illegal guns, which he said fuel gang problems in urban centers across the nation.

And earlier this month, Villaraigosa met with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller to seek more federal aid in fighting Los Angeles' escalating gang violence.

The announcement of a national education plan comes less than a week after Villaraigosa introduced an ambitious proposal for the Los Angeles Unified School District that relies on six ``pillars of school excellence'' to reinvigorate the district, second-largest in the nation.

But among measures in the national plan announced Wednesday is a $650-per-student federal contribution to schools that combine academic curriculums with career training.

And at the plan's heart is the establishment of a tax-free lifetime savings account for every child, patterned after bipartisan federal legislation introduced last year by former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum.

That legislation -- the America Saving for Personal Investment, Retirement and Education Act -- was supported in the House by Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Santa Fe Springs, and would allow every child born after 2007 to receive a starter deposit of $500 to $1,000 from the government.

Families could deposit up to $1,000 annually into a child's account and receive an annual government match of up to $500.

Children would get control of the account at age 18 and could use the funds for higher education or another purpose, such as purchasing a home. They would be required to pay back the initial starter deposit when they reach age 30.

Villaraigosa did not indicate how closely his plan would follow the Santorum bill, but estimated that the average child, upon reaching college age, would have about $30,000 to invest in education or career training.

``This is not our grandparents' entitlement program,'' Villaraigosa said. ``Big ideas don't always translate into big government.''

Dan Lips, an education analyst with the conservative Heritage Foundation, praised the initiative as ``a step in the right direction.''

He urged Villaraigosa to develop a plan for a savings account so parents could use the money while a student is in school to pay for tutoring, private school or other opportunities.

``It would show he really wants to open the door for true ownership in education,'' Lips said.

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com

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(color) L.A. Mayor Antonio previews a sweeping education plan Wednesday in Washington.