Resolution No. 9097No
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RESOLUTION NO. 9097
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
VERNON APPROVING AND RATIFYING THE EXECUTION OF A
LETTER IN OPPOSITION TO ASSEMBLY BILL 1381 AND
SUPPORTING THE CITY'S PARTICIPATION IN THE
SOUTHEAST CITIES SCHOOL COALITION, A JOINT POWERS
AUTHORITY
WHEREAS, the City of Vernon (the `City") is a municipal
corporation and a chartered city of the State of California organized
and existing under its Charter and the Constitution of the State of
California; and
WHEREAS, the cities of Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood
and South Gate (the "Southeast Cities") are in the process of studying
alternatives for securing greater community influence in providing
quality education to students attending Los Angeles Unified School
District ("LAUSD") schools; and
WHEREAS, after a preliminary review of the alternatives, the
Southeast Cities have proposed the formation of a joint powers agency,
with the goal of assuming the responsibility for making key decisions
in the management of the schools within the LAUSD; and
WHEREAS, the Southeast Cities have proposed that the joint
powers agency be tentatively named the "Southeast City Schools
Coalition" ("SCSC"); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to California Government Code Section 6500
et seq., the City of Vernon is authorized to enter into an agreement
with one or more other public agencies to jointly exercise any power
common to the contracting parties and; and
WHEREAS, a joint powers authority will allow for the equal`
participation of all involved parties such that individual public
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agencies act together as one regional voice; and
WHEREAS, as a member of the SCSC, the various cities hope to
obtain more authority over the quality and availability of education
within their communities and influence decisions regarding funding and
curriculum in local schools within the Southeast area of the LAUSD
with the goal of increasing the graduation rate of high school
students, increasing college matriculation, increasing the education
level of entire communities, securing adequate financial resources,
and providing a safe, nurturing campus environment; and
WHEREAS, quality education opportunities can enrich the
lives of the inhabitants of the Southeast Cities economically,
culturally and socially; and
WHEREAS, the City of Vernon's participation in the SCSC will
substantially benefit the residents and businesses within the City and
provide benefits to the Southeast region; and
WHEREAS, the City Council does not by this resolution
relinquish any of its duly constituted powers to regulate and govern
its own territory, to require franchises from any railroad which may
cross its territory, or to regulate the streets and highways within
the City of Vernon; and
WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 1381 ("AB 1831") introduced by
Assembly Member Nunez seeks to revise the governance of the LAUSD; and
WHEREAS, after analyzing the bill, the members of the
proposed SCSC desired to send a letter to the Legislature opposing AB
1381 and Councilman McCormick, on behalf of the City of Vernon,
executed a letter on July 5, 2006, subject to ratification by the City
Council.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF VERNON AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
11finds and determines that the recitals contained hereinabove are true
Iland correct.
SECTION 2: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
expresses its desire and intention to participate in the Southeast
City Schools Coalition, a joint powers authority.
SECTION 3: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
finds and declares that the actions authorized hereby constitute a
valid exercise of the powers of the City under the laws of the State
of California and under the Charter of the City of Vernon.
SECTION 4: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
instructs the Acting City Clerk, or his designee, to (1) designate a
City Council representative to work with the Southeast Cities in
finalizing the formation of the proposed joint powers agency for
municipal governance of LAUSD schools; and (2) pay the City's share of
legal costs associated with the formation of the joint powers agency.
SECTION 5: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
consents to the City of South Gate serving as lead agency in
retaining/providing interim administrative and legal services during
the formation of the joint powers agency.
SECTION 6: The City Council of the City of Vernon hereby
approves and ratifies the execution of the Letter in Opposition to
Assembly Bill 1381 by Councilman McCormick on July 5, 2006, a copy of
which is attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated by reference.
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SECTION 7: The Acting City Clerk of the City of Vernon
shall certify to the passage of this resolution, and thereupon and
thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 19th day of July, 2006.
ATTEST:
BRUCE V. MALKENHORST, JR.
