County schools select new superintendent

Stan Mantooth Stan Mantooth is the new Ventura County superintendent of schools.

The county board of education appointed Mantooth on Aug. 16.

He took office Sept. 1.

"I'm looking forward to it. I think I provide good continuity for our office," Mantooth, 57, said. "Hopefully, I'll be able to bring the knowledge and skills that will keep us from missing a beat."

The county superintendent is an elected position. Mantooth, who's served as the county associate superintendent for the past 11 years, will finish out the unexpired term of former superintendent Charles Weis until 2010.

Weis left in June for another job.

Mantooth said he plans to maintain the county office's sound fiscal health and continue supporting teachers through the scores of professional development workshops and other services the office makes available.

"It sounds like a campaign statement, but it's the truth, the absolute truth," Mantooth said. "What we try to do is be the servant for the people out there on the front lines."

The five-member county board said in a prepared statement that Mantooth stood out in a "field of highly experienced and qualified candidates" for his knowledge of county office operations and expertise in school finance.

"We have complete confidence he can lead the office of education," board President Chris Valenzano said.

Mantooth's insight and background in school finance and business will be very important to county schools, especially during times the state threatens to cut back on education.

"The county is going to need someone who can fight for them," Valenzano said.

The search to fill the position, which drew candidates from local schools as well as the state superintendent's office, was worth the effort, Valenzano said, because it confirmed to schools, teachers, parents and other stakeholders that Mantooth is the right person for the job.

Mantooth held a number of classified positions, including school custodian while in college, before he was appointed assistant superintendent of business services for the Oak Park Unified School District in 1989. He became the associate superintendent of administrative services for the county office of education in 1996.

Mantooth, who lives in Camarillo, is single. He has three adult daughters and a 3-year-old grandson.