SOME WARY OF PLAN DIFFICULT ROAD AHEAD FOR IDEA.

Byline: HARRISON SHEPPARD Sacramento Bureau

Striking a deal with the teachers unions this week was only the first step for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in his quest to gain influence in the management of Los Angeles' public schools.

Getting the bill through the state Legislature in the next 10 weeks still will require additional lobbying efforts by the mayor and his allies, as lawmakers in both parties said Thursday they are undecided -- if not skeptical -- of the proposal.

Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Granada Hills, who opposes the deal, believes the mayor won't get much support from his Republican colleagues.

``This proposal is really the worst alternative,'' Richman said. ``It's a proposal that diffuses responsibility and there's no accountability. With the school board, the mayor, the mayor's council, the superintendent (sharing power) nobody's going to know who's in charge and who's responsible or accountable.''

Richman and Sen. George Runner, R-Antelope Valley, support breaking up the district instead of power-sharing with the mayor.

But other key legislators who were initially skeptical of the mayor's plans have warily joined his side.

Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, chairwoman of the Assembly Committee on Education, opposed the mayor's first proposal, but has warmed to his compromise.

``I'm cautiously optimistic that we found a kind of power-sharing deal that everybody can live with,'' Goldberg said.

The success of the plan, she said, ``depends on how everyone plays together.''

She added that she prefers the plan be submitted to the voters of Los Angeles, but she doesn't think she could convince Villaraigosa.

Her counterpart in the Senate, Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, is still undecided as the legislation itself has not been released yet, his staff said.

The Republican vice chairman of the committee, Sen. Abel Maldonado, is also undecided.

The bill, authored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, and Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, is expected to be introduced formally today and then will come up for its first hearing before Scott's committee next Wednesday.

The Legislature is scheduled to begin summer recess on July 7, returning to work a month later and then ending its business for the year on Aug. 31.

In addition to political objections there may be legal obstacles.

Richman noted there are some doubts about whether the plan is constitutional. The state constitution, he said, gives authority for school governance to school boards.

The mayor's plan may require a constitutional amendment -- requiring a two-thirds vote by the Legislature to place it on the ballot for a statewide vote -- rather than a simple-majority bill. Opponents of the plan, he said, may end up suing based on constitutional grounds.

Some business groups are also split over the proposal. The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce praised the mayor, while the San Fernando Valley Industry and Commerce Association expressed skepticism.

``VICA would have preferred to see the LAUSD breakup bills move forward,'' VICA president Brendan Huffman said.

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com

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