Borane may be appointed interim superintendent

It appears former Douglas Mayor Ray Borane will be returning to the Douglas School System, at least on an interim basis, as its new superintendent.

Borane was one of two individuals interviewed (Current interim Leann Bowley being the other) during a special meeting last Tuesday of the Douglas Unified School District Governing Board.

With the assistance of the Arizona School Board Association, the district board received a list of 17 potential  past administrators that could serve on an interim basis with the district.

While no decision  was made following the interview process last week, Tuesday’s, February 2, agenda has two agenda items discussing Borane’s temporary employment.

The first item is a discussion action on Borane’s qualifications, while the second item is an action item on agreement with Borane to become Chief Administrative Officer for the district.

During the meeting, the district board is scheduled to request the Arizona School Boards Association to conduct a superintendent search.

While Borane may be best known recently as the previous Mayor of the City of Douglas, he had a long history with the Douglas Unified School District and state education.

Borane  served as the assistant to the president of Northern Arizona University from 1993 to 1995, the deputy state superintendent of public instruction from 1988 to 1993, the superintendent of the Douglas Unified School District from 1976 to 1988, and the president of the Arizona State Board of Education.

He began his career in Arizona as a Spanish teacher at Douglas High School.

He is a graduate of Arizona State University and performed graduate studies at the University of Bogota in Colombia and the University of Guadalajara in Mexico.

Borane would serve for the remainder of the school year, through June 30, 2010, replacing Earl Pettit who has been placed on paid administrative leave through the remainder of his contract.

In  other action, the board:

•  Approved the final payment of $9,687 to private investigator Patrick Cooper, who conducted the investigation on Pettit. Total fee was $38,689, and there is now some question whether the district may have broken state rules by going over the procurement limit without going out to bid.

• Approved Pettit’s attendance at future professional development activities at the district’s expense, to include the AASA conference in Phoenix this week.