Scotts Valley Unified School District Superintendent Susan Silver will retire in June from the position she has held for more than five years.
“It’s just time,” Silver said during the district’s board meeting March 8. “There are things I still want to do.”
According to procedure, trustees hope to start interviews by the end of March and have someone hired by the middle of the summer in preparation for the 2011-12 school year. Silver’s resignation will be effective June 30.
“Ninety-five percent of this job I absolutely love,” Silver said, “and the 5 percent is getting harder for everybody.”
Silver came from the San Mateo-Foster City School District and replaced interim superintendent Tim Cuneo in 2005. She retires after more than 35 years in education.
During her tenure, Silver faced budget challenges and controversy while also raising achievement in the district and closing the book on litigation related to the construction of Scotts Valley High School.
“Susan has had a good head for business, and we wish her well in retirement,” said Ann Codd, Scotts Valley Education Association president.
Among her accomplishments, Silver noted a significant rise in the Academic Performance Index at all four Scotts Valley schools and higher test scores at each school.
She also noted that the district is financially solvent, that the district’s technology infrastructure — phones, Internet and the like — functions correctly and that staff members at the high school and middle school now have time to collaborate during the year.
She also noted that employee turnover at the high school has decreased significantly during her time.
Silver’s years with the district were pockmarked with controversy, as well. In recent years, her handling of special-education cases has been questioned, and the district is under review by the state after a series of complaints by parents.
Also, administrators and teachers have been at odds after contract negotiations took on an adversarial tone in 2007.
In the past several years, Silver has led the district through funding cuts from the state with a balanced budget. More cuts are on the horizon, however, as the state budget remains shaky.
