July 17, 2007

Cardinale fills assistant superintendent post
Former Duarte Unified School District administrator shifts to Fullerton.
By BARBARA GIASONE
The Orange County Register

FULLERTON — A work commute from Yorba Linda to Duarte that grew from 45 to 90 minutes convinced Gary Cardinale to seek employment closer to home.

On Tuesday, Fullerton School District trustees made Cardinale's drive considerably shorter.

Beginning Aug. 1, Cardinale will spend 28 minutes traveling to his new board-approved position as assistant superintendent of business services. He replaces Pat Godfrey, who retired this month after 10 years with the district.

Cardinale, 57, worked for nearly 10 years as assistant superintendent of the Duarte Unified School District. Previously, he held a similar position with the Redlands Unified School District. He also taught history and coached baseball at El Dorado High School in Placentia.

"Years ago, I worked in the Buena Park School District, and I was always attracted to Fullerton's forward-looking administration," he said Tuesday.

Cardinale earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees at the University of La Verne. He also holds a School of Business Certificate from USC.

He and his wife of 34 years, Janet, have three children, who graduated from El Dorado High School.

Ryan, 26, a graduate of Cal State Fullerton, is married and has one daughter, Maddi Sofia. He is a construction manager for Lennar Homes.

Christopher, 23, a graduate of Azusa Pacific University with a degree in communications studies, will enter Pepperdine Law School in the fall.

Lindsay, 19, is a sophomore at Azusa Pacific majoring in physical therapy.