Community Groups Want Input on Next LAUSD Superintendent

A coalition of community groups sent a letter to members of the Los Angeles Unified School District board today outlining desired characteristics for the district’s next superintendent, and asking that a panel of civil rights and community leaders be allowed to meet with the top three candidates.

“Our expectation is that you will hire the type of superintendent who will lead this district down the path of continued student achievement gains, like the ones we have seen in recent years,” the letter states. “This is a critical moment for LAUSD. It calls for collaborative leadership and solution- driven action.”

Superintendent Ramon Cortines has announced plans to step aside, saying he would like to leave by the end of the year. He was brought in to fill the post after the firing of John Deasy.

Groups supporting the letter sent to the board members include the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Foundation, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Educators 4 Excellence, Public Counsel and East Los Angeles Boys & Girls Clubs.

The letter calls for the next superintendent to be a “trusted partner to the community,” driven by achievement, and be “responsible, accountable and transparent.”

The groups also asked that “a committee of key civil rights and community leaders have the opportunity to sit with the top three candidates and provide their recommendations to the board.” They also asked for the release of limited background information on the candidates who apply for the position.

“It is critical that the LAUSD not make these decisions in a vacuum, without meaningfully incorporating community leaders into that process,” said Elise Buik, president/CEO of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. “In addition to the community input sessions and survey that the board is leading, we believe the district must also create a search committee that includes representation from key leaders who have a stake in this decision -- students, teachers, business leaders, civil rights leaders, union leadership, higher education experts, to name a few.”

-City News Service; Ramon Cortines via LASchoolReport.com