The board of education of the Los Angeles Unified School District has unanimously approved a plan to break up the nation's second largest district into 11 semiautonomous subdistricts. The restructuring plan, which calls for the elimination or transfer of more than 800 positions from the central office, is designed to streamline the district's bureaucracy and move resources and decision making closer to local schools, school officials say. The ultimate goal is to focus district resources squarely on student achievement. The reorganization, which officials hope to put into effect by July, follows months of controversy over low test scores, severe overcrowding, and allegations of mismanagement.
Polls show public confidence in the school district has dropped significantly.
Political observers see the reorganization as a necessary step to forestall proposals that the 710,000-student district be broken up into smaller, truly independent school districts. Under the plan, each of the 11 subdistricts will have its own superintendent and will have autonomy over its administration, budget, and education services. According to Interim Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines, most decision-making authority will be turned over to these superintendents, with the central office and school board providing oversight, technical assistance, and policy direction. Some critics have dismissed the plan as just another administrative shuffle, one of many that have been undertaken in the past 25 years. Copyright 2000, National School Boards Association.