Dear Sonoma Valley Unified School District Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to share a progress update regarding our search for the district’s next superintendent.

Over the past several months, SVUSD received 29 applications from candidates across the state and beyond. After reviewing the most recent submissions in closed session yesterday, the Board has selected six strong candidates to interview on Saturday, January 10.

During open session, our search consultants, Ron Callaway and Dr. Scott Mahoney, provided a progress report and walked the Board through the final search timeline, which is now approved. With that in place, the next big step is the interview process.

Here’s what comes next:

• January 10: The Board interviews six candidates.

• January 11: Two or three finalists will return for more in-depth interviews.

• If we identify a finalist and we are optimistic we will, the Board will begin:

  • Detailed reference checks

  • A comprehensive background review

  • Contract negotiations

  • And potentially a site visit to the finalist’s current district

Ron and Scott also shared a document that outlines the qualities our community and Board value in an ideal superintendent. This profile reflects months of input community feedback collected by Mr. Krueger, comments shared during last week’s stakeholder Zoom meeting, and thoughts from the Board. The document is available on the district website and will guide both our interview questions and our evaluation process.

Our aim is to introduce and approve an employment agreement with our next superintendent at the February 12 Board meeting.

This has been a thoughtful and carefully guided process, and we are now approaching its final stages. Thank you for your continued patience, engagement, and support of our students and schools. We look forward to sharing the next update with you soon.

Warmly,

Trustee Catarina Landry

Sonoma Valley Unified School District