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As soon as Torie Gibson wakes up she checks her work email.
From here she attends back-to back-meetings, makes school visits and manages anything else that comes up throughout the day.
Sometime around 5:30 to 7 p.m., she heads home for dinner with her husband. Then she labors a second shift as superintendent until 10:30 or 11 p.m.
It’s rinse and repeat, Gibson said in an interview with Livermore Vine.
“Education is a very passion-driven field because it involves people’s children, and I have great respect for that,” she said. “And whether it’s a Saturday or a Thursday, those passions don’t change for parents or for staff.”
Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District’s new superintendent began her role in July, following the board’s unanimous approval. They were impressed with her previous experience as a superintendent and she was similarly impressed by the district’s programs.
Since taking the helm in Livermore, she’s faced ongoing budget concerns and growing pains accompanying a new semester system.
She said she’s also taken steps to question district habits, all the while being communicative and relatable.
“I’m a normal person like everybody else and have a family and have a husband and a dog and all the things that we all enjoy in life outside of work,” Gibson said. “And I don’t sit back and not share that part of my world as well.”
Since graduating college in the late ’90s, Gibson has served roles in education as a school counselor, vice principal, principal and director of program improvement.
She also has nine years of experience working as a superintendent.
Most recently, she served as dual superintendent for the Amador County Office of Education and Amador County Unified School District east of Sacramento.
As the granddaughter of a cattle rancher, she was attracted to LVJUSD in part because of its agriculture and trade programs.
“All kids need access to different things that make them tick, to keep them engaged and help them figure out where they want to go,” she said. “Livermore does an excellent job of providing many, many options to our students, so everyone can find their little tribe or village that they can fit into.”
The board appointed her out of admiration for her principle of transparency and her ability to make tough decisions, according to Emily Prusso, president of LVJUSD Board of Education.
They also value her experience at the district and county-levels, where she gained insight into all elements of leadership, LVJUSD Board Member Steven Drouin said.
“I’m honored that they chose me,” said Gibson, Livermore’s third schools superintendent in the last four years. “I’m proud to represent the programs that we offer here.”
In July, she made the transition to LVJUSD by working with outgoing superintendent Chris Van Schaack, who retired after two years at the district helm and 30 years working for LVJUSD.
“She is highly experienced and capable and has hit the ground running,” he said.
Among the challenges she’s already faced is Livermore High School’s scheduling issue.
The problem arose when performing arts students couldn’t fit prep for the annual school musical into their schedules. Gibson helped resolve it by moving seventh period drama production courses to a ninth period, which lands after the normal school day.
“Our hope is that we could find a way to put it into the regular school day and just be more conscientious about those conflicts that are going to happen,” Gibson said of future years.
She expects to see more “bumps in the road” with high school scheduling this year, as the district has converted from a trimester system to a semester system.
In addition to scheduling issues, she anticipates budgeting to be an ongoing topic this year.
The district is operating on a “qualified budget,” which means funding is secured for the remainder of this school year but not future years, according to Prusso.
Much of the budget deficit is due to running out of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, Gibson said. These were one-time dollars distributed as part of COVID-related support.
“Those funds are now deplete(d), yet we still have supports in place that are still needed,” Prusso said, citing mental health and educational programs.
Even though the district reduced expenditures for the 2024-25 school year and beyond by about $6 million through retirements, resignations and very cautious spending, the district still needs to balance out about $4 million for the 2025-26 budget, according to Van Schaack.
In response to the deficit she’s inheriting, Gibson said, “We’re going to make cuts away from classrooms first.”
She explained that sometimes deficit-spending happens because the district isn’t spending from the general fund before its most restrictive funding. So moving the district out of its deficit might just mean making adjustments on where the funds are coming from.
Over the next month or two, she’ll be working with the new assistant superintendent of business services Kayla Wasley and the board to discuss options for addressing the issue.
But Gibson made it clear, “I’m not somebody that will sit for very long in a deficit spending situation.”
She has also made clear that she’s willing to probe tradition.
“We do a lot of what I like to call ‘grandma’s ham’, which is where you go to grandma’s house for Easter and everybody eats the ham and nobody complains about it, but nobody likes the ham,” she said.
Now, she’s joining “dinner” and asking why things are done the way they are.
Sometimes, the district’s method is already functional and in that case there’s no need to change. But Gibson said a lot of the time, she sees people shrug their shoulders and say, “we don’t know why.”
“I’m really advocating for staff to have that growth mindset, to challenge ourselves and to challenge each other,” she said, the goal being to work smarter, not harder.
Looking toward the future, Gibson sees herself at the district long-term.
And even in a work schedule she says is 24/7, she responds to every email and works to make connections in person and on the phone.
“If anybody asked me if I’m tired, yes, I’m tired,” Gibson said, with a smile, “But I’m definitely up for the challenge and ready for this school year to be productive.”
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