No shortage of candidates to head school No shortage of candidates to head school (February 04, 2004)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

Dozens of candidates, most from California, are interested in the job of superintendent/principal of the Woodside Elementary School District, a position that will be vacant when Superintendent John Harter retires at the end of the current school year.

Lori Livingston, president of the district's governing board, told the Almanac that candidates for the $140,000-a-year position are being screened by an executive search firm, with interviews in Woodside scheduled for March.

"Our district is a real magnet," said Ms. Livingston, repeating what she said the search firm's coordinator had told her. The recruiter, Del Alberti, has a track record locally, having brought new superintendents to the Portola Valley and Menlo Park districts, she said.

The single-school aspect of the district, its small size and its considerable financial and extracurricular support from the community will be appealing to a principal or assistant superintendent with innovative ideas, Ms. Livingston said.

With state education funding looking more secure than it was last year at this time, Ms. Livingston said Woodside will be looking for a someone whose expertise lies in instruction and curriculum development. A funding crisis would have inferred a need for a superintendent with connections and political savvy to defend the district's interests, she said.

"We need someone who can be real hands-on with the kids and the staff," she said. "I'm sure we'll see some terrific folks."

In addition to being interviewed by the five-member governing board, candidates will talk with a district liaison council composed of the dean of students, the business manager, members of the staff and foundation, parents and the PTA, according to an application brochure on file with the California School Boards Association.

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