HAYES' TOUGH TALK NOW MUST FACE THE TEST; IT WILL TAKE MUCH MORE THAN PROMISES TO REVERSE THE TROUBLES OF L.A. SCHOOLS.

Byline: Earl Ofari Hutchinson

SINCE her bruising June run-off election victory over incumbent Barbara Boudreaux for the Los Angeles Unified School Board, Genethia Hayes has been on a nonstop roll. She was unanimously elected as board president.

She went on a barnstorm tour of the schools in her district and publicly promised to develop partnerships between the board, parents, teachers and students to quickly improve the schools.

This move seems designed to fulfill her much-repeated campaign promise to have an open-door policy for her constituents. By that she meant that there would be no back-room deals made by board members on educational programs and that she would discuss and consult with parents, teachers and the community on critical issues regarding educational programs and polices.

She publicly reprimanded L.A. County District Attorney Gil Garcetti for allegedly trying to discredit attorney Barry Groveman, the board's consultant on the Belmont Learning Center controversy and a challenger to Garcetti in next year's election for district attorney.

This enhanced her image as a tough, no-nonsense elected official who won't back down from anyone when it comes to protecting the interests of the board.

If Hayes, at least so far, seemingly can do no wrong, there's a good reason why. In backing her, the voters sent a strong message that they wanted change in the schools and they wanted it now. And it's easy to see why.

In a report this past June, the Southern California Association of Governments was so appalled at the dismal reading and math scores, and the fact that about one-third of the students in L.A. city schools don't graduate on time, it gave the school district a D in education.

More than a few would say that this was a charitable grade and that an F was far more appropriate.

The SCAG report correctly noted that if students in L.A. city schools can't read, write or do math, they can't effectively compete in the employment marketplace. They are perennially doomed to work low-end, marginal jobs or to become prison fodder.

In Hayes' district, the checklist of woes are piled even higher. The graduation rates and test scores are still among the lowest in the state, and a number of schools are badly overcrowded.

The situation within these schools is made worse by the chronic problems of bureaucratic inertia, protect-their-turf teachers unions, pass-the-buck administrators, indifferent parents and chronic budget shortfalls.

It will take much more than vague promises about partnerships and tough talk to a district attorney to reverse the performance crash-dive in District One schools. Hayes must quickly deal with the most immediate crises:

The school voucher movement. Despite the charge by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other black organizations that vouchers will gut public education, many African-Americans say they want them.

A national survey in 1998, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a black Washington, D.C., think tank, found that a majority of black parents nationally back a voucher program. And a whopping 90 percent of blacks ages 26 to 35, who are most likely to have children attending public schools, want them the most.

The same is true in Los Angeles. Many parents, across all ethnic lines, would instantly snatch vouchers if they were available, because they are desperate to put their children into schools that teach them how to read, write, spell, add and subtract.

They want their sons and daughters to have a decent chance at a career or profession.

Voucher opponents may be absolutely right when they say that vouchers would decimate public schools, but as long as L.A. city schools disgracefully underperform, black parents will demand the right to pick and choose the schools that offer them the best deal in education for their children.

And, if another statewide ballot initiative comes along, and one almost surely will, that gives them the choice of vouchers, many will eagerly back it.

The plight of African-American students. Black students make up about 15 percent of the students in L.A. city schools. But in Hayes' district, they make up the overwhelming majority of students in what amounts virtually to totally segregated schools.

The district's two high schools, Dorsey and Crenshaw, have the lowest test scores in science, math and reading, lower graduation rates and the highest number of students dumped in special-education programs reserved for slow learners.

This is a disgrace and an embarrassment that can be partially fixed only with an emergency crash program to upgrade textbooks and facilities, purchase more computers and place the highest-caliber teachers, counselors and administrators possible at these schools.

Prove you're not Mayor Richard Riordan's pawn. During the election campaign, Hayes was pounded by claims that she would do a puppet's dance to the mayor's tune as one of three candidates backed by Riordan.

Hayes cried foul and said that she would be her own boss. Many took her at her word that she will be.

They expect her to fight the tough battles for greater funding, more programs, quality teachers and administrators to deal with the towering needs and problems of the chronically underserved students in her district and the other districts too.

They expect her to fight that battle even when it goes against the wishes of the mayor and the other school board members.

These are monumental challenges for Hayes. It's unfair to expect her and the other newly elected school board members to swoop in like the man on the white horse and instantly clean up the mess that has been made of the L.A. city schools.

But, it's not unfair to expect her and the others to make a mighty effort to try. Hayes has pledged that she will do that. Many are anxiously watching to see how, and if she canA keep that pledge.