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LAUSD's Michelle King taking medical leave, appoints acting superintendent
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LAUSD Superintendent Michelle King visits an eighth grade accelerated math class at Luther Burbank Middle School on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016 during the first day of instruction.
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Superintendent Michelle King appointed a deputy to take temporary control of the Los Angeles Unified School District over the weekend as she recovers from a medical procedure.
King named L.A. Unified associate superintendent Vivian Ekchian as acting superintendent on Saturday. Ekchian has been a teacher, principal and administrator in the district since 1985.
News of King’s absence was first reported by The Los Angeles Times, which cited unnamed sources who said King suffered some sort of accident while on vacation, had undergone surgery and had been in severe leg pain.
That malady has kept King out of the office since Sept. 15, but “she has been involved in district matters during her time away,” L.A. Unified spokeswoman Shannon Haber wrote in a statement to KPCC.
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It's not clear whether there's a timetable for King’s return to work.
According to the Times, King told district staff in an email that her physician “unexpectedly” informed her that she was not cleared to return to work. King said she would be re-evaluated at the end of the month.
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