Compton Schools Chief to Leave Post in March

Embattled Compton schools chief J. Jerome Harris, installed by state officials two years ago to help rescue the ailing district, announced Thursday night that he will step down from his post months earlier than expected in the face of rising local opposition to his policies.

Harris told hundreds of parents who packed a district auditorium, where he was presenting data on his record as the school system’s administrator, that he would leave by the end of March.

Dozens of parents and local officials began shouting at Harris at one point in the presentation, prompting him to end it abruptly and walk out. “You should know that I am not quitting,” he wrote in a statement distributed at the auditorium. “It is just that I have completed my commitment to this task.”