Lucia Mar announces another shuffle of school personnel
It's been a summer of change for the Lucia Mar Unified School District, with a trio of high-level departures resulting in five personnel adjustments since classes ended in June.
On Tuesday, the district announced that Nipomo Elementary School Principal Brett Gimlin will move to the same position at Mesa Middle School. Replacing Gimlin as principal of Nipomo Elementary is Julia Bowles, currently the district’s coordinator of its curriculum and instruction division. Tamara Brown has been hired as the district’s student safety and support coordinator.
Brown joins the district after working with the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education as the independent study teacher for San Luis Obispo Court and Community Schools. She previously worked as a mentor teacher, teacher on special assignment and transition specialist, the district said.
Gimlin had been principal of Nipomo Elementary School since 2009. He previously was assistant principal at Judkins Middle School in Pismo Beach and a fourth-grade teacher at Fairgrove Elementary School, when it was called North Oceano Elementary.
Bowles has worked in the district for nine years. Prior to coming to Lucia Mar, she was a teacher in Santa Rosa for 15 years.
Details of employment contracts for Brown, Gimlin and Bowles were not available Tuesday.
The announcement of those appointments was the latest in a series of changes among the district's top administrators.
Former superintendent Jim Hogeboom announced in May that he would leave the district to take over the Novato Unified School District in the Bay Area after eight years with Lucia Mar.
Less than a month later, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction Tom Butler announced he was leaving to become superintendent of Atascadero Unified School District. Lucia Mar student safety and support coordinator Curt Eichperger also left the district for Atascadero to serve as assistant superintendent of human resources.
All three began work at their new positions July 1.
On July 28, the Lucia Mar board announced that Raynee Daley would become the new district superintendent, leaving her position as assistant superintendent of business services.
The same night, the board announced that Mesa Middle School Principal Andy Stenson would fill Daley's former position (leading to Gimlin’s appointment as principal). Stenson had previously served as assistant superintendent of curriculum before moving to Mesa Middle School in 2013.
The district is still looking to fill the assistant superintendent of curriculum position vacated by Butler. The district has posted the job with a salary range of $126,660 to $147,227 depending on experience. The last day to apply is Friday.
The district also announced Tuesday it will hire Mike Dixon as its new supervisor for facilities and maintenance operations.
This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Lucia Mar announces another shuffle of school personnel."