Quick Take
The Live Oak School District governing board will vote at its Wednesday meeting on the selection of a new superintendent, Patrick Sánchez, after Daisy Morales resigned in March. Her last day is June 30.
The Live Oak School District governing board will vote at its Wednesday meeting on the selection of a new superintendent, Patrick Sánchez, after Daisy Morales resigned in March. Her last day is June 30.
Sánchez has experience as a dean, principal, human resources director and over a decade serving as a superintendent. In 2014, former President Barack Obama recognized him with the Latino Educator Champion of Change award. He is currently assistant superintendent of human resources at Morgan Hill Unified School District. Board documents show that the initial term and contract for Sánchez starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2025, unless the contract is terminated or extended. His annual base salary will be $225,000 for the first year.
In a letter to the school district community June 5, board president Kristin Pfotenhauer described Sánchez’s background and said “we are excited to welcome him to our community.”
After the district received Morales’ resignation in March, the board and district officials began seeking input from the community about the kind of superintendent it wanted. The district began seeking applications in early April before closing the application period May 6. An interview panel and the board then interviewed candidates May 19 and 20 before the board made its selection and sent a community message June 5 about its selection of Sánchez.
Some parents and teachers expressed concerns that the process was moving too quickly and stressed the importance of taking time to find the right candidate during a year of a budget crisis, resignations and many changes.
Lauren Pomrantz, teachers union co-president, said all the candidates who were interviewed for the position had qualities that would serve the district.
“We are still trying to understand the board’s process in selecting the candidate that they did,” she said. “I will be meeting with the new superintendent and a board member on Thursday of this week.”
During the Wednesday board meeting, the board is also scheduled to vote on whether to take Morales’ recommendation that the board approve a $45 million workforce bond measure to appear on the November ballot.
Two other local school districts, Santa Cruz City Schools and Pajaro Valley Unified School District, are at different stages of workforce housing developments. Santa Cruz City Schools hopes to break ground on its project in early 2025 and to have teachers and staff move in by 2027. Last month, PVUSD’s board voted to put a $315 million bond measure on the November ballot that would fund infrastructure improvements to district facilities as well as help fund a workforce development project.
However, Pomrantz said Live Oak’s teachers are concerned about how the district is moving forward.
“[The district’s] workforce housing should be created based on the real, concrete needs of the staff,” she told Lookout. “At this time, [the union] is concerned that any new initiatives will detract from the difficult work we have to do in order to reorganize our district to ensure our students have the highest quality education and safe spaces.”
FOR THE RECORD: This story has been updated to reflect Sánchez’s current role at Morgan Hill Unified School District.
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