Acting City Clerk
EONIS C. MA BURG, Mayor
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
) ss
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )
I, BRUCE V. MALKENHORST, JR., Acting City Clerk of the City of
Vernon, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution, being
Resolution No. 9097, was duly adopted by the City Council of the City
of Vernon at a regular meeting of the City Council duly held on
Wednesday, July 19, 2006, and thereafter was duly signed by the Mayor
of the City of Vernon.
BRUCE V. MALKENHORST, JR.
Acting City Clerk
I (SEAL)
- 5 -
EXHIBIT
VI&
July 5, 2006
Honorable Speaker Fabian Nunez
California State Assembly
Sacramento, California
NE
Honorable Senator Martha Escutia
California State Senate
Sacramento, California
Honorable Assembly member Hector De La Torre Honorable Senator Gil Cedillo
California State Assembly California State Senate
Sacramento, California Sacramento, California
Honorable State Senator Alan Lowenthal
California State Senate
Sacramento, California
RE: Opposition to Assembly Bill 1381
Dear Honorable Speaker, Senators and Assembly Member:
The Southeast Cities School Coalition (SCSC) consisting of the Cities of Bell, Cudahy,
Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, Vernon and the unincorporated Los Angeles
County area of Walnut Park, must respectfully oppose Assembly Bill 1381.
Of the over 700,000 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD),
approximately 150,000 students live and attend school outside of the city limits of Los
Angeles; over 60,000 of these students attend school in our cities. As proposed in
Assembly Bill 1381, the Mayor of Los Angeles will exclusively carry the ability to hire
and fire the Superintendent and with the diffused and confusing oversight structure of this
proposal, the 60,000 students and over 50,000 registered. voters in the Southeast cities,
will essentially have a muted voice and ultimately no decision making power over
education in our cities.
As proposed, the Council of Mayors is a poor substitute for true representation with votes
proportional to each city's enrollment in LAUSD automatically affording the Mayor of
Los Angeles a supermajority with 80 percent of the votes. As we read the legislation, it
is not clear how, when and under what purview the remaining Council of Mayors would
have any ability to override an affirmative vote by the Mayor of Los Angeles. As
proposed in Assembly Bill 1381, the Council of Mayors simply plays an advisory role
with no real authority. The intended purpose of AB 1381 is supposedly about
accountability. The SCSC is in agreement that AB 1381 does not clearly address the
question of education reform as it disenfranchises thousands of parents; does not establish
a clear line of accountability, does not address how it will attain a higher quality of
teaching standards and how it will address the standardized curriculum issue, and creates
an environment prone to conflicts of interest
The coalition is willing to discuss this issue further, but until there is a substantial change
in the legislation that allows for adequate representation by the aforementioned cities, the
coalition will remain in opposition to the bill.
Attached please find the coalition's position paper on AB 1381.
Respectfully,
Gloria Molina
Supervisor, County of Los Angeles
Aeorggee,
ld--e—
Councilmember, City of Bell
40elia ernan ez
Councilmember, City of Huntington Park
z; 0 ��we,�
Maria Davila
Mayor, City of South Gate
a —
Frank Gurule
Mayor, City of Cudahy
Pro Tempore, City of Maywood
r
W. Mike McCormick
Councilmember, City of Vernon
Cc: Honorable Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Honorable Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa
Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education
Southeast City School Coalition — Position Paper
Opposition AB 1381
Draft
The Southeast City School Coalition, comprised of the cities of Bell, Cudahy,
Maywood, Huntington Park, South Gate, Vernon and Walnut Park in the
unincorporated area of the Los Angeles County presents its opposition to AB
1381 (Nunez), as amended on June 21, 2006.
AB 1381
This bill, in effect, shifts control of the Los Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD) from the locally elected governing Board of Educationtothe M is
of
the City of Los Angeles. As such, the Southeast City SchoolCoalition
concerned with the following:
AB 1381 disenfranchises the parents of children who attend LAUSD
schools located outside of the City of Los Angeles.
