After expected John Deasy exit, Ramon Cortines could take LAUSD reins

The Los Angeles Unified school board is expect to name an interim superintendent as early as Thursday morning amid reports that John Deasy has agreed to step down.

A source familiar with the situation told the Los Angeles Times that the board was likely to select former Supt. Ramon Cortines to run the district on an interim basis.

Deasy met with senior staff Thursday morning, but it’s unclear what he said or when he would go public with the announcement of his exit. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

As part of the departure agreement, Deasy is expected to receive about 60 days’ pay, or roughly $60,000, the sources said. His contract, which was set to run through June 2016 at $350,000 a year, requires a severance payment of only 30 days’ pay.

During his 3½ years at the helm, Deasy, 53, oversaw a continued rise in student performance during a period of financial cuts. But he could not overcome election day setbacks, poor relations with teachers and two back-to-back technology debacles.

Deasy faced strong criticism over the troubled rollout of a $1.3-billion effort to provide iPads to every student, teacher and campus administrator. Amid growing questions about how the program was run, Deasy announced in August that he was suspending new purchases under the iPad contract.

Another technology project, a new student records system, malfunctioned this fall.

More broadly, critics have faulted Deasy for what they call an autocratic, punitive leadership style that they say has demoralized teachers and other employees.

Still, Deasy’s supporters credited him for gains in test scores, graduation rates and improved results for students learning English. They also applauded his push for more rigorous evaluations of teachers and principals, for reducing the number of student suspensions and for providing breakfast to students in the classroom.

And in recent weeks, Deasy has enjoyed strong support from key civic and business leaders, who have urged the Board of Education to retain him.

But the superintendent has not fared as well with the board, which has a majority of members who won their seats despite efforts by Deasy’s allies to defeat them. Board members also complain that Deasy pays little heed to their input.

The school board voted to offer Deasy the settlement at its Tuesday meeting but didn’t report the action because there was no agreement with him at that time, sources familiar with the negotiations said.

The board also apparently selected an interim superintendent, but that decision did not take effect until Deasy agreed to step down.

If Cortines, 82, takes the interim job, it would be his third stint as district leader. He retired as superintendent from L.A. Unified in April 2011.

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