The Los Angeles Board of Education has authorized its attorneys to discuss terms of a possible departure agreement with schools Superintendent John Deasy, the Los Angeles Times reported today.
The move was made in a specially called closed session Tuesday, but it was not disclosed publicly. No decision was reached on whether an offer would include a buyout, several people close to the situation told The Times.
The board’s action stops short of signaling the end of the Deasy tenure, but it’s a step in that direction. The overture was described by sources as “amicable,” suggesting that acrimony could be avoided or explicitly forbidden as part of a separation agreement, The Times reported.
Deasy’s contract calls for an annual evaluation before the end of the month. He became superintendent in April 2011, and his current term runs through June 2016. A favorable evaluation would result in an automatic one-year extension. The pact also provides for termination at any time with 30 days’ notice.
Deasy, 53, has become a polarizing figure in the LAUSD, according to The Times.
His supporters credit his leadership for gains in test scores, graduation rates and improved results for students learning English, the newspaper reported. 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 computers to every student, teacher and campus administrator. Another technology project, a new student records system, malfunctioned this fall.
Critics also fault Deasy for what they call an autocratic, punitive leadership style that they say has demoralized teachers and other employees, according to The Times.
