San Diego County Board of Education appointed a new school superintendent today. Veteran education Randolph Ward accepted the three-year position at the Office of Education. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
County educators congratulated Randolph Ward after he announced the good news. Ward's most recent jobs have been turning around the Oakland and Compton Unified School Districts. He says San Diego County's school districts are better off than most urban school districts, but there is still plenty of work ahead.
Ward: "Its always challenging to come into a high functioning institution and look for ways to make it higher functioning. That is a piece of it. The other piece is following Rudy Castruita, and certainly to follow that act is a tough one."
Castruita is retiring as the county school superintendent after 12 years. Ward begins in August. He'll be getting paid $265,000 his first year. He will oversee 42 school districts and manage a $400 million budget. Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
