L.A. Unified selects Deasy as superintendent of schools

The Los Angeles Board of Education has officially named John Deasy, 50, as the superintendent of the nation’s second-largest school district.

Deasy will take charge in mid-April with the retirement of Ramon C. Cortines.

The board vote took place behind closed doors Tuesday, but the outcome was in little doubt; word had leaked out last week that the appointment was pending. The tally was 6-0, with board member Steve Zimmer abstaining.

Deasy has signed a three-year contract at an annual salary of $330,000; that’s $80,000 more than his predecessor. But Deasy will not have a buyout clause; he can be terminated with 30 days notice. That provision is especially noteworthy given that pending school board elections could change the makeup and direction of the school board. The contract also includes a potential $10,000 bonus for incentives related to student achievement.

Deasy has served as a top deputy to Cortines since August and has taken on some of the thorniest issues in the district, including a move to revamp teacher evaluations.

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 -- Howard Blume

Photo: John Deasy, center, at news conference at Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters where he was named the new superintendent. Deasy succeeds outgoing superintendent Ramon Cortines. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[MrDeuces]

I applaud John for night demanding an 18 month buyout, which has become the norm throughout CA..... A tiny little district in the High Desert just paid their Superintendent, who was planning to retire anyways, over $300k in a buyout.... John knows that if LA is dumb enough to fire him, there are 100 other districts who would hire him in a heartbeat.... Maybe this will lead the trend of doing away with the school district golden parachutes....

[TAM]

Deasy, had the job when he was first hired because Cortines, had failed out of favor with the Pint Size Mayor.

[Ed]

Deasy will be OK until our Mayor Villaraigosa gets tired of him.
It's always sad to see that a mayor's puppet controls the district.
It's politics as usual people. Unfortunately in LA, politics come first and students second.

[Ryan Mullen]

I truly hope that the new superintendent can help our schools. I have an issue, however, with him receiving $80,000 more per year than the outgoing superintendent when teachers and other staff across LAUSD agreed to take up to 12 furlough days in the past year, and have not received even a cost of living raise in the past several years. Soon, we will be asked once again to make "tough choices" about the realities of the budget shortfall, and take furloughs next year. $330,000 a year with benefits...that must have been a tough choice for Mr. Deasy to make.