ORANGE

The Orange Unified School District voted 6 to 0 Thursday night to offer a three-year contract to Barbara Van Otterloo for the position of superintendent. Trustee Bob Viviano was absent for the vote. He previously was the lone holdout against contract negotiations for the candidate. According to district spokeswoman Judith Frutig, the tentative agreement incorporates points that satisfy the 55-year-old candidate as well as trustees. Van Otterloo is expected to sign the contract in the next few days; her official duties would begin Aug. 16. Van Otterloo’s salary was not yet disclosed. One of her first duties could be to help settle a 16-month teachers’ contract dispute. The negotiations are at an impasse after the union last month narrowly defeated the district’s latest two-year proposal, citing a reduction in health benefits.

Van Otterloo retired June 30 as superintendent of the 15th-largest district in Michigan. She has two grown sons who live in California.