ANAHEIM : Magnolia Schools Choosing Leader

Magnolia School District trustees are meeting behind closed doors this week to select a successor to Supt. Arch J. Haskins, who announced recently that he will retire June 30 after 14 years in the district’s top position.

The trustees began paring down the list of 47 candidates for the job Wednesday night. A final selection is expected by June 15.

The eight-school district in west Anaheim has 5,200 students, 450 full-time employees and an annual budget of $20.9 million, which may have to be cut by more than $200,000 during the coming school year. The district’s enrollment grew by 3% last year, and two of its schools have been on a year-round schedule as a partial solution to classroom overcrowding.

“We need (a new superintendent) who has good people skills and somebody who is good at designing curriculum,” said Trustee Ruth W. Good. “We need somebody who is very community-minded. Mr. Haskins has been a very special person.”

Haskins, 65, became superintendent after 12 years as the district’s assistant superintendent. He has an annual salary of $84,300. He plans to travel during his retirement and continue to work as a part-time professor of school administration at Whittier College.

“The No. 1 issue facing my successor will be the ongoing financial crisis in education,” Haskins said. He said that this year and most recent years it has been difficult to plan the district’s programs because it is not clear how much money the district will receive from the state.