Ramon C Cortines

Los Angeles interim schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines said he will appear today at a hearing in Sacramento to oppose a bill that would place the district under the oversight of a legislative committee for five years. If the district did not make measurable improvements within that time, it could face breakup. The emergency legislation authored by state Sen.

The Los Angeles Unified School District on Wednesday announced the settlement of a sexual harassment allegation against retired Supt. Ramon C. Cortines by a senior employee in the facilities division. The district will pay $200,000 plus lifetime health benefits, valued at $250,000 to $300,000 to Scot Graham, the director of leasing and asset management. In return, Graham will resign from his $150,000-a-year job. In a statement, Cortines, 79, denied any harassment, but acknowledged what he called "adult behavior on one occasion," adding that "as the district's former top staff member, I regret allowing myself to engage in such spontaneous, consensual behavior.

Cortines as a leader Re "Cortines leaves mark on district," April 16 Like the soldiers who served under Army Gen. George S. Patton and called themselves "Patton's men" in honor of the general who got them through World War II, I am grateful to have served Ramon C. Cortines. The former superintendant of the L.A. Unified School District got us through some very tumultuous times; he was a disciplined professional who provided a playful smile, an attentive ear and a quick kick to the rear.

Once again, a highly regarded educator from outside Los Angeles has accepted and then backed away from the job of running the downtown arts high school, which has had a short but troubled history. This time, the main actor in the familiar plotline is Rory Pullens, head the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. Pullens had also pulled out after accepting once before, due to a family crisis. This time, Los Angeles Unified Supt. John Deasy said, the issue had more to do with the response in Washington to Pullens' impending departure.

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.

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.

Just days after the Los Angeles Unified School District authorized sports teams to collect a $24 voluntary contribution from students to help pay for a $650,000 cut in transportation funding, Supt. Ramon C. Cortines announced Thursday that he had rescinded the request. Cortines said in a statement, "Although this district is in a financial crisis, I am asking for other financial options to cover the $650,000 needed for the district's athletics transportation budget." District spokesman Robert Alaniz said Cortines had been unaware of the request for $24 and was concerned that those who could not afford to contribute would be singled out. "He didn't want that stigma attached to kids," Alaniz said.

A top official with the influential Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was chosen Tuesday as second in command in the Los Angeles Unified School District, raising speculation that he would be a top candidate for superintendent within two years. The Board of Education hired John Deasy as deputy superintendent in a 6-0 vote in closed session. Board vice president Yolie Flores abstained because she has accepted a job funded by the Seattle-based Gates Foundation. Deasy, 49, has deep experience in local and large school systems and, more recently, worked in the forefront of the foundation's nationwide efforts to change the way teachers are evaluated.

The Los Angeles Unified School District was in crisis mode. The school board had hired a superintendent, expecting great things, but was unimpressed with his performance. It needed a rescuer, and found one in Ramon C. Cortines, an education veteran who could be counted on as an able administrator in difficult times. That was in 2000. And in 2008 too. Supt. Cortines confirmed this week what he has been hinting at for months: He plans to retire in the spring after seeing the district through terrible budget cuts, partly successful attempts to bring about change at the worst-performing schools and a wave of new reform demands from the federal government.

Los Angeles school district leaders announced Wednesday that they will split low-performing Jordan High School into three small schools that will be run by outside groups. All current employees will have to reapply for their jobs or work elsewhere. It marks the second time the Los Angeles Unified School District has targeted a campus for such a forced makeover. Fremont High School, located in Florence south of downtown, was also "restructured" last year, a move that drew fierce criticism from the teachers union and resulted in the departure of most teachers.

The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously overrode its own procedures as well as objections from some parents and teachers to name its downtown arts high school after Ramon C. Cortines, who retired as the district's superintendent in April. Although Cortines was universally praised, school representatives asked that L.A. Unified follow its own process, which was updated in January 2010, when Cortines was superintendent. That process requires participation by students, faculty, staff and parents as well as a survey.

Los Angeles school district officials are expected next week to name a high-profile East Coast arts education leader to head the flagship arts high school in downtown Los Angeles, a move that substantially involved billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, sources close to the decision told The Times. The switch at the top is the latest in a series of controversies around the 2-year-old, $232-million showcase Grand Avenue campus. Kim Bruno, currently head of the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City, the setting for the movie "Fame," is expected to be the new principal; a contract has not yet been signed.

Cortines as a leader Re "Cortines leaves mark on district," April 16 Like the soldiers who served under Army Gen. George S. Patton and called themselves "Patton's men" in honor of the general who got them through World War II, I am grateful to have served Ramon C. Cortines. The former superintendant of the L.A. Unified School District got us through some very tumultuous times; he was a disciplined professional who provided a playful smile, an attentive ear and a quick kick to the rear.

Ramon C. Cortines returned as head of the nation's second-largest school system three years ago to complete unfinished business, namely, to transform education in Los Angeles. He left this week at the age of 78, after dealing with the worst budget crisis in memory and constant political pressures from an aggressive mayor and other powerful, often conflicting forces. The superintendent's supporters and critics agree that Cortines, known for an innate stubbornness and self-confident pride, managed these and other pressures by adjusting, creating results that he felt would benefit students and that would match his own goals for the school system.

Major charter-school organizations won the right Tuesday to operate at seven of 13 schools under a policy that allows bidders inside and outside the Los Angeles Unified School District to take control of new and academically struggling campuses. Charter schools got most of what they wanted by the end of a 51/2-hour meeting in which the Board of Education divvied up or relinquished 10 new campuses, including seven new high schools, and three low-performing schools. About 20,000 students will be attending those schools next year.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials are reviewing personnel and curriculum at Widney High School, which serves developmentally disabled children, because staff members are doing a poor job of teaching the students and automatically giving overtime to workers who leave early and arrive late, according to documents and interviews. During a recent visit to the Jefferson Park campus, Supt. Ramon C. Cortines observed instructors watching a soap opera during class time. "They didn't even make an effort to turn it off when I was there," he said.

The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously overrode its own procedures as well as objections from some parents and teachers to name its downtown arts high school after Ramon C. Cortines, who retired as the district's superintendent in April. Although Cortines was universally praised, school representatives asked that L.A. Unified follow its own process, which was updated in January 2010, when Cortines was superintendent. That process requires participation by students, faculty, staff and parents as well as a survey.

Los Angeles schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines earned more than $150,000 last year for serving on the board of one of the nation's leading educational publishing companies, a firm with more than $16 million in contracts with the school district over the last five years. Scholastic Inc. provides the main reading intervention curriculum for the Los Angeles Unified School District, a program that is part of the company's fast-growing educational technology business. Cortines has disclosed his relationship with the New York-based company, and officials say he has avoided any decisions on Scholastic contracts.

Los Angeles school district leaders announced Wednesday that they will split low-performing Jordan High School into three small schools that will be run by outside groups. All current employees will have to reapply for their jobs or work elsewhere. It marks the second time the Los Angeles Unified School District has targeted a campus for such a forced makeover. Fremont High School, located in Florence south of downtown, was also "restructured" last year, a move that drew fierce criticism from the teachers union and resulted in the departure of most teachers.

The selection of John Deasy to lead the nation's second-largest school system, expected Tuesday, would give the Board of Education a leader who is eager to make sweeping changes and who has earned the respect of disparate and often warring forces in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Taking on some of the thorniest issues in the system as top deputy to Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, Deasy has worked productively with union leaders, key community activists, the mayor's office and charter school operators.