Los Angeles Superintendent Of Schools

Roy Romer is perched on the seat of a 100cc Honda dirt bike, snaking down a mountain trail high in the front range of the Rockies. He is 77, the superintendent of Los Angeles schools, a former three-term governor of Colorado, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, a man who has rubbed shoulders with Bill Clinton and Tony Blair and knocked elbows with Antonio Villaraigosa, and at the moment he is revving downhill helmet-free, looking a bit like a circus bear on a bicycle.

The Los Angeles Board of Education voted Tuesday to pay at least $517,500 to buy out Supt. David L. Brewer midway through his four-year contract to run the nation's second-largest school system. No successor was named, but board members and other civic leaders have said they expect that the No. 2 administrator, Ramon C. Cortines, will be offered the job at least on an interim basis.

Several months into his job as superintendent of the Los Angeles school system, David L. Brewer held court before students at Millikan Middle School in Sherman Oaks. Barrel-chested and ramrod straight, he showered them with platitudes, perfectly at home as a schoolhouse version of a tent revival preacher. "Repeat after me: If I read, I will succeed," the call and response began. Students reacted a little sluggishly but gamely. "A goal is a dream plus a deadline," Brewer continued.

A key Los Angeles school board member signaled Friday that she could consider removing L. A. schools Supt. David L. Brewer through a contract buyout and that she hoped to defuse racial politics in discussions of his future. The board member, Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, also expressed anger at the haste with which Brewer's critics have moved against him.

Four days before Los Angeles school board member George Kiriyama offered a motion to extend school Supt. Ruben Zacarias' contract, Zacarias had offered Kiriyama a job as a school principal, education officials acknowledged Friday. Both men insist it was a coincidence. But some people are raising questions about the appearance of a conflict of interest. The offer came June 11 at a going-away party for Kiriyama, a former adult school principal who was defeated in the April 13 election.

Los Angeles Schools Supt. Roy Romer has told the Board of Education he wants to leave his post by this fall, about nine months before his contract expires, officials said Friday. The announcement, which comes after months of increasing tension between Romer and board members, signals a distinct change of heart for the superintendent, who in the past has voiced his intention to serve the full term of his contract.

A curious Los Angeles and a miffed mayor got a first look Friday morning at the next superintendent of schools as retired Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III said he is ready to challenge himself and the community to improve the lives of the city's children. Among school district officials and allies, the mood was buoyant.

Frustrated by the small pool of serious candidates, the Los Angeles Board of Education may extend its Monday deadline for selecting a new superintendent, district officials said Wednesday. The board still hopes to name a new schools chief by Monday so that he could help interim Supt. Ramon C. Cortines appoint leaders to run 11 mini-districts being created under a reorganization to take effect July 1. But several factors have conspired to make the final stages of the search especially difficult.

The Los Angeles Board of Education on Sunday concluded its interviews of candidates for superintendent, narrowing the field to three finalists who are actively seeking the job. Deliberations are scheduled to continue behind closed doors this morning, but board members were backing away from a self-imposed deadline to make the selection today. "I'm not sure about that," board President Genethia Hayes said.

Early Thursday morning, in a secret office building downtown, the seven members of the Los Angeles Board of Education called in David Brewer for his final interview. It had been a long, improbable few months for Brewer. A relative unknown in national education circles and someone without any experience running an urban school system, the recently retired Navy vice admiral had emerged unexpectedly as a front-runner in the search for a new superintendent of city schools.

The school board Tuesday approved the hiring of Ramon C. Cortines as senior deputy superintendent -- the No. 2 position -- of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The veteran educator will leave his post as a Los Angeles deputy mayor to head day-to-day operations at the nation's second-largest school system. Cortines, 75, formerly headed the school districts in New York City, San Francisco and San Jose. For six months in 2000, he served as interim chief of L.A. Unified. Cortines agreed to an at-will contract, meaning he will serve at the pleasure of Supt.

Several months into his job as superintendent of the Los Angeles school system, David L. Brewer held court before students at Millikan Middle School in Sherman Oaks. Barrel-chested and ramrod straight, he showered them with platitudes, perfectly at home as a schoolhouse version of a tent revival preacher. "Repeat after me: If I read, I will succeed," the call and response began. Students reacted a little sluggishly but gamely. "A goal is a dream plus a deadline," Brewer continued.

After giving his first State of the Schools address Thursday, Los Angeles schools Supt. David L. Brewer, a retired Navy vice admiral, answered questions from the L.A. Times editorial board. Here are excerpts from the questions and his responses. The Times: What do you do about schools that have been failing for years and lack the capacity to improve? Brewer: I'm going to have the right to tell some people to innovate.

Arguing for longer school days, single-sex academies and more parent involvement, Los Angeles Schools Supt. David L. Brewer on Thursday portrayed the school system as one dotted with pockets of excellence but plagued by a deeply ingrained culture resistant to change.

Dear David Brewer: Even before you officially became Los Angeles Unified School District's superintendent last week, you'd been pep-talking anyone who'd listen, and in discussing your hopes for the district, you've been touting Jim Collins' bestselling management tome "Good to Great." If you really think you're starting with a district that's "good," you've been massively suckered by those school board members who've been showing you off like a circus bear they won in an all-night poker game.

David L. Brewer, the retired Navy vice admiral selected to become Los Angeles' next education chief, agreed Monday to a four-year contract that will pay him $300,000 per year. The agreement, which has been signed by school board President Marlene Canter and is expected to be ratified today by a majority of the seven-member board, also provides Brewer with a $3,000 monthly housing allowance, a $45,000 annual expense account, an automobile and an extensive benefits package.

Someone should write lyrics for the melancholy operetta that's been unfolding as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attempts to wrest control of Los Angeles' public schools from the district's entrenched Board of Education. Call it "Middle School Musical." There isn't enough maturity on display to put "High School" in the title.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the incoming schools superintendent will meet this morning for the first time amid a still simmering conflict over control of the city schools, but the advertised theme of the day will be partnership. "We will not have tension," said David L. Brewer, the retired vice admiral who takes charge of the Los Angeles Unified School District before year's end. "There will be partnering, partnering and partnering." A similar message came from Villaraigosa.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the incoming schools superintendent will meet this morning for the first time amid a still simmering conflict over control of the city schools, but the advertised theme of the day will be partnership. "We will not have tension," said David L. Brewer, the retired vice admiral who takes charge of the Los Angeles Unified School District before year's end. "There will be partnering, partnering and partnering." A similar message came from Villaraigosa.

After a quick trip home to Virginia, the next Los Angeles schools chief boomeranged back to the city Monday for some strategic public relations. After being selected Thursday as superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, David L. Brewer III crisscrossed some of the sprawling district in a well-scripted day of breaking bread and pressing flesh with elected officials, parents and educators.