Deputy Superintendent Michelle King has been selected as the new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Los Angeles Board of Education said on Monday.
King, 54, who has been the school district's No. 2 administrator under the last two superintendents, replaces Ramon C. Cortines, whose retirement took effect Jan. 2.
King is Los Angeles' first female superintendent since the 1920s and the first black woman to hold the job.
King has also served as acting superintendent since Cortines retired from day-to-day management of L.A. Unified in mid-December.
King will have to manage a political struggle over the future course of the nation's second-largest school system, along with budget pressures and declining enrollment.
She is regarded as loyal, capable and low key, avoiding debates over policy.
The L.A. school board began its search in August.
