Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District

With the first ordinance of establishing public schools passed by the Los Angeles Common Council in 1853, the ordinance stated that out of three appointed members of the Board of Education the chairman would act as Superintendent of Public Schools.^[2] The first officeholder was Joseph Lancaster Brent, who served until 1854.^[3] That year, Mayor Stephen Clark Foster was chosen by the other Board members and urged the need for improvements in the system.^[4] From 1853 to 1866, the superintendent was appointed by the Common Council. From 1866 to 1870, the office was elected via popular vote before being discontinued as the office did not have power nor authority to enforce decrees.^[4]

In 1872, the Common Council created the City Board of Education, which would have the power to appoint a superintendent, thieir first appointment being Dr. William T. Lucky in 1873. The first female superintendent was appointed in 1880, when Chloe B. Jones took office.^[5] The second female superintendent would be Susan Miller Dorsey, appointed in 1919 and the longest serving with 10 years.^[6] In 1961, the Los Angeles City School District and the Los Angeles City High School District merged to create the Los Angeles Unified School District, to which its first superintendent of all school in the district was Jack P. Crowther who fought cutbacks to the district.^[7][8]

In 2005 after his election, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attempted to gain control of the Los Angeles Unified School District as one of his top priorities. He did so with the passing of AB 1381 through the California State Legislature, which would remove the power from the Board of Education and give it to the superintendent who would be picked by a council made by mayors of the cities in LAUSD.^[9] The law was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 before being struck down as unconstitutional in 2007.^[10][11] The first African-American superintendent would be Sidney A. Thompson in 1992,^[12] followed by David L. Brewer III in 2006.^[13] The first female African-American and first female superintendent in over 80 years would be Michelle King in 2016.^[14]

The superintendent is the chief administrative officer of the District and serves as the responsible local agency, able to delegate appropriate authority and responsibility to the Deputy Superintendent of Instruction with the direction of the Board of Education as well as able to supervise the Chief Special Education Officer and local district superintendents.^[15] The superintendent could gain special powers if the Board of Education declares an emergency; one of these times it was utilized was during the COVID-19 pandemic in California, when superintendent Austin Beutner used it to make fast-track deals.^[16][17]

If a superintendent decides to step down from their post, the Board of Education approves a superintendent selection timeline for the district to find the next superintendent. During this time, an interim superintendent is appointed to serve as the head. After community and stakeholder input, the recruitment begins . After an interview process, a permanent superintendent is selected and their contract is finalized and approved by the Board of Education.^[18]

City Superintendent of Common Schools

More information Name, Photo ...

Name	Photo	Tenure	Ref.
J. Lancaster Brent		1853–1854	[3]
Stephen C. Foster		1854–1855	[4]
William B. Osburn		1855–1856	[4]
John S. Griffin		1856–1857	[4]
J. Lancaster Brent		1857–1858	[4]
E. J. C. Kewen		1858–1859	[4]
William E. Boardman		1859–1862	[4]
James H. Lander		1862
A. F. Heinchman		1862–1863	[4]
J. F. Mellus		1863
Gustavus L. Mix		1863–1864	[4]
Russel F. Hayes		1864–1865	[4]
Elias Birdsall		1865–1866	[19][20]
Joseph Huber Sr.		1866–1867	[4]
H. D. Barrows		1867–1868	[21]
Andrew Glassell		1868–1869	[4]
T. H. Rose		1869–1870	[4]
Vacant (1870–1873)			[4]

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Superintendent of Los Angeles City Schools

More information Name, Photo ...

Name	Photo	Tenure	Ref.
William T. Lucky		1873–1876
Charles H. Kimball		1876–1880
Mrs. Chloe B. Jones		1880–1881	[5]
James Miller Guinn		1881–1883	[22]
Lyman D. Smith		1883–1885
W. M. Freisner		1885–1893
LeRoy D. Brown		1893–1894
William Nicholas Hailman		1894
Preston W. Search		1894–1895
James A. Foshay		1895–1906	[23]
Ernest Carroll Moore		1906–1910	[24]
John Haywood Francis		1910–1916
Albert Shiels		1916–1919	[25]
Susan Miller Dorsey		1919–1929	[5]
Frank A. Bouelle		1929–1937
Vierling C. Kersey		1937–1939	[26]
Alexander J. Stoddard		1949–1954	[27]
Harry M. Howell		1954
Claude Lamar Reeves		1954–1956	[28]
Ellis Adams Jarvis		1956–1961	[29]

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Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District

More information Name, Photo ...

Name	Photo	Tenure	Ref.
Jack P. Crowther		1962–1970	[7]
William J. Johnston		1971–1981	[30]
Harry Handler		1981–1987	[30]
Leonard M. Britton		1987–1990	[31][32]
William R. Antón		1990–1992	[30]
Sidney A. Thompson		1992–1997	[30][12]
Ruben Zacarias		1997–2000	[30]
Ramón C. Cortines		2000	[33]
Roy Romer		2000–2006	[34]
David L. Brewer III		2006–2008	[35][13]
Ramón C. Cortines		2009–2011	[33]
John Deasy		2011–2014	[36][37]
Ramón C. Cortines		2014–2016	[38][39]
Michelle King		2016–2018	[14]
Vivian Ekchian		2018	[40][41]
Austin Beutner		2018–2021	[42][43]
Megan K. Reilly		2021–2022	[44][45]
Alberto M. Carvalho		2022–2026	[46][47]
Andrés Chait		2026–present	[48][49]

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