Ex-Chief of Peninsula Schools Named Acting Superintendent

A former Palos Verdes Peninsula superintendent was unanimously named interim chief of the school district Monday night, filling a post left vacant when Supt. Jack Price resigned under fire earlier this month.

The acting superintendent, Wayne L. Butterbaugh, 67, was head of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District from 1959 to 1967.

Butterbaugh, who lives in Long Beach with his wife, will begin work Monday. Board members said the search for a new superintendent could take five to six months.

During his tenure, Butterbaugh spearheaded formation of the unified district in 1961 and developed curricula for the new district. He also supervised district property acquisition and the construction of 10 schools serving 17,000 students, according to the district.

After leaving Palos Verdes, he was founding superintendent for the Southern California Regional Occupational Center--the first occupational trade school in the South Bay area.

The center provides technical training including welding, auto shop and hotel management for South Bay residents.

A school superintendent for 31 years, Butterbaugh has headed the Savanna Elementary School District, and the Simi Valley and Conejo Valley unified school districts.

He retired as a superintendent from Conejo in 1980. Butterbaugh said he became coordinator of the education program at National University’s Palm Springs campus 3 1/2 years ago.

During Monday’s school board meeting, Butterbaugh said he wanted to work with the school board, teachers, students and administrative staff to make the district prosper.

But, in an apparent reference to longstanding controversies plaguing the district, he added, “I want us to speak with low voices.

“I’m going to see to it that I’m part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

Jeffrey N. Younggren, the board’s president, said he thinks Butterbaugh’s expertise could help the district.

“Maybe he can provide the leadership and be the glue that puts us back together,” Younggren said.

Price, who resigned during a board meeting Oct. 2, had been at the center of a bitter two-year battle between the school board and a parents group that has fought to keep Miraleste High School open. Critics of the district also have questioned a number of management practices.

Price was superintendent for almost seven years.