County Board to Enter Negotiations
With Superintendent Candidate

SAN JOSE, CA – The Santa Clara County Board of Education has narrowed its search to one finalist for the position of Santa Clara County superintendent of schools. The finalist, Dr. Charles Weis, is the current Ventura County superintendent of schools.

According to Jane Howard, president of the board, the next steps in the selection process are a validation site visit to Ventura County by board members and contract negotiations.

The move resulted after two special board meetings at which six candidates were interviewed.

"We are very excited at the prospect of having Dr. Weis take over at the county office," Howard said. "It's a time of challenges in education, but also of opportunities—and we think he is the person to meet those challenges, and pursue those opportunities."

Howard said Weis, 57, was selected from a field of "extremely impressive" candidates. Fifteen people applied for the position.

Weis was appointed as Ventura County's superintendent in 1993. He was elected to his first term the following year. In 2006 he was re-elected to his fourth four-year term.

Weis, if hired, would start at the COE on July 1. He would take over from Joe Fimiani. Fimiani, assistant superintendent of the COE's Student Services branch, has been the COE's interim superintendent since November 2007.

The SCCOE provides instructional, administrative, human resources, business and technical support services to the county's 32 school districts. The office has about 1,900 employees and an annual budget of about $280 million.

Date last updated: March 28, 2008