Schools
Capistrano Unified Taps Alameda Educator as New Superintendent
Kirsten Vital will make the move south from Alameda Unified.
After a lengthy process that had the school board ditching one executive search firm for another, the Capistrano Unified School District has found its next superintendent in Kirsten Vital.
The Board of Trustees is expected to approve Vital's contract at its June 25 meeting, according to a press release from Capo.
Vital comes from the Alameda Unified, where she has headed up the Bay Area school district of just under 10,000 students since 2008. She writes a monthly letter to the community, which has regularly appeared in the Alameda Patch.
Before making the jump to Alameda Unified, Vital served at Oakland Unified, Los Angeles and was a
co-principal at Santa Monica High School.
Capistrano spokesman Stephen Nichols declined to say what Vital's starting salary will be, although it will be available soon online as part of the Wednesday school board packet.
Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Vital's salary was a bone of contention in the 2012 school board election in Alameda, with the local union there endorsing three candidates critical of her pay, according to Inside Bay Area. Two of them were elected, but an incumbent who voted her then salary of $204,000 was re-elected.
She replaces Joseph Farley, who announced his retirement in December. His last day is July 1.
Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We wanted to ensure that we had the right person for this very important role during this critical time in our district,” he said. “Because of her demonstrated track record of success, the Board of Trustees is certain that Kirsten Vital is the right leader who will take our District to new heights of student achievement.”
The trustees have met several times in closed session about Farley's successor. In May, the trustees selected a new search firm after rejecting several candidates, Nichols said.
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