Veteran educator hired to lead high school district

By: TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer
Decision on a search firm for permanent chief delayed | Tuesday, January 15, 2008 1:07 AM PST ∞

FALLBROOK -- The high school board appointed a veteran administrator from Los Angeles as interim superintendent Monday night, temporarily filling the void left by the costly departure of Tom Anthony that was negotiated last month.

Bob French, who has taught and served as a district administrator in California for more than 45 years, will serve as the leader of the 3,000-student Fallbrook Union High School District for at least the next several months.

The board also voted to delay a decision on which search firm it will hire to find a permanent replacement for Anthony.

French is tasked with leading the district in the wake of its $320,000-plus buyout of Anthony, who was unpopular with many teachers at Fallbrook High School.

In brief comments after the board voted unanimously to appoint him, French acknowledged that his new job will present challenges. "I'm excited about the opportunities that lie ahead," he said.

Board members said they were happy to have French on board.

"I enjoyed meeting all the applicants" who pursued the job, said board president Bill O'Connor.

It was unclear how many applied for the position, but the board interviewed three candidates, including French, during a special meeting on Jan. 7, O'Connor said last week. The district didn't release the names of the other two candidates.

"I think all of them gave great responses, and we were very impressed with the caliber of people who applied," said O'Connor.

He told French: "You have a lot of work ahead of you."

Among the challenges French is likely to face before the board appoints a permanent superintendent is a tightened budget handed down by the state, following reduced funding for schools in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget last week.

"This is not an easy time or a happy time, but we will survive," French said after the district's financial chief, Chet Gannett, presented a summary of the governor's proposed education budget.

After receiving his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Southern California in the 1950s and 1960s, French taught at various L.A.-area schools and served as superintendent of the Orange Unified School District.

He retired from that position in July 2005 and has remained active in education, according to a biography sheet handed out at Monday night's meeting.

The next step in choosing a superintendent will be to hire a search firm, and so far, four organizations have expressed an interest in the contract, which will probably be worth at least $15,000.

On Monday night, the board considered detailed proposals from the California School Boards Association and Leadership Associates, a private company based in Mission Viejo. The other two organizations sent only cursory letters expressing interest in the job, board members said.

The school boards association would charge between $15,121 and $18,862 to perform a superintendent search, depending on how much travel and operating costs were involved, according to the agenda for Monday night's meeting.

Leadership Associates would charge $25,000.

The board did not vote on either proposal, instead directing district staffers to schedule presentations by the organizations at the Jan. 28 board meeting.

-- Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 740-3516 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.

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