Choosing Democracy: Friedrichs' Promise to the Far Right

Choosing Democracy: Friedrichs' Promise to the Far Right:

Friedrichs' Promise to the Far Right

Last July, 2,000 conservatives and Tea Party activists gathered in Las Vegas for the annual FreedomFest, which featured GOP presidential frontrunners Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. But it was a fourth grade public school teacher from Orange  County named Rebecca Friedrichs who promised the far right a prize that neither Trump nor Rubio could offer. Friedrichs and nine other California school teachers are part of a lawsuit now before the U.S. Supreme Court that could deliver a severe blow to the nation’s public-sector unions. It would radically upend the political power of labor — and also, conservatives hope, of the Democratic Party — across the United States.

Friedrichs’ message last summer was the same as she has told audiences elsewhere: “Supposed [union] benefits are not worth the moral costs.”

The “moral dilemma,” she claims, is over such union collective bargaining practices as securing pensions and workplace protections for public school teachers, and taking positions on issues like school vouchers, that run contrary to her Christian beliefs.

Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which is scheduled for oral arguments before the high court today, seeks to invalidate California’s agency shop law that requires all teachers in a union bargaining unit to pay “fair share” fees for collective bargaining, whether or not they are members of the union and disagree with the union’s policies. It also seeks to outlaw a process that requires teachers who don’t want a portion of their fees to go to union political activities to “opt out” of funding those activities. (At present teachers are automatically enrolled in such funding mechanisms, unless they choose to opt out.)

CTA’s fair-share payers, who include Friedrichs‘ 10 teacher plaintiffs, represent just under 10 percent of the union’s roughly 325,000 members; their fees are translated as payroll deductions of annual fair-share fees amounting to $641, which gets divided among the local union, CTA and its parent organization, the National Education Association. Full union members pay an additional 35 percent that supports the lobbying efforts that give teachers a voice at the education policy table.

Both fair-share and opt-out policies, plaintiffs maintain, violate the First Amendment rights of  teachers like Rebecca Friedrichs who pay “fair share” fees but no union dues. Should that argument find favor with the court’s conservative majority, the case could go down as organized labor’s Citizens United – decimating membership, crippling the unions’ lobbying efficacy and effectively stifling the collective political voice of public-sector workers.

“It really is about weakening a teacher’s voice to advocate for students,” observed CTA president Eric Heins last Thursday at a media briefing. (Disclosure: CTA is a financial supporter of Capital & Main.) “We’ve seen the disastrous results of that in other states where it’s actually happened. If we look at who’s behind this, the Center for Individual Freedom [is] Koch-funded. They have tried and failed through the ballot box to do this … and now they’re trying to get it through the courts.”

In fact, Friedrichs has been literally tailored to do so and was fast-tracked through the California courts by the plaintiffs’ lawyers who asked judges to rule against them so that they could move the case up more quickly toward the Supreme Court.

“Clearly some justices believe that public-sector collective bargaining is bad,” University of California, Irvine law school professor Catherine Fisk toldCapital & Main, “and so I think that Friedrichs was a case delivered by an activist litigation group to provide them the vehicle to hold that all public-sector collective bargaining has to be on a strictly right-to-work basis.”

T

he case originated with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Individual Rights (CIR), a rightwing litigation shop that designed Friedrichs in Choosing Democracy: Friedrichs' Promise to the Far Right:

 

New L.A. schools Supt. says schools for girls are one idea to attract families - LA Times

New L.A. schools Supt. says schools for girls are one idea to attract families - LA Times:

New L.A. schools chief says single-sex campuses could attract families to district

The ideas of new Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Michelle King include opening more all-boys or all-girls schools.

(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Howard Blume

In her first extended interview since taking office this week, Los Angeles schools Supt. Michelle King cited single-sex schools as one of several ways to potentially improve academic achievement and make the nation's second-largest school systemmore attractive to parents.

She also wants to better integrate science and math education into all grades, and expand programs popular with parents — such as those that help students become fluent in a second language at an early age. 

Speaking with The Times' editorial board, King also criticized a controversial charter school expansion effort. When proposed last year, the goal of that plan — developed by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation — was to raise $490 million to more than double the number of charter campuses and to enroll half of L.A. Unified students in them over an eight-year period.  

