Korenstein’s Title May Have Limited Value : Breakup Supporter Eyes More Neutrality as School Board Chief

San Fernando Valley school activists on Tuesday gloated over Julie Korenstein’s new job title: president of the Los Angeles Board of Education.

After years of feeling like a neglected stepchild, they hoped, the Valley will finally receive more attention on a litany of issues--including the frustrations fueling the drive to dismantle the Los Angeles Unified School District.

They hoped the Valley--after years of feeling like a neglected stepchild--will finally receive more attention on a litany of issues--including the frustrations fueling the drive to dismantle the Los Angeles Unified School District.

But those hopes may be short-lived.

The job of school board president, while prominent, has limited powers. Korenstein--chosen Monday evening by her colleagues after 10 years on the board--will preside over school board meetings, serve as the district’s chief spokesperson and appoint other board members to committees. Although she can use the post as bully pulpit in Sacramento and Washington, she will have no more authority back home on board votes than her six counterparts.

And Korenstein, 53, who for years has supported the creation of a separate Valley school district, said Tuesday she now feels obligated to play a more neutral role that transcends local concerns.

Among the top priorities she lists for the upcoming year: increasing student literacy, expanding reduced class sizes to all first- and second-grade classrooms, and ensuring a timely schedule for school repairs and new air-conditioning being funded by Proposition BB.

“I think we as a board need to be less provincial and look at what is good for all the kids,” Korenstein said. “We need to broaden the focus of the board [and] that includes the well-being of the Valley.”

Korenstein, who has publicly declared her support for efforts to break up the school district, said she will keep quiet on the subject because it would be inappropriate to comment as the school board president.

Breakup advocates, who praise the choice of Korenstein, say that not even the selection of a Valley representative to lead the school board will halt their efforts.

“I look forward to her tenure, but it doesn’t matter who is in charge,” said Stephanie Carter, co-chair of the Valley breakup group, Finally Restoring Excellence in Education. “The district is absolutely too large to work effectively.”

Korenstein has served a decade on the school board, longer than any of her current colleagues. She is the first board member from a self-contained Valley district to serve as board president since Roberta Weintraub held the post in 1989.

Weintraub, speaking from experience, said the job will force Korenstein to juggle local issues with districtwide demands.

“You need to get out of the one community you represent into the entire global [arena], and that’s where the difficulty lies in doing the job,” said Weintraub, who now serves as executive director for the foundation that raises money for the Los Angeles Police Academy Magnet School. “The perspective on issues needs to change dramatically.”

Korenstein believes she can balance the two competing jobs, calling herself “an advocate for children who live not only in the Valley but across the district.”

Weintraub and other past board presidents say she faces a daunting task.

Korenstein’s new duties will consume much of the time she once spent running from school to school in District 6, whose 103 campuses stretch from the working-class neighborhoods of Pacoima and Sunland to the posh canyons of Encino.

Korenstein has earned a reputation among parents in the district for being accessible and hands-on, for providing a personal link to an impersonal bureaucracy. She is known for showing up at career days to speak with students about her job and for visiting campuses to speak with parents or teachers, or to note needed repairs.

Some call her a home product of sorts. Korenstein has lived in the Valley for nearly 30 years, and all three of her children graduated from Granada Hills High School; one is now a teacher there and another is a school psychologist at Maclay Middle School in Pacoima.

“I’ve bumped into her at the mall with her daughter and granddaughter,” said Virginia Huntman, president of a PTA council that oversees 21 schools in the West Valley. “She’s always been very open to talking. I’m looking forward to her as president so that some of our issues in the Valley will be addressed.”

On the school board, Korenstein has often played the role of outsider, frequently casting the lone “no” vote or siding with the minority.

School board members say it is that appreciation for the dissenting opinion that could prove to be Korenstein’s most valuable asset. Her predecessor, Jeff Horton, has been criticized for fostering a divisive atmosphere with chronic infighting.

Korenstein, board members predict, will promote more collegial relations.

“There will a lot more room for a deliberative process,” said Valley board member David Tokofsky. “It will allow board members to explore their concerns.”

Korenstein also is known for a tendency to micro-manage, to become mired in minute details. She is known for drawing out discussions with numerous questions and for coming to board meetings with pages of her agenda filled with yellow Post-Its.

While school board colleagues say that Korenstein’s questions at times are a nuisance, they have come to respect her for coming to meetings prepared.

And they hope her selection as president will accomplish one important goal: sending a message to the Valley’s breakup movement.

“Now that we have a Valley president, it’s harder for Valley folks to say, ‘You don’t represent us,’ ” one board member said. “It won’t be all that different, but the symbolism is important.”