LOS ANGELES : Interim L.A. School Chief Chairs 1st Board Meeting

The Los Angeles Unified School District’s new interim chief, Sid Thompson, told several hundred well-wishers honoring him at a reception Monday that he “did not take the job with a defeatist attitude.”

“I did not take command of the Titanic,” said Thompson, who was named interim superintendent Oct. 5 after the resignation of Bill Anton, and will serve until a permanent chief is named next year.

The district’s first African-American superintendent, Thompson presided over his first board meeting Monday, one day before the 28,000 members of its teachers union are set to vote on whether to authorize a strike if contract negotiations fail. The union is fighting a pay cut that would reduce their earnings 12% over two years ago.

In a brief speech, Thompson praised the district’s instructors and implored all employees to work together despite budget troubles brought on by a $400-million shortfall this fiscal year. “We are united about what we want for our young people,” he said.