OUSD trustees interviewing superintendent candidates today

By: KATHY DAY - Staff Writer | Friday, June 22, 2007 11:54 PM PDT ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- School trustees will spend Saturday interviewing candidates to replace Superintendent Ken Noonan, who is set to retire June 30.

Oceanside Unified School District board president Lillian Adams said Friday an announcement will be made after the meeting about the next steps in selecting a new chief for the 21,000-student district.

"We could select a finalist or finalists," she said, "... or we could agree to continue the recruitment process."

That process started in April when trustees hired a search firm, Leadership Associates of Mission Viejo, and then agreed on a list of qualities and qualifications they want in Noonan's replacement. The job description states that they want applicants who are "visionary, energetic, highly qualified educators who are accessible, student-centered and focused on improving achievement for all students to apply for the position of superintendent."

Should they settle on a top prospect, Adams said their initial timeline called for preparing a contract offer and visiting the candidate's district next week. They have said they hope to have the new superintendent on the job by July 23. Noonan has said he will stay on until his successor takes over.

Board members have been unanimous in their praise for Noonan, who was hired 10 years ago and leaves the district with new schools, higher test scores and, board members said, and having improved the image of the district.

His accomplishments include moving the district from being one of the lowest performing districts in the state to one where 15 of its 26 schools have been recognized by the state for meeting state standards. He also led the drive to persuade voters to pass a $125 million construction bond in 2001. Noonan was named statewide superintendent of the year by an association of school administrators in 2002, and a few years later was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the state board of education in Sacramento.

Noonan has also had his fair share of critics, especially on his handling of bilingual education. His strict enforcement of a state law banning bilingual classes drew the ire of some parents in the late 1990s, prompting a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. The department initially found problems on the part of the district, but Oceanside was eventually cleared.

Leadership Associates has kept a tight lid on how many candidates are in the running and who they are. Rich Thome, the firm's representative leading the search, did not return phone calls Friday.

On June 12, trustees pared the list down to a selected few who will be in town today, but Adams would not say much about the candidates, except that they are not all from California.

She said the board will talk to each candidate for about an hour and that she expected their day would end in the late afternoon.

"We're committed to the whole day," she added.

Staff writer Keith Rushing contributed to this report.

Contact staff writer Kathy Day at (760) 901-4000 or kday@nctimes.com.

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