District Puts Superintendent on Leave, OKs Tentative Teacher Pact : Schools: No explanation is given, but Larry L. Lucas had rejected a board request to leave a month ago.

The ABC Unified District school board, in an unexpected move Tuesday night, put embattled Supt. Larry L. Lucas on paid leave indefinitely.

Board President Cecy Groom announced the move after the board emerged from a lengthy closed session. Lucas left the district’s headquarters before the announcement was made.

Deputy Supt. Ira Toibin was named to replace Lucas until further notice.

Groom offered no explanation for the move, but the superintendent and board have been on a collision course since a new board majority, backed by the teachers union, gained control in November during an 11-day teachers strike.

Some board members had asked Lucas privately to leave about a month ago, but he refused, according to his attorney, David C. Larsen. Lucas referred all inquiries Wednesday to his attorney.

“He’s committed to the district,” Larsen said. “He’s demonstrated that by his past leadership.”

Lucas has headed the district since 1988. In July, the school board voted to extend his contract another year to June, 1997, and to increase his pay by about $1,000 to $109,168. Last month, however, the new board majority removed a clause in the superintendent’s contract that provides for an automatic contract extension every year.

The new majority also tore up the contract that the board had imposed on teachers last fall. The new majority tentatively approved a pact that includes bonus pay for teachers, who had taken a 1.5% pay cut under the old contract, and restores smaller class sizes.

Supporters of the pact said teachers deserve the improved terms and that students also will benefit. But critics, including three of seven school board members and top district administrators, called the proposed contract a potential budget-buster.

The tentative contract with the union includes a onetime 1% bonus, adds a paid planning day for teachers and rolls back class sizes to last year’s levels. Teachers have already overwhelmingly ratified it and board members are scheduled to vote on the pact March 15.

A financial consultant has determined that the district could face a $3.3-million deficit by June, 1995, if the school board approves the proposed contract.

If that estimate is correct, the board will have to authorize deep cuts in programs, including employee layoffs, to avoid bankruptcy, district officials said.

Administrators have begun work on a list of potential cuts to present to the school board.

The district hired the Los Angeles office of the New York-based accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand to determine what the district could afford in contract concessions to teachers.

The district “gave too much money away in contract negotiations,” board member Dixie Primosch said.

Groom and other board members recently said they suspect the analysis is too grim, but were not specific about how harmful budget cuts could be avoided.

“I think there’s probably enough money to pay for the contract,” board member Sally Morales Havice said.

Teachers have blamed Lucas for the lingering bitterness over the strike last fall, and they say he is responsible for the gloomy financial predictions contained in the consultant’s report. One union official said teachers are pleased Lucas has been removed.

“I think there will be a sigh of relief,” said Don Saul, co-president of the ABC Federation of Teachers.

Primosch, who has consistently supported Lucas, said the superintendent should have been praised, not punished, for raising academic standards and outlining goals for the district.