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Los Angeles Unified school board members gave a warm sendoff to the district’s departing superintendent, Austin Beutner, during his final board meeting Tuesday morning.
As the superintendent prepares to step down after three years leading the nation’s second-largest school system, even some of Beutner’s former critics offered words of praise.
“We didn’t start out well,” said board member Jackie Goldberg, who vocally denounced Beutner’s hire in 2018.
“But I’ve changed my mind completely,” Goldberg added. “You were the right man, at the right time, for the right job, and you did it with such energy, indefatigable energy.”
An @AustinLASchools tribute is underway at the #LAUSD board meeting today. He leaves the Superintendent’s office at the end of the month. pic.twitter.com/LwOsfGAW6W
— Kyle Stokes (@kystokes) June 22, 2021
During the 2019 strike, Beutner often sparred with the district’s teachers union. More recently, he’s faced criticism for siding with the union too often during the pandemic; criticism from parents who hoped to see more live minutes of distance learning instruction or for LAUSD to reopen campuses sooner. Beutner has said the caution was necessary to keep students and staff safe.
The superintendent said he believes the massive school district is headed in the right direction.
“We have 86,000 [employees],” Beutner said. “I’ll be gone tomorrow; there will still be 85,999 still working on behalf of children. If each of them believes they can make a difference in the life of a child, it’s going to get better.”
Beutner has said he’s not resigning to run for office right now, though he’s also hinted he’s not done in public life.
The school board has hired Megan Reilly — a current deputy superintendent and longtime LAUSD financial administrator — to serve as interim after Beutner’s departure. She’ll officially take over on July 1.
