LAUSD extends Cortines’ pact
Superintendent, who is in his third stint as the district’s top administrator, can stay through June 2016.
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday voted unanimously to extend the contract of schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines for a year, through June 2016.
The superintendent, who is 82, was brought in last October when then-Supt. John Deasy resigned under pressure. At the time, Cortines, who came out of retirement, was widely viewed as an interim choice to keep the L.A. Unified School District from being leaderless in a crisis.
He accepted a contract that would have expired at the end of June; he also specified that the word “interim” would not be part of his title. He did not want anyone in doubt about who was in charge while he was there.
“We can now anchor the district with stability, with a great leader who’s doing a great job,” said school board President Richard Vladovic. “I know we ask a lot of that man.”
Vladovic added that a search for the next superintendent was likely to take seven to eight months, and that the next Board of Education should be involved. Three of seven incumbents are on the ballot next Tuesday, including Vladovic. The new board terms begin on July 1.
The hiring of Cortines opened the door to better relations with the teachers union, contributing to a new contract settlement, which the board approved Tuesday. Critics, however, have expressed concerns about whether the district can afford a 10% pay increase over two years. Teachers had been without a raise for eight years.
With Cortines remaining, he is likely to have a role in hammering out a new teacher evaluation system with the union. He’ll also have to deal with a projected budget deficit in future years.
Cortines has run the nation’s second-largest school system on three separate occasions. The first time, in 2000, he managed a crisis in the school construction program and discord after the firing of Supt. Ruben Zacarias. Cortines stayed for six months.
In 2008, he returned as a deputy to assist Supt. David Brewer. Soon, the board asked him to take over.
In 2010, Deasy was brought in as deputy, with the idea that he’d soon be in charge. Cortines, though well-liked, was criticized by admirers of Deasy as not moving fast enough to install policies gaining sway in other parts of the country.
After his departure, the district dealt with allegations that Cortines sexually harassed a man who worked as a mid-level manager. His lawsuit was dismissed because he missed the filing deadline, but Cortines’ career in L.A. Unified seemed at an end.
Discord between Deasy and the school board, however, and problems with technology projects, including a now-abandoned plan to provide all students with iPads, led to Cortines’ third tour at the helm.
Both the school board and Cortines have the right to terminate the contract, so a new superintendent could take over whenever one is chosen.
Cortines receives an annual salary of $300,000 a year.
The contract was approved in a closed-door session before Tuesday’s public meeting.