Superintendent says he’ll retire

By John Loesing Acorn Staff Writer

Las Virgenes Unified School District gave Superintendent John Fitzpatrick a two-year instead of four-year contract and announced that he’ll retire in 2005.

Fitzpatrick, who’s been with LVUSD for eight years, told the board of education he hoped to retire soon anyway, and that the abbreviated contract was in the best interest of everyone.

"In my evaluation session that I had this year, I mentioned that I probably would be retiring in a couple of years," Fitzpatrick said. "(We) came to an understanding specifically when it would be."

Terilyn Finders, school board president, said Fitzpatrick received a "solid evaluation" during the contract talks.

"There was never any difficulty in the dialogue," Finders said. "He was very much committed to working with the board of education to arrive at a decision that was in the best interest of the district.

"At this stage in John’s career, it seemed a very logical question to ask about what his plans for retirement are, and we forced a timeline on that," Finders said.

Fitzpatrick came to the school district in 1995 following a stint as superintendent of schools for the Rim of the World School District in Lake Arrowhead.

He’s been an educator for 35 years and has daughter who’s a junior at Agoura High School.

Two years ago, LVUSD teachers issued a vote of "no confidence" in Fitzpatrick, citing poor communication between the administration and the teacher’s union, and dissatisfaction with the district’s decision-making process.

Following personnel changes in Fitzpatrick’s cabinet and the arrival of several new school boardmembers, the relationship between Fitzpatrick and the teachers began to improve.

"I think John took the no-confidence vote seriously, not personally and asked the question, ‘What’s making teachers want to take this vote of no confidence?’" said Sandi Pope, the union president.

"Right now, I would say confidence in the decision-making is higher than it’s ever been," Pope said.

Fitzpatrick will receive a $24,000 incentive bonus for agreeing to the shorter contract. He makes $132,000 a year.

"It was the collective wisdom of the board that putting a specific timeline on it puts the proverbial finish line in front of everybody and sometimes that invigorates everybody," Finders said.

Fitzpatrick set three priorities for his final 24 months in office: Improve the school district budget, complete the new middle school in Calabasas and the new elementary school in Agoura Hills, and provide a new performing arts building for Agoura and Calabasas high schools.

"No. 1 is trying to work out the issues of budget in the district and the parcel tax because we definitely have to have our own source of revenue that isn’t controlled by the state or the federal governments to guarantee we’re going to have the quality education we need," Fitzpatrick said.

LVUSD wants voters to pass a parcel tax next March that could add up to $4 million annually to the school budget.