Welcome

Dear Friend,

The Los Angeles City Council established the Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance in cooperation with the Board of Education of the Los Angeles Unified School District. We decided it was time to bring stakeholders to the table, engage the public and seriously explore how best to improve public education for the students of LAUSD.

The Los Angeles City Council’s authority in LAUSD matters can be found in the California Constitution Article XI, Section 5, and Article IX, Section 16. It specifically provides the City authority over issues of governance, elections, compensation, size of the board and terms of board members, as well as redistricting and annexation or consolidation. These are addressed in Article VIII of the Los Angeles City Charter.

The Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance is charged with the task of examining LAUSD’s current governance structure and making recommendations that lead to better public policy, improved student performance, increased parental involvement and accountability. We are seeking recommendations from the commission that can be acted upon either at the district, city or state level.

The 30 commission members were appointed by members of the Los Angeles City Council, members of the Board of Education of LAUSD and the mayors of cities served by LAUSD. We believed that by creating a diverse commission we would promote an open discussion of issues that ultimately impact student performance. We believe that those who have made appointments have done an outstanding job of ensuring that the commission reflects both the geographic and ethnic diversity of the families served by LAUSD.

My appointee, David Cunningham, and the appointee of the former School Board President Jose Huizar, Maria Casillas are the co-chairs of the commission. It is our intention to have this process move forward in a balanced manner that promotes cooperation between the school district and the cities served by LAUSD.

Many of the past reform efforts at LAUSD were solution driven. They started with a solution and then went out and looked for support. This process is different. We are beginning with a public process, where ideas will be shared, the public will have the opportunity to participate and proposed solutions and recommendation will be a result of consensus at the end of the process. It is our sincere hope that the public will engage in this process. Toward that end, the commission has indicated that it will conduct a series of public hearings throughout the school district where it will receive testimony and ideas from stakeholders.

This is a unique and historic opportunity to improve public education in our communities. Be a part of it. Get involved!

Sincerely,

Alex Padilla
President, Los Angeles City Council