A county superintendent with 15 years of experience under his
belt will take over as Superintendent for the Santa Clara County
Office of Education starting July 1.
Also: read a copy of the new county superintendent’s
contract.
A county superintendent with 15 years of experience under his belt will take over as Superintendent for the Santa Clara County Office of Education starting July 1.
Charles Weis, 57, superintendent of Ventura County’s schools since 1993, accepted the county school board’s offer for a $285,000 annual salary, a raise of more than $100,000 from his Ventura County salary. The board sweetened the deal with a $1 million housing loan. The first $500,000 will be interest free, the latter half a 3 percent interest rate. He will also receive a $15,000 stipend to relocate to Silicon Valley. “Big numbers,” said Jane Howard, president of the board, but he has the goods to back it up, she added.
“Frankly, to get someone of this caliber, we needed to have that component,” she said, referring to the generous housing loan. “I had to think this through myself. But when looking at other CEO types recruited to an area like here, housing is a key factor in securing the position.”
The board voted unanimously to hire the seasoned superintendent, after a month-long search process conducted by Leadership Associates. Weis was selected from a pool of about 15 “extremely impressive” candidates, according to Howard. The move to hire him resulted after two special board meetings at which six finalists were interviewed.
“We are all eager to see the county office of education move forward under Dr. Weis’ leadership,” Howard said. “He is known throughout the state as an excellent administrator and leader, and we feel he and the county office are an excellent match.”
As county superintendent, Weis is the chief administrative officer of an office that serves 32 school districts, and manages a staff of about 1,900 and a budget of about $280 million. Weis will permanently replace Joe Fimiani, interim superintendent since November 2007 who was filling in for previous superintendent Colleen Wilcox.
Weis was born in Santa Monica and raised in Los Angeles. He earned a bachelor’s degree at University of California, Los Angeles, a master’s degree at California State University, Northridge, and a doctorate at University of California, Santa Barbara.
Howard said the board and Weis shared similar priorities and called his focus on customer service and his technological savvy “remarkable.” She characterized Weis with a list of glowing adjectives: forthright, passionate, articulate and down to earth, among others.
“He’s someone you really gravitate to,” she said. “He stands head and shoulders above the rest.”
