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LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy Will Stay After All
The teachers don't like him, but that didn't seem to matter in the end. A closed door meeting with the Board of Education yesterday ended days of speculation of LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy's future with a satisfactory performance review and an contract extension.
After the five-hour meeting, an attorney for the district announced that Deasy's contract was extended to June 2016. According to the L.A. Times, the satisfactory performance review automatically extended his contract, originally set to end in June 2015, for another year.
"I thank the board very much for a good and robust evaluation,'' Deasy said in remarks according to City News Service. "I particularly thank you for a really excellent and honest conversation on building the (rapport) to work together so that we can continue to lift youth out of poverty."
Over the weekend, rumors flew that Deasy was stepping down. The L.A. Times reported that his friction with the new board majority increased his frustrations.
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One group not happy about the decision: the teachers. Warren Fletcher, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, was in shock.
"In April, 91 percent of 17,500 UTLA members polled found no confidence in Deasy's leadership,'' Fletcher told CNS. "It's a sad day when political maneuvering trumps the needs of students and schools.''
Deasy led the move to change the way teachers are evaluated to include standardized test scores and changed the seniority system in which teachers are let go. So it's understandable why the teachers are up in arms.
Not helping Deasy's cause is the rocky start of the district's iPad program.
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