Harry Handler, 76; Served in ‘80s as Los Angeles Schools Superintendent

Harry Handler, who as superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District from 1981 to 1987 calmed a fractious Board of Education and restored morale and educational values to schools demoralized by a decade of battles over desegregation and busing, has died. He was 76.

Handler died of cancer Sunday in Los Angeles, said Bill Rivera, retired public information officer for the school district.

Handler lived in Brentwood and until his death had been teaching and conducting research as an adjunct professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.

The widely respected administrator and educator rose to superintendent from chief deputy superintendent, succeeding his boss and predecessor, William J. Johnston, on July 1, 1981.

At that time, he inherited a board politicized and polarized by bitter busing fights and the aftermath of white flight by students and teachers.

He also faced sagging test scores and poor credibility with legislators, just three years after Proposition 13 shifted school revenue sources from the county to Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Yet, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times shortly after he took office, Handler said he foresaw an “era of hope” for the troubled Los Angeles school district.

His first order of business was to revamp the school board, whose name-calling antics distressed Handler as much, he said, as “watching your parents fight in public.” The quiet, self-effacing educator instigated two rules -- “no surprises” and basic courtesy.

“We were the hottest ticket in town for entertainment,” board member Tom Bartman told The Times when Handler retired on June 30, 1987, after 33 years with the district. “But Harry ... dragged this institution kicking and screaming back to being a board of education that made education of children the No. 1 priority.”

“Handler’s most enduring legacy,” The Times noted in an editorial the day he left office, “may be a school board that works in harmony. He inherited a contentious board, still wrangling over desegregation. In his soft-spoken and reserved manner he persuaded the board to put rancor aside.”

At the outset of his administration, Handler outlined what he called “a few clearly defined goals” that he would focus on throughout his administration.

The five goals were: improve student achievement; provide safe and orderly schools; strengthen support from parents and the community; raise staff morale; and restore relationships and district credibility with state and federal legislators.

Adhering to what educators were calling the “effective schools” movement, espousing quality education throughout the city, he added three districtwide principles: teachers must assign homework; principals must visit classrooms and involve themselves in the instructional program; and stability must be restored to the district.

Although the district still had problems when Handler left -- the next 12 years would see four superintendents come and go -- he did earn high marks for his accomplishments during his six-year tenure.

“He leaves the district, with its 590,000 students,” The Times editorialized at his retirement, “in better shape than it was when he took over. He also leaves his successor hope, because Handler has shown that it’s possible to manage the unmanageable.”

Handler pared the top-heavy administration staff by 500 positions, raised reading and math scores for students, extended the school day and the school year and demoted 34 principals and other administrators deemed incompetent.

He also aggressively recruited teachers for troubled schools, and in 1984 was able to start the school year with a permanent -- rather than a substitute -- teacher in every classroom.

In 1985, concerned with crowding fueled by rapid population growth and lack of money to build new schools, he proposed a bold plan to expand year-round operation to all 618 schools in the district.

The board tentatively approved the plan, but repeatedly delayed it and eventually evaded it by adding temporary classrooms at several schools.

Nevertheless, Handler’s daring proposal sparked both debate and action to address burgeoning crowding.

In darker moments of his administration, involving a theft scandal and the conviction of a teacher for molesting students, Handler was straightforward in taking immediate disciplinary action, and candidly provided information to the public.

Even his toughest critic, Wayne Johnson, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said at Handler’s retirement: “He was not able to accomplish many of the things he wanted to accomplish. The job was almost overwhelming. But he handled it with a dignity and grace that is a real tribute to him.”

Brought up in East Los Angeles, Handler graduated from Fairfax High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UCLA and a master’s and doctorate in educational psychology from USC.

He joined the Los Angeles school district in 1952 as a substitute junior high math teacher, and later served as supervisor of guidance and counseling for junior and senior high schools.

Twice in the 1960s, he took leaves to help create and direct the Southwest Regional Laboratory in Inglewood, conducting experiments in education.

While working with the L.A. school district, he also taught mathematics and statistics for many years at USC.

In 1968, Handler was named to the district’s newly created post of director of research and development.

He later became associate superintendent for instruction, and in 1977 was named chief deputy to Johnston.

Handler also served on the board of the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Big Brothers.

Handler is survived by his wife, Kay; and a daughter, Lisa. A memorial service is being planned.