Under a proposal being developed confidentially, Beutner would divide the system into 32 “networks,” moving authority and resources out of the central office and into neighborhoods. He is expected to make his plan public next month.
In L.A. Unified’s downtown headquarters, managers and other employees recently have been asked to explain their duties — and to justify why their jobs should continue to exist in a leaner, more localized school system.
The network strategy is not a plan to break up or end L.A. Unified, but it could transform how 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 was not authorized to comment publicly. “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,” he said, “as well as [used] to deal with the fiscal crisis the district faces.”
Beutner declined to comment on the plan, saying it would be premature to talk about a work in progress.
Related: Madison spends far more than most, yet we’ve long tolerated disastrous reading results.
2006: They’re all Rich White Kids, and they’ll do just fine, NOT!”
2013: “Plenty of Resources“.
“What’s different, this time?”
2017: Adult employment.
2018: Seeing the Forest: Unpacking the Relationship Between Madison School District (WI) Graduation Rates and Student Achievement