6 Vie for District Position

School district officials expect to wrap up final interviews this weekend in their search for a superintendent to replace the retiring Joseph P. Spirito.

School board members are set to interview six candidates--three men and three women--in the Ventura Unified School District offices starting at 12:30 p.m. today and Saturday, said Debbie Golden, board president. The names and home districts of the semifinalists are being withheld to protect confidentiality.

On Sunday the board will conduct final interviews. Depending on how the first round of talks goes, there could be one to three finalists for the job that will pay about $140,000 a year, Golden said.

If any of the finalists are from outside the Ventura district, board members would visit that school district before making a final decision, Golden said.

The six semifinalists were narrowed from a pool of 33 candidates whose applications were screened by officials with the California School Board Assn. and the Ventura school board, Golden said.

The board plans to announce its choice in May, and hopes to have the new superintendent shadow Spirito before he leaves June 30.

Spirito, appointed to the post in 1992, said he has no major plans for his retirement other than a little more traveling and much more relaxing with his wife, Mari. He is also contemplating a run for the Ventura City Council in November.