School official resigns job

BURBANK — Steve Bradley, the Burbank Unified School District’s assistant superintendent of business services, resigned Friday after a six-week stint on medical leave and six years in the position, Supt. Gregory Bowman said.

Bradley, who declined to comment on his resignation, is said to be looking for employment in the private sector, Bowman said.

During Bradley’s extended absence, Bowman has been taking over his duties, which include overseeing budgeting and accounting, facilities and food services and payroll and benefits.

“I’ve been providing the direct support for supervision of the fiscal and budget and all the other areas that Mr. Bradley would have managed,” Bowman said.

Bradley’s reasons for extended medical leave are confidential, and Bowman said they had nothing to do with his resignation.

“When people go on medical leave, we don’t ask why they are on medical leave,” said Gabe Soumakian, assistant superintendent of human resources. “If they have a doctor’s note, they have a doctor’s note. It’s a privacy issue.”

Beginning early in June, Bradley’s interim replacement, Gary Mortimer, will begin working in the district. Mortimer was not available for comment by press time.

A Burbank resident and retired school business official, he has served in Conejo Valley, Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach school districts. He worked briefly for the Burbank Unified School District in late March and early April when Bowman first learned of Bradley’s intent to take extended leave.

The district has begun working to identify a firm or association to help with staffing the position and developing an updated job description, Bowman said.

“I think we are probably talking about interviews sometime in July,” he said.

Because the position has not been open for six years, district staffers are taking the opportunity to update the job description for his position, Soumakian said.

“We have not had to fill this position, I think in four or five years, so whenever you do that, for example in my position, the job description was redone,” Soumakian said. “So it’s just a standard practice to take a look at the job and bring it up to date, that’s all.”

What parts of the job description will be changed are not known, Soumakian said, but Bowman said the district should start the interviewing process in July.

Bradley first came to the district from El Segundo Unified School District, where he served as chief business official. He worked with the district to cut a $2-million deficit in 2002 and dealt with costly construction fixes in 2005 to the district’s modernization projects.