When looking for a caretaker, it makes perfect sense to opt for the person who knows every inch of the place.
Such appears the strategy of the Culver City Unified School District Board of Education in its search for an interim superintendent. The board Tuesday, June 22 offered the position to retiring Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Patricia Jaffe, and it took less than 24 hours for the longtime CCUSD employee to agree to hold down the fort in the wake of the departure of Dr. Myrna Rivera Coté from the district’s top job.
Jaffe will officially take the reins July 1, and guide the district until a permanent replacement is hired, a process expected to take between four and six months.
“I’m very thrilled. I’m very excited,” said Jaffe, who still must be formally approved by the board during a special meeting at 6 p.m. tonight. “They just came and asked if I would be interested and said I should apply.”
With a laugh, she added: “I didn’t quite get there (to her planned retirement). I’m just beating the deadline.”
Jaffe has spent 40 years with the district in a variety of roles, and announced this spring her plan to retire effective July 1. However, once Coté revealed her plan May 28 to leave for the same post in the El Rancho Unified School District, Jaffe emerged as an obvious candidate to guide CCUSD during its time of transition.
The board ultimately interviewed three candidates Monday, June 21 before offering the position to Jaffe.
“Other than being a custodian, she’s done everything else in the district,” said CCUSD board member Scott Zeidman. “We think she will be a fantastic bridge to whomever our full-time superintendent is going to be.”
The fact that Jaffe is intimately familiar with any and all issues facing the district — from the ongoing budget crisis to the constantly evolving enrollment numbers created by Los Angeles Unified School District’s decision this spring to refuse most inter-district permits — understandably weighed heavily in her favor.
“It’s incredibly helpful,” Zeidman said. “Patti’s forgotten more about Culver City’s school district than anyone’s going to learn in six months.
“I’m very excited to have her. I think the community is behind her. The teachers are behind her. The parents are behind her. She is the best person for the district.”
Unlike Interim City Manager P. Lamont Ewell, who was given a four-month contract that expires July 31, Jaffe’s contract calls for her to remain as interim superintendent until a full-time replacement is brought aboard, which is almost guaranteed not to happen until months into the 2010-2011 school year.
With that in mind, she has a simple, immediate goal for her term in the top spot — making sure everything is ready to roll come Aug. 30 when school is back in session.
“What I’ve always done and want to continue to do is serve and make sure the students have the very best education,” Jaffe said. “Day 1, everything in place, ready to go, make it a great learning environment for the students.”