“I don’t agree or support any initiative that says we’re going to take over or take part of L.A. Unified’s kids,” King said.

But, she said, she is not hostile toward charter schools: “I support all schools that serve our kids.”

The Board of Education on Monday voted, 7-0, to name King as schools chief. The veteran administrator has worked her entire 31-year career in L.A. Unified and was hired after a national search.

She had been serving as acting New L.A. schools Supt. says schools for girls are one idea to attract families - LA Times:

American Federation of Teachers: 'Public education under attack' | WBFO

American Federation of Teachers: 'Public education under attack' | WBFO:

American Federation of Teachers: 'Public education under attack'

The leader of the American Federation of Teachers is weighing in on the state's flawed Common Core rollout and school receivership in Buffalo. WBFO's Focus on Education Reporter Eileen Buckley says Randi Weingarten was a member of the Governor's Common Core Task Force.

American Federation Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

CREDIT PHOTO FROM AMERICAN FEDERATION TEACHERS FACEBOOK

AFT President Randi Weingarten tells WBFO she feels that public education has been under attack. But Weingarten said there is finally some growing recognition that reducing children to test scores and teachers to algorithm is not working. She supports the 21-recommendations the Common Core Task Force issued.  She said it is time to get rid of 'high stake testing' and work toward helping local communities is to change student achievement. 

"Think about how many parents have now 'opted out' their kids out of tests. I give the Governor credit. He finally -- he evolved," said Weingarten in referring to Governor Cuomo's most recent task force that she participated in.

Weingarten points to Buffalo's school district where 25 city schools are under state receivership.

"You know, at the end of the day the receivership law, that was passed in New York State was completely flawed. Just like the last evaluations law," said Weingarten.
            
Weingarten is also in support of Governor Cuomo's proposal to spend 100-million dollars to turn failing and high needs schools into community schools Weingarten highly supports community schools that would provide wrap-around services to help students living in poverty. 

"The first speech I ever did, as national president, was to lift up community schools. That was eight years ago -- to actually say we need to wrap services around the schools and to actually bring parents into to welcome them," explained Weingarten.American Federation of Teachers: 'Public education under attack' | WBFO:

Julie Delegal exposes the charter war on school board authority | The Edvocate Blog

Julie Delegal exposes the charter war on school board authority | The Edvocate Blog:

Julie Delegal exposes the charter war on school board authority

CHARTER LOBBY VS. SCHOOL BOARDS

As failing charters drain millions of dollars from districts, a well-funded lobby led by disgraced former representative Ralph Arza of the Florida Charter School Alliance has declared war on school-board authority, calling the denial of charters “unethical.” Arza is focusing his displeasure on Duval and Palm Beach County where the school board is mounting a legal challenge against a charter school operator who is appealing a denied application. Lobbyists like Arza, represent wealthy for profit charter chains such as Charter Schools USA . They are determined to strip the power to approve or deny charters from duly elected school boards and shift it to the state in order to silence our locally elected voices.

Education advocate and journalist Julie Delegal, exposed the pressure placed on school boards by the powerful charter lobby in Play Ball? :

Folio Weekly has learned that three of Duval County’s seven sitting board members have been targeted for public records requests by Robert H. Fernandez, a litigation attorney who once served as Deputy General Counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush.

Fernandez, a partner in the Coral Gables-based Zumpano Castro Law Firm, has issued two separate public records requests to Duval County School Board members Becki Couch, Dr. Connie Hall, and Paula Wright.

Who is Robert H. Fernandez?
As Deputy General Counsel in the then-Governor’s office, Fernandez served as a top lieutenant in Bush-brand education reform, particularly on school Julie Delegal exposes the charter war on school board authority | The Edvocate Blog:

Help Set the Course For Sac City | Ellen Cochrane - A Teacher on the School Board

Help Set the Course For Sac City | Ellen Cochrane:

Help Set the Course For Sac City 

Help Set the Course For Sac City | Ellen Cochrane:



Nobody knows better than parents what their kids need. And nobody knows better than teachers, on the front lines every day, what students need to succeed. Respecting teachers, and promoting a partnership between the board, students, parents, and teachers will take politics out of the classroom, and allow the school board to get back to the basics of improving our schools. As a veteran teacher with seventeen years of public school teaching experience, I know a board member must be sensitive to neighborhood needs and focus on what students require. The success and future of our neighborhood schools is something I take as a personal responsibility. I've lived here all my life and attended local public schools. It is an honor to represent you in Area Two.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Ellen Cochrane and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Sacramento City Unified School District.

