Ramon C Cortines

One occupies $232 million worth of serious architecture on a promontory overlooking downtown Los Angeles. The other rents cramped space in a South L.A. church. One has an address that shouts prestige, with neighbors that include the city's Roman Catholic cathedral and Music Center. The other is across the street from an apartment building for the recently homeless. Two new high schools for the arts debuted this week -- a rare enough feat in a down economy. Despite the vast differences in their circumstances, it may be too early to say which of the two has the most potential to nurture the next generation of artists and performers.

The Los Angeles Board of Education met behind closed doors Thursday to discuss potential replacements for Supt. David L. Brewer, with all signs continuing to point to the elevation of veteran educator Ramon C. Cortines, who currently holds the school system's No. 2 position. Board members voted 5 to 2 earlier this week to exercise the buyout provision of Brewer's contract midway through a four-year pact at a cost of at least $517,500.

When Los Angeles school board members named Ramon C. Cortines to head the nation's second-largest school system Tuesday, they selected an experienced, respected educator who contrasts sharply with both his predecessor and a recent wave of acclaimed superintendents.

Moving to bolster his sway over Los Angeles' embattled public school system, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will name former schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines today to the post of deputy mayor for education, youth and families. Cortines, a veteran educator who has led some of the nation's largest and most politically volatile school districts, including Los Angeles Unified for a brief stint, is expected to serve as an important buffer between Villaraigosa, the school board and the teachers union.

When Ray Cortines took charge of the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2000, its problems were overwhelming: poor test scores, dilapidated campuses, a fractious school board, a divided administration, massive overcrowding and a disastrous school construction effort headlined by the Belmont Learning Complex scandal. Legislators talked seriously about breaking up the nation's second-largest school system.

The Los Angeles Board of Education has rejected Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's request to take part in choosing the city's next superintendent of schools. "It is disappointing from my standpoint that there doesn't seem to be any opportunity on this issue for partnership," said Ramon C. Cortines, the mayor's top education advisor. "The mayor and I understand that the board has the authority to select the superintendent."

No teachers will lose their jobs this school year, Los Angeles Unified School District officials announced Friday, a calculated gamble that will preserve classroom continuity in the short term but lead to a larger deficit next year. The decision reverses course from last week, when the school board voted to give Supt. Ramon C. Cortines the authority to send pink slips to nearly 2,300 instructors.

The Los Angeles Unified School District does few things efficiently and competently. The big exception has been its construction effort of the last several years, guided by Guy Mehula. The facilities unit has built 80 schools and done most of the jobs well, on time and within budget. It's not a coincidence that Mehula's division has operated with an unusual amount of independence and freedom from school board politics and central office bureaucracy. Mehula's resignation on Monday, and the loss of a measure of that independence, are discouraging signs not only for the future of school construction but for the district as a whole.

Check out the Los Angeles Unified School District's website and you can track its encouraging progress on the new policy allowing charter operators and other outside organizations to submit competing proposals to run certain schools. When the policy was approved in August, district leaders vowed a transparent and objective process, and so far they're making good on that vow, posting updates on the website. Given L.A. Unified's history of broken promises and political motives, we're pleasantly surprised.

Los Angeles' top education official went door to door Monday to urge teens to return to school, netting about a dozen students with the effort and drawing attention to a growing problem. Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Ramon C. Cortines was among 150 staffers and school board members who joined campus employees in the first-time, broad-based initiative, which targeted 10 truancy-plagued middle and high schools. This school year, about 20,000 of the district's 680,000 students have failed to show up as expected, officials said.