FLYNN PICKED TO LEAD SIMI DISTRICT; BOARD MAJORITY NAMES FIFTH SUPERINTENDENT IN TWO YEARS.

Byline: Douglas Clark Daily News Staff Writer

Citing his team-building and communications skills, the Simi Valley school board has hired Dan Flynn as district superintendent, bringing in a veteran educator with no top-level administrative experience.

Following a lengthy closed session, the board voted 3-2 late Tuesday to hire Flynn, a Thousand Oaks resident who is a coordinator for Los Angeles County's Head Start preschool program. Terms of his contract have not been worked out.

``He's the kind of person who can grow in the job and be here for 20 years,'' school board President Norman Walker said Wednesday. ``We're ready to move the district forward. This is a great opportunity for us to come together as a team. I think it's important that all the groups involved get together and make Dan Flynn a successful superintendent.''

Flynn, who sent his resume directly to Walker and campaigned openly throughout the community for the job, said his appointment is a dream come true.

``I'm still a foot off the ground. I've been blessed with this opportunity,'' said Flynn, who visited the district office Thursday morning before driving to work in Downey. ``For a man who comes from a family of educators, this is the ultimate. This is a life goal.''

But even Flynn acknowledged that he faces ``a long journey'' as he tries to unite a fractious school district that has had five superintendents in less than two years.

``First, I'm going to listen. I'm here to show my actions speak louder than any words they've heard (from his predecessors). I'll earn their trust through my actions,'' he said.

Ginny Jannotto, president of the Simi Educators Association, said that while teachers have vowed to work with Flynn for the benefit of the students, the process by which he was hired has created tension within the district and the community as a whole.

``We'll move on, we'll work together. But I'm stunned that under these conditions, three of our board members would hire a school leader,'' Jannotto said. ``It's a complete slap in the face.''

Trustee Carla Kurachi, who with Diane Collins cast the dissenting votes, concurred.

``I can work with anybody, but I'm very critical of the board,'' she said. ``I think what they did was a spit in the face of every employee in the district.''

The administrators and teachers unions and dozens of Simi Valley residents had urged the board to delay action on Flynn and stick to its original plan of hiring an executive recruiter to identify and screen qualified superintendent candidates.

The teachers union also gathered 900 signatures on a petition that asked the board to consider only those superintendent candidates who have the highest qualifications.

At the time, Walker said the school district would save time and money if it hired a local candidate that ``we know a lot about.''

Trustee Janice DiFatta, who voted with Walker and Caesar Julian in favor of Flynn, said that concerns about the process were unfounded.

``There is no mandated process, or even a traditional process that has been used in Simi Valley,'' DiFatta said.

She also said that Flynn ``exceeds her expectations'' because of his focus on children, basic education and parental involvement.

``He's positive, genuine and trustworthy. He's a visionary and a good communicator who has the ability to bring people together,'' DiFatta said. ``This is something the district needs.''

Julian said that ``no one thing'' made him vote for Flynn. He declined further comment, saying only that he had high hopes for the future.

Flynn became known to many Ventura County residents in 1994, when he was principal of the county's schools for youthful offenders. He ran against his boss, Charles Weis, for county schools superintendent, and was fired three weeks after losing the election. He filed a wrongful termination suit and eventually settled for $120,000.

CHRONOLOGY

Dan Flynn's hiring Tuesday makes him the seventh superintendent of the Simi Valley Unified School District since 1990, when John Duncan left after 16 years to take a job in Northern California. Here is a list of his predecessors:

June 1990 - Robert Purvis, superintendent of the Chico Unified School District, is hired as superintendent. He announces in January 1993 that he will resign that June.

May 1993 - Mary Beth Wolford, deputy superintendent of administrative services, is promoted to superintendent.

June 1996 - Wolford retires, six months earlier than planned. Purvis is hired as interim superintendent.

November 1996 - Tate Parker, superintendent of the Murietta Unified School District, is hired as superintendent. The board accepts his resignation in June 1997, after placing him on paid administrative leave.

June 1997 - Albert ``Bud'' Marley, retired chief of the Las Virgenes Unified School District, is hired as interim superintendent for $519 a day.

Tuesday - Dan Flynn, coordinator of Los Angeles County's Head Start program, is hired as superintendent.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO (color in Simi edition only) Dan Flynn

Faces division

BOX: CHRONOLOGY (see text)