LAUSD GETS A PASSING GRADE REVIEW DOES LITTLE TO DISPEL CALLS FOR DISTRICTWIDE AUDIT.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

Under fire to submit to a city Controller's Office management audit, the LAUSD released the results of a review it commissioned one year ago on district organization and structure, revealing steady improvement and little need for large restructuring, officials said Monday.

While the performance review - technically not an audit - did not suggest any radical reorganization of the central office, it did criticize the district for a weak accountability system with no defined performance goals for teachers or academic progress.

The report also recommended that the district strengthen how its operations are aligned so its departments can work together more effectively, said Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, which conducted the review at no cost.

For example, if a school needs to hire a classroom aide, it should be able to go to the central office and have its request filled in a timely manner. There is now a six-week delay on fulfilling such requests, officials said.

``This school district has made substantial progress in a number of areas. I would characterize it as a district that's on the move and that's been on the move,'' Casserly said. ``It's not a broken district. It's not even a district in crisis. It's a district with challenges.''

The recommendations, intended to help steer the district on its path to reform, included giving principals more latitude over their budgets and over issues of accountability, as well as considering giving parents a role in evaluating the school district.

It also calls on the district to develop a stronger accountability system, with objectives and benchmarks for staff and clearly defined outcomes if they fail to meet them.

The board plans to appoint an oversight committee of credible outside experts to monitor progress on the plan. The board also will invite the Council of Great City Schools, a coalition of 66 of the nation's largest urban school systems, back in one year to assess its progress.

Board President Marlene Canter said she's pleased with the thoroughness of the report and with the conclusion that the district is not in crisis.

``You want them to come back with workable, tangible, actionable items. I was heartened to feel that the people who actually did the work on this were reflective of the complexity of what's going on inside,'' Canter said. ``To hear that from him (that we are not a district in crisis) and to see that is very validating to the work that's being done here.''

Casserly said the district has been very receptive to the proposals of the report. In fact, only now is the district well positioned to take the next steps in reform, Casserly said.

``Much of the work, the school district probably could not have done in years past. They needed to have foundations, new building to carry the steps forward. If they tried some of what we've proposed, they would never have been able to do it,'' Casserly said. ``They're proactive and aggressive about not only ensuring student achievement.''

District officials denied that the release of the review was timed to counteract City Controller Laura Chick's increasingly aggressive push to oversee an audit of the district - an audit that could cost $800,000. Canter said the report was commissioned one year ago and was scheduled to be released six weeks ago.

But Superintendent Roy Romer said given the overall audit picture of the district - including a $1.4 million annual audit by KPMG, and others by the county, state and the district's own Inspector General's Office - all the district's practices and actions are well documented. Another audit could lead to unnecessary and wasteful replications.

``Everybody ought to look at this and if there's anything we missed, sit down and talk to us about it. But we're not trying to hold off people who can bring things to us that are going to help us improve the education of children. It's just wrong to duplicate it,'' Romer said.

The areas of audit in which Chick could help, Romer said, are in auditing a $100 million dispute with the Department of Water and Power, city and district procedures in the area of foster care, and joint-use issues.

Chick said Monday that the request for help was nothing more than a ``pat on the head'' and ``blowing smoke.''

And the ``laundry list'' of audits has only created disjointed information of what is really going on at the nation's second largest school district.

``When you put it all together and look at it - as if anybody can read through all of it - does any or all of it answer the question: what is this thing we call LAUSD, how does it spend its money and what is it doing?'' Chick said. ``The audits are very professional, but they're disconnected dots that don't represent an integrated view. There is no transparency, there is no accountability. That's what I want to deliver. The bottom line is they don't seem to want me in there and I would question why not.''

Staff at Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office said they had not yet seen the new report, but that the mayor has made it clear he supports Chick's efforts to do a comprehensive and in-depth audit of the district.

``There's no doubt in his mind that we need to improve outcomes for children in our public schools,'' said Joe Ramallo, spokesman for the mayor. ``You have to know how the money's being spent in order to effectively improve our school system.''

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com