BUENA PARK : Superintendent Will Leave School District

The superintendent for the Centralia School District has accepted a position to serve as the top administrator of the Encinitas Union School District in San Diego County.

Patricia Clark White has been Centralia’s superintendent since June, 1981. She will leave the post Aug. 1.

John Carlyle, the district’s assistant superintendent for instructional services, will serve as acting superintendent until a replacement for White is found.

The school district has eight elementary schools in the cities of Buena Park, Anaheim and La Palma, serving students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The district’s ninth school is scheduled to open Aug. 9.

As superintendent, White was instrumental in creating business and community partnerships at the schools, expanding technology and developing innovative, non-traditional revenue sources to bolster budget shortages.

White also received many honors, which include selection by Cypress College as Citizen of the Year in 1989 and Soroptimist Woman of Distinction in 1988.

“It has been a magnificent journey for me, largely because of the talented, warm and supportive people with whom I work on a daily basis,” White said in a prepared statement.

“I can leave with the confidence that Centralia will continue on its road to excellence because of the school board’s nurturing leadership, the well-trained staff and the supportive community.”