LACOE appoints new county administrator for Inglewood USD

DOWNEY, CA –Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Debra Duardo announced today the appointment of Dr. James Morris as the new county administrator for the Inglewood Unified School District. The appointment follows the departure of the district’s most recent county administrator, Dr. Erika Torres, in October.

“Dr. Morris is an incredible leader with a demonstrated history of building community, developing instructional practices, and budgeting,” Duardo said. “He has worked with Inglewood Unified and is familiar with the wonderful programs taking place and the challenges. I have great confidence that he is the right person to lead Inglewood Unified into their next phase of growth.”

The selection process included an opportunity for Inglewood students, staff, families and community members to provide input through focus groups. Inglewood community members also served on a selection panel. Per Education Code, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Debra Duardo, with concurrence from both State Superintendent of Instruction Tony Thurmond and President of the State Board of Education Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, appoints an administrator from a pool of candidates identified and vetted by the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team.

“Given the depth of his leadership experience and his many accomplishments on behalf of families and students, Dr. Morris is a strong choice to continue to guide Inglewood Unified forward,” said Dr. Darling-Hammond. “I thank Dr. Duardo and the team at LACOE for their work to find the right candidate and I look forward to a smooth leadership transition.”

Dr. Morris will begin his new position on January 23, 2023, and serve with a short transition with Arturo Valdez, who has been serving as an interim county administrator since November 2022.

“First, I would like to thank Dr. Erika Torres for her leadership and courageous spirit. I would also like to thank Dr. Arturo Valdez for his class and transparency while supporting the Inglewood Unified School District through this transition,” IUSD Board President Brandon G. Myers said. “As we welcome Dr. James Morris to the IUSD, we look forward to working side by side as partners in an effort to navigate the return of local control. The Inglewood Unified School District Board of Education remains focused on the Academic success and personal development of every student's life.”

Morris brings 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, from 2010 to 2017. Under Morris’s leadership, Fremont Unified, a rapidly growing San Francisco East Bay school district, gained a reputation for high levels of student achievement, transparency, and accountability. During his tenure, student enrollment grew from 30,000 to 35,000 students. Under Morris’s leadership, the district:

·     Passed the largest school bond measure in the history of Alameda County.

·     Achieved two local parcel tax measures to provide local funding for schools.

·     Worked with major residential developers to build a new 1,200 seat elementary school in the South Fremont community of Warm Springs.

·     Developed innovative instructional programs to increase student achievement, expand Advanced Placement offerings, provide access to multiple language programs reflective of the diversity of the community, and implemented partnerships with tech industry leaders.

·     Established partnerships with the City of Fremont and the Fremont Police Department

·     Improved relations with labor partners and implemented Interest-Based Bargaining.

Before his tenure in Fremont, Morris had a long and successful career in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) from 1981-2010, beginning as an elementary teacher. He later led a program to support struggling middle school students before serving in school leadership roles of assistant principal and principal. He then moved to district administration as a Director and Assistant Superintendent of Instruction. In 2006, Jim was appointed Chief of Staff for thenSuperintendent, and former Colorado Governor, Roy Romer. He went on to positions of Local District Superintendent, overseeing 100 school and 100,000 students in the east San Fernando Valley and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for all district operating divisions.

Since retiring in 2017, Morris has remained actively involved in education, serving as a consultant for the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) and leading LAUSD’s efforts to provide COVID-19 testing and vaccinations for employees, students and families.

Inglewood Unified has been in state receivership since 2012, when the State of California made an emergency appropriation of $29 million to help the district avoid fiscal insolvency. During the receivership, a series of seven state administrators were assigned by the state superintendent of public instruction to lead the school district. Before Assembly Bill 1840 passed in 2018, LACOE provided fiscal oversight of Inglewood Unified, and the state provided direct, hands-on leadership of the district.



The passage of Assembly Bill 1840 in 2018 assigned county offices of education with the oversight responsibility of school districts in receivership. The state provides support through the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the independent Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, which gives managerial assistance and training to school districts in financial distress.