Board Snubs Mayor on Schools Chief

The Los Angeles Board of Education has rejected Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s request to take part in choosing the city’s next superintendent of schools.

“It is disappointing from my standpoint that there doesn’t seem to be any opportunity on this issue for partnership,” said Ramon C. Cortines, the mayor’s top education advisor.

“The mayor and I understand that the board has the authority to select the superintendent.” But, he added, it is proper for Villaraigosa to “have a role” in light of legislation signed into law last month that will give him substantial authority over Los Angeles schools. The law is scheduled to take effect in January.

Villaraigosa had asked to see the full list of superintendent candidates and to interview all finalists so that he can give his views to the school board.

The board’s stance seemingly cements a standoff as the school district prepares to make its choice and the mayor prepares for a trade mission to Asia.

The board had previously offered to arrange for the mayor to meet the next schools chief before he or she is introduced to the public.

More than that, board President Marlene Canter said, would have been inappropriate. The school board, not the mayor, is currently charged with choosing a superintendent.

“He wants to interview all the candidates and do the same thing that the board does,” she said. “This is our responsibility. This is what the law says the board should do and we will deliver.”

If the selection had come after Jan. 1, the new law would have allowed Villaraigosa to reject the board’s choice for superintendent. The board has vowed to challenge the law’s constitutionality in court.

Canter held private conversations with the mayor’s office last week, and conveyed the board’s final decision to Cortines on Wednesday morning in the lobby of the downtown Marriott hotel. Also present was Ed Hamilton, the head of the firm that has conducted the confidential search.

The offer was unacceptable to the mayor, Cortines told Canter.

In the hotel lobby, Cortines and Canter also discussed possible compromises. At one point, Hamilton suggested that the mayor could interview finalists on the condition that he support the board’s ultimate choice, Cortines said.

Cortines relayed these new suggestions to Villaraigosa, but the mayor rejected them as well.

Even the new law, if it survives the anticipated court challenge, will not give Villaraigosa the unilateral authority to fire a sitting superintendent without the board’s consent. The result could be that the mayor, despite his new powers, would be stuck with whatever superintendent the board chooses.

The stalemate has the potential to place the next superintendent in an intractable situation, said Gary Toebben, president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, which has taken an active role in discussions about reforming Los Angeles schools.

Any candidate for the post, he said, would be wise to ask the school board for a meeting with the mayor.

“I would not want to risk my future because of a lack of due diligence,” Toebben said.

Villaraigosa could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He is scheduled to hold a news conference this morning with mayors of other cities served by the Los Angeles Unified School District to discuss the superintendent search.

Current schools Supt. Roy Romer has announced that he intends to retire from the district as soon as a replacement is found.

Monica Garcia, the lone board member closely aligned with Villaraigosa, disparaged the position of her colleagues.

“This is by far the most critical decision we will make in charting our future. Our process would be strengthened by including the mayor’s input,” she said. “It is unfortunate that the board chose a different path.”

Three of the five finalists on the short list submitted by a search committee were confirmed Tuesday by sources close to the selection process.

They are: Tom Vander Ark, executive director for education initiatives at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; former Occidental College President Ted Mitchell, who now heads a nonprofit firm that funds charter schools; and Carlos A. Garcia, the former head of the Clark County, Nev., school district.

The board has the prerogative to interview other candidates as well.

Villaraigosa could schedule interviews on his own but Canter said that would be improper.

“The candidates will not be taking calls during the interview search from anybody but Hamilton,” Canter said. “A lot of the candidates have asked to keep the process confidential.”

Canter declined to speculate on whether meeting with the mayor would harm an applicant’s chances.

Board member David Tokofsky said the mayor was repeatedly invited to offer input and nominate candidates -- which Villaraigosa never did, he said.

“Give us a name!” said an exasperated Tokofsky.

joel.rubin@latimes.com

howard.blume@latimes.com