Castruita Will Quit Santa Ana School District

Rudy M. Castruita, superintendent of Orange County’s largest school district and a national spokesman for urban schools, will leave his job in August to take over the top post at the San Diego County Department of Education.

In his six years running Santa Ana Unified, Castruita, 50, has earned an armful of accolades for slashing the district’s dropout rate, raising test scores and bringing together city, business and school leaders to fight gangs and drugs.

The 43 schools of the Santa Ana District--ninth largest in California--serve a student body that is 95% minority, with 81% of the elementary school children qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches. More than two-thirds of the students have limited English skills.

“It’s tough leaving Santa Ana. I love it. But I’m going to something, I’m not leaving anything,” Castruita said in an interview Tuesday after announcing his plans at a San Diego news conference. “The greatest accomplishment in Santa Ana was getting people to believe that all kids can learn . . . hopefully, with this new opportunity, I’ll be able to do some of the same things on a broader basis.”

Castruita’s salary in San Diego will be about the same as his current $124,000 a year. He will oversee 800 employees and an $87-million annual budget, running programs for children of migrant workers, students with disabilities, juvenile delinquents and students who have been expelled from the county’s 43 local school districts.

Diane Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Santa Ana district, said the school board would select a search firm in the next few weeks and hopes to have a new superintendent in place by August.

Political, education and community leaders from Santa Ana and across the county on Tuesday lauded Castruita as a crucial role model for Latino youngsters.

“I’m delighted for him, but I’m disappointed for Santa Ana,” said Orange County Supt. of Schools John F. Dean.

“It’s a sad day for all of us,” added Santa Ana Trustee Robert W. Balen.

During Castruita’s six-year tenure as superintendent, Santa Ana Unified has grown from 38,000 students to 49,000, opening seven new schools with three more under construction.

Since 1988, Santa Ana Unified has earned two national Blue Ribbon School and 10 California Distinguished School awards. Key Castruita initiatives include free breakfast, scholarship and dropout-prevention programs. He also launched Santa Ana 2000, a cooperative effort among the school district, the city, Rancho Santiago College and the Chamber of Commerce that provides job training, child care, health care and after-school recreational activities designed to keep youths away from gangs and drugs.

“He’s done a straight-A job of running the district,” Santa Ana Mayor Daniel H. Young said. “He brought a lot of pride back to the district. Teachers are proud of the jobs they have and parents are proud of the schools. He got everybody motivated.”

Balen, who was elected to the board in 1989, praised Castruita’s countywide leadership and said, “he’s really turned the (Santa Ana) district around.”

“His energy and his intellect combined with his leadership abilities . . . plus his dedication to doing what’s best for the students is just a win-win for everybody,” Balen said. “It’s frustrating to see a talented individual that’s provided such leadership to our district just walk out the door.”

Though Castruita has earned state and national recognition for his work, criticism from within his district has mounted in recent months. Rosemarie Avila and Tom Chaffee, two school board members who are aligned with conservative Christian groups that oppose school reform, have often attacked Castruita as the five-member board argued.

“I think Santa Ana needs a breath of fresh air,” Chaffee said Tuesday. “I can’t say I’m sorry to see him go.”

Though Castruita denied that recent board squabbles entered into his decision, members of the school board’s majority said they suspect that Avila and Chaffee helped push him from the district.

“When you get two elected board members constantly criticizing you, when you come to serve and you give your all and this is what you get back in your face, it makes everybody question a lot of why we’re here,” Trustee Audrey Yamagata-Noji said. “This is a hard community to serve in. We can’t keep good people. I feel helpless.”

Born in El Monte, Castruita went to Utah State University on an athletic scholarship, then returned to his hometown to teach high school. He earned a doctorate from USC and worked in the Los Alamitos Unified School District before coming to Santa Ana as assistant superintendent in 1985.

He is a dynamic speaker who visited classes nearly every day and prided himself on knowing students’ and employees’ names.

“He came out of the barrio, so he could speak the language,” County Supt. Dean said of Castruita, who began kindergarten with limited English himself. “He talked to kids in their own language and said, ‘Stay in school.’ ”

Castruita was named Orange County’s Man of the Year in 1988, and two years later he was profiled in Orange County Metropolitan magazine as someone whose career would “leave an imprint on life in the community.” The Assn. of California Administrators gave him its highest honor, the Marcus Foster Award, in 1991, then named him Superintendent of the Year in 1992.

For the last two years, Castruita has presided over the Assn. of California School Districts. He met with former President George Bush and 20 Latino leaders several years ago, and recently sat on a panel at Gov. Pete Wilson’s crime summit.

“It’s a real blow to lose Rudy Castruita, but we’ve been fortunate to have him for as long as we have,” said Sal Mendoza, president of the Santa Ana school board.

Other Latino leaders echoed Mendoza’s statement.

“What a tremendous loss. Our kids, our parents, our community is going to feel a terrible, terrible loss,” said Alfredo Amezcuam, past president of the Hispanic Bar Assn. of Orange County. “He’s certainly been a model, he’s been an innovator, he’s been one that we have looked up to.

“It’s like losing one of your best friends.”

Unlike the superintendent of the Orange County Department of Education, who is elected, the San Diego County superintendent is appointed by the county’s five-member Board of Education.

Bill Hampton, president of the board that selected Castruita from among 40 applicants, called him a “visionary leader.”

“We really believe he’s got a very deep commitment to all children,” Hampton said Tuesday. “From his own personal experience and from the kinds of things he’s been able to do in Santa Ana, we believe he really understands deeply the importance of public schools.”