Board Selects Romer as Chief of L.A. Schools

By LOUIS SAHAGUN and DOUG SMITH

June 7, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES EDUCATION WRITERS

The Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously agreed to appoint former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer superintendent of the Los Angeles school district, which would make him the first non-educator to lead the huge and beleaguered district.

Looking relaxed and confident, the 71-year-old Romer said at a news conference that he relishes the opportunity to rebuild the district and lift the educational prospects of its 711,000 students.

“This is one of the toughest jobs a guy could find,” said Romer, flanked by the seven board members. “And if you do it right, it can be one of the most rewarding. You have a history of excellence. But it’s obviously been lost to some degree. Our job is to reclaim it.”

Romer also said he would resign immediately as chairman of the Democratic National Convention Committee. “I’ll not be operating here in a partisan sense.”

His immediate priorities include helping interim Supt. Ramon C. Cortines select leaders of 11 minidistricts being created through a massive reorganization of the district. The reorganization takes effect the first week of July, the same time Romer takes over.

Romer said he intends to quickly develop a system to assess the educational needs of each student every three months, and then prescribe a remedy. “That way we can intervene early and get these youngsters on track,” he said.

The new superintendent will face daunting problems, including a breakup movement, student test scores that are among the worst in the state and a lack of land and money to build schools for tens of thousands of new students. He will have to jump into contract negotiations with teachers and other employee groups and mend fences with the city’s Latino leaders, many still smarting over the board’s ouster last year of the former superintendent, Ruben Zacarias.

Leaders from business, education and politics quickly rallied around the board’s decision Tuesday, even as some board members said Romer was not their first choice. Outside the district, many praised Romer’s experience in politics, managerial ability and his passion for education.

“The LAUSD school board has made an outstanding choice in selecting Roy Romer as superintendent,” Mayor Richard Riordan said. “I am confident that Mr. Romer will provide the strong leadership and make the tough decisions necessary to make our school district the best in the nation.”

Setting a congenial tone, Romer spiced his first news conference with jokes and lighthearted banter as he faced a dozen news cameras in the sweltering heat of the district headquarters quad.

“I ski, but you’re going to have to teach me how to surf,” he said. “And don’t get too excited about this being a done deal. We’re still in negotiations, and I need tickets to the Laker game.”

The board and Romer must finalize a contractual agreement covering his salary and how long a term he will serve.

In recent days the search narrowed to four finalists assembled by a headhunting firm.

Board President Genethia Hayes said Romer had an edge on the others because of his management experience as governor of a growing state, his track record as an advocate of education and his political skills as a conciliator.

Although they supported Romer, some board members were critical of the process that led to his selection.

“I’ve had problems with the process--not with Gov. Romer,” said David Takofsky. “There was a dearth of candidates and a lack of public involvement.”

As for Romer, he said, “He’s done an awful lot of thinking about education over the past 20 years, but a lot less time learning the contours of this city than one would hope.”

‘A Realistic Vote for Romer’

Board member Victoria Castro acknowledged that Romer was not her first choice for the job, which pays $250,000 a year.

“I changed my vote at the last minute,” said Castro, who had been backing George Munoz, a former head of the Chicago Board of Education who now runs a federal agency that promotes international trade.

“Munoz had some of the same management skills Romer has, and he’s a lot closer to the Latino community--he’s a fluent Spanish speaker,” she said. “But in the interest of consensus, I made a realistic vote for Romer.”

Other finalists were John Murphy, the former superintendent of Charlotte, N.C., schools, and a district official from out of state who asked that the board not to release her name.

While governor of Colorado from 1987 to 1998, Romer developed a record and reputation for promoting education reform.

Denver political pollster and consultant Floyd Ciruli figured that Romer will fit comfortably in Los Angeles. “Romer is a Democratic Richard Riordan.

“He’s a businessman and when it comes to schools, he’s big on standards and testing, teacher training and involved parents,” Ciruli said. “When he runs into a roadblock, he fights to find a way around it.”

In 1990, he was the first chairman of the National Goals Panel, where he helped organize the compilation and issuance of the nation’s first education report card. In 1992 he was named Outstanding Policy Leader by the National Assn. of the State Boards of Education.

He has also been co-chairman of the National Council on Education Standards and Testing. He is credited with decentralizing Denver public schools by placing greater authority in the hands of principals, teachers and parents, and helping prevent a teachers’ strike in 1991 and 1994.

Asked whether Romer’s age might become an impediment, Colorado state legislator Nolbert Chavez said, “He was fun to watch in Colorado. He’s got more energy than most 45-year-olds.”

Local leaders said they are not particularly concerned about his lack of direct experience as an educator. Most said the district critically needs the political skills he brings.

“He has a history of working with unions,” said Day Higuchi, president of the teachers union, United Teachers-Los Angeles. “We have 43,000 teachers who know a thing or two about teaching. Someone who understands the business of collecting resources is the kind of person we ought to have.”

Two candidates hoping to succeed Mayor Riordan also praised the choice of Romer, and said they expect him to smooth the rough political waters that the district must negotiate.

“L.A. Unified is looking for leadership,” said former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles), a candidate for mayor. “I think that is what Roy Romer provides.”

Mayoral candidate Steve Soboroff, who heads a committee overseeing the spending of $2.4 billion in school bond money, said: “Right now what he’s got to do is build credibility back.”

Soboroff has been highly critical of the district’s management of the construction projects, and said he thinks someone of Romer’s stature and experience in politics will be more successful.

“If he can build credibility on the state and federal level, that can help financially,” Soboroff said.

The choice of an out-of-state politician raised a few sour notes, particularly in the San Fernando Valley, the center of a movement to dismantle the district.

Leaders of Finally Restoring Excellence in Education, a group that wants to form two 100,000-student school systems in the Valley called the appointment a “Band-Aid,” a feeble attempt to patch up problems such as overcrowding, toxic school sites, low test scores, outdated textbooks and library books, and a bloated bureaucracy.

“The school district is too big. It can’t be fixed. . . . It doesn’t matter who’s in charge,” said Paula Boland, a former assemblywoman and leader of the breakup group.

David Fleming, chairman of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, said he would have been happier with Henry Cisneros, former mayor of San Antonio and president of Univision, the largest Spanish-language television network in the country. He declined the job.

“I was more anxious to see a corporate guy who would run the district like a multibillion-dollar business with thousands of employees and an enormous bottom line,” Fleming said.

Choice Ends 6-Month Search

The choice of Romer capped a six-month search process that had turned tense in the last few weeks as most of the top candidates dropped out and board members began to publicly discuss their frustrations with the secret deliberations.

Some board members criticized the executive search firm’s background information on some candidates and its eventually presenting the board with a short list of five that included four people who no longer wanted the job.

The board invested a week in an unsuccessful effort to woo Cisneros, its unanimous choice, but he wouldn’t budge, citing family concerns.

The search yielded only two big city school superintendents as top contenders, but both dropped out. With only one candidate who was actively seeking the job, the board expanded the short list, bringing in Munoz, Murphy and the unidentified school official.

But none was able to dislodge Romer.

Despite the evident fact that Romer was not the board’s first choice, his singular enthusiasm for the job has already won him some respect in the ranks.

“My experience with employees has been that if a person really wants a position, he or she will work really hard,” said Granada Hills High School Principal Kathleen Rattay on Tuesday. “He knew it is a tough job. He knows all the challenges. He has the skills. This is exciting.”

Times staff writer Kristina Sauerwein contributed to this story.

* AL MARTINEZ

The columnist asks why anyone would want perhaps the world’s most thankless job. B1