The Sweetwater Union High School District school board said at its January meeting that it had planned to name a new interim superintendent before the Feb. 18 resignation of current interim superintendent Tim Glover.
But with two of five board members working full-time, and another trustee having other scheduling commitments, the board couldn’t agree on a date to meet and select a new interim before its self-imposed deadline, board President Frank Tarantino said.
“It’s been kind of crazy,” said Area 1 trustee Arturo Solis, who is a full-time teacher at Nativity Prep Academy in San Diego.
“Two of us are working full-time and then we have our family life. It’s been one of those things where we’ve been trying to figure out a time to meet.”
Area 5 trustee Paula Hall works full-time as an education budget analyst.
Nick Segura, Area 4 trustee, had other commitments so he couldn’t meet, Tarantino said.
Tarantino said he and board member Kevin Pike have the most flexibility in their schedules because both are retired.
“We really tried,” Tarantino said about replacing Glover before his resignation. “We didn’t know how hard it was going to be to get everyone’s schedules together.
Since the board couldn’t appoint someone, Glover will assign a duty officer to handle the superintendent duties until the board hires a new interim.
“From February 19 to 27 we will have (director and lead principal) Ramon Leyba serve as the duty officer,” Glover said. “And then God forbid it takes even longer than that if they’re still working on the process, then for the first week of March we’ve designated Assistant Superintendent Sandra Huezo as the duty officer.”
Glover said duty officers are “very common” and are typically used when the superintendent is on vacation. He said duty officers are assigned on a rotating schedule.
The duty officer fills the superintendent void until an interim is selected, Glover said.
The school board had scheduled interviews with interim candidates for Feb. 19, the day after Glover resigns.
But, Tarantino said, three of the four candidates withdrew their names for consideration.
Former Chula Vista Councilman Jerry Rindone said he was an applicant and received a Feb. 19 interview date, but had received an email from the San Diego County Office of Education notifying him that interviews had been postponed.
He said he did not withdraw his name for the interim role.
Tarantino said that the school board still plans to meet for a special meeting on Feb. 19 to discuss the district’s plan moving forward.
“The person who did not withdraw their name will be forwarded any plans that we have moving forward,” Tarantino said.
“I’ll be happy to be interviewed when the interviews are held,” Rindone said.
The trustees are set to review requests for proposals from different search firms on Feb. 26. Then on Feb. 28 the board will interview firms from that list to help with a superintendent search.
The San Diego County Office of Education is facilitating the interview process.
The new interim will not be in the running for the permanent job, Tarantino said.
“It’s our intent that the person stays on board until a permanent is found,” Tarantino said
Shortly after naming a new interim, the school board will select a firm to host a national search for a permanent superintendent. Glover unexpectedly announced his resignation from his $225,000 position at a Jan. 26 board meeting. His contract is set to expire March 31.
He said there is no way that he can rescind his resignation and stay until a new interim is in place.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Glover said about the possibility of rescinding his resignation until his contract expires. “And I haven’t been approached for that either.”
Tarantino said Glover’s resignation is final.
“As soon as he exercised his 30-day notice, it’s a done deal,” he said.
