Top school jobs filled

The La Cañada Unified School District on Tuesday answered any questions about who will be in leadership at the different district sites for the 2010-11 school year.

The school board unanimously approved both the new principal of Palm Crest Elementary, Karen Hurley, and new athletic director of La Cañada High School, Craig Franzen, at a special meeting held two days before the school year closed.

“It was a goal of ours to get all the positions filled by the end of the year so the staff would know who is going to be in leadership heading into next year,” Governing Board member Joel Peterson said. “The board did a great job of meeting this goal without sacrificing quality.”

The appointments of Hurley and Franzen mark the end of the district’s interviewing process as they are filling the last two vacancies in the district. Peterson said although some lower-level positions had undergone change, the district was able to maintain stability at the top leadership positions.

Hurley has been involved in education for 22 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from McGill University in Montreal and a master’s of education in administration and supervision from the University of Louisiana.

For 12 years, Hurley taught kindergarten, first, second, fourth and fifth grade in Canada and Louisiana. She relocated to California in 2000 and began teaching fifth grade in the Pasadena Unified School District. She was promoted to literacy coach and teacher specialist in 2001.

Over past seven years, Hurley served as an assistant principal for two schools in the Saugus Union School District in Santa Clarita. For two years she served at Cedarcreek Elementary School, and for the past five years she has been working at Mountainview Elementary School.

“I am thrilled to be part of this district,” Hurley said. “They have high standards, and I like how they emphasize the children. They have a great program that allows every child to succeed. It’s all about the kids.”

Hurley is stepping into the position held by Anais Wenn, who was appointed as the new principal of LCHS 7/8.

Assistant Supt. Wendy Sinnette sifted through all the applications and chose eight finalists to bring before a panel. Two panels reviewed the candidates and decided who would best fit the school in question.

Franzen has been a social science teacher at LCHS for the past eight years. For the past four years he has been training for the athletic director position.

“I have a pretty big passion for sports,” Franzen said. “I love working with the coaches and students in an atmosphere outside of the classroom. It’s fun to build a different relationship with them.”

Outgoing LCHS Athletic Director Tamar Hill announced she was stepping down to focus on her teaching and coaching. Franzen said he has already been in contact with coaches to build relationships for next year. He said he is looking to take communications and school spirit a notch higher.

“We use technology very well here,” Franzen said. “I am working on revamping a website solely to high school athletics at La Cañada High School, not only as a resource for the coaches but the parents as well.”

School board Vice President Scott Tracy said the quality of all the candidates was overwhelming and made the job of deciding easier. He also said the board believes the district is even stronger now than they were before.

“The community is going to be very pleased,” Tracy said. “We have very strong leadership in place for next year.”

Construction bid accepted

The school board unanimously accepted a bid from Pacwest, a local contracting corporation, for improvements on the high school campus.

The project includes a modernization of Room 100, where they will update the painting, carpeting and lighting. They will also redo the restrooms in the foyer as well as expand the bathrooms outside the cafeteria. A ramp will be installed outside the auditorium, and a mechanical wheelchair lift will be put in between Room 100 and the auditorium to reach the stage. Carpeting underneath the chairs in the auditorium will be replaced with a polished cement for better acoustics.

Twenty-one bids were considered for the project. The district’s estimate for the project was $2.1 million. The bid accepted for the project was $1.917 million.

“It was a very good bid market for us,” said Mike Leininger, assistant superintendent of facilities and operations. “Everyone is looking for jobs and just trying to keep busy in this economy.”

The bids ranged from $1.58 million to $3.32 million. Six of them were below the district’s estimate. However, the lowest bidder withdrew their bid when they realized they made a mathematical error while determining the cost of the project.

Construction at LCHS begins Monday. Pacwest has until mid-August to complete all of the inside work.