'Battle for Control' of LAUSD

NBC4 yesterday ran a half-hour special report on the political fight over the future of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Didn't see it, but the station's website has a summary and the entire show on video. Kim Baldonado hosted "LAUSD: The Battle for Control" and Conan Nolan reported, with Rebecca Nieto the executive producer. KNBC political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe also evaluates Mayor Villaraigosa's schools strategy on the channel 4 website:

This deal is risky for the mayor, who is building his record for re-election, and a probable future campaign for governor, on his promise to revamp the L.A. school system.

Well, clouding responsibility -- and spreading the blame -- isn�t a bad thing politically, when the odds are stacked against reaching the promised goal anyway.
Sure, Villaraigosa's made his good friend, and possible future mayoral candidate, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-L.A.) look like the portrait of legislative leadership and a hero to the teachers' union, a crucial Democratic constituency.

And he's salvaged one area over which the mayor can have full control: the lowest-performing schools. Any improvement there can be pointed to with pride. And make a nice addition to Villaraigosa's political resume.

Nonetheless, if the legislation passes as expected, Villaraigosa will have to find a way to deliver real reform -- or the perception of real reform. (That's close enough for politics.)