Split sought for L.A. schools

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Angered by low test scores, high dropout rates and other stubborn problems in the Los Angeles metropolitan area’s school system, residents of a working-class city want to become the first community in more than half a century to split from the district.

Parents in Carson, a racially mixed city squeezed between Compton and the Los Angeles ports, said they are fed up with a district that a commission two years ago branded "disturbingly dysfunctional."

Voter approval of the measure on Tuesday’s ballot would mark the first secession from the Los Angeles Unified School District since Torrance left in 1948.

"The future of our children and our community is at stake," said Carolyn Harris, leader of the secession drive in Carson.

The nation’s second-largest school district has grappled with overcrowding, low test scores, fractious leadership and the threat of state oversight for years. It spent $170 million to build a school that never opened because it sits atop contaminated soil from an old oil field.

Two years ago, a commission suggested breaking up the district to better serve students.

Secession opponents fear approval of the Carson split would encourage other breakaway movements.

"We see it as a precedent-setting step, and we see the breakup as a negative for teachers and students," said Steve Blazak, spokesman for the teachers union.

Secession supporters say the district and city are too big to be managed effectively. The school district’s enrollment of 722,000 students is only slightly less than the population of San Francisco.

"All research shows that smaller districts are better for children, for their education," said Stephanie Carter, a leader of the school-secession group.

If the Carson measure is approved, a new district would be formed in July. It would take ownership of 17 schools and have about 22,000 students.

The secession movement poses a challenge to superintendent Roy Romer, the former Colorado governor who is trying to turn the district around. He has not taken a position on the secession effort, saying it is an issue for communities to decide.

He became schools chief in July 2000, shortly after the district chopped itself into 11 semiautonomous subdistricts to address many of the concerns raised by secession supporters. The subdistricts were designed to allow more local control over budgeting and staffing, reduce bureaucracy and make teachers more accessible.

If secession is approved, the new district is likely to face a number of problems, including overcrowded schools and the loss of experienced teachers.

By state law, teachers and administrators have the choice of remaining with Los Angeles or joining the new district. Most teachers already have said they would not stay with Carson, making an existing teacher shortage even worse.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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