The Board of Education is expected to approve a new contract today for Michelle King to become superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
On Monday, the Board voted unanimously to give the job to King, a former educator and school administrator who will replace outgoing superintendent Ramón Cortines. She currently serves as the district’s chief deputy superintendent.
King, 54, becomes the first woman in more than 80 years –and the first African-American woman– to lead the nation’s second-largest school district. Her selection caps a nationwide search that began in October and cost the district $250,000, according to published reports.
The board considered various high-profile administrators from other district before settling on King, a Los Angeles native who studied at LAUSD schools and graduated from UCLA.
Last year King was honored as Woman of the Year by the nonprofit group Women on Target, which supports leaders in Southern California’s African-American community.
Board member Mónica García, whose District 2 seat represents schools in Boyle Heights and other Eastside communities, lauded King for her commitment to keeping kids in school. “I have confidence that Superintendent Michelle King will inspire a team of leaders to move us toward 100 percent graduation,” García said in a statement.
LAUSD includes schools in 28 Los Angeles county schools and unincorporated areas. Three quarters of its 650,000 students are Latino and most are from low-income families.
Photo above: Stevenson Middle School in Boyle Heights. Photo by Rosa Solache
