John Deasy, the controversial superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, resigned his position on Oct. 16 amid an investigation into the fairness of the bidding process for a $1.3 billion program to provide all Los Angeles public school students and teachers with iPads.

While the school board has said that it “does not believe that the superintendent engaged in any ethical violations or unlawful acts,” emails obtained by a local news station over the summer revealed that Deasy and his top deputy had been in contact with both Apple and Pearson before the beginning of the competitive bidding process that the two companies ultimately won.

The plan, which was suspended in early September, was also criticized for its exorbitant cost at a time when the district was struggling financially and could have used the money for badly needed school building repairs.

Deasy was frequently criticized during his more than three years in office for an autocratic, punitive style that opponents say demoralized teachers and other employees.

The teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, described his departure as “an opportunity to move in the direction of fully funded schools and collaborative management, instead of treating school improvement as a ‘corporate turnaround’ model, overemphasizing testing, undermining equity and access for students, and attacking educators.”

The Washington Post, Oct. 17

Los Angeles Times, Oct. 16

Business Insider, Oct. 16