Perris district assistant superintendent resigns instead of competing for chief executive post

By: BRIAN ECKHOUSE - Staff Writer | Wednesday, July 19, 2006 10:13 PM PDT ∞

PERRIS ---- Once viewed by some current and former school board members as the eventual successor to Superintendent Dennis Murray, Barry Kayrell ---- the Perris Union High School District's assistant superintendent of human resources ---- has resigned to accept the top spot in the Beaumont school district.

The five-member Perris school board, which oversees Paloma Valley High in Menifee, approved his resignation Wednesday night, he said. His resignation is effective July 30.

Kayrell, a former superintendent, said the board and district never promised him that he would succeed Murray, 59, who plans to retire Feb. 1. But Trustee Joe Daugherty, who openly campaigned for Kayrell's promotion to the superintendent's office, has said the 2002 board hired Kayrell with the intention of replacing Murray, had he not been able to return from cancer surgery. Murray, however, made a quick recovery.

Daugherty also has said he's proud of the district's administration, particularly the work of Kayrell. So, he favored appointing Kayrell, 53, rather than doing a nationwide search to find Murray's replacement.

But last spring, the board voted 4-1 to open the search nationally ---- despite Daugherty's and Trustee Eric Kroenke's objections. Kroenke said he grudgingly voted for a nationwide search, but favored Kayrell's appointment.

Board President Joan Cooley has said a nationwide search would be open to internal candidates, including Kayrell.

But to Kayrell, the board's action "was a clear indication that there was no automatic transference to the superintendency," he said before the meeting when asked about his reason for resigning. Kayrell added that the board's decision disappointed him.

"I have over 20 years' experience in a union high school district, and four years of being a superintendent," he said.

Kayrell's resume includes posts at all levels of education, including teacher, coach, athletic director, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent.

Now that Kayrell is leaving the district, Daugherty said he supports hiring a consulting firm to guide the district's search for a new superintendent.

"Barry was just a highly qualified candidate who had the background and recommendations," Daugherty said. "Nobody else is a ... direct (in-house) hire. So, we have to do a search."

The board was to have chosen a consulting firm Wednesday night, but the process of selecting one firm from among the three interested companies was "vague," said Trustee Bill Hulstrom. He noted the process of selecting a firm included the participation of Murray, who Hulstrom said "felt uncomfortable about that."

Murray did not attend the board meeting, and thus wasn't available for comment.

The board voted 5-0 to seek new bids, this time under the supervision of the district's legal counsel rather than Murray. Cooley said the three original firms could retender their bids. She declined to specify who applied and for how much.

Cooley added that she hopes the board will choose a firm by mid-August. The Perris district is modeling its search after the Lake Elsinore, Murrieta and Temecula districts, all of which recently used firms to help select a new superintendent. Those districts paid their respective consulting firms between $19,000 and $30,000 each.

The Menifee Union School District, rather than conducting a search, promoted Dr. Linda Callaway, previously the district's assistant superintendent of personnel services, to succeed Gary Cringan earlier this year.

Perris district officials have said they hope to announce Murray's successor by Dec. 6.

Contact staff writer Brian Eckhouse at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or beckhouse@californian.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.