Joseph '”Guy” Mehula has resigned as CEO of the LAUSD Facilities Division and the District’s building and modernization program – the largest public works program in the United States.
His e-mail announcing this to the Facilities Services Division (FSD) staff follows.
Whenever a major player in any program resigns, unexpected or no, there are questions and theories and speculation: What happened?
For several weeks, the Bond Oversight Committee and staff – as a committee and as individuals - been concerned about decisions made at higher levels within (and some us us believe, without) the District that are having negative impacts to the Bond program and FSD. We have also been aware that these have become matters of contention between Guy and Superintendent Cortines and some members of the Board of Education. Some of these were discussed at our last BOC meeting on Sept 16 – BOC leadership has been working to bring our concerns to Sup. Cortines for the past few weeks.
You will note that Captain Mehula’s ’s e-mail is short and gives no reasons for his departure other than “to explore new career opportunities.” As a responsible leader who came up through the Navy, Guy sees his highest duty is to protect his crew, even in resigning. As the son of a career Marine officer I respect this.
Questions will be asked and answers hopefully will be forthcoming.
In the meanwhile and into the future I personally thank Guy for his hard work …and wish him fair winds and smooth sailing in calm waters.
Onward! - smf
Subject: Message From LAUSD Chief Facilities Executive Guy Mehula
Sent: Monday, September 28, 2009 8:33 AM
Dear Friends,
For the past seven years I have had the honor to be a part of the leadership for the Facilities Division of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)- - first as the Deputy Chief Facilities Executive for New Construction and then as the Chief Facilities Executive. I joined the District because I am passionate about the mission and drawn by the challenges I knew we would face. At that time, I had no idea how generous the voters would continue to be, and how much we would be able to achieve.
The work that we have done together and the investments we have made in our schools, community, and economy are significant. This Program is truly historical. Eighty new K-12 schools, more than 83,000 new K-12 classroom seats and approximately 19,000 modernization projects have been completed. There are 10,000 people working on the Program on a daily basis and $13.6 Billion of local Bond funds have been leveraged into a $20.1 Billion Program. Our schools are healthier, safer and less overcrowded. The New Construction Program is more than 60 percent complete and our Modernization Program is approximately 90 percent complete. We are on track to provide every LAUSD student with the opportunity to attend a neighborhood school operating on a two-semester calendar.
We have turned this Division into a world class, award winning Program and developed a team of highly qualified construction professionals that are able to deliver projects on schedule and within budget. After careful consideration, I have decided to retire from the District and explore new career opportunities. I informed the Superintendent and Board of Education of my decision this weekend and wanted to personally let you know about my decision as well. My last day leading the organization will be Friday, October 23rd.
This Program and this team are second to none. Thank you for all that you have done for the students of LAUSD. I am proud to have been part of this spectacular team and am confident the future will bring many more successes. It is because of your teamwork and commitment to excellence that we have been able to provide our students with safe and healthy neighborhood schools on time and within budget.
Thank you,
Guy
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