Schools Hire a New Superintendent

By Marilynn Young | LB Indy

Jason Viloria received a warm welcome from the Laguna Beach school board, which unanimously voted to hire him as the new superintendent at its Tuesday, March 22, meeting.

In an interview, Viloria said he thinks he emerged as the top candidate because individual board members saw unique qualities in him.

Board member Carol Normandin said she was impressed with his “situational management” style, which Viloria defined as a lack of rigidity in responding to varying situations and his practice of using an outcome as a learning experience.

Another board member, Jan Vickers, said the months-long recruiting and candidate selection process was taxing. “I’ve done it before and it’s difficult.”

Viloria was chosen from an initial pool of 40 candidates, which was narrowed to nine and then two finalists, said Vickers. Vilario will start July 1 at an annual salary $240,000, according to the terms of his three-year contract.

He succeeds Superintendent Sherine Smith, who last year announced plans to retire June 30.

Viloria currently works as associate superintendent of administrative services at the San Dieguito Union High School District, which serves 12,500 students in northern San Diego County. Previously, he was principal of 2,500-student Woodbridge High School in Irvine.

His new responsibilities in the four-school Laguna district where 3,000 students are enrolled will include educating his own children.

A native of Laguna Beach, Viloria, 38, was born at the former South Coast Medical Center and raised in Modjeska Canyon. A four-year resident, he and his wife, Holly, a nurse practitioner, have a soccer-playing son, Taylor, 11, who attends Thurston Middle School, and a daughter, Ella, 7, who attends Top of the World Elementary and rides horses.

He says his children are ecstatic that he will work in Laguna now.

Viloria succeeds a leader whose decisions over six years generated considerable controversy, but the admiration of her peers. Smith endured public criticism for hiring former colleagues, pursuing an earlier start of the school year and finishing a doctoral degree while on the job.

In February, she was also named superintendent of the year by a professional group.

When asked about more recent school controversies, such as student drug use, teen suicides and demands for more transparency by administrators, Viloria said, “there are a lot of great things and a lot of areas for continuous improvement. This is a great opportunity and it is premature to talk about hot-topic issues before having a dialogue with the board to get a gauge.”

Viloria said his professional career began as a high school teacher in San Jose as part of a program similar to Teach For America. He graduated from El Toro High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in history from UC Santa Barbara, a master’s degree in educational leadership from San Jose State University, and a doctorate degree in leadership, administration and policy from Pepperdine University, where he also worked as an adjunct professor.

A recruiter that specializes in educational leadership searches assisted the school board in its selection. Recruiters conducted interviews and focus groups with parents, students and staff to determine the traits they wanted in a new leader. Among the characteristics identified were candidates which had already earned a doctoral degree, avoids nepotism in hiring, and communicates changes in district operations to all employees.

Students, parents, staff and the public will get a chance to meet Viloria before the end of the school year, a district statement says.

The meeting began with a moment of silence for the victims of the bombings in Belgium that occurred earlier in the day.