Readers React: Austin Beutner’s got his work cut out for him if he wants to win over LAUSD teachers

Austin Beutner hasn’t been on the job as the Los Angeles Unified School District’s superintendent a week, but he already has one group of vocal critics: teachers who write letters to the Los Angeles Times.

The new schools chief has an impressive resume by any measure (the former investment banker has served as a deputy mayor of Los Angeles and The Times’ publisher), but he lacks one important quality that even John Deasy, the embattled former LAUSD superintendent who faced unrelenting criticism from teachers, had in spades: prior experience in education.

Most of the letters we’ve received express skepticism over the LAUSD’s new hire, although a few defend the district’s unorthodox pick. Here are some of those letters.

Teacher Shelley Rivlin of Encino encourages the Los Angeles Police Commission to take a cue from the LAUSD:

I’m impressed with the careful search for Los Angeles’ next police chief and the quality of the candidates, but I wonder why the Police Commission doesn’t consider making what the L.A. Times called a “bold move” equal to the LAUSD Board of Education’s selection of a new superintendent.

Has the panel considered a selecting a candidate who has never worn the uniform but has great business acumen?

Retired teacher Mark Elinson of Los Angeles notices a pattern in the school board’s hiring:

The lengths that the LAUSD board will go to select superintendents with no educational experience is truly amazing.

A list of recent school chiefs sounds like the cast of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta: a Navy admiral, a state governor, and now a major businessman.

Edward A. Sussman, who served as the Downey Unified School District superintendent from 1986 to 2003, encourages Beutner’s critics to ease up:

I truly believe that the LAUSD does not get credit for many of its outstanding accomplishments and its many high-performing schools. We often just hear negative comments that are many times based on opinion and are reported in the media as factual.

The position of superintendent requires leadership and communication skills; the person who holds it must command the respect of community members and school personnel. Beutner’s success or failure will depend on the performance of his students, the confidence given to him by the people he leads and his ability to surround himself with outstanding educators. He must listen to all stakeholders.

Before we cast judgment, let’s give the new superintendent the opportunity to lead.

Santa Monica resident Stu Bernstein advises Beutner to listen humbly:

My advice to those who rail against Beutner’s hiring is to get over it. He’s there now, so let’s get on with it.

My advice to Beutner is that 51% of being smart is knowing what you’re “dumb” at. There’s a difference between “listening” and “hearing.” I encourage the new superintendent not to assume he knows right now what needs to be accomplished.

After he hears what the real issues are, he will begin to know what he doesn’t know, and that’s when his work will begin.

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