Maybe it’s the fact that this year’s budget debate was so, well, calm. But this morning’s latest round of a battle over the future of the Los Angeles Unified School District seemed particularly intense– so much so that at one point in the presentation of LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer, an aide slipped him a note that offered some advice: “Roy– More Charm, Less Angry!”

The crowded hearing of the Senate Education Committee laughed when Romer read the note out loud.

In the end, Romer and other opponents of the bill lost this round, as the committee voted to approve AB 1381, which would hand over a large portion of school district control to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa via some enhanced powers of a new superintendent– who would largely be chosen by the mayor.

However, the proposal may be destined for a lot more tinkering. Several members of the committee said they were voting ‘aye’ mainly to keep the discussion going, and that they still may not support the LAUSD takeover in the end.

Romer, the schools chief who’s scheduled to leave his post in September, came out swinging. In large posterboards held up during his feverish rebuttal to Villaraigosa, Romer said that it’s untrue that LAUSD is not making progress with its problems, where the dropout rate is somewhere near 50%. His many graphs showed improvements at many grade levels over the last few years.

“There is no need for this bill,” said Romer, who is also the former governor of Colorado. “Send us back home. We’re on a roll. Watch us each year. If we don’t continue to progress, come back and take [control] away from us totally.”

Mayor Villaraigosa, as well as the legislation’s authors– Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-LA) and Sen. Gloria Romero (D-LA)– defended the proposal, with Villaraigosa continuing to emphasize that the bill would create a new partnership. “What this legislation provides is a historic opportunity to build consensus, to collaborate together, to work together on behalf of our kids,” he said.

AB 1381 will next be heard in Senate Appropriations.