LAUSD'S TAKEOVER POLITICAL.

Byline: Julie Korenstein Local View

Shame on you, Mr. Mayor. There is an ancient Greek word, hubris, which dates back to Homer's "Odyssey" that is "associated with the lack of knowledge, overconfidence and lack of humility."

The responsibility of being the mayor in the second-largest city in the nation is a huge task. There is a great deal that needs to be done. As you plot out your course, how will you be looked upon in the annals of Los Angeles history? Will you have been a good leader, or someone who destroyed public education? Sometimes political ambition can be very destructive.

There are 727,000 K-12 students, as well as hundreds of thousands of pre-K and adult-school students, whose well-being is being put at risk while you play out your power grab. The Los Angeles Unified School District - which includes 27 cities, not just Los Angeles - is being threatened by a mayor who somehow believes that he has found the magic bullet to cure all of the problems public education faces.

Mr. Mayor, the LAUSD student population is made up of students who speak 91 languages. Approximately 300,000 are English-language learners, students who are transitioning into a new language. Some 85,000 are learning-disabled students, a population larger than the entire San Francisco school district, with approximately 76 percent of our students at the poverty level. The LAUSD serves more than 500,000 meals each day, sometimes the only nourishment a child receives.

Now let me tell you what we have accomplished over the past five years. LAUSD elementary school scores have increased an incredible 197 points. Our middle schools' scores increased over 130 points, and our high schools' increased by 104 points. All have exceeded the percentage increase in statewide averages.

We are building 165 schools - larger than the entire San Diego school district. This is the largest school construction program in the history of the United States. In the past two years, we have built and opened 55 brand-new schools.

Mr. Mayor, when did the city of Los Angeles have such an incredible construction and cleanup program that will benefit communities for generations to come? Talk is cheap. The LAUSD is doing the work.

We are also in the process of implementing full-day kindergarten in all of our elementary schools. All of our K-3 classes have been reduced to 20:1 student-teacher ratio. The LAUSD has approved 100 charter schools with more than 35,000 students.

Mr. Mayor, who made you the public-education "guru" when your children attend private schools? It appears that you have decided to allow the Board of Education to continue to be elected, but you have seriously diminished the authority of an elected officer.

Apparently you do not believe that the voters are intelligent enough to select individuals who are capable and competent to run a school district. What happened to our democratic system?

Dictators can make swift decisions, but they may be devastating. According to the California School Boards Association, the mayor's decision to take control of the LAUSD "not only violates core principles of representative government, it diverts attention from the real issue at hand - improving academic achievement."

An elected school board acts as an oversight committee. Moving full responsibility from the Board of Education may result in graft and corruption. We are the taxpayers' watchdog.

Mr. Mayor, you have suggested that each school establish its own working rules, attendance hours and individual calendars. Will each child within one family have different calendars and times? Will each school take care of its own payroll, transportation, maintenance and operations?

Are you suggesting that every school will be able to select any vendor for any of its services? As someone supported by labor, are you recommending contracting out, which would negatively impact unions? How many people are you planning to lay off? How will this affect the safety of children on our campuses when anyone can come in and out and work on a school?

Mr. Mayor, please do not forget that many LAUSD employees are parents of our students. Their jobs put bread on the table for their children.

Shame on you, Mr. Mayor. Do not experiment with our children's lives for your political ambition. Be careful how you use your power. Remember, power corrupts. Do not drop a nuclear bomb before you know the consequences.

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Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa speaks during a news conference in Van Nuys on Thursday.

Ric Francis/Associated Press