Framing a Guilty Man--The Brewer Flap

LAUSD Superintendent David L. Brewer fits the classic saw about framing a guilty man. The frame comes from City Hall, or more specifically Mayor Tony. It's hardly the revelation of the ages that Tony has hungered for control of the LAUSD. He squandered tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars in political arm twisting and legal summersaults in his borderline legal grab at the district. He got smacked down by the courts. But that didn't make Tony's hunger for school control go away.

He now has four seemingly willing accomplices on the Board to try to sneak in a backdoor grab again at control. The sticking point is Brewer. The Admiral simply doesn't fit into the plan. Now here's where the guilt comes in. Brewer is a well-meaning, sincere, and committed guy. But he's been an ill fit for the District. The string of failings are well known- payroll computer glitches, the teacher sexual scandal, failure to put a solid management team in place, the spike in school violence, black and brown school tensions, and the always chronic achievement levels.

That's not to say that any other outsider (or insider for that matter) who stepped to the helm of L.A.'s well deservedly branded "dysfunctional" district could do any better. But the hard reality is that the school problems fester on Brewer's watch. As any general or admiral knows buck passing for failure will get you busted.