Superintendent finalist out of running

The Ocean View School District failed to come to an agreement with its finalist for the new superintendent, board trustees announced at their meeting this week. Rather than expressing worry, however, officials said the pace of hiring suited them just fine.

After a closed-session meeting Tuesday afternoon with James Kidwell, deputy superintendent of the Ontario-Montclair School District, trustees said they could not agree on terms of employment with the candidate, and Kidwell is now out of the running. They will meet this Monday to discuss the next course of action, board President Tracy Pellman said.

The board members don’t have a short list of candidates so they can’t instantly move to the next prospect, Pellman said after the meeting.

“We’re going to meet on Monday,” she said. “That’s where we will make a decision on what we’re going to do from here.”

In the meantime, Interim Supt. Edward Sussman, retired superintendent of the Downey Unified School District, promised he would keep the job until a replacement was found. He has had the job since former Supt. Karen Colby retired in December after being placed on administrative leave. There has been no official explanation why she was put on administrative leave.

Despite not having a permanent superintendent since December, the district is running smoothly, said Linda Axenroth, president of the Ocean View Teachers’ Assn. Sussman’s interim term was working out very well, she added.

“We’re looking forward to having a superintendent,” she said. “But we know the board is working very hard on it. And we enjoy working with [Sussman].”

Pellman echoed that notion.

“We love him,” she said of Sussman.