HAHN FOR MAYOR
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Tarzana, CA 91356

Hahn Proposes Education Plan

FEBRUARY 02, 2001
LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

With the Los Angeles Unified School District lagging in building new schools as the student population explodes, a mayoral candidate on Thursday proposed creating a joint powers authority between the city and the district -- a plan rejected by the district's top official.

Standing in front of Hoover Street Elementary School as streams of students were forced to cross over a closed-off street to bungalows, City Attorney James Hahn said his proposal would involve no additional cost and would create a framework to focus attention on the need for new schools.

"The failure to build new schools is the crisis facing Los Angeles," Hahn said. "At Hoover, we are seeing kids as young as 5 years old being bused out for kindergarten. That is simply not acceptable."

Under Hahn's proposal, a joint powers authority of five to seven members appointed by the LAUSD and the city would be created to oversee all htmects of school construction, from the siting to the purchase. It also would deal with other issues, such as environmental concerns, at the same time, he said.

Superintendent Roy Romer, however, said the district already has taken steps to deal with those issues and believes help is needed in other areas.

"We would love to have some help from the next mayor, no matter who he is, but this isn't the area where we need assistance," Romer said. "Where we need help is in after-school programs and the early childhood development area."

While Hahn asserted the district was behind in constructing 36 school projects, Romer said the district has made changes to get all the schools back on schedule.

"We're on target and on schedule," Romer said. "We don't need to go back to ground zero and reorganize the railroad."

Hahn spokeswoman Julie Wong, however, said the city attorney stood by his proposal as a way to give more emphasis to the construction of new schools.

"Also, this is not the only proposal we will be making," Wong said. "This is one of a series of proposals on education that will be proposed during the campaign."

Hahn is the latest of the mayoral candidates to offer an education plan.

Last week, former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa released a 12-point program on a range of topics, including giving the city the power to inspect schools for safety.

Parks Commissioner Steve Soboroff has called for breaking up the LAUSD into a number of smaller districts.

Whichever approach is taken, Hahn said local officials still need to deal with the problems of a growing school-age population and the need for new facilities.

"I think a panel like this could help overcome some of the opposition by residents to having a school in their neighborhood," Hahn said. "It can help build public support. We have to do something. By the year 2003, we will have 30,000 more students to house. It will be 80,000 more by 2008."