LAUSD, UTLA HOLD `SUMMIT' UNION, SCHOOL DISTRICT AIM FOR MUTUAL AGENDA.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

Fresh from two days of talks at a seaside retreat, Los Angeles Unified officials and teacher union representatives said Tuesday they had forged a new era of collaboration to end nasty budget disputes and improve instruction in the nation's second-largest school district.

The two-day ``minisummit,'' convened by board President Marlene Canter, took place at the Embassy Suites, Mandalay Bay in Oxnard and sought to create a mutual agenda to tackle high dropout rates and a host of other problems.

Canter, United Teachers Los Angeles President A.J. Duffy and Superintendent Roy Romer led the group that included 12 aides from the district and the union.

``A meeting like this has never happened. Never before has the president of UTLA, the superintendent and the president of the school board gotten together to discuss issues in an amicable way... This truly was about possibly a new beginning,'' Duffy said at a news conference at Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood.

Canter said her recent election as board president and Duffy's recent election to head UTLA allowed the district to start off with a clean slate.

``There's been much more friction than is productive,'' Canter said. ``What we've done is turned that around.''

Still, no new policies or plans came out of the meeting, which Romer said was called to address next year's budget and create a better atmosphere in which to negotiate - a process he said was ``delayed'' in the past.

``It's driven by the recognition we have got real work to do on the budget and negotiations,'' Romer said.

The three also discussed continuing pressure by some groups to have Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa take over control of the school district. But they denied the new spirit of cooperation was designed to head off a takeover of the district by the city of Los Angeles.

Canter said they talked about how they could work with Villaraigosa to improve their schools.

Last Friday, Villaraigosa convened his Council of Education Advisers that he created to improve Los Angeles public schools, and he emphasized his belief that the district should move toward mayoral control, but he would first have to build support for the idea.

``Obviously, to the outside world, it looks like we're closing ranks against those who are talking about taking us over,'' Duffy said. ``But for us, this is very new. I'm in favor of any type of dialogue that will help.''

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer, right, and UTLA President A.J. Duffy at a news conference Tuesday at Walter Reed Middle School where they announced a mutual agenda to improve the LAUSD. Christian Ferratti, left, a seventh-grader at the school and a member of the California Cadet Corps., stands at attention.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer