Los Angeles Unified announces Deasy’s exit after secret vote to pay him through end of year “I believe there are credible allegations around bid rigging and those need to be investigated,” the leader of the 35,000-member teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl, said at an afternoon news conference held outside the union’s downtown headquarters. dailynews/social-affairs/20141016/los-angeles-unified-announces-deasys-exit-after-secret-vote-to-pay-him-through-end-of-year This Aug. 8, 2013 file photo shows LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy speaks during his annual Administrators Meeting at Hollywood High School. According to reports, Deasy resigned as LAUSD superintendent on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014. (Photo by Andy Holzman/Los Angeles Daily News/File) By Thomas Himes, Los Angeles Daily News POSTED: 10/16/14, 8:35 PM PDT | UPDATED: 46 SECS AGO0 COMMENTS The Los Angeles Unified School Board on Thursday announced a secretly negotiated deal that secured the resignation of Superintendent John Deasy and appointed a temporary replacement. While the terms of Deasy’s employment contract call for him to receive one month’s pay — should the school board have decided to terminate him “without cause” — board members voted behind closed doors to pay him his full salary and benefits to work on “special assignment” over the next 21/2 months, according to his separation agreement. The separation agreement was approved in a 6-1 vote Tuesday. Board member Monica Ratliff, one of two elected officials representing the San Fernando Valley, cast the sole dissenting vote. Ratliff’s office declined to comment on why she voted against the agreement. When asked how the board could vote to approve a separation agreement without reporting the action during the public portion of Tuesday’s meeting, LAUSD General Counsel Dave Holmquist stated, “There was no report out at that time because the agreement had not been signed by Dr. Deasy.” Holmquist provided a similar answer when asked how the board could vote, 7-0, to appoint an interim superintendent, Ramon C. Cortines, without publicly reporting their action, stating, “There was no report out at that time because the action was a contingent action, which depended on Dr. Deasy signing the separation agreement.” Deasy left the country for a “Korean Learning Visitation” Oct. 9 and is not slated to return until Saturday, according to an email he sent board members last week. He could not be reached for comment. The district paid Deasy $393,106 in 2013, according to tax forms obtained by this news organization. In addition to his salary, the separation agreement calls for LAUSD to pay Deasy “the amount of cost of health care benefits through June 30, 2015.” The agreement did not specify how much money the “special assignment” would cost LAUSD above and beyond the terms of Deasy’s original employment contract nor was the cost specified in a series of statements released by the school board and administration Thursday. While Deasy will be paid for unused vacation days, he will not continue to accrue time off while on special assignment, according to the separation agreement. As part of the separation agreement, board members agreed to release a statement indicating that an ongoing investigation into LAUSD’s iPad fiasco was not expected to find any ethical or criminal wrongdoing on Deasy’s part. “While the District’s investigation into the Common Core Technology Project has not concluded, the Board wishes to state that at this time, it does not believe that the Superintendent engaged in any ethical violations or unlawful acts, and the Board anticipates that the Inspector General’s report will confirm this,” according to the statement LAUSD released and board members approved, word for word, during the closed-door session. Emails between administrators and Pearson representatives — an Apple subcontractor that was picked to create curriculum for LAUSD’s iPads, as part of what was once called a $1 billion plan to put devices in the hands of all 650,000 students — have raised questions about whether there was favoritism in the bidding process. “I believe there are credible allegations around bid rigging and those need to be investigated,” the leader of the 35,000-member teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl, said at an afternoon news conference held outside the union’s downtown headquarters. As part of his special assignment, Deasy may be required to appear as a witness or provide information in “various pending and threatened litigation against the district,” according to the terms of his separation agreement. But Deasy will only appear in court or participate in litigation with the district’s “express permission” of the district’s general counsel, unless he’s subpoenaed, according to the separation agreement. Deasy may also be asked to assist Cortines or perform other tasks, however, he would only work upon request. The separation agreement allows Deasy to find consulting jobs elsewhere. Should he locate full-time employment, the “special assignment” would end earlier than its current date, Dec. 31, 2014, according to the separation agreement. Caputo-Pearl said he suspects that iPads, along with the district’s disastrous new record-keeping software, MiSiS, played roles in Deasy’s departure. The teachers union has been organizing for a strike in the absence of a contract agreement. Union leaders are currently demanding a pay raise of 10 percent this year and other improvements to working and learning conditions. “We look forward to working with the new interim superintendent,” Caputo-Pearl said. Cortines said the first two things on his agenda will be dealing with MiSiS — the student record-keeping system that caused disruptions in schools across the district when it launched at the start of the school year — and contract talks. He starts work 7 a.m. Monday. “The two major issues for me will be having a briefing and understanding of why our information system (MiSiS) is not working,” Cortines said. “Also working with Ms. (Vivian) Ekchian, who is the district negotiator to move our negotiation with both our teachers union and our classified union.” In a resignation letter Wednesday, Deasy writes: “In closing, let me thank my critics for they have helped us see where we can do our work better and that is what we do with each opportunity to improve.” During Deasy’s 31/2 years atop the nation’s second-largest school district, graduation rates and test scores in both math and English improved. The largest jump in graduation rates is expected to be finalized and reported by the California Department of Education later this year, with preliminary rates indicating an increase of 12 percentage points in 2013-14 compared with 2012-13. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he contacted Deasy on Wednesday evening, wanting to thank him for his service. “Under his leadership, district graduation rates are up and achievement scores are higher, a legacy that he can be proud of bringing to the district,” Garcetti said in a written statement. Under Deasy’s tenure, the district also implemented a softer approach to policing and disciplining students for minor offenses. As where police would once stop students running late for school, issuing fines of $250 and requiring a court appearance, the district implemented programs to counsel pupils who skipped school and contact their parents. “His vision of education as a civil rights issue fueled his passion to do right by kids and to ensure that they had access to great teachers, a relevant curriculum and 21st century technology,” said school board member Tamar Galatzan, who represents much of the San Fernando Valley. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Reach the author at thomas.himes@langnews or follow Thomas on Twitter: @LADailyThomas.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 05:43:06 +0000
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