What Every Parent Should Know About Great Oaks Charter | WeArePCAPS

What Every Parent Should Know About Great Oaks Charter

What Every Parent Should Know About Great Oaks Charter

The following is a slightly edited leaflet produced by Parents United

THEY’VE FAILED BEFORE AND NOW THEY’RE BACK FOR MORE

Steve Klinsky                                        Michael Duffey

Michael Duffey and Steve Klinsky are the NYers behind Great Oaks who leaded the failed for-proft charter Victory Education Partners

Don’t be fooled.  Get the facts on who’s behind Great Oaks Charter.

Their managment team had a failed 8 year run in Philly.   Now they’re back for more.   Here are the facts:

They’re tied to a for profit company.

• Great Oaks founders and board are tied to a for-profit charter company called Victory Education Partners.
• In NYC Victory takes as much as $2100 per student in fees

They’re a “no excuses”charter with high rates of suspension and expulsion.   In NYC at one Victory school 118 third graders started in 2005.   Only 30 remained by 6th grade.

They have a track record of failure

• Philadelphia: Victory ran for-profit schools from 2002-2010 until finally shut down for poor performance
• Albany: Victory’s New Covenant Charter was shut down in 2010 for poor performance, high student and teacher turnover, and money problems
• Long Island: State blocked Victory from opening a charter.
• New York City: Victory’s charter schools placed in bottom 20% of all schools citywide

Its Board is out of touch  Private equity capitalists, speculators and real estate developers with little or no background in public ed make up their out of town board.  No low income or parents of color or community leaders serves on their board.What Every Parent Should Know About Great Oaks Charter

Save Our Schools March – 2016 Coalition for Action Endorsements

Save Our Schools March – 2016 Coalition for Action Endorsements:

We appreciate the continued commitment to Save Our Schools,

the 2016 Coalition for Action,

and public education from the following supporters:

Badass Teachers Association (BATs)

The Center for Expansion of Language and Thinking (CELT)

Children Are More Than Test Scores

Anthony Cody – National Board certified science teacher, founder of Teachers’ Letters to Obama, and author of the Teacher Magazine blog “Living in Dialogue”

FairTest – The National Center for Fair and Open Testing

Dr. Michelle Fine – Distinguished Professor of Social Psychology, Women’s Studies and Urban Education at the Graduate Center, The City University of New York [CUNY.]

Debra Goodman – Associate Professor, Hofstra University

Deborah Meier – Acclaimed educator, MacArthur Fellow, and author of books including The Power of Their Ideas and Playing for Keeps

National Council of Urban Education Associations (NCUEA)

NEA BAT Caucus

Network for Public Education (NPE)

The Opt Out Florida Network

STCaucus – Caucus of NYSUT Rank and File Teachers, NY

United Opt Out National (UOO)

Save Our Schools March – 2016 Coalition for Action Endorsements:

Malloy/Wyman moving forward with threats to punish schools districts that respect parents’ “opt-out” rights - Wait What?

Malloy/Wyman moving forward with threats to punish schools districts that respect parents’ “opt-out” rights - Wait What?:

Malloy/Wyman moving forward with threats to punish schools districts that respect parents’ “opt-out” rights

REMEMBER:  There is no federal or state law, regulation or legal policy that prohibits Connecticut parents from opting their children out of the destructive Common Core testing scheme.

However, according to a series of letters and memos signed by Connecticut Commissioner of Education Dr. Dianna R. Wentzell, on behalf of Governor Dannel Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman’s administration, local school districts that failed to stop parents from opting their children out of the unfair, inappropriate and discriminatory Common Core Smarter Balanced Consortium (SBAC) testing scam will be receiving a letter by (tomorrow) January 15, 2016 informing them that their local school system will lose grant funds if they don’t force at least 90% of the children to take this year’s Common Core tests.

