School board member explains his vote on incoming superintendent

The only school board member who did not vote to hire John Deasy as L.A.'s new schools chief said he did so over procedural concerns, not because he lacks confidence in the incoming superintendent.

Steve Zimmer said he thought Deasy, who was approved Tuesday by a 6-0 vote with Zimmer's abstention, was well qualified and should do a good job. But Zimmer said he thought the board should have conducted a more thorough search.

“I was not given the chance to interview other applicants,” said Zimmer, who added that he would not have approved of anyone under similar circumstances.

“I would have abstained even if it was Gandhi,” Zimmer said.

After a news conference at the district's main office building downtown announcing Deasy’s hiring, Zimmer gave Deasy a big hug, patting his back twice.

Board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who often votes with Zimmer, said she had similar concerns about the process. Departing Supt. Ramon C. Cortines had said for months he intended to retire in the spring. And it appeared Deasy was the heir-apparent.

Deasy, who formerly led districts in Santa Monica-Malibu, Maryland and Rhode Island, has been a deputy superintendent in Los Angeles since August.

LaMotte also said she was concerned that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa may have played too large a role in the hiring process but decided to vote for Deasy in an “effort to move forward,” she said.

Villaraigosa is expected to hold a rally with city business and nonprofit leaders Wednesday morning as a show of support for Deasy.

During Tuesday's news conference, every speaker praised Cortines, 78, for his leadership. He did not attend the event, however, and appeared shortly after it was over.  Cortines said he watched the press conference from his office and that he believed Deasy was a good choice.  

Deasy began his remarks by delivering a short message in Spanish, saying he wanted to acknowledge the diversity of the community. He acknowledged not speaking the language very well. Some board members behind him squirmed and grinned sheepishly; at one point, a nervously smiling board member Yolie Flores and Villaraigosa put their arms around each other, seemingly for support.

But when Deasy finished his brief Spanish remarks, all of the board members applauded.

“Bravo,” Villaraigosa said.

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Comments

[Carol]

Why is someone with such a minimal track record being paid $330,000 per year, plus whatever perks we haven't been told about? If he'd been paid what Cortines was earning, that would have provided enough money for another young teacher, including benefits.

[Fredrick Bertz]

I am appalled at the decision of the School Board to appoint Mr. Deasy to be the Superintendent for LAUSD.

Mr. Deasy's questionable qualification go back more than ten years to when he was superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu School District. In that job, both parents and teachers were ignored for a political move onward and upward.

It was also during that time that Mr. Deasy awarded a large grant to a professor who would go on to waive most of the requirements allowing Mr. Deasy to earn a supposed doctorate from the university of Louisville after only taking 9 units in one semester rather than the two full years normally required. The professor involved would later be convicted of fraud.

Mr. Deasy also lied on his resume about being a member of the faculty for Loyola Marymount University's doctoral program on Educational Leadership and Social Justice. This lie is what led to his forced resignation as superintendent from a district in Maryland.

Finally, Mr. Deasy's appointment appears to be an unethical quid pro quo for departing Yolie Flores. Mr. Deasy has been working for the past several years at the Gates Foundation as a policy advocate. His role has not been to use research to help determine how to improve schools but to politically advocate for a corporate model which early research shows is not working. As Mr. Deasy comes to LAUSD, Ms. Flores is heading out to work with the Gates Foundation doing the same job. Even if the timing is innocent, the appearance of the conflict of interest should have caused the School Board to slow down the process until Ms. Flores was no longer on the Board, allowing for a greater pool of candidates to be screened.

[jeff]

He gets a pay increase over Cortines, while teachers, who do more work in one day than this guy does in a month, get forced furloughs.
That's an insult.
We need a former teaching leading our schools. Let's use a military analogy. If you were a front line soldier, would you want a Ph.D. leading you into battle, or a a former front line soldier?

[gravytrain]

U.S. News Graduate School of Education Rankings

UCLA overall Rank 6

University of Louisville overall Rank 74

So of course, give the the girls, boys, and parents of Los Angeles someone from the 74th ranked school. Bravo!

[Jonesy]

Deasy taught one 6-week class in the Ed.D. Program in 2005.

I am told that the students in that class did not give him favorable evaluations.

At least there is no buyout provision in his contract.