Eighth grade students discuss women’s history during a social studies class at Mira Vista Elementary in Richmond, one of two K-8 schools in West Contra Costa Unified.
Theresa Harrington/EdSource Today
The West Contra Costa Unified School District is joining about a dozen other California school districts in search of its next leader. The superintendent position is the district’s highest-paid job, and filling it is one of the most crucial decisions a school board can make.
School board members approved a $45,000 contract with Leadership Associates during last week’s special board meeting to recruit the East Bay district’s new leader. The firm has conducted superintendent and other school leadership searches for 28 years and is currently also searching for superintendents for Las Lomitas Elementary School District, Tamalpais Union High School District, San Pasqual Valley Unified School District and the Santa Clara Office of Education.
At West Contr Costa, interim Superintendent Kim Moses replaced Chris Hurst in December after he announced his retirement. Hurst led the district for more than three years and stepped down to care for a family member with health challenges.
The new leader will face daunting challenges, including making sure the district doesn’t run out of cash and is placed under state control. Also, like other California districts, the district is dealing with teacher shortages, low test scores and meeting the needs of its diverse and large low-income student population.
“One thing that would be very crucial, given our current circumstances as a district, would be crisis management,” said student board member Jorge Espinoza Jr. during the special meeting. “That would include not only advocacy for our students as well as our staff and teachers and principals, but transparency when communicating.”
Students and families deserve a leader who will drive academic gains and “have the courage to disrupt the status quo,” said a Go Public Schools West Contra Costa official, a nonprofit advocating for quality education, in a statement.
“This is a chance for the district to either repair or deepen the wounds caused by years of broken trust and stagnant progress,” said Natalie Walchuk, Go Public Schools’ vice president of local impact. “The next superintendent must be someone who can restore transparency, rebuild accountability and deliver real results for all our students.”
Board member Cinthia Hernandez said the next superintendent should be someone who commits to equity and is culturally competent. Nearly 59% of the student population was Hispanic or Latino in the 2023-24 school year; about 12% of students were Black or African American, while 10% were Asian and 9% white.
About 63% of West Contra Costa students qualified for free or reduced lunch in 2023-24 and 32% were English learners, according to state data. Nearly 26,000 students are enrolled in the district’s 54 schools across Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole, Hercules and El Cerrito.
“They (the next superintendent) have to be innovative, inclusive and bilingual in whatever language —the more languages the better,” said board member Guadalupe Enllana. “They have to know how to listen, not just hear.”
For board member Jamela Smith-Folds, however, understanding diversity, equity and inclusion is not enough.
“I want an anti-racist leader,” she said during the special meeting. “Understanding our district is not just knowing the data of our district. Understanding our district is really understanding who we are and what we need. I want someone who chooses us.”
Smith-Folds said the district needs someone who understands the budget and has proven to improve academic outcomes and school culture. She urged those who haven’t attended a West Contra Costa board meeting or other committee meetings to not apply.
“There is a difference between transparency and honesty,” she added. “Transparency is, ‘If you ask me I’m going to tell you.’ Honesty is, “I’m going to tell you before you ask.’ I want an honest leader.”
Many districts are also searching for leaders
The goal for West Contra Costa is to hire a superintendent by June — about two months before the 2025-26 school year begins. It’s typical for districts to want superintendents to start before the start of the school year. Community engagement with stakeholders, surveys of communities, and listening sessions will ramp up in the coming months.
Hiring leaders is difficult at a time when many superintendents have retired or left because of heightened political climates at board meetings, stress and threats. Districts across the state are also dealing with dwindling enrollment, school closures, budget cuts, and leftover effects of the pandemic, including lower test scores and the need for more social-emotional support.
These challenges have caused veteran superintendents to retire early and be replaced with less experienced educators. Newly elected board members have also pushed out superintendents. And districts are willing to pay top dollar to find a fit for the high-stress job.
At least six open superintendent positions in California are posted through the Association of California School Administrators Career Center. More than a dozen open positions are posted on EdJoin.
Superintendent search timeline
Prior superintendent searches show that the West Costa Unified School District community wants to be involved.
Last time Leadership Associates searched for the superintendent, about 5,000 survey responses were submitted — the most the firm has received from a district, said Jim Brown, a partner with the firm.
“One of the reasons is the communication office and the principals and the teacher leaders did a really good job at making sure at almost every meeting that was held, there were copies of the survey and computers available, so people can fill out the survey,” Brown told the board during the special meeting. “We’re hoping for repetition of that.”
Typically, 1,000 survey responses is a good sign of community engagement, said Sandra Sánchez-Thorstenson, partner at Leadership Associates.
Board member Smith-Folds reiterated the importance of surveys being representative of different areas of the community.
Leadership Associates will begin engaging the West Contra Costa community, staff, educators and students in the middle of February. A survey will be sent out to the various communities from Feb. 17 to March 3.
Leadership Associates will identify potential candidates in February and March. The deadline for applications is March 24. Applications will be reviewed in April, and interviews will be conducted in May.
The district’s next superintendent is slated to be hired at the end of May or the beginning of June with a start date of July 1.
