PALMDALE PICKS OWN AS CHIEF OF SCHOOLS INTERIM HEAD GETS POST AFTER SEARCH.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO

Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- The Palmdale School District is promoting its interim superintendent to the permanent post after conducting a nationwide search to find the right candidate.

The board had its eye on a finalist found through the search but could not come to agreement on final employment terms.

"We wanted certain provisions, the applicant wanted certain provisions. We couldn't find common ground," trustee Sheldon Epstein said.

The district announced Friday that the board had selected interim Superintendent Roger Gallizzi to head the district.

Gallizzi has been serving in the interim post since July 2006 after former Superintendent Jack Gyves retired. At the time, Gallizzi said he offered his services as an interim administrator and chose not to apply for the permanent position.

Gallizzi said the district's attorney called him July5 with the job offer, and he accepted.

"I have done the job for a year. I feel I've grown with the position and feel I've done a reasonably well job for a first-year superintendent," Gallizzi said.

The board will vote Tuesday on a three-year contract that will pay Gallizzi $175,000 a year, up from his current salary of $160,000.

Gallizzi was the assistant superintendent of human resources when he became interim superintendent, and he had been handling both jobs. A replacement will be found for the personnel post.

"We hired a search firm and went through two complete rounds of applicants, and we determined after all was done that we had the best applicant currently sitting at the district office," Epstein said.

"After you go out two times and go through a field of applicants, it didn't make sense to go out a third time when we felt the person we had in place was doing a notable job," Epstein said.

The board could not find the perfect match among the applicants, officials said.

"I think it was important for the board to go through the entire formal superintendent search process because we were able to hear from the community what qualities they wanted in a new superintendent," trustee Sandy Corrales said. "(Gallizzi) has performed admirably as interim superintendent. Because of his long history with the district, he can hit the ground running as soon as his contract is approved."

Board members said they have been impressed with Gallizzi's job performance, including increasing the visibility and accessibility of the superintendent's office by visiting campuses and establishing a working relationship with the city of Palmdale.

"As a board member, I have personally witnessed Mr. Gallizzi walking onto school campuses where he has a personal connection with parents, teachers and even students," Corrales said.

"I'm honored that the board has confidence in me, and it is my every intention to demonstrate to them that their confidence was well-placed," Gallizzi said.

Gallizzi, 49, has worked 18 years in the district, starting out as a teacher at Yucca Elementary School. He then worked as a curriculum resource teacher at Yucca and the district office, followed by a stint as coordinator and director of biliteracy programs during which he helped found Los Amigos School, where students learn in English and Spanish.

He then served as principal of Pueblo Learning Center, where students behind in academic studies receive remedial help. He went on to be director of personnel and was hired as assistant superintendent of personnel in 2003.

Gallizzi received a bachelor's degree in medieval philosophy at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He obtained a master's degree in educational leadership from the University of La Verne and is finishing his doctoral dissertation there.