The Morgan Hill School District now has another challenge on its
plate: Selecting a new principal to replace Live Oak High
’s Nancy Serigstad, who announced through a letter during Monday
night’s Board of Education meeting that she would be accepting a
position as principal of Scotts Valley High. Serigstad will finish
the school year at Live Oak.
The Morgan Hill School District now has another challenge on its plate: Selecting a new principal to replace Live Oak High’s Nancy Serigstad, who announced through a letter during Monday night’s Board of Education meeting that she would be accepting a position as principal of Scotts Valley High.
Serigstad will finish the school year at Live Oak.
“I really don’t have any more information right now,” Serigstad said Thursday. “I haven’t signed the contract yet. I know the (Morgan Hill) district is discussion posting the principalship, but it has not been posted. I do know I’ll be here until the end of the school year. I have a lot of work to do before then. I’m not a lame duck.”
Trustee Shellé Thomas said Serigstad has created a wonderful climate at Live Oak.
“I think Live Oak has the ability to lead itself,” she said Thursday. “What I value most about Nancy is she set that possibility in motion, she created that kind of atmosphere among her staff and administration.”
The situation in the School District – financial constraints and controversies – may have played a role in Serigstad seeking another position, Thomas said.
“So many things, small things, that she handles that are outside of her scope, things that the district doesn’t give her support for, but she does as a matter of course,” she said. “The hardest thing for me to accept is that I want to be able to support her in her position, but when we can’t look to future, when all we seem to be doing is putting out fires, we can’t effect a positive change.”
Board President George Panos said the district is losing a valuable asset.
“It’s always tough to lose a quality employee of such a professional caliber,” he said. “She was one of our star administrators Apparently, Scotts Valley is a better match with her career goals.”
Superintendent Carolyn McKennan said the position will be open to applicants from inside and outside the district.
“The formality is first that she resigns, which she hasn’t done yet, but we expect she will do so in the near future,” she said. “Then we will advertise throughout the area, review the applications and interview candidates. Our hope is that we will get candidates equal or better; we think Nancy is certainly going to be benchmark in this position.”
McKennan said she wasn’t aware of any district employee in particular who might be interested in the position, however she didn’t expect employees to speak up until the vacancy becomes official.
Thomas said she thinks the board should have a role in the selection process.
“I would certainly hope the superintendent would expand our horizons to make sure that that happens,” she said Thursday.
Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers President Donna Foster, a teacher at Live Oak, said she has sat in on interviews in the past.
“Union representatives, staff, have been a part of the process in the past,” she said. “Although I didn’t sit in on (former Live Oak and current Sobrato High Principal) Rich Knapp’s interviews, I have sat in on other interviews. Involving others besides district administration has been a pretty standard procedure in the past.”
Foster said she believes the staff should have a part in the process, because they will be directly affected by the hiring.
“They have the continuity,” she said. “Frankly, principals come and go.”
Serigstad’s departure will be a loss to the district, Foster said.
“She certainly knows a lot about communtiy,” she said. “She has been a very good principal in this short time. She really is able to work with a lot of people on the staff, different people, and the staff respects her. “We’re going to miss her. She’s great with adults – staff, administrators, parents – and with students. She’s really in tune with what was going on.”
Foster agreed with Thomas that the high school needs the support of the board and the district.
“I do think statements (of supporting the high school) made at the (Monday night’s School Board) meeting are really critical,” she said. “We have the largest student population, we have many curricular challenges at the secondary level. We are preparing students for college and the world beyond, and it’s complicated. I believe the community has a lot of respect for Live Oak and the Live Oak students. I think they deserve that.”
The pay range for the job is $97,997 to $113,443.
