Mayor Villaraigosa's Battle for the Schools

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had big plans to improve the city's schools - but not everyone is thrilled to have him on board.

By Caitlin Adams
USC Annenberg

Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa has called on the district to improve the state of schools and education in the city. Photo courtesy Los Angeles Times

When Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made his first forays into politics, he probably never anticipated such formidable opponents as he has recently faced. But then, he probably never anticipated the need to oversee the second-largest school district in the nation.

With over thousands of campuses in Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Unified School District is not only one of the largest districts in the country, but recent testing has shown it to be one of the poorest performing.

Villaraigosa proposed assuming a majority position over the LAUSD school board, along with a "council of governors" of cities that are served by the district. Position on the board would be determined by population, so Villaraigosa would, in effect, be the man with the biggest clout in the district - besides the superintendent.

One thing Villaraigosa is not, however, is an educator. And one thing he didn't understand going into this project, was that educators do not like being told how to do their jobs. The school board immediately and vociferously rebuffed all assistance or interference by the mayor's office, and appointed under his nose a retired naval officer, U.S. Navy Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III. In a blatantly political statement, the board selected Brewer with no input from or notice to Villaraigosa prior to the public announcement of the appointment - and Brewer knew he was walking into a situation with a history of bad blood.