L.A. school board ratifies contract for Cortines to lead district

The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday ratified a contract for Ramon C. Cortines to serve as superintendent through June.

The vote was 7-0 and was conducted without discussion. Cortines will be paid at an annual rate of $300,000 per year, $50,000 less than his predecessor John Deasy, who resigned Oct. 15.

The decision to hire Cortines was made last week, during a closed session, and was kept confidential until the morning after Deasy signed his separation agreement. This is the third tour of duty in L.A. Unified for Cortines, 82. He led the nation’s second-largest school system for six months in 2000, then again from late 2008 through April, 2011, when Deasy took over.

Cortines said he will operate as a fully empowered superintendent until the board finds a permanent replacement for Deasy or until it asks him to step down. His contract can be terminated with 30-days’ notice, either by Cortines or the school board.

The new superintendent started Monday with a full slate of meetings, which included a trip to the headquarters of United Teachers Los Angeles for his first meeting with union president Alex Caputo-Pearl. The union and the district have yet to agree on a contract.

His meetings also included one with regional administrators, whom he urged to act with greater independence. He also expressed concern that the district may need to take immediate measures to make sure instructors know what to teach. He noted that the slowdown of a technology program, which made use of computers loaded with curriculum, could have created confusion at schools.

At the end of the first day, he said he felt “tired,” but “exhilarated and pleasantly pleased with how enthusiastic I found the leadership group.”

He added: “I’m going to go home and do 400 situps and then I’m going to have two glasses of medicinal. Maybe red wine tonight.”

Twitter: @howardblume