Education Commissioner Wentzell has informed Connecticut superintendents that there will Malloy/Wyman moving forward with threats to punish schools districts that respect parents’ “opt-out” rights - Wait What?:

DPS plan: Detroit voters would elect new school board

DPS plan: Detroit voters would elect new school board:

DPS plan: Detroit voters would elect new school board

Lansing — Detroit voters would get to elect a new city school board in November following the appointment of an interim board charged with starting a debt-free school district under legislation overhauling Detroit Public Schools to be introduced Thursday.

Gov. Rick Snyder and Mayor Mike Duggan would get to jointly appoint the nine-member interim school board with five and four appointees, respectively, according to a draft of the legislation obtained by The Detroit News.

The legislation, expected to be introduced in the Senate, abandons Snyder’s earlier proposal to create a Detroit Education Commission with power to open and close any public school operated by DPS or independent charter schools.

The new Detroit Community School District’s board would be comprised of seven members elected by City Council districts and two at-large members, according to the draft legislation.

The interim board would get to hire a new superintendent of the school district. The newly elected school board would take control of the district in January 2017.

Detorit’s existing elected school board has been largely sidelined since 2009 as the financially and academically troubled district has been under state-appointed emergency management.

The initial two bills being introduced Thursday do not address how to fix the Detroit school district’s debt, said Sen. Geoff Hansen, R-Hart.

“We’ve got a couple of options we’re working on,” Hansen told The News. “We’re trying to avoid using school aid.”

Hansen is chair of the Senate’s K-12 appropriations subcommittee. Republicans and Democrats have voiced opposition to tapping the School Aid Fund to bail out DPS at the expense of Michigan’s other 1.5 million schoolchildren.

Snyder has asked lawmakers for $515 million to pay off DPS operating debts, unpaid pension obligations and overdue vendor bills. He also wants another $200 million for DPS plan: Detroit voters would elect new school board:

How Much Do We Hate Our Children?

1/14/2016 – How Much De We Hate Our Children?:

1/14/2016 – How Much Do We Hate Our Children?

THIS WEEK: Fixing Urban Schools … Computers Widen Achievement Gap … Closing Schools Hurts Students … College Degree Gap Grows … Why We Need Unions

TOP STORY

How Much Do We Hate Our Children?

By Jeff Bryant

“Conversations with Americans still elicit lots of sentiment for the well-being of kids. But it’s increasingly harder to see that sentiment reflected in policy … Big numbers don’t tell the whole story … Anecdotal evidence of our, not just neglect, but abject militancy toward the needs of children is even more disturbing. But there are recent examples of adults taking actions to change policies and practices to address the needs of children, and those examples are growing and spreading.”
Read more …

NEWS AND VIEWS

How To Fix the Country’s Failing Schools. And How Not To.

The New York Times

Public policy professor David Kirp writes, “A quarter-century ago, Newark and nearby Union City epitomized the failure of American urban school systems … Today Union City, which opted for homegrown gradualism, is regarded as a poster child for good urban education. Newark, despite huge infusions of money and outside talent, has struggled … Newark’s big mistake was not so much that the school officials embraced one solution or another but that they placed their faith in the idea of disruptive change and charismatic leaders. Union City adopted the opposite approach, embracing the idea of gradual change and working within existing structure.”
Read more …

Using Computers Widens The Achievement Gap In Writing, A Federal Study Finds

The Hechinger Report

“Last year, more than half of U.S. states gave computer-based writing tests to children as young as third-graders … The majority used a computer … High-performing students did substantially better on the computer than with pencil and paper. But the opposite was true for average and low-performing students. They crafted better sentences using pencil and paper than they did using the computer. Low-income and black and Hispanic students tended to be in this latter category … [Children] do better writing by hand if they’re less experienced [with computers]. And if they’re more experienced, then there may actually be an advantage toward writing on the computer.”
Read more …

Students Attending Closing Schools Graduated With Less Rigorous Diplomas

Education Week

“What happens to the students who are still attending low-performing high schools while those schools are being phased out? A new look at such students … found that those students … were less likely to graduate college-ready when compared to peers at demographically similar low-performing schools that had not been targeted for closure. In addition, students … were less likely to graduate on time when compared to students at low-performing schools that were not scheduled to close … School closures and their impacts on students are fraught with controversy as schools officials and policymakers continue to wrestle with the best ways to turn around low-performing schools.”
Read more …

