Hollister
– Retired educator Evelyn Muro will likely be returning to
full-time administrative work this week after being selected as the
interim superintendent of the North County School District for the
next year.
Hollister – Retired educator Evelyn Muro will likely be returning to full-time administrative work this week after being selected as the interim superintendent of the North County School District for the next year.
Muro, who most recently served as a Board of Trustees member for the San Benito High School District, was tapped earlier this month to fill the superintendent position vacated by Howard Chase. Chase retired after the 2005-2006 school year to spend more time with his grandchildren in Texas.
Muro said she plans to bring her three decades of experience in education to her new job. North County School District serves 550 kindergarten through eighth-grade students at Spring Grove School, the district’s sole school. The superintendent of the district also serves as the Spring Grove principal.
“I’ve got to get a handle on everything that is going on at the school first,” Muro said Wednesday. “But I plan to bring in new organization and systems to support the great things that are already happening at Spring Grove.”
Muro spent 24 of her 30 years in education at San Benito High school. She worked as both a teacher and administrator. The North County Board of Trustees will decide if it will approve Muro’s proposed one-year contract and determine a salary for the position on July 26.
Board members could not be reached for comment by press time on Wednesday.
Muro said she would consider staying at the school for more than one year.
Muro has spent the last two weeks meeting teachers, students and parents at Spring Grove and preparing for the 2006-2007 school year.
“This will be a real challenge for me. I’ve got a lot of work to do. This is a learning period for me,” Muro said. “I’m looking forward to really examining student achievement and hopefully maximizing that achievement. I hope that I can provide the leadership needed to help all students succeed.”
Although she will be working for North County School District, Muro plans to finish the last two years of her term on the San Benito High School District Board of Trustees.
San Benito High School Superintendent Jean Burns Slater said Muro would do well at North County School District.
“She is very vested in the community and interested in students’ success,” Slater said Wednesday.
Chase said he decided to retire at the end of the school year to spend more time with his grandchildren in Texas. Chase said that during his two-year tenure as superintendent he had accomplished the goals he set out to achieve when he came to Spring Grove in 2004. One of his main goals had been improving the buildings at the 35-year-old school. Last summer he oversaw $3 million in construction that improved many of the school’s classrooms and other facilities. He was also instrumental in securing a $3 million school bond, approved by voters in the June primary, for additional improvements at Spring Grove school. Chase said Wednesday that Muro would do “a great job” as superintendent. Although Chase enjoyed his time at Spring Grove, he said “it was time” to retire.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
