Inglewood Hires Former Buffalo, N.Y., School Chief

INGLEWOOD — The former superintendent of public schools in Buffalo, N.Y., has been picked to lead the Inglewood Unified School District, officials said Friday.

James Harris, former superintendent of the Buffalo Public School District and a former teacher, is expected take over Inglewood’s top job on July 1. His salary is still being negotiated.

The Inglewood district has had an interim superintendent since its lead administrator, McKinley M. Nash Sr., died last July.

Inglewood’s elementary schools recently gained attention for producing high Stanford 9 test scores and earning top marks on the state’s new Accountability Performance Index, which ranks schools by their test scores.

Inglewood school officials said they chose Harris because his leadership in Buffalo led to “significant increases in student performance on state tests.”

Harris, whose background is in music and the fine arts, also has been superintendent of public schools in North Chicago and assistant superintendent in Aurora, Ill.

He left the Buffalo schools earlier this year amid controversy surrounding the district’s grants office, which had come under investigation over allegations of embezzlement and misuse of federal funds.

In remarks earlier this year, Harris said he had no knowledge of any criminal wrongdoing in the Buffalo district.