OAK PARK : Finalist Picked for Top Schools Post

The board of the Oak Park Unified School District has chosen a finalist to replace retiring Supt. Susan Hearn.

Scott Brown, superintendent of the Castaic Unified School District, was chosen from among 49 applicants.

Three board members and other officials representing Oak Park teachers, classified employees and administration will visit Castaic today to tour Brown’s district.

Board President Pat Kavulic said that, if board members are satisfied with his district’s management, they will begin negotiating a contract with Brown. She said negotiations should be finished by the end of the month.

Officials have said the new superintendent’s salary will be at least $80,000. Brown said his salary in Castaic is $83,975.

Brown, 47, has been superintendent of the Castaic district since 1988. The system has 1,620 students in three schools that range from kindergarten to eighth grade.

He formerly was superintendent at Cloverdale Unified School District and served as superintendent/principal at the 500-student Junction School District in Palo Cedro and the 150-student Fort Jones Union School District.

Brown said he stresses involving parents, teachers and employees in district decisions. “Virtually nothing gets run to the board here that hasn’t had some scrutiny from the groups,” Brown said.

Daria Tucker, president of the Castaic Teachers Assn., said Brown has had an excellent relationship with the association.

“There is a great deal of group participation from parents, staff--classified and certificated--and administration on planning and design processes,” Tucker said.

Brown, who received his doctorate in education from the University of La Verne in 1990, was one of 49 applicants for the Oak Park job.

“He had extreme loyalty from the people that have worked with him,” Kavulic said. “He was very definitely a team player, which was very important to us.”

She said Brown is familiar with the needs of a rapidly growing district. The Castaic district has been growing by 125 to 150 students a year, Brown said.

Enrollment in the 2,150-student Oak Park district, which covers southeastern Ventura County, has nearly doubled in since Hearn took over in 1987. She was considered a stabilizing force for the then-troubled district, fostering a team approach among management, teachers and parents.

Hearn announced earlier this year that she was retiring to travel and spend more time with her husband, Reg.