Schools: Poll Says It All

Widespread dissatisfaction with the Los Angeles Unified School District, documented by a recent Times poll, should not be surprising in a system that can count only a small number of outstanding schools and where overall test scores sag and two out of three students cannot read at grade level by the end of the third grade, a critical academic benchmark. The broad discontent also targets the Board of Education at a time when four members are up for reelection. When voters go to the polls April 13 they should ask themselves if they want their public schools to go through another four years like the last four.

School board races traditionally attract little attention. Not this time. Mayor Richard Riordan, fed up with chronic failure, is backing three reform-minded challengers--Genethia Hayes in District 1, Caprice Young in District 3 and Mike Lansing in District 7--and has thrown his support behind one incumbent, David Tokofsky in District 5. The mayor has raised $1.4 million on behalf of these candidates, whom The Times also endorses.

The Los Angeles mayor has no power over the school district, but Riordan, like a growing number of mayors, recognizes that the city will not be an attractive place to live, raise children or set up a business until the schools improve. Because Riordan is popular, enjoying a 57% approval rating, he might be making inroads. One in four registered voters polled would be more likely to vote for the mayor’s candidates. That margin, though not overwhelming, could prove decisive in tight races.

Next week’s turnout ought to be high because every constituency in the district, every ethnic and racial group, every geographic area has reasons for concern.

Unless the disturbing statistics--for instance, math and reading scores in the bottom third in the nation--are reversed, more parents will abandon the L.A. public schools. That’s not a result any civic-minded person wants to see. In a stunning repudiation of their historical support of public schools, black parents overwhelmingly would prefer to send their children to private or parochial schools if they had that choice, the poll found. Half of white parents who have children in public schools share that preference for nonpublic schools, as do 44% of Latino parents. These numbers will provide ammunition for those who advocate government-funded vouchers.

With confidence in the board and district eroded by the low test scores and financial fiascoes like the $200-million Belmont high school development, a majority of residents polled by The Times would like to see the LAUSD broken up into smaller independent school districts. That sentiment is strongest among whites, in the San Fernando Valley and on the Westside. A break-up would not guarantee an academic renaissance, but desperate remedies are often advocated in desperate situations.

Parents want the best for their children, especially good public schools, excellent teachers and strong principals. Mayor Riordan wants the best for Los Angeles, and that includes quality public education, which matters for everyone who lives here.

The poll underscores deep unhappiness with the performance of the public schools. There’s a way to make a difference: Take the time to vote for reform on April 13.