New Chief Brings Neighborly Style to School District

SANTA PAULA — Bonnie Bruington snatched up a bachelor’s and a master’s, then went for a PhD. Rather than greeting the news with delight, her father was concerned and pulled her aside for a chat she’ll always remember.

Having raised her on a small-town Kansas farm, Bruington’s father feared that she would lose her down-to-earth roots.

“My father gave me a wonderful saying,” said Bruington. “He said, ‘You must promise me never to become an educated idiot,’ because he was afraid I would lose my common sense and drift off into an intellectual plane.”

She promised to stay grounded. It’s a promise she plans to keep as she oversees the Santa Paula Elementary School District. After serving as assistant superintendent for the past seven years, the 63-year-old Bruington became superintendent in mid-March.

Often described as polite and affable, Bruington takes over after a tumultuous period of infighting at the school district.

To some, Bruington is the antidote--a person who brings decorum to her pursuit of such goals as reducing class sizes, raising standards for students in kindergarten through eighth grade and pushing to create better bilingual and foreign-language programs.

The mother of four and grandmother of 10 now holds a powerful position in the small town. As superintendent, Bruington is not only head of the 3,548-student school district but also runs the city’s largest employer.

During the past few months, she hasn’t lacked for input from residents and parents regarding what direction the school district should take.

“I’ve been overwhelmed, in some cases, with people needing to come in and talk and share ideas and concerns,” said Bruington from her new quarters at 144 N. Davis St. “I like the concept of an open-door policy and hope they feel free to do that.”

She means “open door” symbolically and literally. Bruington usually pops open her office door so visitors feel free to stroll in and chat. Even when she’s out of the office, Bruington asks co-workers to keep her door ajar so colleagues feel welcome to use the conference table.

It all makes sense. One of her top goals is to increase communication between campuses and the district office. From what they’ve seen of her the past few months, colleagues say Bruington’s leadership style promises to diverge substantially from that of former Supt. Dave Philips, ousted by the board last year.

“It’s two completely different management styles,” said David Luna, principal of Barbara Webster School. “One is more directive and this is more collaborative.”

Bruington replaced Philips after several months of difficult negotiations focusing on the former superintendent’s salary and contract.

Some trustees believed that Philips, who had some leeway in setting his salary, made too much.

In December, the board bought out Philips’ contract. They appointed Bruington interim superintendent and hired her as superintendent several months later.

To avoid similar salary problems, the board voted not to allow Bruington to set her salary as Philips did. His annual pay was $104,000. Bruington’s salary is $90,000 and will be reevaluated by the board each year based on her performance. Her contract expires June 30, 1999.

Bruington now sits at Philips’ old desk, next to a bare wall that previously was covered with Philips’ certificates, diplomas and photographs. She is thinking about hanging student artwork there.

“I feel very comfortable,” she said, sitting behind a desk covered with six neat piles of documents. “What I didn’t anticipate is how much fun I’m having. It’s been really wonderful how many people have offered to give me help and ideas of what to do.”

Bruington has been adjusting to her new role, spending a little time investigating what it means to be a leader. She peels back a copy of Donald Kraus’ “The Way of the Leader” to read a passage she’s particularly fond of.

“Organizations and nations prosper or decline based solely on the vision and capability of their leaders,” Bruington quotes. But typical of her low-key style, she adds: “I like that, but I don’t think it represents me well because it gives too much emphasis on the leader.”

As an assistant superintendent, Bruington was fairly quiet during board meetings. She is a soft-spoken woman, more inclined to don a long-flowing dress or skirt than power suit and heels. “I’m a fairly casual person,” she said of her style and dress. “I much prefer to blend in. I do in fact own a red jacket, but I don’t wear it very often.”

Bruington comes from Lakin, Kan., a place so small that she and her six senior classmates made up the largest class ever graduated at Kendall High School.

Her role model and mentor was the district’s superintendent, who also served as her school’s basketball coach and history teacher.

“Boy did he have high standards, and we were expected to keep them,” she recalled. At home, on the family ranch, she completed her chores, mending the fences and gathering the wheat and corn.

Bruington left town to pursue her education. At the University of Northern Colorado, she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and completed her master’s in reading/curriculum and supervision in 1967. She came very close to receiving her doctorate in communications at Denver University but didn’t finish her dissertation after moving to California.

She had been teaching first grade in Greeley, Colo., for about 10 years before moving to California and eventually becoming principal of 800-student Trona Elementary School in the Mojave Desert. She also worked for the Apple Valley Unified School District as director of curriculum before taking the assistant superintendent job in Santa Paula in 1989.

Many say Bruington fits right in with the small-town atmosphere. Colleagues say she doesn’t create a distance between them but rather tries to treat everyone as individuals.

“It’s easy to confide because I feel comfortable because she’ll share things too,” said Glenn Deines, principal of Blanchard Elementary. “She’s not just a boss. She’s a real caring person who has a family and other things she likes to do besides go to work.”

Bruington recently attended a grass-roots Latino Townhall meeting to hear parents’ concerns. As they spoke, she stood behind the lectern, diligently jotting down notes like a student. Among the tough issues ahead of her are low standardized test scores, largely due to the town’s blue-collar status and the large number of children with limited proficiency in English.

Along with high school district Supt. William Brand, who has spearheaded a movement for higher standards, Bruington is working to hike standards in her district as well.

She is pushing to have every child in Santa Paula speak both Spanish and English. Her long-term goal is to offer kids the chance to pursue a third language by the fifth grade.

At the Latino Townhall meeting, a mother asked why her sixth-grade son still could not read in English. Another mother expressed concern that her kindergarten child was not challenged enough.

Many said Bruington is off to a good start just by showing a willingness to listen.

“She recognizes the vast majority are of Hispanic background,” said Tony Perez, chairman of education for the Latino Townhall, “and it’s a way of saying, ‘I am concerned about their education as well as everyone else’s.’ ”