College Degree Gap Grows Wider Between Whites, Blacks And Latinos

The Hechinger Report

“The racial gap in who’s graduating from college has widened since 2007 … Companies that have benefited from the loan program range from debt servicer While more blacks and Latinos are graduating from college now, the percentage of whites graduating has grown even faster … At the same time, states have cut the funding they provide to public colleges, per student, by 21% since the economic collapse in 2008, and have raised tuition by 28%. As public colleges become more costly, it’s harder for low-income students to finish a degree. In many states, those students are disproportionately black and Latino … The widely accepted prediction is that 65% of jobs by 2020 will require education beyond high school. So state economies and the wellbeing of states’ residents could suffer if these trends continue.”
Read more …

Strong Unions, Strong Democracy

The New York Times

Richard Kahlenberg of the Century Foundation writes, “In Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association … the ruling bloc of conservative justices appears ready to render a decision later this year that would significantly weaken public sector labor unions. By stripping these unions of key financial resources – their fair share of fees provided by nonmembers – the court would upend a longstanding precedent. A decision in favor of the plaintiff would effectively slam the door on an era in which some conservatives joined liberals in recognizing that vibrant unions help make our democracy work. This is radicalism, not conservatism … Because today’s conservatives are typically hostile to unions, it’s easy to forget that they were not always opposed to unionism or fair share fees … Teachers unions are strong champions of American public schooling, which undergirds our democracy … Unions aren’t faultless, but they are a crucial source of stability and strength for our democracy.”
Read more …1/14/2016 – How Much De We Hate Our Children?:

CURMUDGUCATION: ESSA Accountability: Part II (P.S. Mike)

CURMUDGUCATION: ESSA Accountability: Part II (P.S. Mike):

ESSA Accountability: Part II (P.S. Mike)

Almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, I realized that I had left out an important part of my accountability plan. You can read the first part of this wonkery here-- now for the addendum (hey-- I've already shown that I'm a scofflaw, so why not blow through the 2,000 word limit for submissions)

I don't know where this fits, but for accountability we need full and open school audits.

Visits from a team that includes folks from the state capital and working educators. They will visit the school, have free rein to walk in and out of any classroom, to examine records, curriculum, watch teachers in action, interview students and faculty and parents.

I fully agree that "Just take our word for it" is not an accountability system. Neither is "Prove yourself with paperwork." You want to see if somebody is doing their job-- go look.

The audit team visits for a week and makes an evaluation of the school's strength and weaknesses, creating a full description of the school's impact on children and the state of the children it is serving. Look at all the items mentioned in the first part of the proposal, including student health and well-being, breadth and depth of programs, effectiveness of the staff, degree to which school is meeting the needs of the children and community.

Response to First Replies

Imagine my delight to wake up this morning and find my plan had already been looked at. I can CURMUDGUCATION: ESSA Accountability: Part II (P.S. Mike):

Ca’s accountability plan may prove a model to the nation :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet

Ca’s accountability plan may prove a model to the nation :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:

Ca’s accountability plan may prove a model to the nation

(Calif.) Even in the absence of detailed guidance on how schools and states will transition to the newly reauthorized Every Student Succeeds Act, the California State Board of Education continued Wednesday to advance its new school accountability system with an eye toward making any forthcoming federal mandates fit its needs rather than the other way around.

Pointing out that federal education funding for California schools amounts to about $7 billion – roughly 10 percent of the $71 billion provided by the state, board member Sue Burr reminded her colleagues that they know best the needs of their public schools and must keep that ideal front and center as they continue the transition to a new era of accountability.

“While it’s fantastic that they have reauthorized this federal law – and in many ways it’s remarkably congruent with what we’ve already been doing the last two-and-a-half years and gives us a wonderful opportunity to align our two systems – I want to keep that in context because we’re responsible for our children in California,” said Burr, a former top education advisor to Gov. Jerry Brown.

“I really want us to think about how we create accountability with the state being the leader in the conversation, and in proportion to our [financial] contribution and our [Constitutional] responsibility,” she said.

Having taken its own path toward developing a new school accountability system at a time when most states chose to pursue a federal waiver program, California may well emerge a national leader in terms of creating a state performance model that will also meet requirements under the country’s newest education law.

