Governor open to education takeovers
By Rick Orlov
LA Daily News
WOODLAND HILLS - With Los Angeles schools undergoing a major reorganization, a confident Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that he is open to giving similar power to mayors of other cities in the future.
"What we had was a system that is failing," Schwarzenegger said in an interview with Daily News editors and reporters. "If this was a private business, it wouldn't be allowed to continue. They would have been out of business.
"I have worked at the schools with my after-school program. We have excellent teachers. We have excellent principals. The problem is with the system. It is the system that is failing."
Schwarzenegger's comments came after he signed AB 1381, which gives Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and a Council of Mayors significant authority over the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Schwarzenegger said Fresno Mayor Alan Autry and other mayors have approached him about a mayoral takeover of their schools, and the governor said he is willing to consider it.
"If they come to me with a plan, I will support it," Schwarzenegger said. "I think anything is better than the status quo."
Schwarzenegger, who is leading Democrat Phil Angelides by a substantial margin in polls for the Nov. 7 election, said he is confident of his popularity with the electorate and he hopes to spend more time - with the support of Democratic legislators - campaigning for the $37 billion infrastructure bond package on the ballot.
"I learned from last year. The people let me know they didn't like the special election and that I was pushing too hard for reform," Schwarzenegger said. "I learned they want us to work together in Sacramento and that's what we're doing.
"This year was one of the best. I signed more bills because they came to me and we worked things out. Sometimes it is only one sentence in a bill that is bad. So, we worked on that."
Schwarzenegger said he plans to meet soon with Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, to develop plans for campaigning for the bond measures.
The governor offered no criticism of Angelides, saying it was up to the Democrat to make his own case to voters - just as Schwarzenegger will have to do in the weeks ahead.
The two are scheduled to debate Oct. 7.
"He will have to show where he stands and what his positions are and I will speak from my heart on what I have done and what I want to do for the state," Schwarzenegger said.
Schwarzenegger said the bond measures are critical as California copes with projections that its population will swell to 42 million people over the next decade.
"This is the only way we are going to continue to be the sixth-largest economy in the world," Schwarzenegger said. "You look at China and India and all they are doing in investing in themselves. We have to do the same thing.
"I want to see cranes - cranes everywhere. I want us to build, build, build."
The bond package is a way to focus the Legislature on the state's needs and ensure that all new revenue goes for the programs, he said.
http://dailynews.com/news/ci_4359685
LA Daily News
WOODLAND HILLS - With Los Angeles schools undergoing a major reorganization, a confident Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that he is open to giving similar power to mayors of other cities in the future.
"What we had was a system that is failing," Schwarzenegger said in an interview with Daily News editors and reporters. "If this was a private business, it wouldn't be allowed to continue. They would have been out of business.
"I have worked at the schools with my after-school program. We have excellent teachers. We have excellent principals. The problem is with the system. It is the system that is failing."
Schwarzenegger's comments came after he signed AB 1381, which gives Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and a Council of Mayors significant authority over the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Schwarzenegger said Fresno Mayor Alan Autry and other mayors have approached him about a mayoral takeover of their schools, and the governor said he is willing to consider it.
"If they come to me with a plan, I will support it," Schwarzenegger said. "I think anything is better than the status quo."
Schwarzenegger, who is leading Democrat Phil Angelides by a substantial margin in polls for the Nov. 7 election, said he is confident of his popularity with the electorate and he hopes to spend more time - with the support of Democratic legislators - campaigning for the $37 billion infrastructure bond package on the ballot.
"I learned from last year. The people let me know they didn't like the special election and that I was pushing too hard for reform," Schwarzenegger said. "I learned they want us to work together in Sacramento and that's what we're doing.
"This year was one of the best. I signed more bills because they came to me and we worked things out. Sometimes it is only one sentence in a bill that is bad. So, we worked on that."
Schwarzenegger said he plans to meet soon with Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, to develop plans for campaigning for the bond measures.
The governor offered no criticism of Angelides, saying it was up to the Democrat to make his own case to voters - just as Schwarzenegger will have to do in the weeks ahead.
The two are scheduled to debate Oct. 7.
"He will have to show where he stands and what his positions are and I will speak from my heart on what I have done and what I want to do for the state," Schwarzenegger said.
Schwarzenegger said the bond measures are critical as California copes with projections that its population will swell to 42 million people over the next decade.
"This is the only way we are going to continue to be the sixth-largest economy in the world," Schwarzenegger said. "You look at China and India and all they are doing in investing in themselves. We have to do the same thing.
"I want to see cranes - cranes everywhere. I want us to build, build, build."
The bond package is a way to focus the Legislature on the state's needs and ensure that all new revenue goes for the programs, he said.
http://dailynews.com/news/ci_4359685
