David Brewer wants a buy out

In a carefully played game of semantics, LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer offers to resign without saying he'll resign. Instead, he asks the school board to do what they wanted to do originally, which was to buy out his contract. Here's the pertinent passage:

The current debate about my leadership and the performance of the district has been contentious. It has been demoralizing and debilitating, not only to our valued employees, but has spilled over into the community. As an African-American, I’ve experienced my share of discrimination. When I joined the Navy as an officer over 37 years ago, there were only 250 African-American officers out of 72,000. I know what it looks like, smells like, and the consequences. Although this debate is disconcerting and troubling, it must not become an ethnic issue. When adults fight, it can manifest itself in our children. This must not become an ethnic or racial battle that infests our schools, our campuses, our playgrounds. This is not about settling an old score; this must be about what is best for every LAUSD student.

Therefore, I have decided to do what I think is in the best interest of the children, to put all of our students first. Although my two years of service as superintendent contain an undeniable record of significant accomplishments, I am asking the Los Angeles School Board to shield our students from this contentious debate and honor the buy-out provisions of my contract.

Read the rest of his comments here.