EASTSIDE EYES HIRING INTERIM CHIEF.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- Eastside Union School District trustees are scheduled to meet Monday to interview several candidates and possibly hire someone for the position of part-time interim superintendent.

``We are looking at hiring an interim for a couple of days a week to help out until we hire a full-time permanent superintendent,'' board president Janette Crawford said.

The interviews are closed to the public.

The board in July had named two assistant superintendents to fill in jointly as interim superintendent, but they have been swamped by the workload, Crawford said.

``They are a bit overwhelmed. We want to make sure they have the support they need,'' Crawford said.

The district has set a deadline of Oct. 15 for people to apply for the permanent superintendent's position. Crawford said a person will probably be hired around December.

``The brochures are done. We are starting to receive applications. We've had a few calls from people who are interested. Usually with this process, like anything else, everybody waits until the last minute,'' Crawford said.

The district is spending $8,000 for an executive search team from the California School Boards Association to help look for a new superintendent to replace ousted Superintendent Greg Riccio.

The board voted 4-1, with Crawford dissenting, on June 27 to terminate Riccio and buy out the remaining year of his contract. At the time, Crawford said, ``It wasn't a good fit'' between him and the district.

Riccio was to be on leave until Aug. 2, the effective date of the termination, and the board will pay him an amount equivalent to his monthly salary for the 11 months left on his contract, which expires June 30, 2007. The payments will cease, though, when Riccio finds another job.

Riccio's total annual compensation is $128,791, consisting of a base salary of $112,000, $3,600 a year for a car allowance, $12,946 for medical insurance and $245 for life insurance.

Before being hired by Eastside in August 2004, Riccio served in a variety of school administrative positions in Connecticut, Illinois, Arizona and California, including a stint at the New View Union School District in Riverside County.

Eastside has four schools with a total of about 2,700 students.

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