CITY HALL L.OS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90012 August I, 2006 Honorable Members of the City Council c/o Frank Martinez City Clcrk, City of Los Angeles 200 North Spring Street, Room 360 Los Angeles, CA 900 I 2 Dear Honorable Members of the City Council: Attached is the Final Report of the Presidents' Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance. This report details over 54 specific recommendations to improve the governance ofLAUSD for City Councilmembers and School Board Mcmbers to consider. Please refer this report to the Education and Neighborhoods Committec. Should you havc any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact mc or other Council staff members in the office of member Padilla. Sincerely, 'l(1Á~ HA-,'CtÒ Kristine Grillo Legislative Deputy Oflcc of Councilmembcr Alex Padilla, 7'h District (! l) i! 7/26/06 55817 PM I ' II JGLAUSDSTUDYCVRlinal.ndd 1 July 3 i, 2006 Dear Councilmembers Huizar and Padilla: It is our pleasure to forward to you the final report of the Presidents' Joint Commission on Los Angeles Unificd School District (LAUSD) Governance. Commission members have been appointed by LAUSD School Board members, City Council officials, and the Los Angeles and other local city Mayors. This broad representation has allowed the Commission to build consensus on contentious and controversial issues surrounding governance. Over the past 12 months our volunteer Commission has diligently explored the governance of LAUSD. During our 30 commission meetings we have heard from national and local education experts. We have reviewed the scholarly work and evaluations of governance models throughout the countr, Through i 7 community outreach meetings, we received input from over 1,000 parents, students, teachers, principals, employee unions, and other stakeholders, This report presents our findings and recommendations for your consideration, We were able to complcte the report in the allotted one-year period as a result of the commitment of our Commissioners, the cooperation of LAUSD offcials, and the hard work of numerous City and RAND staff members who were assigned to provide us support, While this report was prepared by staff, it was reviewed, edited, and fully approved by the Commission, In this report you will find 54 specific recommendations to improve the governance of LAUSD, We commend our recommendations for your serious and timely consideration, We are convinced that the implementation of our recommendations will help LAUSD function in a manner that engages families and improves students' pcrformance at all levels, Sincerely, Maria Casillas (Co-Chair) David S, Cunningham, 1l (Co-Chair) Presidents' Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance MEMBERS OF THE PRESIDENTS' JOINT COMMISSION ON LAUSD GOVERL~ANCE Maria Casilas (Co-Chair) President, Families In Schools Appointed by former LAUSD Board President, Jose Huizar (now City Councilmember) David S. Cunningham, III (Co-Chair), Redevelopment and Land Use Attorney Appointed by former City Council President Alex Padila (now City Councilmember) Dr. Robert Barner Assistant Superintendent, Educational Programs, Los Angeles County Offce of Education Appointed by Los Angeles City Councilmember Bernard Parks Ed Burke ChierorStarr, Offce of School Board Member Jon Lauritzen Appointed by LAUSD School Board Member Jon Lauritzen Dr. Yvonne Chan Principal, Vaughn Next Century Learning Center Appointed by former Mayor James Hahn (retained by Mayor Villaraigosa) Bil Clay Retired General Manager, AT&T Appointed by LAUSD School Board Member Marguerite LaMotte George Cole President Pro Tern of the City of Bell City Council Appointed by the Mayors of the Cities of Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood and South Gate Jose Cornejo Chief of Staff, Office of Coiincilmember Tony Cardenas Appointed by Los Angeles City Councilmember Tony Cardenas Maria Davila Mayor, City or South Gate Appointed by the Mayors or the Cities of Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood and South Gate Donald L. Dear Former Mayor, City of Gardena Appointed by the Mayors of Carson, Lomita and Gardena Drew Furedi Partner, The New Teacher Project Appointed by LAUSD Board President Marlene Canter Marqueece Harris-Dawson Executive Director, Community Coalition Appointed by Los Angeles City Councilmernber Erie Garcetti (now Council President) Jerry Horowitz PrincipaL, Byrd Middle School Appointed by Los Angeles City Councilmember Greig Smith Cecilia Moreno Community Relations, Shell Oil Company Appointed by LAUSD School Board Member Mike Lansing Presidents' Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance 2 Ramon Muniz Educational Opportunity Program Admissions and Partncrship Programs Coordinator, California State University, ~orthridge