No wonder our public schools have so many problems. Try to help and you're faced with hurdles at every turn. It seems it's more about "process" than getting results.

Take the case of Los Angele Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The mayor wanted to mentor a high school student who tagged a bus that Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent were riding near the school. The photo of the grafitti incident was captured in the Los Angeles Times and the news story got wide play.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Villaraigosa offered to help the tagger, but the school bureaucracy raised its ugly head.

"But before Villaraigosa can don his mentor cap, he must complete a one-page application, undergo a tuberculosis test, and submit to fingerprinting and an interview by the school's principal -- procedures that can take as long as a month," the Times reported.

This is typical. These rules aren't about protecting schools. They are about raising barriers to the public getting involved in the schools. It's a closed system, no matter what the educational establishment says about needing help from the community.

Posted by Jim Boren at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Fresno Mayor Alan Autry says he will sue the state Legislature if it gives Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa power over L.A. schools after he was denied similar power over Fresno schools. There are so many holes in Autry's position, it's difficult to figure which part of his reasoning should be attacked first.

Let's start with suing the Legislature. Go ahead, but you better not be using taxpayer money. That would be a colossal waste -- intended to serve the mayor's ego and not the citizens of Fresno.

Fix Fresno's problems first before you take on school district issues. Besides, a reform-minded school board is on the right track with the help of a new superintendent in Fresno. Stop pulling the rug out from under them and give them a chance to succeed.

If the mayor should control the Fresno school district, what about Clovis Unified? Much of it is in the city of Fresno. But Clovis parents have too much clout and the mayor apparently is afraid of taking them on. But where's your consistency, mayor? While you're at it, you should be screaming to take over Central Unified, too, because part of that district is in Fresno.

Sure, the public schools have problems, but those are not going to be solved by putting a politician in charge of the school system.

If the mayor wants to help the schools, he should create jobs so children aren't growing up in poverty. He should improve their neighborhoods so they are safe. He should control the drug problem that's hurting so many of our children.

Villaraigosa should take the same advice: fix Los Angeles before taking on the L.A. schools. Your city is a mess, Mayor Villaraigosa. Why are you ignoring it?

There is a lot both mayors could do for the schools in their cities. But please stop pandering to those who believe that there are easy answers to solving the problems of our schools.

Posted by Jim Boren at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)