This SLO County school district is getting a new superintendent: ‘She blew us away’
One San Luis Obispo County school district has a new superintendent heading into the next school year.
Jen Gaviola started her contract as head of Cayucos Elementary School District on July 1, replacing Scott Smith.
Smith previously served as the superintendent of two school districts: Cayucos Elementary and Coast Unified. Now he only leads Coast Unified School District after announcing his retirement in February.
Before coming to Cayucos, Gaviola was the deputy superintendent of Paso Robles Joint Unified School District, one of the county’s largest school districts. She called her move to the North Coast district “a natural progression” for her long career in education.
“The opportunity to be directly involved with students was a definite pull, and to come back to (kindergarten) through eighth grade was pretty exciting,” she told The Tribune. “This is probably the only job I would have left Paso Robles for ... I feel honored to be here (in Cayucos).”
Before her seven-year career in Paso Robles, Gaviola spent more than a decade as a special education teacher, literacy coach, site administrator and director of special education in the Central Valley.
The district’s school board approved Gaviola’s three-year contract on June 7. Her starting salary is $162,000 with 3.5% raises annually.
Gaviola said her priorities include bolstering the “beautiful visual and performing arts program” at Cayucos Elementary, getting students more involved in school and the community and continuing to fill the education gaps left from distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, Gaviola said, she hopes to advocate for more athletic, career and community opportunities for the students.
The Cayucos Elementary School District’s board of trustees had “a wonderful pool of applicants” to choose from, board president Pete Schuler said.
But Gaviola “came in with a lot of energy and really blew us away,” Schuler noted. “She was incredibly on point, very thorough and we felt we were on the same page.”
“Her enthusiasm is off the charts, and it’s incredibly contagious,” he added.
Gaviola hopes to meet community members at an informational candidate forum for the upcoming school board election. The forum will be held on Wednesday, July 20, at 5 p.m. at the Cayucos Elementary School auditorium.
Meanwhile, the Paso Robles district is still searching for a replacement for Gaviola.
