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Schools Supt. John Deasy has agreed to resign from his post as soon as tomorrow, the LA School Report posted about 8 p.m., citing "five district and school board sources with knowledge of the situation."
"After weeks of negotiations between lawyers for Deasy and the seven-member board, he submitted his resignation and signed a separation agreement that brings an end to his employment, well before the 30-day grace period he would have had in a case of dismissal by the board," the website reports. "The district is expected to make the announcement, perhaps as early as tomorrow morning. It is also expected that one of his chief deputies, Michelle King, will be named the interim superintendent while the board begins a search for a permanent replacement."
Other media have subsequently confirmed the post, among them the LA Times and ABC 7.
Howard Blume reports at the Times that the school board "could name an interim superintendent as early as 10 a.m. Thursday." He says on Twitter that it is not likely to be King, contradicting the LA School Report item.
More from Blume:
His supporters credit his leadership for gains in test scores, graduation rates and improved results for students learning English. They also applaud his push for more rigorous evaluations of teachers and principals, for reducing the number of student suspensions and for providing breakfast to students in the classroom.
His detractors focus on such issues as problems with the rollout of a $1.3-billion effort to provide iPads to every student, teacher and campus administrator. Another technology project, a new student records system, malfunctioned this fall. More broadly, critics fault Deasy for a leadership style they say has demoralized teachers and other employees.Deasy has enjoyed strong support from key civic and business leaders, who urged the Board of Education this week to retain him.
Deasy has reportedly returned from a trip to Korea to reach an exit settlement with the board, according to Blume.
More from Michael Janofsky at the LA School Report:
The board several weeks ago had authorized its lawyers to begin negotiating a separation agreement with lawyers for Deasy. The final terms of the agreement were reached in the last day or so, with Deasy in South Korea on an cultural visit, said sources, all of whom spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issues and legal restrictions against discussing a private matter….
Deasy’s resignation after three years as superintendent brings to an end a volatile but productive period in the district with his tenure marked by dramatic improvement in student academic measures yet traumatic developments in programs undertaken by his administration, all at a time budget restraints have limited the district’s ability to support more personnel and programs.He has made no secret of his growing frustrations with a board that has often been at odds with his approach to public education, more so since the school board elections of 2013 and last August reduced the number of members who supported his vision.
That vision — the belief that quality public education is a civil right — came to include his championing of a program to deliver an iPad to every district student. More than anything else, problems with the iPad distribution came to symbolize the collision between vision and reality, starting a drumbeat for his dismissal.
