75 Applying for Principal’s Post Given Fs by District

All of the approximately 75 applicants for the principal’s job at Lincoln High School have been rejected, and Supt. Thomas Payzant will select an administrator currently working in the city schools for the post, school officials said Wednesday.

The district had advertised nationwide to fill the post at the troubled Southeast San Diego high school, breaking a longstanding tradition of filling positions for principals with its own administrators.

But none of the candidates who responded to the district’s offer of “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”--including two vice principals and two principals working at city schools--made the grade, said George Flanigan, director of certificated personnel for the school district.

Flanigan and district trustee Dorothy Smith said Payzant is now considering other administrators in the city schools. He will soon bring a recommendation to the Board of Education, which must approve the choice, Smith said.

Thirteen applicants were interviewed by a six-person screening panel of top administrators and Lincoln-area parents, Flanigan said. Three finalists were interviewed by a three-person panel headed by Payzant, he said.

The district’s Administrators Assn., which opposed outside applications for the post, does not object to Payzant selecting the principal, Executive Director Irvin McClure said. The district met its obligations by advertising the post earlier, McClure said.

Lincoln, which has historically posted low test scores and high dropout rates, will be converted into a magnet school this summer in an effort to integrate the predominantly black school and boost achievement.

The district has been seeking a strong leader to mold the new Lincoln Preparatory High School for Humanities, Language and the Health Professions. Its advertising brochure called for a principal with vision and courage who can communicate well with the community.