If the gods of Super Search are smiling on Culver City this season, one month from today Patti Jaffe will pass into Superintendent history and her successor will scootch into her tall, comfy chair on Irving Place.
After one official year in the Super’s office, and an additional year while the School Board fruitlessly was searching for a successor to Dr. Myrna Rivera Coté, Ms. Jaffe makes her second try at going into retirement on June 29.
When the headhunters from Education Leadership Services closed applications last week, 20 applications had been filed for the School Board to choose from, including the best-known hometowner, Asst. Supt. Eileen Carroll, former Farragut School principal.
Board members were notified Wednesday that the resumés were available for their inspection.
Unless there is a bean-spiller in the room, don’t expect updates until the last man or woman on the island is unveiled.
One significant stipulation in the headhunters’ contract is that the search and winnowing process be closed off from public view.
A School District source said that while the newly formed Parents Union had indicated an interest in participating in the Super countdown, that possibility has been foreclosed. “It is a strictly private process all the way through,” he said. “Has to be. Otherwise, people who wanted to apply would not, for fear of being found out.”
“There is a very good pool of applicants,” John Cruz of the search firm told the newspaper. “Experienced people, and a very competitive field.”
Board member Laura Chardiet says that while they naturally are seeking a person with leadership skills, “I want somebody who can provide the District with vision and the ability to follow through.”
Fascinatingly, Ms. Chardiet said that does not mean a leader with a strong personality is desirable.
“Ideally, you have to walk a fine line,” she said, “between decisiveness and inclusiveness, as I have said before.
“The person needs to be someone who can listen but also is a leader. You can’t be an academic.”
