Ken Noonan says he will resign as Oceanside School Superintendent at the end of the academic year. Noonan has been the district's leader for ten years. KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
The 67-year-old superintendent says he's not leaving on bad terms. He'll also continue serving as president of the California Board of Education. Noonan is credited with turning around a number of low-performing schools in Oceanside. He says the next superintendent will have to lead a district with fewer students and less state money.
Noonan: We have to downsize. We've had to close two schools. We will probably have to look at closing one or two more over the next couple of years. Those are hard things.
Noonan wanted to step down two years ago, but stayed to help reduce class sizes, change school boundaries and bring back much needed bus transportation. Throughout his tenure, Noonan was criticized for opposing bilingual education programs. He still maintains that teaching immigrant students English, in English, is the only way they'll succeed. Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
