September 9, 1850

School reformer named to top LA district job
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES—A top official with the country's leading school reform foundation has been named as the No. 2 leader of the nation's second-largest school district.
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday voted to name John Deasy, deputy director of education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as deputy superintendent, effective Aug. 1.

District Superintendent Ramon Cortines said Deasy's experience as superintendent of three school districts will have "a profound and positive effect on the daily operations of LAUSD."

Prior to his position at the Gates Foundation, Deasy ran the Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland, where he developed a pay-for-performance plan for teachers' salaries.

Several members of the LA school board are in favor of adopting such a model in Los Angeles, but teachers have adamantly opposed it.

Deasy was also the leader of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and Coventry Public Schools in Rhode Island. He currently oversees the $200 million educational grant program for the Gates Foundation, the nation's biggest player in the school reform movement.

Deasy's appointment fills a post that has been vacant since Cortines was appointed superintendent two years ago. The appointment also creates a possible successor to the 77-year-old Cortines, who has 18 months left on his contract.

One of Deasy's challenges will be ongoing state funding shortfalls.

The school board on Tuesday approved a $12 billion budget for the 2010-2011 school year that calls for more than 2,500 layoffs, mostly of non-classroom staff such as custodians and library aides.
Several hundred district workers rallied outside the board meeting to protest the cuts. They were joined by parents of special needs children who were also protesting special education school closures and program cuts

"Brick by brick, it's being dismantled," said Matthew Asner, parent of a 7-year-old special needs child. "His future's at stake."

Cortines said he simply had no choice with a $640 million state funding shortfall for 2010-2011 and a looming $263 million deficit for the following year.

"There is no way we can keep the status quo," he said. "The revenue from the state is not enough to keep the programs we have had and the personnel."

The superintendent said he would only submit a balanced budget for next school year to county education officials, not the three years as required by state law, because of the uncertain funding climate that has slashed $1.5 billion from LAUSD's budget in the last two years.

"I can't cut another $263 million," he said. 'We believe the law should be changed."

It was not immediately clear what would happen if the district did not submit a three-year balanced fiscal plan.

Board member Yolie Flores lauded Cortines' move as "courageous, bold and gutsy."