Ojai district completes top leadership overhaul with two trustee appointments
Ojai Unified School District's short-handed board unanimously appointed two new trustees to fill out its ranks Wednesday night, wrapping a complete five-month overhaul of the district's top leadership.
The appointments cap a tumultuous period starting in December that saw all five trustees, a four-year superintendent and an interim superintendent pick leave the district as it tries to dig out of a financial crisis.
New appointees Blair Braney, a homemaker and sales associate, and Kathy Smith, a retired district executive assistant, replace Area 2 trustee Rebecca Chandler and Area 4 trustee Shelly Griffen, who both resigned in March.
The current three trustees — Atticus Reyes, Jim Halverson and Phil Moncharsh — all won their seats in November's elections and were sworn in Dec. 14.
They entered a district just beginning to understand the depth of its budget problems, with one state analysis warning in January that Ojai Unified was at "high risk" of insolvency.
Former Superintendent Tiffany Morse was ousted without cause March 13 as Chandler said the board was headed in a "different direction."
The board's first interim pick to replace Morse, former Oxnard Union High School District superintendent Penelope De Leon, left the district March 26, just four days after her appointment. Griffen and Chandler tendered their resignations a day later.
Sherril Knox, the district's former assistant superintendent, took over as acting superintendent after Morse's departure and was promoted to interim superintendent April 8 as the board searches for a permanent replacement.
The board, which had yet to appoint its two new members, approved a timeline for its superintendent search on Wednesday night that will see applications due May 26, candidate interviews in June and July and a final selection the week of July 9. The new superintendent will make between $200,000 to $230,000 a year, a bump up from the $195,000 a year Morse made under the terms of her most recent contract.
Blair Braney, president of Mira Monte Elementary's Parent Teacher Organization, was chosen from five candidates to take over Chandler's Area 2 seat. She is a Nordhoff High School alumni and mother of three elementary students in the district, according to her application.
Kathy Smith, who emerged from three candidates to replace Griffen in Area 4, retired from the district in 2021 after nine years working as an executive assistant to Morse and two prior superintendents. Like Braney, she is a Nordhoff alum and current vice president of Mira Monte Elementary's PTO.
Both new trustees will be sworn in May 31. They will hold their seats until November 2024, when they are scheduled to be up for election.
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ojai district wraps leadership overhaul with two trustee appointments
