Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Castaic Union District Superintendent Quits to Take New Job : Education: Scott Brown, whose reign was stormy at times, will head larger district in Northern California.

Scott Brown will end a sometimes stormy reign as superintendent of the Castaic Union School District by resigning June 30 to accept a position at a larger school district in Northern California.

Brown was selected from 34 candidates to be superintendent of Martinez Unified School District in the east San Francisco Bay Area.

Brown, 46, said his resignation has nothing to do with his admitted “bad judgment” in using a school district credit card for about $1,200 in personal expenses, including baby clothing at Nordstrom and restaurant and hotel bills in Seattle and San Francisco.

Although the matter was so controversial in Castaic that it became an issue among school board candidates in last November’s election, Brown’s new employers seemingly did not know about it.

Alice Bonner, a trustee with the Martinez Unified School District, said 18 Castaic officials--including trustees and teachers--were interviewed about Brown but none mentioned the credit card incident.

“I think all we heard was that there was dissension among the board,” she said.

Martinez school board President Nancy Hobert said the incident was also news to her.

Did Hobert think Brown’s appointment to the $91,000-a-year post would be reconsidered?

“I don’t think so,” she said.

The Los Angeles County Office of Education took no action against Brown over the credit card charges other than ordering him to stop using the card for personal expenses. District officials later canceled the card in what it called an unrelated action. Brown reimbursed the district for the personal charges.

Castaic board member Irene Massey, who was one of Brown’s supporters, said the uproar over the charges was blown out of proportion by Brown’s detractors on the board.

Board President Lester Freeman, who was often at odds with Brown, could not be reached for comment.

Massey admitted that the bickering over Brown and his policies often curtailed school business.

“I would say that for the last year and a half prior to the election we didn’t accomplish a lot,” she said. “I give (Brown) credit for sticking it out because I know a lot of people who would bail.”

Brown became superintendent of the Castaic district in 1988. He said the most important accomplishment of his tenure was acquiring four new school sites and securing $37 million to build schools, including Castaic Middle School, scheduled to open in 1996.

He was selected as the new superintendent for the Oak Park Unified School District in Ventura County in November, 1992, but was unable to come to a contract agreement with the district.

His new district has about 3,800 students compared with about 1,700 students in the Castaic district.

“I think it’s definitely a step up professionally,” he said. “Personally, I grew up in Redding, my family lives in Northern California, my kids go to college (up there), so there’s a personal appeal from my standpoint.”

Trustees with the Castaic district will discuss candidates for a new superintendent during a closed session at their board meeting tonight. Massey said the district has some specific candidates in mind, but declined to name them.