Deputy Superintendent to join Heatley in Georgia

By Neil Nisperos

Staff Writer

CHINO -- Edmond Heatley won't be leaving the Chino Valley Unified School District alone.

The district's deputy superintendent Stephanie Phillips has been hired for a similar role in the Clayton County Schools System in Georgia.

Heatley, Chino Valley Unified's former superintendent, left for the school district outside of Atlanta on June 30.

Phillips was considered to be Chino Valley Unified's interim superintendent after Heatley left. Board members ended up selecting district administrator Wayne Joseph for the position.

Phillips will leave the district after July 31.

She could not be reached for comment.

"We're losing a very knowledgable administrator and I'm upset to see her go," school board president Sylvia Orozco said. "Of course I wish her well. I think we're losing a very knowledgable administrator at a time we could use some of her expertise."

The school board recently denied -- by a 2-2 vote -- not to extend the contracts for assistant and deputy superintendents past next year. The move is typically a courtesy and intended as a reward for good performance.

Board members who voted against the extension said the denial had nothing to do with performance, but as a symbolic gesture in light of recent teacher layoffs and the budget crisis.

Phillips' salary at Chino Valley Unified is about $179,000.

"I think that, unfortunately, when our board didn't extend the contract, it may have sent an unintentional message to our adminstrators," Orozco said. "Typically, administrators have a three-year contract indicating the district is interested in continuing services."

Interim Superintendent Wayne Joseph said he does not intend to extend the opening of the position for deputy superintendent, but instead open a position for an Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, or chief business officer.

"The rationale behind that is, I would think that we have the ability now to make some cuts and try to get similar services without having to pay the price," Joseph said.

Phillips, who has been deputy superintendent for the past two years, joined the district as Associate Superintendent of Business and Operations in 2006 from the Ontario-Montclair School District. Prior to her joining Chino Valley Unified, Phillips has served as superintendent of business services and senior director of business and finance at a high school district in Sacramento.

Since 2004, Phillips has been an adjunct professor for school business management certificate program at USC where she earned a doctorate in education. Phillips also worked as a finance and budget analyst for the California Department of Finance in Sacramento.

Clayton County schoolboard member Jessie Goree said the vote to hire Phillips on their Monday meeting was unanimous. Goree said she had earlier suggested to Heatley several months ago that he should bring along somebody he was familiar with.

"I told him he should come with somebody that he trusted and of course somebody that is qualified and capable of doing the job," Goree said.