Arcadia : Search for Schools’ Chief

Seeking a replacement for Supt. Stephen A. Goldstone, the board of the Arcadia Unified School District selected School Services of California Inc. on Monday to conduct a search of candidates for the job, board President Mary Dougherty said.

Goldstone, 50, has announced he will leave the Arcadia post Sept. 15 to accept a job as superintendent of the Chino Unified School District.

School Services, based in Sacramento, is the same consulting firm the board hired four years ago for a superintendent search that resulted in Goldstone’s hiring, Dougherty said. The firm will be paid $8,900 plus expenses for recruiting and screening applicants, she said. Board members hope to hire a new superintendent “early in the new year,” she said.

At a special meeting Monday night, board members also agreed to hire Russell J. Ribb, a retired school administrator, to serve as interim superintendent.

Ribb, who was superintendent of the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District from 1978 to 1985, will be paid $280 a day, Dougherty said. Ribb had worked for the Arcadia district on an interim basis in 1986 and 1987, when the board was looking for an assistant superintendent of business.