Approximately 150,000 students, or 20% of the LAUSD student population,
reside outside the boundaries of the City of Los Angeles. Approximately 62,000
of these students attend LAUSD schools within the jurisdiction of the Southeast
City School Coalition, which includes the Cities of Bell, Cudahy, Maywood,
Huntington Park, South Gate, Vernon and unincorporated community of Walnut
Park in the Los Angeles County.
The voters in these communities did not, and cannot, vote for the Mayor of Los
Angeles. Yet, AB 1381 now proposes to govern these communities by
obtaining plenary power with regard to the education of the children in these
communities.
As a fundamental principle of governance, AB 1381 inappropriately and
potentially unlawfully disenfranchises these communities. Under the current
system, we have the power to elect a representative on the Board of Education
of LAUSD; with the passage of AB 1381, we will be rendered powerless to
provide meaningful input and effectuate positive changes with regard to the
education of our children.
AB 1381 proposes to establish a "Council of Mayors", comprised of the mayors of
each city located within the attendance boundaries of LAUSD. This Council of
Mayors ostensibly has the power to appoint or remove the district
superintendent, to oversee joint use projects, to provide input with regard to the
location of school sites and to conduct an asset management audit. This
authority, however, is without substance, for AB 1381 also provides that the
authority of the Council of Mayors is dictated by a "majority of the weighted vote
of the total membership of the council". The proposed legislation provides that
"[t]he weighted vote of each member of the council of mayors is equal to the
proportion of the population of the LAUSD that are residents of the city of the
individual member, ...to the total population of residents of the LAUSD". Under
this analysis, with the Mayor of Los Angeles representing over 80% of the
enrollment at LAUSD, he would in effect have complete control over the Council
of Mayors. it is our collective view that the creation of the "Council of Mayors" is
merely a ploy to create the appearance of democracy and to provide a legal
defense to the anticipated legal challenge to this legislation.
AB 1381 creates a confusing and disjointed system of accountability:
Under AB 1381, LAUSD would be governed by four separate bodies consisting
of the elected governing board, a superintendent whose appointment would be
subject to the Mayor, the Mayor of Los Angeles, and a council of Mayors. The
Board of Education would be responsible for the hiring and firing of the
Superintendent, yet the proposed Council of Mayors (which would be dominated
by the Mayor of Los Angeles) would have ability
wou d beveto
responsible for
firing
of the Superintendent. The Board of Education
adopting a budget, yet the Superintendent would be required to allow the Council
of Mayors an opportunity to review and comment on the budget. Under these
scenarios the Superintendent would be caught between the Board of Education
and the Mayor of Los Angeles who has mOtpercent
le andof the votes on the Council of
confus confusing layers of authority
Mayors. In essence, AB 1381 creates p
making it difficult to determine who in fact is in charge of the District.
AB 1381 will disrupt curriculum continuity by allowing each school to
decide its own curriculum.
This disruption will have a negative effect on the academic achievement of
students. Standardizing a district -wide curriculum and providing instructional
materials and professional development around that curriculum is necessary.
Records show that students in LAUSD are highly transient. In many schools,
more than half of the students in attendance at the beginning of the year are in a
different school at the end of the year. This is true of many of the Southeast
cities students. Therefore, it is vitally important for student success that there be
consistency between the curriculum, instruction, and materials between schools
so that when students (and sometimes teachers) move from school to school
there is continuity in their educational experience.
AB 1381 creates opportunities for conflicts of interest.
Awarding of Contracts: Currently, the majority of all
contracts are discussed in open meetings to ensure a transparent public
process of checks and balances. Under the proposal, the Superintendent
could negotiate and award contracts including the ability to grant $100
million construction contracts outside of a public deliberative process with
the Board of Education.
