The Education Wars: Conflict of Interest

In response to the uproar over his flagrant conflict of interest, L.A. Unified School District superintendent Ramon Cortines has resigned his post at Scholastic, Inc.

I don't know how in the world he thought he would get away with something this brazen:

L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines resigned Thursday from the board of Scholastic Inc., a position that paid him compensation worth more than $150,000 last year.

Cortines’ dual role with the company and the district received scrutiny in the wake of an article on that subject last week in The Times. In defending his position with Scholastic in a recent interview, Cortines said he avoided any issue at the district involving the leading educational publishing company. And his senior staff said this recusal included any decision involving academic intervention programs.

Scholastic provides the district’s primary reading intervention program for high schools. And, as of this year, Scholastic’s program also became a key component for middle schools. The company has earned more than $5.2 million from the L.A. Unified School District since Cortines joined the school system as its No. 2 administrator in April 2008. He became superintendent in December 2008.

Cortines is paid $250,000 a year by L.A. Unified.