A Feb. 19 Metro article about incoming Prince George's County schools chief John E. Deasy incorrectly implied that voters approved two tax increases during his tenure as superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District in California. Voters there approved a tax increase for school funding the year before Deasy was hired. After his arrival in 2001, another proposed tax increase in 2002 fell short of the required two-thirds voter approval. But voters approved a third ballot measure in 2003 that increased taxes to support Deasy's district.
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Schools Chief Offers a Record of Unifying
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But he said he has a singular focus on helping teachers. "I cannot be successful if they're not successful," he said. He frequently makes the rounds in all of his schools to observe classrooms and make improvements, he said.
To reach out to teachers here, Deasy forged a relationship with their union leader.
Harry M. Keiley, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association, said in an interview that he had numerous differences with the superintendent.
"He likes to go 75 to 80 miles per hour on issues that are really important to him," Keiley said. "And we've had to slow him down."
At one point, Deasy supported a proposed public charter school. But the union was lukewarm to the idea, and it died at the school board. Deasy and the union also clashed over his plans for revising report cards and teacher evaluations. They compromised after taking more time than Deasy would have liked.
But Keiley said he respects Deasy. "It's not about liking him or not liking him. It's about what we've done together," he said.
Keiley cited two successful campaigns to raise taxes. That was a major accomplishment because the ballot measures needed at least two-thirds voter approval to pass. Deasy said he knocked on doors along with the union and other pro-school forces in those campaigns.
Without the revenue from the higher taxes, the system would have been forced to lay off teachers. Instead, Keiley said, the teacher corps has grown even as enrollment has fallen slightly.
Keiley said Deasy also took an important symbolic step during two tough budget years: The superintendent declined to take performance bonuses he had earned under his contract.
"How could I not give him credit for that?" Keiley said. "It was obviously the right thing to do."
Staff writer Sonya Geis of the Los Angeles bureau contributed to this report.
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