After nearly five years in the top post at the St. Helena Unified School District, superintendent Allan Gordon has announced his intention to retire at the end of the current school year.

In a move that one frustrated parent called “a done deal,” district trustees acted swiftly to appoint assistant superintendent Robert Haley as Gordon’s replacement.

The trustees formally accepted Gordon’s resignation, effective June 30, in closed session during their regular board meeting last Thursday night. They also welcomed his offer to stay on as a “special consultant” to the district, a post for which he’ll receive no additional compensation beyond his retirement benefits.

In a special meeting immediately after the regular meeting, trustees named second-in-command Haley to the top administrative position, voting — in closed session, and over the objections of several parents who had spoken out during the open meeting — not to do an executive search for a replacement from outside the district.

Haley was previously superintendent in Sebastopol. He came to St. Helena in 2004 after he was the target of a “no confidence” vote by Sebastopol teachers.

The superintendent’s salary at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year was $254,000 a year.

St. Helena High School Principal Jim Zoll is also stepping down. He announced his decision to his staff last week, Trustee Cindy Warren told the Star.

She said the board    doesn’t get involved in appointing anybody below the level of superintendent, so Gordon and Haley will be responsible for filling the two open positions — high school principal and assistant superintendent.

During the first meeting, board president Ines DeLuna grew tearful more than once as trustees and administrators lauded Gordon on his accomplishments since the summer of 2004, when he moved from the top spot in the Jamul-Dulzura (San Diego County) district to take the reins in St. Helena.

“I can’t comment right now, or I’ll keep crying,” said DeLuna, the only remaining trustee from the 2004 board that hired Gordon to replace controversial superintendent Gina Santangelo.

Trustee Jim Haslip, a retired superintendent himself, called Gordon’s tenure “the best five years this district has had,” while trustee Cynthia Lane told the retiring superintendent that “you have made a tremendous impact.”

In the second meeting, trustees and administrators indicated they felt that Gordon’s shoes could be filled by someone already working in the district.

“I personally feel we have in-house an excellent candidate for the office of superintendent,” Lane said.

Trustee Carolyn Martini agreed. “Going outside the district when you’ve created a team also sends a very negative message,” she said.

Haslip said an executive search would cost the district $30,000 or more with no guarantee that the best person wasn’t already on staff, and that there wasn’t much time to find an outside replacement by the start of the next academic year. “I see at least three people, maybe more, that have the leadership qualities to, if not now, then eventually be superintendents,” Haslip said.

He said that with the district’s increased emphasis on programs like the academically rigorous International Baccalaureate curriculum, “I think we need someone who is heavily invested in what we’re doing.”

Parents object

Parents who attended Thursday’s meeting, however, expressed a desire for the board to do what Kevin Alfaro, father of three children in district schools, called “full due diligence” to find the best replacement for Gordon.

“You need to do a full-scope investigation,” Alfaro told the board. “It doesn’t appear that you have spent much time considering this. I think you need to listen to the parents.”

Leslie Ellis, who is chairwoman of the district’s next fundraising auction, echoed Alfaro.

“You guys need to listen to the parents who are saying ‘We want an outside search.’ You work for us,” she said.

Kelly Rios reminded trustees that “if we hadn’t gone outside five years ago, we wouldn’t have Allan Gordon today.” Pam Smithers added, “We’re all talking about Rob, aren’t we? I suggest you go through the process, and if he’s the best guy, then you’ve got your guy. Because that’s what all the parents want.”

Rising to speak a second time, an obviously frustrated Alfaro told the board, “What is shocking is that within hours we got notice that this is going to be on the agenda, and it appears to be a done deal.”

Since the board discussed the superintendent issue as part of a special meeting, it only required 24 hours notice.

Denise Smith encouraged the board to look at all qualified candidates.

“Do not be hasty in your decision, even if that means having an interim person during the process,” she said.

Before the trustees entered their closed session, Haslip countered the parents’ charges that the board was acting in haste, telling them that “this is something I’ve been thinking about for well over two years; this is our most important job.”

“We’re not coming to this spontaneously just because it happened spontaneously,” he said.

DeLuna added that she had had “other constituent contacts” by phone, e-mail and face-to-face conversation, and that not everyone opposed replacing Gordon from within.

“Even though you’ve taken the time to be here, a lot of other people have also commented,” she said, before choking up again.

Representing the district’s teachers union, instructor Dan Boyett said, “You will be criticized whichever way you go; we support the continuity and staying with the leadership we have.”

Gordon’s special consultant duties will center on continuing to upgrade district facilities and pursuing property tax funds St. Helena Unified claims are being illegally withheld by Napa County Office of Education Superintendent Barbara Nemko.