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And then there was one.
It was not that long ago that I interviewed Chris Funk about being the new superintendent on the block in the Tri-Valley. He arrived at the Dublin Unified School District in July 2021 to provide some desperately needed stability for a school system that had seen four other top leaders over two-plus years.
Less than three years later, Funk finds himself about to become the longest-tenured superintendent in our region.
That’s right. With the news we broke last week that Superintendent David Haglund is retiring after seven years, Pleasanton Unified School District became the third TK-12 district in the Tri-Valley looking for a new leader heading into the 2024-25 academic year, joining the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District next door and the San Ramon Valley Unified School District up Interstate 680.
Throw in the departure of longtime Superintendent-Principal Molleen Barnes from Sunol Glen Unified School District, the TK-8 district in the small town immediately south of Pleasanton, and we now have four of the five Tri-Valley’s public school districts recruiting for a new superintendent at the same time.
I don’t think we can overstate how serious of an inflection point this moment is for public education leadership in the Tri-Valley. There will be a sea change individually and collectively for these districts — not to mention the fact that in three cases (if not all four), the districts are effectively competing against each other.
I wrote a column in 2022 reflecting on San Ramon’s city manager retiring within the same eight-month period that both Pleasanton and Livermore welcomed new city managers, an unusual convergence. But even those were more spread out than what we have with the superintendents.
It’s the timing that stands out to me here. It feels like more than just a confluence of coincidences, in the grand scheme, that four Tri-Valley superintendents are all departing this summer.
I asked Funk his reaction to essentially the same question over the weekend, to get his thoughts on why he is the last superintendent standing. His response was more pragmatic.
“I believe each of the retirees are coming at the appropriate age of retirement and or clearly in the case of San Ramon Superintendent, a chance to run a foundation. Unfortunately, Sunol speaks for itself,” Funk told me by email.
“After Covid, it is clear that the time has taken its toll on the superintendency office. I’m very fortunate to be leading an outstanding school district and yes, I’ve got only two to three years before I retire,” he added.
Funk is totally fair to point out that the context of each exit matters, regardless of the snowball effect.
Barnes was the first to announce her pending departure, saying on Jan. 31 that she would retire at the end of the year. In a subsequent interview with our reporter Christian Trujano, she cited mental health considerations and the need for better work-life balance among the reasons she was leaving after 16 years.
There’s no doubt that the past year and a half has been incredibly stressful for Sunol, from the 2023 storm damage to the LGBTQ+ Pride flag flap to making national headlines for its flag ban to contentious and uncomfortable board meetings to a recall election. I just hope all the drama doesn’t negatively impact SGUSD’s supe search because it’s a uniquely demanding position to fill.
Next SRVUSD Superintendent John Malloy confirmed on Feb. 22 that he’d be departing in June — after an up-and-down four years. Though there was no district press release, our reporter Jeanita Lyman found that Malloy had accepted a job as assistant executive director of the national School Superintendents Association. We subsequently got a copy of the message the school board president issued to the district community acknowledging his upcoming resignation.
My jaw dropped one month later when LVJUSD Superintendent Chris Van Schaack said on March 29 that he would be gone after two years at the helm and 30 years overall at the district, expressing a desire to scale back his load and “enjoy some of the things that make me smile and laugh.” I’ve been recently wondering if the fact he narrowly cleared his performance evaluation last year on a 3-2 vote was at all a factor.
As for Haglund, he revealed April 22 that he’ll be relocating back to Southern California after exiting PUSD on Aug. 1 to be closer to his family and grandchildren. We’ll see what the late-in-the-year announcement means for Pleasanton’s upcoming hiring search timeline.
That leaves Funk, who once entered a lion’s den of uncertainty in Dublin Unified, as the lone symbol of stability in the entire Tri-Valley. He sees the latter as a hallmark of his tenure so far.
“Based on my yearly performance reviews, my contract renewed for three more years and general feedback from staff and community, I feel we have brought much stability back to our academic program, bond and construction program, student wellness and support and we continue to be a destination for families to send the children to our amazing schools and people want to work for DUSD,” he told me, adding:
“Overall, I’m very pleased with our accomplishments. Yet, as always, there is plenty of room to improve and we have the mindset to continuously grow and become more efficient.”
Editor’s note: Jeremy Walsh is the editorial director for the Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. His “What a Week” column is a recurring feature in the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly described the nature of SRVUSD public communication regarding Superintendent John Malloy’s departure, which was cited as a resignation not a retirement. The district did not issue a press release, but rather answered our reporter’s questions and sent a copy of the email message Board President Laura Bratt issued. The Pleasanton Weekly regrets the error.
Excellent write-up; looking forward to updates on the selection process in the various districts.