Your Visalia child may be getting a new principal after the Shrum shuffle leads to change
Visalia Unified students and teachers officially return to campus in three weeks; some will return to familiar faces, while others will be greeted by new leadership.
Over the span of two board meetings held in late June and just this week, trustees approved multiple new principals, three area roles, and numerous director and administrator appointments.
Here’s a quick look at some of the changes coming to Visalia Unified schools.
Principal assignments
Visalia Charter Independent Study, Green Acres Middle School, as well as Washington, Crowley, Veva Blunt and Four Creeks elementary schools will all have new principals come August.
Trustees appointed Carli Hawkins to serve as Visalia Charter Independent Study’s new leader.
She has been employed by the Visalia Unified School District for 14 years and currently serves as principal at Green Acres Middle School.
Brittney Guerrero, who currently serves as an assistant principal at Conyer Elementary School will serve as the principal of Washington Elementary School.
Courtney Nikki Jimenez was reassigned to serve as Hurley Elementary' s principal after Lisa Whitworth retired in June.
David Pasquini was appointed to serve as Green Acres Middle School's next principal. He has been employed with Visalia Unified School District for 10 years and has served as assistant principal at Green Acres.
Bo Yang was assigned to work as principal at Crowley Elementary School. Yang served as an assistant principal at Ivanhoe Elementary. She has been employed by the district for 11 years.
Megan Pezzi was assigned to work as principal at Veva Blunt Elementary School. Over the last year, she has worked as the assistant principal of Veva Blunt Elementary.
Carrie Kears was assigned as Four Creeks Elementary School’s new principal. She has been employed by VUSD for a total of 16 years and currently serves as coordinator of educational services.
Area Administrator assignments
Natali Garza was appointed as one of Visalia Unified School District’s area administrators.
Garza served as principal at Veva Blunt Elementary School and has been employed with the district for 21 years. Garza has worked as an elementary school teacher, assistant principal and principal at various sites.
Matt Shin was also appointed as one of the district’s area administrators. Shin led Redwood High School and has been with the district for 20 years.
Elizabeth Serrato was the last area administrator appointment made by trustees. She currently serves as principal at Washington Elementary School and has been employed by VUSD for 18 years.
Assistant Superintendent assignments
Andy Di Meo was appointed as Visalia Unified’s Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services.
Di Meo has worked for VUSD for 24 years. He currently works as the district’s Administrator of Human Services, and previously worked as an elementary and middle school principal for a combined 10 years.
Ben Dhillon was appointed to work as the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.
Dhillon currently serves as Visalia Unified’s Director of Special Education and has been employed with the district for 14 years. He also currently teaches for the Tulare County Office of Education IMPACT Program.
Director/Administration assignments
Andre Pecina was appointed to work as Visalia Unified’s Administrator of Outreach and Communication. He currently serves as the district’s Administrator of Curriculum.
Judy Burgess was assigned to work as the district’s Administrator of Human Resources Development. She currently serves as director of Equity of Student Services and has been with VUSD for 15 years.
Daniel Bishop was assigned to work as the district’s Director of Visual Performing Arts. Bishop currently works at State Center Community College as the school’s choral director and music appreciation instructor. He has worked there for the last 15 years.
John Perez was selected to serve as Visalia Unified’s Director of Athletic Programs. Perez has been employed with VUSD for a total of 26 years. He worked at Mt. Whitney High School as its athletic director for 14 years and taught business for 12 years prior to coming to Visalia Unified.
Serena Arias was reassigned to work as the district’s Director of Human Resources Development.
Pay bump
Trustees also approved a bargaining agreement between Visalia Unified and the Visalia Unified Teachers Association for the 2022-23 school year that includes a salary increase of 7.56%.
Over 6.5% out of the 7.56% raise is due to cost of living adjustments. All increases will come from the 2022-23 budget surplus, reduction of transfers and ending cash balance on July 1.
The Visalia Unified School District board of trustees will meet again on Tuesday, July 26.
Lauren Jennings covers education and news for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. Follow her on Twitter @lolojennings. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Visalia Unified students and teachers return to campus in three weeks
