Atascadero picks new school superintendent after backlash from parents, teachers
After public backlash led the Atascadero Unified School District to withdraw its selection for its next superintendent, the district is coming back with a new candidate for the role tomorrow.
According to the agenda for Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting, Tom Bennett will be appointed as the district’s next superintendent, replacing the outgoing Tom Butler.
Bennett, a former high school math teacher in El Cajon and university administrator, will join the district from his current position as interim superintendent of the Hughes-Elizabeth Lakes Union Elementary School District, according to an open March 28 letter from acting Board of Trustees president Denise McGrew-Kane to the community.
Prior to his service as the interim superintendent, Bennett led Santa Fe Christian Schools, eventually becoming the superintendent of the Rancho Santa Fe School District, where the district was named one of the best places to work by its own staff and earned National Blue Ribbon School and Exemplary High Performing School awards, according to McGrew-Kane’s letter.
“This appointment will be official after our April 1, 2025, Board meeting,” McGrew-Kane said in the letter. “However, we heard our community ask for more information about this process and we are working hard to bring more information to you in a timely and effective way.”
According to the agenda, Bennett is set to make around $233,188 in annual salary, though this it contingent on the number of days served. He will see his salary increase by 4% each year, according to the proposed contract.
The announcement comes in the wake of a March 18 meeting that saw the Board go back on its decision to hire current district assistant superintendent of educational services E.J. Rossi for the role due to backlash from community members.
Rossi was one of 25 candidates who applied for the job, which were identified by executive search firm Leadership Associates at the cost of around $25,000. Six applicants were interviewed, and two finalists were chosen.
Though Rossi was identified as the top candidate by the executive search, parents and teachers pushed back after past allegations that Rossi misappropriated money in the San Ardo Union School District resurfaced.
Rossi has upheld there was no criminal wrongdoing.
