Consultant Hired to Help Find New Simi Superintendent

Lacking a permanent superintendent since the abrupt departure of Mary Beth Wolford in June, Simi Valley school trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to spend $7,000 on a consultant to help search for her replacement.

“It’s an important job; it’s a big job. And we as board members don’t have the time to go through the initial screening process ourselves,” trustee Norm Walker said after the vote.

Consultant Leland B. Newcomer, an adjunct professor at the University of La Verne about 65 miles east of Ventura County, is charged with conducting a two-month national search for “top-quality candidates who best match the board’s expectations,” according to his contract. The board is looking for someone experienced in administration who is also able to work well with other government agencies, Walker said.

The hiring of Newcomer, who may also be called upon later to mediate between the board and the new superintendent, is also a tacit acknowledgment of the difficulties that arose between the trustees and Wolford. The former superintendent often found herself at the losing end of a 3-2 board split.

After nearly 10 years with the Simi Valley Unified School District--the last three as superintendent--Wolford resigned from her post six months earlier than planned after the board rejected her in-house choice to fill an assistant superintendent vacancy. Her predecessor, Robert Purvis, left his retirement to fill the superintendent void in the interim.

Said trustee Debbie Sandland, who regularly disagreed with Wolford, “After serving on this board for four years, and having considerable strain with the previous superintendent we chose . . . I think we need to have a large pool of candidates to choose from--from across the state and the nation.”

Reflecting the rocky relations with Wolford, part of Newcomer’s contract states that his services may be used in the future to clearly define the roles of the superintendent and board, and help delineate their responsibilities.

If the board decides to use Newcomer in this capacity over the next year, his payment would be $100 an hour plus expenses.

Newcomer is available “to help the [school] board redefine what the position of the board should be,” explained Sandland. “I know, to be honest, that this board has been accused of trying to micro-manage” the 21,000-student district.

The consultant is required to find three to five candidates by November. The board hopes to hire a replacement for Wolford, who made $102,485 a year, by December, when Purvis is expected to leave.