Orange : Search Begins for New Superintendent

In a vote that took even its members by surprise, the Orange Unified School District’s board decided this week to begin searching for a new superintendent for the troubled district, which has been headed by a temporary appointee since May.

The vote came after Interim Acting Supt. Richard Donoghue reminded board members that his appointment was not intended to be long term.

Board President Lila Beavans then asked the five board members present if they wanted to consider the matter at a future meeting or vote then to approve a search for a new district leader.

Donoghue will keep his job as head of the district, which has 26,000 students in Orange, Villa Park and parts of Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Anaheim, while the board looks for his replacement.

Donoghue can apply, like any other applicant, for the permanent position. But his short tenure as district leader has been marked by controversy, and a number of board members have been increasingly--and publicly--unhappy with his performance.

Most notably, Donoghue approved a plan to randomly search school buses with dogs trained in drug detection without first seeking the approval of board members.

The vote was 4 to 1 for seeking a new, permanent superintendent. Trustee Maureen Aschoff dissented, saying she did not feel a decision should be made until all seven board members were present.

“The most important decision a board member can make is employing a superintendent,” Aschoff said. “The entire board should have been there.”

The two absent board members, Alan E. Irish and John Hurley, are both considered by many to be Donoghue’s strongest supporters on the board.

Donoghue was installed in the temporary position following a decision to fire then-Supt. Norman Guith, now head of the Palo Verde Unified School District in Riverside County.

Donoghue, the district’s former assistant superintendent of business services, did not have all the credentials required for the top job under California’s education codes. The board had to vote to waive the requirements, which caused some district parents to protest his appointment.

The trustees plan in the next few weeks to set up a committee of community members and district employees to advise them during the search process.

“We’re going to look for the best educational leader that is available to guide our district into the 21st Century,” Trustee Barry Resnick said.