Lucia Mar school district picks its new superintendent

Raynee Daley, who has been deputy superintendent of business services at the Lucia Mar Unified School District for the past four years, has been tapped to be the next superintendent, pending final school board approval July 28.

She would succeed Jim Hogeboom, who resigned in June to take a new position with the Novato Unified School District in Northern California just weeks after wrapping up a tense contract dispute with the local teachers union.

Daley’s salary, as well as other benefits, will be negotiated in an employment agreement this week, according to a district news release. As deputy superintendent, Daley earned about $160,000 a year plus benefits. Hogeboom earned $167,851 a year, plus benefits, as superintendent.

“I feel incredibly humbled and excited about this opportunity,” Daley told The Tribune. “I love Lucia Mar. We have wonderful kids, dedicated teachers and phenomenal administrative staff and principals, so it is very rewarding for me to be able to have this opportunity.”

The Lucia Mar Board of Trustees said Monday night that it had selected Daley from among five applicants.

Daley, 58, joined the district in 2011 from the Merced Union High School District, where she was deputy superintendent and chief business official. She previously worked in other school districts around the state as a counselor and a teacher, she said. She has a doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of La Verne.

Lucia Mar Unified Teachers Association President Donna Kandel said she was “cautiously optimistic” about the new hire and hoped this would be an opportunity for both the union and the district to resolve some of the lingering tension from the monthslong contract standoff.

“Daley has been really respectful and a good communicator with our employees in the past, and we look forward to continuing that with her,” Kandel said Tuesday.

“Of course, we still have big problems (in the district), but we are hopeful that this will be a chance for the new leadership to work with us to address the district’s priorities toward those problems, especially teacher retention. But I think this is a time for reconciliation.”

Daley said her first order of business will be to begin rebuilding the district’s relationship with the teachers union, add more learning pathways and options for its diverse student population and examine administrative organization.

The board will vote on Daley’s employment agreement at its next regular meeting July 28. If approved, she would start work as superintendent immediately, she said.

This story was originally published July 20, 2015 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Lucia Mar school district picks its new superintendent."