Saratoga News

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High school board narrows field in process to select superintendent

By Michele Tjin

There were once 15 candidates, but soon there will be just one. The high school district may have a new superintendent by the end of September, a trustee said.

The Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District board is in a search of a new superintendent after current chief administrator Cindy Ranii announced last spring she will step down for heath reasons.

To fill her position, the board and members of an advisory committee have interviewed candidates, narrowing the original pool of 15 applicants to four. Several candidates were asked to return Aug. 30 for a second interview with the trustees.

Board president Phil Nielsen said he was pleased with how the method of selection has gone so far and how it's been progressing on schedule.

Nielsen said he expected the search to wrap up very quickly. The new superintendent could be working full time by the end of the month.

"When we conclude on a candidate, a small committee will do a site visit and extend a contract," Nielsen said. "We will make a public announcement as soon as possible, but there will be a transition period from their old job."

The board relied on Leadership Associates, a search firm, to help it find candidates.

Ranii announced last May that because of the viral attack on her spinal cord in July 2005, she no longer has the physical stamina needed to hold down a superintendent's job. She is confined to a wheelchair and has been working part-time, slowly increasing the hours in her work week. However, she and her doctors agree she wouldn't regain her old form.

"It seems more appropriate to get somebody who can work a full 50-60 hour week. That's in the best interest of the district," she said last spring.

She and the board agreed she will stay on during her final year as an adviser to the new administrator. When she retires at the end of the school year, she will have completed 10 years with the district.