In 2011, with the nation’s schools heading toward academic failure under the unrealistic requirements of No Child Left Behind – and with bi-partisan gridlock dashing any hope that Congress would take action to avert the disaster – the Obama administration began granting waivers from Ca’s accountability plan may prove a model to the nation :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:

Randi Weingarten: What's Next for Public Unions? | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

What's Next for Public Unions? | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago:

What's Next for Public Unions?

 Union leaders representing some 10 million state government workers like police officers and teachers are no doubt a bit nervous these days with the U.S. Supreme Court likely to rule against public unions in a case brought by California teachers.

At issue is whether state government workers who choose not to join a union can nonetheless be required to pay a share of union dues to cover the cost of negotiating contracts.

So if the high court does rule in favor of the plaintiff, what will this mean going forward for those unions? President of American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten joins us shares her thoughts.

See how LAUSD has wavered between picking leaders from the outside and within - LA Times

See how LAUSD has wavered between picking leaders from the outside and within - LA Times:

See how LAUSD has wavered between picking leaders from the outside and within

LOCAL  Education LAUSD 

See how LAUSD has wavered between picking leaders from the outside and within

KingMichelle King is the first African American woman to lead L.A. Unified. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

One of the most salient headlines about the hiring of Michelle King as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District is that she’s an insider -- a district stalwart who worked her way up the LAUSD ladder over a span of 30 years -- and not someone with a glitzy national name, such as a vice admiral in the Navy or a former governor.

The history of L.A. Unified’s leadership provides context to King’s appointment: The district is constantly revising its view on whether it needs an insider to stabilize the schools, or an outsider to shake them up. And history hasn’t settled the question of whether being an insider is a help, or a hindrance.

Over 45 years, the margin of insiders to outsiders leading the district was eight to five. Here is a timeline of the superintendents in recent history, how the board chose them, and how they fared:

---

1971-1981

William J. Johnston - INSIDER

Supt. William J. Johnston, 1971-1981 (L.A. Times file photo)

Johnston was promoted from within the ranks of L.A. Unified. Before his appointment, he served as assistant superintendent for adult education, the focus of his graduate education. Observers saw his “young, energetic” personality as an asset to promoting renewal within the schools. He started in L.A. Unified as a math teacher and junior varsity baseball coach at Gardena High School.

His insider ties extended beyond his own LAUSD career. His dad, Ogden “Johnny” Johnston, had been warmly remembered as a wood shop teacher for nearly 40 years at Roosevelt High in East Los Angeles. 

During his tenure as superintendent, he established the All-District Honors Band. As superintendent, Johnston also encouraged LAUSD schools to participate in what was then the new state academic decathlon competition.

Johnston still corresponds, by formal letter, with district leaders, offering his opinions and guidance.

---

1981-1987 

Harry Handler - INSIDER

Harry Handler was superintendent from 1981-1987 (L.A. Times file photo)

Handler had been serving as Johnston’s chief deputy when he was appointed superintendent. He joined LAUSD in 1952 as a substitute junior high math teacher, and later served as supervisor of guidance and counseling for junior and senior high schools. In 1968, Handler was named to the district's newly created post of director of research and development. He later became associate superintendent for instruction.

As The Times reported upon his appointment, “His selection is expected to please top district officials, whowanted to see the practice of promoting from within the ranks continued.” 

Discord over desegregation was still brewing when he took office. The board Handler inherited was polarized, consumed with bitter busing fights and the aftermath of white flight by students and teachers. However, “Handler's most enduring legacy,”  The Times wrote in an editorial the day he left office, “may be a school board that works in harmony.”  

---

1987-1990

Leonard M. Britton - OUTSIDER

Leonard Britton, superintendent of LAUSD from 1987 to 1990. (L.A. Times file photo)

Britton had the distinction of being the first outsider appointed as LAUSD superintendent in nearly 40 years. He uprooted himself from a successful legacy as head of the Miami-Dade County public schools. In his seven years in Miami, Britton developed well-regarded specialty schools, including one for pregnant teens. He strengthened relations with the teachers union, developed a group of effective administrators and experimented with school-based management. It was that reputation and record that prompted his appointment in Los Angeles.

However, the complex political landscape of LAUSD was riddled with tough issues, making for a steep See how LAUSD has wavered between picking leaders from the outside and within - LA Times: