L.A. school board expected to appoint John Deasy as next superintendent on Tuesday
By Howard Blume/Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Board of Education is expected to vote Tuesday to appoint John Deasy as the next superintendent of the nation's second-largest school district, sources said Thursday. Deasy would replace Ramon C. Cortines, 78, who announced last year that he would retire this spring from the system he has headed since 2008. No Los Angeles Unified School District officials or administrators were willing to publicly discuss Deasy's presumed hiring. Employees said they had no authorization to do so, and elected officials said it would be improper to discuss the board's private deliberations. Deasy also said he could not discuss the matter. Several insiders, however, confirmed the pending hire. Deasy joined the district in August as the top deputy to Cortines, who promptly vacated his office for his heir apparent, moving into smaller quarters next door. Deasy, 50, came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he oversaw efforts to revamp how teachers are evaluated, but he also has 20 years' experience as a school district superintendent. (more…)