3 Finalists Chosen in Search for New CIF Southern Section Commissioner

Dean Crowley, CIF Southern Section administrator; Margaret Davis, State associate commissioner; and Stan Thomas, a Tustin Unified School District administrator, are the three finalists for Ray Plutko’s job as commissioner of the Southern Section.

They were screened from a list of nine semifinalists by the section’s Executive Committee. Final interviews are scheduled for Tuesday, and Plutko’s replacement will be announced Thursday at the General Council meeting in Norwalk.

Crowley has been an administrative assistant in the Southern Section since 1976. He is a former vice principal at Gahr High, where he coached football, basketball and baseball. He is also a Division I basketball referee.

Davis has served as an associate commissioner under State Commissioner Tom Byrnes since 1981. She has also worked as an administrative assistant in the Southern Section office.

Thomas is in charge of commerce and technology in the Tustin district. He is a former principal at Foothill High and was a football coach at Neff High, which is now closed.

Plutko resigned as Southern Section commissioner in February to accept a position as Colorado’s State commissioner, effective July 1.