Appointed by Los Angeles City Councilmember Ed Reyes Mary Rose Ortega Teacher, Los Angeles Unified School District Appointed by former Los Angeles City Councilmember Antonio Vilaraigosa (retaincd by Los Angeles City Councilmcmber Jose Huizar) Erin Pak CEO, Korean Health, Education, Information and Research Center Appointed by former Los Angeles City Councilmember Martin Ludlow (retained by Los Angeles City Councilmember Herb Wesson) Scott P. Plotkin Executive Director, California School Boards Association Appointed by the LAUSD Board of Education Ron Prescott Retired Deputy Superintendent ofLAUSD Appointed by the LAUSD Board of Education Mathew S. Rodman Managing Director, Furst Enterprises, Ltd. Appointed by Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl Mary Rodriguez Community and Parent Activist, Los Feliz Appointcd by Los Angeles City Councilmcmber Tom LaBongc Julie Ruelas Councilmember, City or San Fernando Appointed by the Mayors of the Cities of Monterey Park, West Hollywood and San Fernando Carla Sanger President and CEO. L.A.'s Best, After School Enrichment Program Appointed by former Mayor James Hahn (retaincd by Mayor Villaraigosa) Colleen Schwab Teacher, Los Angeles Unified School Distrct Appointed by LAUSD Board Member Julie Korenstein Camila Townsend Retired Principal, LAUSD Educational Consultant & Executive Director, Max H. Gluck Foundation Appointed by Los Angeles City Councilmember Janice Hahn Howard W clinsky Chair, California Postsecondary Education Commission Appointed by Los Angeles City CouncIlmember Jack Weiss Andrew Westall Scnior Deputy, Offce of Council member Herb J. Wesson, Jr Appointed by LAUSD Board Membcr David Tokofsky Dr. Tyree Wieder President, Los Angeles Valley College Appointed by Los Angeles City Councilmember Wendy Greuel Johnathan Wiliams Founder, The Accelerated School Appointed by Los Angeles City Councilmember Ian Perr Presidents' Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS COMMISSION MEMBERSHIP ..........................................................................................2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................5 Key Reeommendations .......................................................................................................... 7 ImpIementation ................ ..... ..... .......... ......... ..... ...... ..... ...... ...... ........... ........ ......... ................ ....11 Closing.................................................................................................................................12 INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................13 LAUSD Context ...................................................................................................................13 Genesis of the Commission.......................................................................................................16 The Commission's W ork..........................................................................................................18 DECENTRALIZED AUTHORITY ........................................................................................22 Deeentralization Prineip les ............. ..... ......... ..... ............ .......... ......... .......... ......... ...... ...... ..... ....22 New District Strueture and Funding Meehanism.............................................................23 Greater SehooI Level Authority with Clusters Promoting Loeal Collaboration and Assistanee ............................ .............. ...................... ............ ............... ....... ..... ............25 Important RoIe for the CentraI Distriet Offee ...............................................................27 Four Funetions Warrant Sbared Responsibilties ...............................................................29 GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY .........................................................................30 Governanee Prin eip les........... ................. ........ ............... ....... ....... ....... ....... ......... ..... ....30 The Central Governing Board ..................................................................................................31 Collective Bargaining...... ................... ..... ......... ...... ................................ ............................ ..33 MUNICIPAL INVOLVEMENT IN LAUSD ....................................................................34 IMPLEMENTING CHANGE ...................................................................................................36 MINORITY REPORTS ...........................................................................................................37 APPENDIX A: RESOLUTION FOR ESTABLISHING COMMISSIO:\ .........................40 APPENDIX