Schools chief to get $300,000 a year

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.

The district also will pay moving expenses for Brewer, 60, and his wife to relocate from Virginia and pay for them to live in a hotel for up to six months while they search for a place to live.

Outgoing Supt. Roy Romer has earned $250,000 each year since he started in 2000, but always declined up to $100,000 in annual bonuses. There are no such bonuses in Brewer’s contract, which calls on the board to set performance benchmarks each year for the superintendent and meet annually to decide on whether to give him a raise.

Under terms of the agreement, which is set to begin Nov. 13, the board will waive state guidelines that require superintendents to have earned an administrative credential from an academic institution. Brewer has no experience as a teacher or running a public school system.

The contract also moves to preempt Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the mayors of other cities served by the Los Angeles Unified School District, who have battled with the board for increased control of the district.

Last month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law that, among other things, grants the so-called Council of Mayors the power to veto the board’s hiring of a superintendent. If it survives a legal challenge by the board and others, the law will go into effect Jan. 1.

Brewer’s contract states that if the mayors refuse to ratify any future contract extensions the board gives him, then they will have terminated him “without just cause.” That would allow Brewer to demand that he be paid the remainder of his salary.

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