On Tuesday the members of the LAUSD school board will meet behind closed doors to “discuss what criteria they would like to include in the superintendent’s upcoming annual performance review.” To be clear, this is not the actual evaluation and “under no circumstances…[will] a vote be held to determine Deasy’s employment.” Instead, “board members will have the opportunity to discuss what they consider fair game for Deasy’s annual performance evaluation.”
Understandably, personnel matters are exempted from the state’s open meeting laws. However, since the evaluation is not actually being conducted at the meeting, it should be held in the full sunlight of an open session. The public deserves to know the criteria that will be used in determining if the Superintendent will continue to be employed by the district. Shielding them from this debate only protects board members who refuse to engage in their role of overseeing their employee and does not serve the interest of accountability.