Board narrows its parameters in search for school chief

School board members and district staff outnumbered community members at the first of two superintendent search input sessions on Tuesday, held at Thurston Middle School.

Only four members of the public attended the Laguna Beach Unified School District event, and their opinions concurred with those shared by board members at an earlier meeting.

The sessions are geared at gathering public opinion on the future superintendent’s preferred school leadership styles, qualities and experiences, as well as the district’s strengths and weaknesses.

The second session will be held in the K Turner Library at Laguna Beach High School at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Those who are unable to attend are requested to e-mail their comments to Leadership Associates, the search firm, at information@leadership associates.org.

For more information, contact Patty Beaver at (949) 497-7700, ext. 200.

The district plans to hire a new superintendent by summer, as Superintendent Theresa Daem plans to step down at the end of the school year.

Marty Butt of Leadership Associates led the first session; residents Roger Kempler, Patty Jo Kiraly, Michele Kubby and Mark Vanderbeek were in attendance.

The session was also attended by board members Ketta Brown, Betsy Jenkins, Theresa O’Hare, and Jan Vickers, and former board member Bill Landsiedel.

Thurston Principal Joanne Culverhouse and district Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services Nancy Hubbell were present as well.

Due to the Brown Act, current board members were unable to speak at the session, as it was not posted as an official board meeting.

The major point made by parents at the first session was the “uniqueness” of Laguna, and their concern with finding a candidate who understands and will best be able to work with the town and its idiosyncrasies.

“You need to know the flavor of Laguna,” Kubby said.

Kiraly also questioned the firm’s search method. “It sounds like such a structured, controlled process,” Kiraly said. “Laguna is kind of a funny place, you know?”

They also listed qualities they would like to see in their ideal candidate.

“I really would like to see a leader who has vision,” Kempler said. He added persistence and creativity to his list, saying that small class sizes were a major issue to him.

“Without class sizes below 20, you don’t have the quality of a private school,” he said.

Kubby said that flexibility was key to her, and added that as a SchoolPower representative she needs to be able to work with someone who would be open to the foundation’s ideas.

She also wanted someone who could “move our students into the 21st century and take them to the next level,” as well as possess the ability to compromise for the sake of the students.

Kiraly added that the ability to “nip problems in the bud” was essential to her.

“It’s a small town, and people talk all the time,” she said.

She also said that the small-town quality lends itself to a narrower curriculum, so she hoped that the new person could bring experience and knowledge from outside the district, and also hoped the new superintendent would focus on “middle” students — those who may get lost between the high achievers and those who need remedial help.

Vanderbeek said that he wanted someone who didn’t place a high value on test scores and instead focused on the “whole child.”

“The last few years I’ve been doing this, that issue has always come up,” Butt said.

She also said at the meeting’s conclusion that all of the residents’ expressed values are very similar to those expressed by district administrators and the school board, who met the previous week with Larry Aceves of Leadership Associates.

At the board’s special meeting, held Jan. 22, Aceves said he has already received five calls from interested candidates, three of whom were sitting superintendents. He spent the remainder of last week at a conference in Monterey, where he said he expected to talk to many more potential candidates about the position.

“There will be a lot of assistant superintendents and super- intendents who will want to take on Laguna Beach,” he said.

During the Jan. 22 meeting, the board named the qualities they would most like to see in their ideal candidate, in a round-robin format.

Jenkins first proposed that the candidate have a strong commitment to continuous improvement.

Clerk El Hathaway then recommended that the candidate possess leadership skills, specifically in recognizing the importance of the chain of command.

Vickers’ first recommendation was that the candidate possess a strong background and knowledge of K-12 curriculum.

“I actually don’t want a politician,” Brown said next.

O’Hare said she felt strongly about hiring somebody with a proven track record of experience as a superintendent, but Aceves and some of the other board members suggested that such a requirement would eliminate good candidates, in particular second-level administrators in large districts like Los Angeles and San Diego.

Aceves suggested they change the requirement to “superintendent experience preferred.”

Also listed by board members were the ability to work with diverse constituencies; fiscal knowledge; the ability to improve on or re-evaluate what already exists; and understanding of the board’s high level of involvement in district affairs.

District staff emphasized that the size of the district affects the superintendent’s role.

“This is a roll-up-your-sleeves job,” Hubbell said, seconding that she did not want a figurehead or politician in the role.

The group then discussed the qualities that new high school Principal Don Austin possesses.

“What is the skill that he has brought to the high school?” Hathaway asked.

The group discussed Austin’s inspirational style, openness and charm.

Vickers noted that Austin has infused the school with new ideas without eliminating anything that the students and faculty were partial to. She said that he has also begun enforcing rules that have been on the books for years, but which had been ignored.

Aceves stressed the importance of unity in the board’s candidate vote.

“Two-to-three or even four-to-one is not a good way to bring in a new superintendent,” he said. “The question really is, can the five of you support this candidate?”