The school board in Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) will move closer to selecting the next superintendent when it conducts in-person interviews with the final three candidates starting on May 1. A second round of interviews with the finalists is planned for May 2.

After reviewing applications from eight candidates last week, Board Member Dolores Didio said she was pleased with the field of applicants provided by the Ventura County Office of Education, which conducted the search for a new superintendent at the request of the Conejo board.

"I've been through this (process) many times, and I've been really impressed with how the county has done this," said Didio, who's helped select four superintendents during her 22 years on the board. "We've been totally included in the whole process and they've really taken our input into consideration."

Didio said selecting a chief of schools is the board's most important function.

"It's the superintendent that sets the tone for the whole district," Didio said. "It's a task (board members) should take very, very seriously."

Board President Pat Phelps, who's going through this process for the second time, agrees.

"This is just like the board of directors of a Fortune 500 company hiring their CEO-that's essentially what we're doing," Phelps said.

The board is hoping to make its selection by the end of the school year so that the new superintendent will have as much time as possible to work with departing Superintendent Robert Fraisse, who's agreed to stay on with the district through the end of July. Fraisse, who's been at the helm of the CVUSD the past four years, is leaving to take a position at California Lutheran University.

"That way we won't have things falling through the cracks," Phelps said. "Dr. Fraisse will be there to explain why things are the way they are and to explain the plans that we have in place. . . . I think it's going to make for a much smoother transition."

Fraisse said whoever his replacement is, he or she will have the benefit of entering a district that is financially stable.

"Things are looking very promising for the next few years. Whoever comes in will have the advantage of very good fiscal times ahead," Fraisse said.

Nevertheless, the superintendent said, the job will require a strong and effective leader to keep the district heading on the right track.

"I guess the key point would be we do have the momentum. The new person will have to keep that momentum going forward," he added.

Though the board is not releasing the names of applicants it will interview next week, Phelps did say all of them have experience in the California education system.

Despite their time constraints, she said, board members would be working diligently over the next few weeks to ensure the next superintendent meets all the qualifications desired by district employees, parents and the board. "It's important that you do find

somebody that fits our expectations," Phelps said, "and this is a district with high expectations."