INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The Inglewood Unified School District announced the hiring of Dr. James (Jim) Morris as the latest County Administrator to lead the beleaguered district.
“I am very pleased to share with you the appointment of Dr. James Morris as the new county administrator for the Inglewood Unified School District. Dr. Morris joins the Inglewood Unified family with more than 40 years of public education experience, including seven years as the superintendent of Fremont Unified School District, one of California’s highest-performing school districts.” wrote Debra Duardo, with the Los Angeles County Office of Education in a statement announcing his hiring.
The release notes he passed the “largest school bond” in the history of Alameda County, yet Fremont Unified announced last year they would be forced to make $30 million in budget cuts. The release also states since retiring he has served as a consultant to LACOE and led LAUSD’s efforts on COVID vaccinations.
Duardo describes him as “an incredible leader with a demonstrated history of building community, developing instructional practices, and budgeting”.
He announced his retirement from Fremont Unified School District in April 2017 as its Superintendent.
Morris is taking over Inglewood Unified as its eighth County Administrator since the district was taken over by the state in 2012.
IUSD is in the process of consolidating/closing schools after having passed a multi-million dollar school repair bond in 2020 and has received nearly $85 million in COVID funds from the federal government.
The COVID funds were supposed to be used to increase ventilation in classrooms but last year during a sweltering two weeks last August it was discovered that many classrooms didn’t have operable HVAC systems as the students returned to school. One of the most recent FCMAT reports slammed the district for not addressing structural needs while students were not on campus during the pandemic.
He will also have to grapple with the ongoing allegations of discrimination by members of the staff.
Staff continues to discuss what they call the “ethnic cleansing” of Black staff and racial discrimination. One principal made headlines when he was found to have called members of his staff “monkeys“.
His biggest challenge will be declining enrollment which none of the previous County Administrators were able to adequately address. The district estimates losing 500 students each school year with no administrator able to decrease that number.
Dr. Morris has his work cut out for him.
*I inadvertently attributed a racial issue to Dr Morris’ tenure in Fremont schools that had no connection to him and we apologize for this error.
1 Comment
What some may call ethnic cleansing, others may call uprooting nepotism.
As a former student and volunteer of IUSD, I can attest to the NEPTISM and inappropriate staffing practices. These staffers could not get a job at Mc Donalds, but were working adjacent to children with high paying jobs in IUSD.
99% sure these staffers could not pass a legitimate background check. Trust me, I know what gang tattoos look like and their meaning.