Steve Lopez: Deasy should stay for now, because what’s Plan B?

I’d pay good money for a seat at today’s closed-door encounter between L.A. Unified Superintendent John Deasy and the board of education.

It figures to be great drama, like Thanksgiving get-togethers in which some family members just can’t stand each other. When they’re done wrangling over the board’s evaluation of Deasy’s performance, we should have a much better idea of whether the superintendent is staying on the job, resigning or getting kicked to the curb.

As much as I’d like to be there, though, if only one outsider were allowed to attend, it should probably be a family therapist. LAUSD is a house divided, with fractured relationships, constant sniping and extra helpings of loathing and distrust.

I follow it all pretty closely, because the quality of the second largest school district in the nation is a huge factor in the future well-being of the metropolis. And because I have a child who’s finishing elementary school this year in LAUSD, so we’ve got a choice to make soon about whether to stick with the district or find another option.

I’ve got to tell you, what’s been going on at Beaudry headquarters lately is not great advertising for the district. Among other spectacles, the board president is the target of a censure motion over his alleged harassment and intimidation of district employees.

The No. 2 to Deasy announced his resignation in a snit over the way the board does business, and there are reports that Deasy may be inclined to follow him out the door, even as the district is in the midst of major changes and huge decisions involving curriculum and technology, among other things.

If he’s all for the kids, as Deasy would have us believe, how could he walk out in a huff with so much work still to be done?

The way I see it, Deasy is neither the monster the teachers union and other critics say he is, nor is he the genius his supporters in the civic alliance and other quarters say he is. Middle ground isn’t sexy, I know, but it’s where the truth lies.

I don’t buy that Deasy is a puppet in a national effort to privatize and charterize schools for corporate profit, nor do I believe we should trust his every initiative without scrutiny. His strength is a zealous determination to serve the interests of a student population that is largely disadvantaged, his weakness is that he lacks the personality and political skill to disarm detractors and advance his agenda.

It’s only fair to say that his leadership has brought both improvements and disappointments, and as today’s Times story on the latest developments point out, Deasy wants teachers graded on performance at a time when he has failed to meet most of the standards he set for himself. Not that it’s easy making headway when so many people are committed to getting in your way.

I’ve had issues with Deasy at times, and I still think the biggest problem with the botched iPad enterprise isn’t the hardware choice but the lack of discussion in getting the right software.

But I’ve had even more issues with board members who can be rank amateurs, sellouts and cowards at times, and with teachers union hacks who will go to their graves resisting change on principle, even if it would benefit both teachers and students.

I hope all parties are able to act like grownups long enough today to work out their differences, so that Deasy stays at least a little while longer. If that doesn’t happen, what are the chances that anyone any good would be willing to follow him into this mess, or that any parents with an option will wait to find out?

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@LATstevelopez

steve.lopez@latimes.com