Lancaster Going Out of District for New Chief

The Lancaster School District broke with tradition Wednesday by launching a search outside the school system for a new superintendent--the district’s fourth in two years.

The Board of Trustees voted 4-0 to award a $10,000 contract to the Sacramento-based California School Boards Assn. to conduct the search.

Officials of the fast-growing, 10,600-student district said they expect to hire a superintendent by June.

For at least a decade, the board has promoted superintendents from within. But board member William Taylor said the current board opted for the search to bolster public confidence in the process and to “try to bring about some sense of impartiality.”

The district has gone through a series of administrative changes since February, 1988, when Charles Gastineau was demoted from superintendent and replaced by E. Jarold Wright. That controversial move--leading to charges of favoritism by board members who were friends of Wright--led to a recall election that ousted three of the five board members. The new board forced out Wright last July, replacing him with interim Supt. Edward Goodwin.

Goodwin, who was the district’s assistant superintendent for education services, is expected to return to his old job, which has remained vacant. And although candidates inside the district will be considered, board members have said they expect to hire an outsider as the new superintendent.

Richard Montgomery, assistant executive director of the California School Boards Assn.--which represents school boards to the state government and conducts personnel hunts--said his group will notify more than 400 college placement offices of the vacancy.

Board members have indicated the new superintendent will receive a salary greater than the $73,000 paid to Goodwin.