School chief's plan would divide L.A. school district into 32 networks
Los Angeles schools chief Austin Beutner is working out a plan to radically reshape the nation’s second-largest school district by greatly shrinking the central bureaucracy and moving decision-making closer to schools.
The aim is to boost student success and also to save money at a time when district officials insist that grave financial problems threaten the Los Angeles Unified School District with insolvency.
Under a proposal being developed confidentially, Beutner, who spent much of his career in business, would divide the school system into 32 “networks,” bringing authority and resources out of the central office and into neighborhoods.
In the downtown headquarters, managers and other employees recently have been asked to explain their duties — and to justify why their particular jobs should continue to exist in a leaner, more efficient, more localized school system.
The network strategy is not a plan to break up or end L.A. Unified, but it could transform the way the school system functions.
“The superintendent is trying to move toward a decentralized system that puts the student first,” said one person close to the process, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak. “He’s trying to generate better educational outcomes. That’s the No. 1 goal.”
“Savings from the central bureaucracy could be plowed back into education at the school level as well as to deal with the fiscal crisis the district faces,” he added.
Beutner declined to comment, saying it would be premature to talk about a work in progress.
The Times learned details of Beutner’s developing strategy through documents and interviews. The broad outlines of the plan were confirmed by numerous people involved in the work at various levels. No one was willing to be quoted on the record.
The record of similar attempts is not necessarily on Beutner’s side. Some past L.A. Unified reorganizations have been short-lived or fell far short of expectations. Sometimes what’s meant to save money turns out to be costly.
“If the underlying services are not different or better, then the structure doesn’t matter Continue reading: School chief's plan would divide L.A. school district into 32 networks - Los Angeles Times
