Long Beach Educator to Lead Schools : Thousand Oaks: Conejo Valley Unified officials name Jerry Gross to replace retiring Supt. William Seaver.

Thousand Oaks school officials have unanimously chosen a new superintendent known for being a good communicator who gathers varied opinions before making decisions, officials announced Tuesday.

The board of the 17,700-student Conejo Valley Unified School District signed a three-year contract with Jerry C. Gross, an area superintendent with the Long Beach Unified School District. Gross has been responsible for overseeing 14,000 students at 17 schools.

His colleagues at the 75,000-student Long Beach district said Gross has been successful in bringing together parents, students, faculty and business people to restructure schools in his area, one of five sections of the district.

“You’re lucky,” said Ed Eveland, a board member in Long Beach and the district’s assistant superintendent until his retirement three years ago. “He doesn’t have any problems (at his schools) because he does that good of a job.”

Effective July 15, Gross replaces retiring Supt. William Seaver, 63, who leaves the post today after six years in the job and 37 years in education. The board liked Gross’ qualifications coupled with his personable nature, board member Dorothy Beaubien said.

“He’s got a lot of charisma and he’s a very people-oriented person,” Beaubien said.

Gross fit the image outlined by a consultant hired by the board to lead the search, board member Bill Henry said. The profile of the community’s desires was developed from interviews with dozens of parents and faculty members.

“Everyone wanted someone who will move us into the future and at the same time address the immediate shortcomings and financial difficulties facing the district,” Henry said.

The district has had to cut its budget for the past four years, because the state has not given a cost-of-living increase to schools even though costs have continued to rise.

“He’s certainly got his work cut out for him,” Henry said. “He’s got a lot of listening and learning to do.”

Gross, 53, said he’s accustomed to trying to do more with less, because Long Beach schools have not been spared from hard financial times in recent years. It requires a leader who can energize teachers and faculty, he said.

“We’re never in the near future going to have fiscal Nirvana, so we have to change our modus operandi,” Gross said.

Gross said his strength is in pulling people together around a common cause.

“I work pretty hard at getting people to reach a consensus for the good of all,” he said.

Gross, who will earn $102,500 a year under the contract, has degrees from Michigan State University, the University of Arizona and Southern Illinois University. He started as a special education teacher in Torrance and has worked in Arizona, Illinois and Minnesota.

No candidates from within the district were included among the field of 10 applicants from the western United States recommended for consideration by the consultant. The field was narrowed to three before Gross was chosen.

Since becoming an area superintendent in 1990, Gross worked with community leaders and faculty to individually restructure the schools under his direction according to each school’s needs, said Mary Anne Mays, another area superintendent in Long Beach.

“He’s a visionary leader, with the ability to translate that vision into action,” Mays said.