IMPACT — AB 1381 is supposed to be about accountability. For the many
reasons stated above, the Southeast City School Coalition is in agreement that
AB 1381 does not address clearly the question of education reform as it
disenfranchises thousands of parents; does not establish a clear line of
accountability; does not address how it will attain a higher quality of teaching
standards and how it will address the standardized curriculum issue; and creates
an environment prone to conflicts of interest. The potential negative impact on -
our children is too high and it is not a gamble we are willing to take.
For these reasons, the Southeast City School Coalition strongly opposes AB
1381 and respectfully urges a "NO", vote on this bill.
As an alternative, the proposed legislation should be amended to either:
1) Create a semi -autonomous school district within LAUSD Sub district 6 with
authority over selection of school administrators, budget management and
school site selection, or,
2) Provide an expedited mechanism for cities to opt out of LAUSD and
facilitate the formation of separate districts.
1P
r RECEIVED City of South ateAPR 2 fie Z006 ,
CITY COUNCIL �(
�C
SOUTH GATE
CITY �F sa AGENDABILL
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER r the Meeting of.- A ril 25 2 06
\ Q� Vigitding Department. AdministratiDep/Division Head:_ City Manager:
IM"NCY ITEM
SUBJECT: POSSIBLE FORMATION OF A JOINT POWERS AGENCY TO PROVIDE
LOCAL POLICY AND MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT OF LAUSD SCHOOLS IN THE
SOUTHEAST AREA (DISTRICT 6).
RECOMMENDED MOTION: Motion to 1) appoint a City Council representative to participate
in meetipgs to create a j oint powers #gency for municipal govennce of LAUSD schools in the cities
of Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park/Maywood and South Gate"2) allocate $7,000 as the City's share
for legal costs associated with the formation of the joint powers agency, and 3) authorize the City of
South Gate to serve as lead agency in retaining/providing interim administrative and legal services
during the formation of JPA.
FISCAL IMPACT: A General Fund expenditure of $7,000.
REPORT SUMMARY: Mayors and City Council Members from the cities of Bell, Cudahy,
Huntington Park, Maywood and South Gate have been meeting for several months to discuss
alternatives for securing greater community influence in providing quality education to students
attending Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has proposed a plan for reorganization of the LAUSD
which would include making the City of Los Angeles Mayor the central figure in determining the
direction of the LAUSD. Among the proposals by Mayor Villaraigosa is to create a "Council of
Mayors" consisting of the Mayors of the 23 cities that are served, in whole or in part, by LAUSD.
This Council of Mayors, which would meet three times annually, would select the Superintendent of
Schools through a weighted voting system based upon student population in the respective
jurisdictions. Under this system, the Mayor of Los Angeles would always have a supermajority vote.
Mayor Villaraigosa's base philosophy is that the responsibility and accountability for providing
quality education should be vested in the municipal leader because education is inseparably linked to
municipal issues such as quality of life and economic development.
The Mayors and City Council Members of the Southeast Area cities who have been meeting to
discuss this matter independently came to a similar conclusion. The elected local leaders are
responsible for planning and providing the resources for the future of their community. The people
The assembled Mayors and City Council Members who have been participating in the informal
meetings believe that time is of the essence in proceeding with this matter. The political goal would
be to have the SCSC proposal incorporated into Mayor Villaraigosa's reorganization plan and any
subsequent State legislation. Cole and Davila have met with representatives of Mayor Villaraigosa
and report that Mayor Villaraigosa is willing to consider the proposal.
ATTACHMENT: Letter to Maria Casillas and David Cunningham, Jr.
Draft Proposal — Taking Back Our Schools
3
January 23, 2006
Page Two, Letter to Presidents' Commission
Any changes to LAUSD's governance structure should include the following principles:
1) The Cities of Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, and Vernon
must be given a greater voice in the administration and oversight of the school
system operating within their local communities. The Southeast Cities demand
the right to select the Local District Superintendent who will have management
authority over the schools in their local communities.
2) The Cities of Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, and Vernon
must be given a greater voice in the school site selection and school site
development occurring within their city boundaries.
