The Aromas-San Juan Unified School District is welcoming aboard a new superintendent, Ruben Zepeda, this summer.
“We just needed new leadership,” said Jennifer Colby, president of the district’s board of trustees.
Zepeda will replace the current superintendent, Willard McCabe, who has served five years in the district and was told earlier this year his contract would not be renewed.
This will be Zepeda’s first superintendent position. He has 28 years of experience in education including two years in his current position as the assistant superintendent of educational services for secondary schools in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.
Zepeda “stood out on paper” in interviews with a committee and with school board trustees, said Colby.
School trustees approved his contract May 21 and introduced him to the public at the board’s next regular meeting June 4.
Colby mentioned he’s been training at the University of Southern California to be a chief business officer, so he has financial experience as well.
“Partly, he has the kind of background in terms of understanding the LCAP (Local Control and Accountability Plan) and the curriculum pieces,” she said.
Colby spoke with Zepeda’s references and was impressed by his willingness to meet parents and community members.
“He’s just very much a people person,” she said. “I think he’s going to be a real asset to our small program – where you do end up knowing everyone and you have to wear many hats in a small district.”
Becoming a superintendent was a career goal for Zepeda, so when Colby called his cell phone to tell him the good news, he pulled off the road to take it in.
“I got to tell you – I was ecstatic,” he said.
Zepeda had seen the district in passing while driving from his home in Monterey to San Jose.
“When I saw the position for superintendent, I thought ‘this might be a really good fit for me,’ ” he said.
Zepeda was particularly attracted to the district’s dual language immersion program, as his wife taught in a dual language program. He also worked in the office of language acquisition and development in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
When asked about the challenges his new district faces, Zepeda talked about improving student performance in math and among English Language Learners.
The other challenge is keeping the budget balanced, he said.
“The budgets are always a very big deal in smaller school districts because a lot of the costs are carried by fewer students,” Zepeda said.
While every district – regardless of size – requires a superintendent and support staff, larger districts have more per-capita funding to help absorb these costs, he said.
Zepeda wants to make sure his new district’s funds are spent as close to the students as possible, he said.
A former U.S. history, government and economics teacher, Zepeda is also a big believer in civic participation. In past school districts, he has made school news accessible to the public by attending city council meetings.
“What I try to do and part of my responsibility, I think, as a leader in the school district is to let those people who don’t have kids in the schools know some of the challenges we’re facing and the success that we’re having,” Zepeda said. “They don’t have kids, so they want to know: ‘Are their taxes being used in good ways?’”
Zepeda and his family will soon move so he can be neighbors with the parents, teachers and students he serves.
“I want to let folks know that I’m really easily accessible. I plan to move into the community – either Aromas or San Juan – so people will see me in town,” Zepeda said. “It’s one thing to drive into work but to be actually part of the community is a very different feel.”
