L.A. Unified board to interview 2 superintendent search firms, discuss teacher’s lawsuit

The quest for a new leader of the nation’s second-largest school district is expected to inch forward Tuesday, as school board members hope to interview two executive search firms during the regularly scheduled public meeting at district headquarters.

As of mid-morning Tuesday, the two companies were coordinating schedules with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The search firms are La Quinta-based Leadership Associates and Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates of Rosemont, Ill. Three other companies remain in the running, but have not been granted interviews.

The public meeting is supposed to start at 1 p.m., but could be pushed back to accommodate a long agenda for a prior closed-door session.

That private meeting also has attracted interest. Among the topics is a discussion of the lawsuit filed by renowned fifth-grade teacher Rafe Esquith, who was pulled from his Hobart Boulevard Elementary classroom in April. The probe began over a classroom joke he made, but spread to encompass his handling of field trips and his nonprofit organization, the Hobart Shakespeareans.

The district also has looked into allegations that he abused students. The only allegation to be made public concerns an alleged incident that occurred more than 40 years ago, before he became a teacher. But L.A. Unified recently said that its inquiry involved the inappropriate touching of minors both before and during Esquith’s teaching career and that multiple photos of a sexual nature had been found on his school computer.

Esquith’s attorneys have sued L.A. Unified, demanding damages and his reinstatement to the classroom. One school board member, who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the district, said that the board still hopes to reach a resolution acceptable to all sides.

The Board of Education also is expected to discuss possible litigation arising out of an ongoing FBI investigation into the district’s now-abandoned effort to provide iPads to all students, teachers and campus administrators.

And the board will discuss the possibility of paying more to students and families who have claimed they were harmed at Miramonte Elementary School in a landmark child abuse case. To date, settlements have totaled $169 million, plus at least $11 million in legal fees.

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