Drama Over Lynwood Superintendent: Is Next Act Near? : Trustees Expected to Vote to Reduce Knight’s Power

Charlie Mae Knight earns $66,000 a year as superintendent of the Lynwood Unified School District and, according to her supporters, she isn’t paid enough for all of her troubles.

In four years as district superintendent, Knight has seen a teachers’ strike, a grand jury investigation of the district, angry parents, low test scores and a dispute with the City Council over where to build a $34-million high school.

But her most recent problem threatens to be her undoing, or that of the school board, whose majority has said it intends to reduce Knight’s power as head of the 12,000-student district, transferring many of her duties to one of her top aides.

Job Revision

The board majority wants to revise the superintendent’s job description, moving control of most educational functions to Associate Supt. LaVoneia Steele, who would report directly to the board. Steele’s purview would include curriculum, special education, state or federal grants and projects.

Principals would report to Steele rather than to Knight. Knight would retain control of maintenance, transportation, security, food services and data processing. The administration of attendance, which is under Steele, would go to Knight.

The board members who want to switch the duties are white. The two who oppose the proposal are black, as are Knight and Steele.

Some supporters say the superintendent’s problems stem from racism. They accuse white members of the board of trying to oust Knight. Others say her problems stem from sexism and that her detractors are unable to accept a female authority. Critics say Knight’s personality is the root of her troubles.

Through it all, Knight has maintained that she will not quit. And the 52-year-old superintendent will sue the district if the school board follows through on its plans to reduce her duties, according to Spencer Covert, Knight’s attorney.

“I am still the superintendent and until I get some word saying I’m not, I will act like the superintendent,” Knight said in an interview.

However, Knight, known for her aggressive and outspoken style, said she has decided not to comment further on her latest troubles.

“I don’t want anyone to take what I say and misinterpret it,” she said.

Resolution Expected

Covert said he expects the board to adopt a resolution dividing Knight’s duties at its next regular meeting Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Knight situation has become a hot topic of conversation among supporters and critics alike, including principals, teachers, administrators and interested observers.

One of those observers is Bill Honig, state superintendent of public instruction, who says, “I’ve known Charlie Knight for a long time and I respect her.”

His office, Honig said, has been “keeping tabs on both Inglewood and Lynwood.” (The Inglewood board of education has been feuding and has attempted unsuccessfully to suspend Supt. Rex Fortune.)

Honig said he could not say if race was the issue in Lynwood. “It might be a political push--a power issue,” he said.

Most of all, Honig said, “We are concerned that students are not damaged. School boards have a right to fire superintendents. They have a right to buy contracts, but they can’t cheat. They have to follow proper procedures. They just can’t strip superintendents of their authority.

“We don’t run local school boards, but if there have been gross violations, we will look into it.”

The board had been evenly split on matters involving Knight until Willard Hawn Reed joined the board after a special election in March. Reed was elected to replace a fifth member who resigned.

Focus on Reorganization

“Reorganization (of Knight’s duties) is our first approach. We’re trying to work out something agreeable to both sides, something with the least pain. It’s a compromise,” Reed said.

Reorganization is necessary, he said, “to better deliver the education we are supposed to be providing.”

“There are a lot of impassioned speeches (from Knight’s supporters) about great things happening but there are no accomplishments in the academics,” Reed said.

However, Covert, Knight’s attorney, said the superintendent is unwilling to share her position with aides and maintains she has done a good job.

He said his law firm represents more than 30 school and community college districts and that this is the first instance he knows in which a board has attempted to divide the superintendent’s responsibilities. The attempted transfer violates Knight’s contract as well as the state education code, Covert said.

“I’ll be there (at the Tuesday 4board meeting) to protest that action. If it is done, we will file a claim, then sue,” he said.

In the opinion of board member Thelma Williams, “The board cannot fire Knight legally. We haven’t evaluated her. We don’t have enough money to buy her contract.”

Knight’s contract runs through May, 1987. At a board meeting last year, trustees Helen Andersen and Richard Armstrong proposed buying out Knight’s contract. However, Williams and Joe Battle opposed it. The board was without a fifth member at the time.

