County superintendent leaving after less than two years

The Santa Clara County Office of Education is preparing to undertake a search for its next superintendent after an announcement that Xavier De La Torre is the lone finalist for a superintendent job in El Paso, Texas.
“Dr. De La Torre preferred to return to a local district and continue the work in which he had previously engaged,” said County Board President Leon Beauchman. “The Board respects his decision and wishes him well in his new endeavor.”
De La Torre, who previously served in El Paso as the superintendent of the Socorro Independent School District before being hired by the SCCOE in July 2012, is the top and only candidate for the Ysleta Independent School District, also in El Paso. The Ysleta School Board is expected to finalize the appointment by March 5.
“The path forward for the Board is to designate interim leadership for the County Office of Education and to begin the process of selecting a new superintendent as quickly as possible,” Beauchman explained.