The end of the school year could mark a new beginning for the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District as the School Board is scheduled to appoint a new Superintendent on June 1.
The appointment was announced last week and is formally listed on the June 1 agenda as the first "Major Action Item."
The SMMUSD Board recently conducted candidate interviews and the June 1 announcement will come about six months after former SMMUSD superintendent Ben Drati announced in November 2022 that he would be leaving the district at the beginning of 2023.
The Board appointed Mark Kelly as interim superintendent and hired the executive search firm Leadership Associates to head up the process.
The new superintendent is expected to start work by the beginning of July of this year, just ahead of the 2023-2024 school year.
While the Superintendent search is an important step for the district, it’s not the only item of substance on the agenda.
The board will receive an update on the preliminary budget for the upcoming school year, discuss plans to meet state-mandated educational targets and be notified of new negotiations with the teachers union (covering class size, safety, salary, additional compensation and benefits).
Staff changes, including a recognition of retirees and several appointments will also be part of the meeting.
The regular meeting will be held on June 1 in the new District Administrative Offices (1717 4th St., Santa Monica, CA) or via Zoom webinar (meeting ID: 895 1690 4644; passcode: 044331; call-in number: 669.900.6833). The meeting will start at 4:30 p.m. with a closed session and the public portion will begin at 5:30 p.m.
