Search Panel for District Chief Named

The Los Angeles Board of Education has named a five-member citizens’ committee to search for a new superintendent to replace Sid Thompson, who plans to step down in June 1997.

Led by former community college President Jack Fujimoto, the committee--chosen during a closed-door meeting Thursday--will oversee a nationwide search and winnow the list of candidates down to the handful that the school board will ultimately interview.

Reaction to the appointments was generally positive Friday, in contrast with past criticism that the board would try to defuse political pressures by using the committee as a buffer between themselves and the public.

“It’s exciting that they brought in people from outside,” said Peggy Funkhouser, president of Los Angeles Educational Partnership, the region’s largest school reform group. “It sounds to me like they are really serious about this.”

Within days of Thompson’s announcement, a groundswell began among Latino activists and politicians for the immediate appointment of Deputy Supt. Ruben Zacarias. The board responded by forming an advisory panel, which held public meetings during the summer, then recommended that the district launch a national search, but be mindful of strong public support for Zacarias.

Those appointed to the new search committee said they had sought, and received, assurances of autonomy before agreeing to participate.

“I was very concerned about that and obviously I was satisfied because I’m on the committee,” said Herbert Carter, a former president of United Way, who also served on RLA--Rebuild Los Angeles--the riot recovery organization.

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“I think I communicated to them that I don’t mind the debates, I don’t mind the disagreements, I don’t mind the discussions, but I am not now and never have been a rubber stamp for anybody,” said Ray Cortines, former superintendent of public schools in New York and San Francisco.

In addition to Carter, Cortines and former Mission College President Fujimoto, the committee will include Sandra Figueroa, director of El Centro del Pueblo, a social service agency for gang members, and Roy Anderson, chairman of the Weingart Foundation, who in 1985 retired as CEO of Lockheed.

Fujimoto and Figueroa could not be reached for comment, but the other three members all said they accepted the posts because they believe the survival and improvement of public schools is crucial to Los Angeles’ future.

“There are 645,000 students in the LAUSD, and it’s of real interest to me that they be afforded the best education that they can,” said Anderson, who served on the Christopher Commission, helped found the district’s LEARN reform program, and served on the search panel that selected the current president of Occidental College.

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In recent months, some academics have speculated that Los Angeles may find a dearth of qualified candidates willing to take on the job of superintendent in a city where support for public education has waned.

Cortines, who quit his job in New York City after weathering months of sniping by the mayor, said the position of school chief is “one of the most difficult jobs there is.”

That’s why, he said, “This cannot be just another ho-hum committee. . . . How this committee does its job will send a message to the people of L.A. that the schools are worth worrying about.”

A national search is expected to take several months, and details such as whether to hire a national search firm and how many candidates the board wants to interview at the end of that search have to be worked out.