Board member Williams is adamant in categorizing the attack on Knight.

Racism, Sexism Alleged

“This is a racist move. They want to totally destroy her. They want her to quit,” Williams said.

Battle called the move to dilute Knight’s power “sexism.” He said the board majority is not “used to a strong, aggressive woman being in charge. She is the boss. Steele is just the opposite.”

The two other board members, Andersen and Armstrong, have denied the charges of racism and sexism, as does Reed.

Andersen, who is president of the board, said “racism is an unfair accusation. We just hired a new high school principal who is black. Steele is a black woman. We look for people who are qualified.”

“Some board members are not happy with the education in the district,” Armstrong said. “Test scores are low. Morale is low among district employees, both classified and teachers and some principals.”

Knight has said that raising students’ test scores has been a high priority for her. This year, the district’s seniors had scores of 50%, 52% and 54% respectively on the math, writing and reading parts of the California Assessment Program tests. These scores have remained about the same during her four-year tenure.

(As a comparison, these scores were higher than the neighboring Compton district, where the averages were 48, 49 and 48, but lower than the Paramount district, which scored 66, 66 and 68).

Personality Blamed

Armstrong also said Knight’s “personality has a lot to do with it. She doesn’t work well with the board. She makes decisions and doesn’t tell us. She calls them administrative decisions.”

However, Armstrong, echoing some of Knight’s other critics, said he did not question the superintendent’s ability.

“She is capable. She is talented, well spoken and a good person. But she does get off on the wrong foot sometimes,” he added.

The current controversy is not helping provide a good educational atmosphere for students, school officials said in interviews during the past two weeks.

“The only thing people talk about is the fight between the board and the superintendent. It’s on everybody’s lips,” said an administrator who asked not to be identified.

Called ‘Disruptive’

“It has got to hurt education. There is a great deal of confusion. This is disruptive,” said James Logan, principal of Lugo Elementary School.

As did the majority of school officials interviewed, Logan said he believes the superintendent’s power should not be diluted.

“The superintendent is supposed to run the district,” Logan said.

“She has done a good job. She has made sure all students have books. She got us our first computers,” he said.

Knight’s tenure has been a rocky one at times since her arrival in May, 1981. Disgruntled parents and supporters held a demonstration during Knight’s first year to protest what they said was official mishandling of the district’s free and reduced-price lunch program. They said applications for the program were not being processed fast enough.

In January, 1984, the county grand jury audited the district’s books, after allegations of misconduct and misuse of funds were made against Knight and four district employees.

The audit found no wrongdoing but recommended that the district tighten its management practices.

The proposed construction of a new high school on 32 acres that include 10 acres of a city park has drawn opposition from the City Council. Some council members and residents had blamed Knight because the board and the council could not settle the school-site dispute. However, the board and council recently renewed discussions on selecting a site.

Strong Support

In spite of continuing conflicts, Knight’s support among district employees apparently remains strong.

“There’s no problem with Knight. She has an open-door policy,” said Linda Vaughn, president of a classified employees’ union.

An elementary school teacher, who asked to not be identified, agreed with Logan that the district has improved since Knight’s arrival.

The teacher said that Knight cleared the high school of gang members, stopped violence on campus, improved attendance and got students to dress in uniform for physical education classes.

“She made the campus safe so education could take place,” the teacher said.

Louisa Graham, president-elect of the Lynwood Teachers Assn., said she believes “Knight should have all of the responsibilities of the superintendent. Her duties should not be allocated to others.”

Graham said the association, which struck the district for 24 days in April before settling for a 5% salary increase, has taken no official position on the Knight matter. However, she said, the teachers she has spoken to informally all agreed that Knight’s duties should remain intact.

“One person needs to be in charge,” said Sylvia Costello, president of the teachers’ association. “To divide her powers is silly. If she isn’t doing her duties, get rid of her.” Christine Wormley, principal of Vista High, the district’s continuation high school, said she also believed the board members should fire Knight if they think she is not doing a good job.

“They should stop playing games,” Wormley said.