Lynwood Begins School Post Search

The Lynwood school board has named an interim superintendent and approved a nationwide search for a successor to ousted Supt. LaVoneia Steele.

The five-member board voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Associate Supt. Audrey Clarke as interim superintendent of the 14,500-student district, and to increase her salary from $69,000 to $81,000. Clarke said she will apply for the permanent position.

Board members decided to hire a consulting firm to organize the search for a successor to Steele. Board member Rachel Chavez said she hopes that a new superintendent can be hired by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

“By the time the schools open in September, the superintendent would be familiar with everything,” Chavez said.

Board member Richard Armstrong said he thought the board would have a tough time finding a superintendent in such a short period of time.

On Jan. 29, the board voted 3 to 2 to spend $195,000 to buy up the remainder of Steele’s three-year contract. The majority of the board members said they had lost confidence in Steele to turn around the troubled system, which has been plagued by overcrowded classes, poorly maintained schools and teacher resignations.

The board members have refused to explain why they decided to make the change in the middle of the school year. Board President Joe Battle had said that a press release would be issued at the meeting Tuesday, but none was distributed. Battle joined board members Thelma Williams and Willard Hawn Reed in voting to buy out Steele’s contract. Armstrong and Chavez were opposed.

The board met more than two hours in a closed session before emerging to appoint Clarke and approve the search.

Some residents and teachers’ union officials had criticized the decision, but only one person protested at the board meeting.

“I’m concerned about the paying off of our superintendent,” said Lucille Whichard, who identified herself as a Lynwood resident of 42 years. “Are superintendents given warnings before this happens? Did you try and help the superintendent with whatever the problems were?”

Board members did not respond.

Herlinda Gomez, president of the district’s parent bilingual advisory committee, presented the board with a written request that the board search for a Latino superintendent. The district’s enrollment is 74% Latino.

Clarke, the interim superintendent, said in an interview that the board also has asked the staff to present a plan in September for converting some elementary schools to year-round schedules to help relieve overcrowding. One or two of the district’s nine elementary schools probably would be involved in the initial plan, she said.

A committee of parents and school personnel will be formed soon to discuss year-round schooling, Clarke said.

She said overcrowding is one of the district’s most serious problems. The district was fined $360,000 last year by the state Department of Education for violating the state’s limit on class sizes, particularly in elementary schools.

Clarke has been with the district since 1977. She was an assistant principal and a principal at Lynwood High School before being named associate superintendent in 1985.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in foreign languages at Howard University in Washington, and a master’s degree in educational administration at UCLA.