School officials to fill in for Garcia

Friday, April 22, 2005 | 11:06 a.m.

Two top Clark County School District administrators, who have worked closely with outgoing Superintendent Carlos Garcia, were named Thursday as temporary replacements for their boss.

The School Board voted 7-0 to select Walt Rulffes, deputy superintendent of operations and financial officer, and Augustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction, as co-interim superintendents to replace Garcia, who announced his resignation April 14 after five years at the helm.

Some board members said they wouldn't mind seeing Orci and Rulffes stay in charge of the district for a year or two if it takes that long to find and pick the right person to be the new permanent superintendent.

Both men not only had worked closely with Garcia, who was in California Thursday on school district business, but also had been trained to be interim replacements in the event Garcia opted to leave for greener pastures, the board members noted. Both also have past experience as superintendents of schools.

"They worked as a team the last five years and we wanted to keep that team together," School Board Chairman Larry Mason said after the meeting. "There is no animosity between them. They have the same vision."

The board gave Rulffes the statutory powers of the job, which gives him the authority to sign legal documents. But the two will share all of the other duties of Garcia's job while continuing to handle their own work loads, per direction from the board.

The duo's new duties will begin July 14, when Garcia leaves to work for McGraw-Hill Cos., the educational publishing giant.

The School Board will hold a closed-door session at its regularly scheduled meeting Thursday to discuss with school district human resource officials how to compensate both men for taking on the extra duties. Rulffes earns $137,000 a year while Orci earns $132,000. Garcia's salary is $212,000 a year.

After Thursday's meeting, Ruffles and Orci told reporters they are comfortable working with each other and believe they can coordinate well to share the duties of running the nation's fifth largest -- and fastest growing -- school district.

"We are a mutual admiration society," Orci said of his relationship with Rulffes.

When asked if they wanted the permanent job, each declined to comment, saying it was premature to discuss it since the board had not yet set the parameters for what it wants in the new boss.

Several board members said they had no trouble making Rulffes and Orci "co-supers" of the state's largest single employer that has an annual operating budget of about $1.7 billion, employs 25,000 and has 280,000 students.

"I have equal respect for both of you," board member Susan Brager-Wellman said.

Some board members said they are not ready to immediately pick Orci or Rulffes for the permanent post.

"We need to look at all of the options available to us," board member Denise Brodsky said, including, if necessary, a national search.

However, board member Shirley Barber recalled a series of events that bordered on fiasco during the last selection process involving a search firm. Because of information the head-hunter withheld from the School Board during the 2000 search, Barber said, "I don't have any faith" in them.

"I strongly suggest we take a look at what we have here in Las Vegas," she said.

Several among the small turnout of observers, agreed.

"Many of the best people are here already." parent Erin Cranor said.

Based upon the trustees' comments, the school board appeared to be leaning against hiring a "headhunting firm" to conduct a comprehensive national search. The board voted unanimously to draft requests for proposals to hire a facilitator to shuffle the paperwork and give the board guidance.

But the board did not rule out doing a national search, which six years ago cost the district $100,000 and was fraught with controversy when the headhunter withheld information from the board about candidates who withdrew their candidacies for the job late in the process.

And while the board Thursday discussed putting a six-month limit on the search process for a permanent replacement, that restriction was dropped from board member Ruth Johnson's motion just before the vote was taken.

She decided against the imposition of a time limit after some board members said they would not mind the selection process taking a year or two because of their confidence in Rulffes and Orci to hold down the fort.