3) The Cities of Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, and Vernon
must be given a greater voice in the expenditure of critical education dollars in
their communities. Dollars generated "locally through state and federal programs
such as Title One should stay within our local area.
4) The Cities of Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, and Vernon
must be given the ability to control school policing activities and to coordinate
those activities with their local public safety authorities.
We encourage the Presidents' Commission on LAUSD Governance to include our
principles in their consideration of possible changes to the governance structure of
LAUSD.
Cordially,
The Honorable George Cole
The City of Bell
The Honorable Maria Davila
The City of South Gate
The Honorable Thomas Martin
The City of Maywood
The Honorable Ofelia Hernandez
The City of Huntington Park
The Honorable Frank Gurule
The City of Cudahy
The Honorable George Mirabal
The City of Bell
The Honorable Felipe Aguirre
The City of Maywood
.x 00 SOUTHEAST CITY SCHOOL COALITION (SCSC)
PROPOSED JPA FACT SHEET
ISSUES IN SOUTHEAST CITY SCHOOLS
• Southeast cities have about 62,000 students in LAUSD schools
• Approximately 22,000 South Gate students attend LAUSD schools
• Although students from Southeast cities make up about 10% of LAUSD's student
population, the Southeast area schools don't receive their fair share of funding
and other resources
• Only 42% of students graduate from high school having fulfilled the A-G
requirements
• Only about 11 % of students from South Gate high schools attend college
• Local officials are not informed or involved in decision -making about leadership,
instruction or safety of local schools, and local communities often feel isolated
from LAUSD officials.
SCSC MISSION/GOALS
• This effort is NOT a response to Mayor Villaraigosa's proposal. The Coalition
started working together to address issues with LAUSD before Mayor
Villaraigosa proposed a school reform plan. However, we hope he will support
inclusion of our proposal in his plan.
• The Mayors and Council Members agree with Mayor Villaraigosa that local
elected officials should be responsible and accountable for the quality of
education in their communities.
• We believe that as local representatives and residents of our communities, we
have firsthand knowledge of the issues our students face and the needs of our
local schools.
• We want to inform and address parents' concerns about education, improve the
integration of schools into local communities, and invest more funding into
programs that enhance academic performance.
+ We want to ensure that southeast schools receive their fair share of school
funding, based on the number and concentration of students in this area.
• Southeast students should get the education they deserve and the benefits that
come along with quality educational opportunities.
SOUTHEAST CITY SCHOOL COALITION (SCSC)
g PROPOSED JPA FACT SHEET
JPA STRUCTURE/FUNCTIONS
• The Southeast Cities School Coalition (SCSC) proposes to develop a JPA to
obtain more authority over the quality and availability of education in our
communities.
• The proposed JPA does not seek to give local officials control over labor
negotiations or evaluation of individual teachers. The proposed JPA should not
be seen as the first step toward secession.
• The proposed JPA is a completely new approach to give local officials greater
influence over decisions regarding funding and curriculum in local schools.
The proposed JPA would give local elected officials the authority to:
1. Select the leadership of Local District 6;
2. Oversee and allocate special block grant funds for instruction and
operations in local schools; and
3. Develop programs to improve student safety through collaboration
between local police departments and LAUSD police.
NEXT STEPS
So far, the City Councils of South Gate, Bell and Huntington Park have voted to
collaborate and share the costs of forming the JPA; Cudahy and Maywood are
expected to adopt similar resolutions in the coming weeks.
• Over the next several months, the SCSC will continue to reach out to community
members, teachers and other concerned stakeholders.
• Once all cities commit to pursue the proposed JPA, they will pursue the following
actions:
1. Retain counsel to advise the Coalition regarding the legal requirements of
forming the JPA;
2. Pursue any legislative changes required to expand the cities' authority;
3. Formulate the language of the agreement; and
4. Define the key elements and functions of the JPA
• Mayors and Council members will continue to meet to discuss policy issues; City
Managers will also coordinate to advise the elected officials and provide
administrative support.
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