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best candidate by far was a nice black woman. Her name was placed on the hiring list for Board action and then the Superintendent called me to come in to his office. He said, "Is there a black on the hiring list for this office?" I told him there was. He said he thought that he should make the decision about putting a black in the office. I told him that this employee would be in the Business Office and that I did not know of any policy that prevented us from hiring blacks. Later I found that the real culprit was the Superintendent's secretary who was Mexican. She thought the case required special permission from the head man and the Superintendent followed her lead. Anyway the black woman was hired and had no problems because of her color.

I have evaluated each man I worked for in every district and I may as well talk about Inglewood. That Superintendent is the only one I thought deserved to be fired from his job. He was totally indecisive. He required a great deal of attention. It was as though he expected each staff member to come by his office each day and pat him on the back. It was never clear where he stood on any question and he might change his mind at any time. The people in the community did not understand him and did not have a warm feeling toward him. I stayed with him for six years but when the Deputy Superintendent's job in Santa Monica opened I began to think of moving. A good friend of mine was in Santa Monica. He was retiring and thought I would fit well in that district. The job included both the unified district and the community college and the salary was considerably higher than the one in Inglewood. The Superintendent in Santa Monica had been a principal in Torrance so I knew him well. He was a large brash Italian guy who drank heavily and chased women. When I mentioned this to my friend in Santa Monica, he said, "Yes, he does all those things but he also can make decisions and he will support you in the ones you make. He is a real joy to work with."

I called the Superintendent, went for an interview and got the Santa Monica job. This occurred in April which was my month for moves. Again, I selected my replacement in Inglewood.