SACRAMENTO — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's attempt to take over the Los Angeles public schools is in serious jeopardy in the Legislature, according to one leading Democrat who urged the mayor Thursday to intervene in hopes of salvaging his plan.
Democrats and Republicans alike voiced doubt about Villaraigosa's quest to overhaul the Los Angeles Unified School District, the centerpiece of his year-old administration that has prompted aggressive lobbying campaigns by district leaders and the powerful state teachers union.
Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles), chairwoman of the Assembly Education Committee and a former teacher, said she doubted that Villaraigosa's proposal would receive more than three votes in her committee. It needs at least six to pass.
"I do not like the vote coming from Sacramento instead of from the people who live in the district," Goldberg said, referring to the fact that the mayor's plan would not require a local referendum. "I like Antonio and trust him, but I don't know who the next mayor's going to be.
"I'm not opposed unalterably," Goldberg added, "but I think this is way too premature."
The opposition to Villaraigosa's proposed takeover of the 727,000-student district in part reflects uncertainty about precisely what he is asking the Legislature to approve. Although the mayor has often discussed the need for accountability and mayoral oversight of schools, even highlighting those ideas in his recent State of the City address, he has yet to put forward a specific bill.
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) telephoned Villaraigosa on Thursday to warn that fellow lawmakers were increasingly wary of his takeover plan.
Nunez advised Villaraigosa to travel to Sacramento immediately to lobby Democratic lawmakers, many of whom voiced additional concerns about diminishing the elected school board's authority and pushing through a change in governance without more extensive debate.
Nunez said he told Villaraigosa that school district leaders and the California Teachers Assn. -- a major Democratic backer -- had out-lobbied him, successfully making a case that change is unnecessary in light of progress L.A. Unified has shown in student achievement and school construction.
"I called him and I told him he needs to get up here," said Nunez, a personal friend of Villaraigosa and the mayor's closest ally in the Legislature. "I had to let him know our effort is in trouble right now. A lot of members are coming up to me and saying, 'I don't want to support' " this plan.
