Story Created:
Feb 19, 2010 at 3:57 PM PST
Story Updated:
Feb 19, 2010 at 3:57 PM PST
LYNWOOD — Members of the Lynwood school board Wednesday met with the team it recently hired to find the district’s next superintendent.
Due to President’s Day Feb. 15 and scheduling conflicts, board members called for a special meeting Wednesday to officially meet employees of Leadership Associates, the consultant firm they hired to conduct the search for a replacement for Dhyan Lal, who was released from his contract last summer by a 4-1 vote, with board members Maria G. Lopez dissenting.
Wednesday’s special meeting prompted some school district watchdogs to assume board members planned to appoint interim Superintendent Patrick Leier to the position permanently, but that wasn’t the case, a district official said.
“The board wasn’t going to go over everybody’s head,” said the official, who requested anonymity. “The board knows how important this selection is for everybody. They’re not going to let what happened last time, happen this time.”
The speculation developed because of the way the agenda for the special meeting listed a closed-door session “on the public employee employment/appointment of the superintendent.”
But, according to Leier, the agenda was worded like that so board members could discuss what they heard during the presentation by Leadership Associates.
School board member Rachel Chavez said she heard about the concerns, including a rumor that the board was going to rehire Lal.
“We were just going to officially meet with representatives from Leadership Associates,” she said, adding that the board needed to introduce them publicly before they could speak to them in closed session. “Nobody was being appointed, people were just jumping to conclusions.”
The meeting between board members and representatives from Leadership Associates basically was “so that we could lay down the groundwork.”
Leadership representatives, Chavez said, know that board members — before any recruiting or background checks actually take place — want them to talk to all of the stakeholders in Lynwood, including the unions, parent groups, school site councils, advisory committees and students.
“This board wants this process to be as transparent as possible,” Chavez said.
The school board chambers weren’t filled to capacity as they usually are during regularly scheduled meetings, but there were a few people in the audience who were happy to see that board members were not going over everybody’s heads.
A few spoke during the public oral session, asking that the board hire someone with strong qualifications and that the community be included in the selection process of the next superintendent.
Along with making sure every candidate undergoes an extensive background check, board members were also asked to make sure every candidate be culturally sensitive to a diverse school district.
In other school district news, the school district Tuesday will release a list of positions being considered for layoffs for the 2010-11 school year.
There will be no names attached to that list, Leier said. Names will come afterward and will be based solely on seniority.
“We understand that this board has been very focused on saving jobs, and I probably would try to do the same if I were in their shoes,” Leier said. “However, with the budget the way it is, they won’t be able to do that anymore.”
Reduction in force letters are notices, Leier said. Everything depends on the budget, the state’s budget and enrollment numbers. Some of the positions on the reduction in force notices can be rescinded later, he added.
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