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Dublin school trustees are turning inward for the next leader of the district, selecting assistant superintendent of educational services Matt Campbell to take the reins as superintendent next school year – pending successful contract negotiations.
A career educator and former Pleasanton City Council member who served briefly as acting superintendent seven years ago during another moment of administrative turnover for the Dublin Unified School District, Campbell rose to the top during the school board’s review of internal candidates to succeed retiring Chris Funk.
“Dr. Campbell embodies the qualities our community has consistently identified as essential in a Superintendent,” DUSD Board of Trustees President Kristin Speck said in a press release Wednesday. “He is a collaborative leader, deeply committed to instructional excellence, fiscal responsibility, integrity, transparency, and student well-being.”
Campbell, who must still finalize terms of an employment contract with the board, called the prospective promotion “an incredible honor”.
“Dublin Unified is a district built on strong relationships, high expectations, and a shared commitment to student success,” Campbell said. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue the work we have built together, and I look forward to working collaboratively with our dedicated certificated and classified staff. Together, we will ensure that every student feels supported, challenged, and inspired to reach their full potential.”
The trustees voted 4-0 in closed session at Tuesday’s regular meeting to select Campbell as their superintendent finalist, according to DUSD spokesperson Chip Dehnert. Trustee Gabi Blackman was absent for the vote, which was announced publicly on Wednesday.
A date has not yet been confirmed for when a proposed contract will be brought forward for a public vote, according to Dehnert.
Campbell’s role is already evolving though, as the board tapped him to immediately assume responsibility for overseeing the tense labor negotiations with the Dublin Teachers Association and California School Employees Association.
Dublin and its teachers, like all four school districts in the Tri-Valley and many across the Bay Area and California, have been locked in a contentious bargaining year coinciding with the district looking hard at significant budget cuts – regardless of the outcome of labor talks where all unions are asking for better compensation.
In the three months since the two sides reached an impasse, DTA membership has issued a public vote of no confidence in Funk and authorized a strike to be called if needed.
A mediation session mandated by the California Public Employment Relations Board did not land a deal in January, and a fact-finding hearing is scheduled for Monday (Feb. 23).
“Dublin Educators have been showing up and fighting all year for the schools our students deserve. We have prepared a three step budget solution that reprioritizes the budget to invest in our students,” DTA said in a post on its Facebook page Sunday morning.
“What has District Management done? In 5 months of bargaining, they have continued to offer ZERO,” DTA added – two weeks after the school board approved nearly $6.8 million in budget cuts for the 2026-27 academic year. “They have not found A SINGLE DOLLAR of ongoing funding that they are willing to better invest in our students. Not a single dollar. In five months.”
The union has not publicly commented on the news of Campbell’s selection as superintendent finalist. DTA President Brad Dobrzenski had not responded to an email inquiry as for early Sunday afternoon.
DUSD trustees have been contemplating the future of district leadership since Funk announced in December that he would be retiring in June after five years at the helm – news he informed the board of in closed session the same night as the public debate over what to do to address a $3.6 million budgeting error that Funk took “full responsibility” for.
The district issued a request for proposals in late January for executive search firms to manage its superintendent recruitment. Initiating the RFP process apparently occurred concurrently to the board considering internal candidates.
In identifying Campbell as the best choice, the board cited “continuity and stability as critical factors in its decision” while lauding the assistant superintendent for his “deep familiarity with the district’s instructional priorities, fiscal realities, leadership structure, and ongoing challenges”, according to DUSD’s press release.
Campbell is a familiar name in public education and public service in the Tri-Valley and elsewhere in the East Bay.
An Amador Valley High School alumnus, Campbell began his career as a social studies teacher and basketball coach at Dublin High School in 1996 before moving to his hometown Pleasanton Unified School District first as a teacher and then an administrator. In 2000, he became the youngest person ever elected to the Pleasanton City Council, serving one term.
He moved from PUSD to Walnut Creek for a principal job at Las Lomas High School in 2010. He later worked in Fremont before returning to Dublin Unified in January 2019 as assistant superintendent of educational services, overseeing curriculum, instruction and student services.
Two months into that first year back at DUSD, Campbell found himself picked as acting superintendent for a period after the school board at the time abruptly and mutually parted ways with then-superintendent Leslie Boozer. He later aided Dave Marken in leading the district before Marken’s interim superintendent appointment became full-time.
Seven years later, Campbell is on track to lead the district of 12,800 students on his own starting in the 2026-27 academic year. The board said he would spend the rest of 2025-26 working “collaboratively to ensure a thoughtful and seamless transition” with Funk, whose last day is expected to be June 30.
“The Board expressed gratitude for Superintendent Chris Funk’s years of leadership and service and confirmed that he will remain in his role through the conclusion of the 2025-2026 school year,” the press release stated. “With Dr. Campbell’s appointment, the Board reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that every student in Dublin Unified continues to receive a world-class education.”
