Brewer, Cortines discuss team-up

A move to bring veteran educator Ramon C. Cortines into a top Los Angeles school district leadership position could offer short-term political relief for an embattled superintendent. And backers say his appointment also might improve the city’s schools.

Facing mounting internal and external pressure, Los Angeles schools Supt. David L. Brewer discussed a possible job offer Thursday with Cortines. He currently serves as top education advisor to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and formerly headed the school systems in New York City and, briefly, Los Angeles.

If an agreement could be reached, the well-regarded Cortines, 75, probably would join the Los Angeles Unified School District in the long-vacant post of deputy superintendent. He would report directly to Brewer, a retired Navy vice admiral who became the schools chief 17 months ago with no prior public school executive experience.

Brewer has yet to fill several key positions -- which has caused critics to question whether he can turn around the troubled school system.

Cortines met with Brewer in the superintendent’s office Thursday, a follow-up to earlier conversations. Brewer called Cortines a friend and valued advisor, but said he has made no decision about offering him a job, even though some people inside and outside the district are pushing him to clinch a deal.

Hiring Cortines could help Brewer allay the worries of some members of the elected school board.

“I’m incredibly concerned that Brewer doesn’t have a No. 2 a year into the job,” board member Tamar Galatzan said. “He needs to act swiftly.”

Cortines also casts a long shadow, and some observers see his possible arrival as ominous for Brewer’s longevity. Others have questioned whether Cortines would be coming in as a sort of Trojan horse for the mayor. Still, civic leaders said the hiring of Cortines would bolster Brewer.

“This would be a major step forward,” said former Mayor Richard Riordan. The push for Cortines, he added, did not emanate from Villaraigosa, who has relied on Cortines to spearhead reforms at a group of schools that will partner with the mayor’s office.

“This is not about Mayor Villaraigosa taking over the school district,” Riordan said. “There are a number of reformists, including myself, who are desperately urging Brewer and the school board to go along with the hiring of Ray Cortines.”

Most of the school board, apparently, needs little persuading. Board President Monica Garcia has long admired Cortines. Her reticence in pressing the issue has to do with Cortines -- who told her that he would decline the position if Brewer were pressured to offer it.

Less certain would be support from board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, the board’s only African American member and an important ally of Brewer, who also is black. Brewer’s hiring by the previous school board enjoyed broad support in the city’s black community.

Last year, close allies of the mayor unsuccessfully opposed LaMotte’s bid for reelection. She had run afoul of the mayor for fighting his attempt to gain direct authority over the school district. Anyone associated with the mayor gets LaMotte’s close critical scrutiny.

Cortines saw LaMotte on Thursday -- a meeting he called “cordial.” LaMotte could not be reached for comment.

“She and I have always been friends,” Cortines said. “Remember, I was her superintendent.”

Cortines served as interim Los Angeles schools superintendent for six months in 2000, when LaMotte was a high school principal.

The current situation contains echoes of that time, when a new school board majority was disenchanted with holdover Supt. Ruben Zacarias. That board forced lawyer Howard Miller onto Zacarias’ cabinet. Miller officially answered to Zacarias, but many observers said the move sidelined the superintendent, who was soon forced from office.

At the time, Cortines refused to come on as interim superintendent until Zacarias endorsed it. The two then worked together briefly. Cortines quickly won the confidence of the school board.

Cortines, who did not seek the superintendent’s job at the time, was succeeded by former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer -- the product of a national search.

Cortines said he broached the possibility of rejoining L.A. Unified with Villaraigosa a few weeks ago: “He was somewhat shocked by that,” Cortines recalled.

The mayor said Thursday he would comment “when and if it happens. Right now, it’s speculation.”

Villaraigosa dismissed suggestions that, through Cortines, he was seeking to extend his reach into the superintendent’s office.

Cortines spoke directly to that issue: “I work for the mayor. I’m not owned by the mayor . . . . I would never work for Mr. Brewer unless he wanted me.”

As Villaraigosa’s deputy, Cortines has enjoyed good relations with employee labor groups.

His hiring “would fill a very serious void that still exists at the top level,” said Michael O’Sullivan, president of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles.

Teachers union President A.J. Duffy called Cortines “highly competent.” But he added: “I’ll be surprised if it happens because Ray Cortines is not a second in command.”

Former district board member Caprice Young acknowledged that the strong personalities of Brewer and Cortines could clash, but she predicted a different outcome.

“Brewer brings a lifetime of leadership from military service and a passion for the kids,” said Young, who now heads the California Charter Schools Assn. “And Cortines brings a lifetime of depth in the education establishment and the knowledge of what it takes to really educate kids.”

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howard.blume@latimes.com