SANTA PAULA : Trustees Choose New Superintendent

Trustees for the Santa Paula Union High School District have announced their selection of high school Principal Bob Fisher as the district’s next superintendent.

Fisher will replace Supt. Carolina Erie, who will retire at the end of June. Erie, superintendent for the last three years, was praised by trustees for restoring financial stability and teacher confidence in the district.

Fisher, 54, has been the principal of Santa Paula High School, one of two schools in the 1,260-student district, since Erie hired him from the Conejo Valley Unified School District two years ago.

Board President Donna Nelson said Fisher’s familiarity with the district’s goals played a large part in his selection. “Mr. Fisher will give us a sense of continuity,” Nelson said.

“He is a very intelligent man who is well-liked by the staff, most of whom were pleased with his taking a step up,” Nelson said. Fisher will be offered a three-year contract.

Nelson said the board has begun a selection process to find a replacement for Fisher as principal of Santa Paula High. Before Erie’s tenure, the district hired superintendents who also served as high school principal, but Nelson said the board has no desire to return to that practice.