Trustees Appoint Acting Schools Chief

Hoping to create a “kinder and gentler” district office, Santa Paula elementary school board members appointed an acting superintendent to take the place of Supt. Dave Philips.

The announcement came after trustees met in a closed meeting Wednesday morning and voted 3 to 1 to name Bonnie Bruington--assistant superintendent for the last seven years--to replace Philips during the search for a permanent superintendent.

“I’m pleased the board has faith in me to fulfill this need, and just to have the opportunity to use all of the collective wisdom and the teachers and the other employees of the district is very exciting for me,” Bruington said.

After months of debate, trustees earlier this week voted to put Philips on administrative leave and decided to pay him for the rest of his contract, which expires in June.

Philips’ supporters had praised him for being competent and intelligent. His detractors had complained that he was a vindictive person who exacted revenge on those who spoke against him.

Bruington, along with meeting the qualifications for an acting superintendent, is kind, gentle and willing to listen, board President Dan Robles said. “We need to get back to the fact that this fear of talking before the administration, the fear of the grievance process, the fear of retribution or vindication, may have been the case in the past, but it can be alleviated.”

But trustee Ben Saiz, a supporter of Philips, who voted against buying out Philips’ contract and voted against appointing an acting superintendent, questioned whether the board was using taxpayers’ money wisely.

The board must pay Philips for the remainder of his contract even though he will not be working for the district. According to district figures, the amount owed to Philips could be as high as $95,000.

If the board hires another superintendent before June, it will be faced with paying two superintendents at the same time.

In addition, board members may have to consider whether to give Bruington a raise for her increased responsibilities.

“My disagreement stems from having to pay somebody for not working,” Saiz said. “The proverbial American dream is you get paid for not working. Wouldn’t you like to get paid for not working?”