Civic and business leaders urge L.A. school board to keep Supt. Deasy

Local business and civic leaders are calling on the Los Angeles Board of Education to retain Supt. John Deasy, hoping to head off potential action by a board majority that is unhappy with the head of the nation’s second-largest school system.

The school board is scheduled to meet behind closed doors Tuesday to plan Deasy’s Oct. 21 job evaluation. But Deasy’s supporters are concerned that he won’t remain in the job until then.

“We are united in urging the LAUSD Board of Education to put our children’s interests first and retain Superintendent John Deasy,” said the letter from the Civic Alliance, a group of key business and civic leaders. “Discharging Superintendent Deasy will have devastating implications to the education of our children, throwing the District into chaos with yet another transition at LAUSD.”

That letter, sent to all seven school board members, is an unambiguous vote of confidence. It signifies that support for Deasy remains unwavering within the power base that has backed him since he became superintendent in April 2011.

Deasy has been under increasing pressure because of deteriorating relations with the school board and problems with two major technology projects, including a stalled effort to provide computers to all students.

The letter alludes to these issues, but then sets them aside: “Superintendent Deasy is not perfect. But progress made in boosting the education of our children under his leadership outweighs the business decisions by which he is being judged.”

Those signing the letter include Elise Buik, chief executive of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles; Antonia Hernandez, chief executive of the California Community Foundation; and Gary Toebben, chief executive of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

The letter credits Deasy with, among other things, “increased graduation and attendance rates, increases in the numbers of African American and Latino students taking Advanced Placement courses and exams, and reduced suspensions along with an overhaul of the school discipline policy.”

Supporters have struggled about whether and how much to back Deasy after the recent disclosure of close ties between him and the vendors who won the contract to provide computers to every student. In August, Deasy decided to restart the bidding process, although about 109,000 iPads already have been distributed under the original deal with Apple, at a cost of about $61 million. The entire effort, including upgrading campus wireless networks is expected to reach about $1.3 billion.

On Monday, the effort to boost Deasy came from two groups. One letter, from leaders of eight community groups, stopped short of an outright endorsement, although it suggested that the superintendent should remain at the helm. It praised the work of the board and Deasy, urging them to work through their differences for the benefit of students.

Both letters criticized the board’s closed-session evaluation of Deasy, although that is always how superintendents have been reviewed in the past.

“If this Board truly prioritizes children, it will hold Superintendent Deasy in place through an orderly process of transparent performance review. And better yet, conduct an open process to allow community members and stakeholders to have their voices heard,” according to the Civic Alliance letter.

The other letter made a similar argument in greater detail and urged for a more open process.

“Real and honest change doesn’t happen behind closed doors. Historically, our communities have been shortchanged by this kind of decision-making. We urge the board to ensure a fair process for determining the parameters to review the superintendent,” the letter said.

“We call for an open forum to better understand the perspectives of board members on leadership priorities for LAUSD,” the letter said. “We also request that these parameters be widely published to all families and employees to foster public trust and transparency.”

Those signing that letter included Buik; Nolan V. Rollins, chief executive of the L.A. Urban League; and Scott Washburn, interim executive director of Local 99 of Service Employees International, which represents most non-teaching L.A. Unified workers.

The teachers union reacted by giving Deasy poor marks.

“We think there are very deep and profound issues that John Deasy needs to be accountable for that have damaged the quality of public education in Los Angeles and damaged the public trust,” said Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

Under Deasy’s contract, the annual review must take place before the end of October.

The impending evaluation marks the third time in 18 months that Deasy’s imminent departure has seemed possible. In June 2013, he threatened to leave if Richard Vladovic was selected by his colleagues as president of the Board of Education. Vladovic was chosen, and Deasy stayed.

Then, shortly before his evaluation last year, Deasy crafted the terms under which he would leave the job, which included a buy-out of his contract.

Several community groups rallied supporters to urge the school board to retain Deasy. A letter from business and civic leaders last year was unreserved in its praise of the superintendent, saying, in part, “We believe that John Deasy has the unique skills and commitment necessary to move the district forward.”

The school board eventually gave Deasy a favorable evaluation, by a 6-1 vote.

Deasy’s contract runs through June 2016, but he can be let go with 30 days’ notice.

Twitter: @howardblume