SMMUSD Superintendent Moving On

• School Board Scurries to Fill Surprise Job Vacancy

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District, which has been rocked by two major controversies recently, may be facing a new round of upheaval, as Superintendent Dianne Talarico, who has served for just two years, may soon be leaving to take a position in Northern California.
SMMUSD board member Kathy Wisnicki, the lone Malibuite on the board, confirmed the report widely circulating in Santa Monica that Talarico has received an offer from a small K-8 school system in the Bay Area with about 2500 students.
Wisnicki indicated that the deal is not yet signed, and that official confirmation would not come until sometime next week.
Talarico had held a position in the San Francisco school district for nearly two decades. The move would allow Talarico to join her husband, also an educator, who has been located in Northern California during the time that Talarico has been with the SMMUSD.
Talarico replaced John Deasy as superintendent in 2006. She had previously served as superintendent in her home town of Canton, Ohio, where she was credited with decreasing high school dropout rates, and helping to secure grant and tax monies.
Talarico, however, was an unknown when she arrived in this district. The teachers union complained that they had not been included in the selection process. State
Assemblymember Julia Brownley, who was then a school board member, stated at the time that “this was our first ever departure from having a hiring process that was open and collaborative.”
According to the board, no good candidates would consent to being interviewed by the SMMUSD consultants if their names were made public.
A number of Malibu activists lobbied at the time for the selection of former Malibu High School principal Mike Matthews, who is now Assistant Supervisor.
Wisnicki assured the Malibu Surfside News that the board is already “determining how to move forward” with the process of choosing a new superintendent. “Last time we started late,” she said, indicating that this time there would be more opportunity to examine the options and involve the community.
Wisnicki said that education consultant Jim Brown of Leadership Associates, an executive search firm, is scheduled to meet with the board to help develop a timeline.
Wisnicki said she thinks the board will act swiftly to appoint an interim superintendent, but that a permanent appointment will not be made until after the November school board elections. A special board meeting will be held when Talarico’s Northern California appointment is confirmed, possibly as early as Wednesday.
The interim superintendent will have to deal with the continuing fallout of the special education controversy and the Lincoln Middle School sexual harassment allegations, as well as the apparent divide that continues to widen between the Malibu and Santa Monica halves of the district.