SAN DIEGO–The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education has announced the three finalists for the Superintendent position.
The finalists are: William Kowba, currently Interim Superintendent for the San Diego Unified School District; Debbra A. Lindo, currently chief executive officer and chief academic officer for College Track; and Dale W. Vigil, former superintendent of the Hayward Unified School District. The Board hopes to select the new superintendent within a month.
The announcement culminates a four-month search and selection process that included extensive community involvement. Members of the public gave input on the desired qualities that the next superintendent should possess. The citizens search committee screened more than 20 candidates, recommending seven to the Board.
The three finalists provided these highlights of their careers:
— William Kowba, Interim Superintendent for San Diego Unified School District who joined the district in August 2006 as Chief Financial Officer and was appointed Interim Superintendent in September 2009. A retired Rear Admiral, Kowba had a distinguished 30-year career in the U.S. Navy prior to joining the district leadership team.
— Debbra A. Lindo, currently chief executive officer and chief academic officer for College Track, an Oakland, Calif. based pre-college program for students in the Bay Area and New Orleans. Dr. Lindo also served as executive director for the Oakland Unified School District’s Middle School Network I.
— Dale W. Vigil, former superintendent of the Hayward Unified School District. Dr. Vigil was superintendent in Hayward from 2005-09 and was a local district superintendent in the Los Angeles School District from 2000-05.
The candidates’ biographies are posted on the district’s website at www.sandi.net/suptsearch.
“The Board is pleased to present three highly-qualified candidates for this crucial position,” said Richard Barrera, Board President. “Each of these candidates demonstrates the qualities that our school communities have indicated are important for our new superintendent.”
The next step in the superintendent selection process was held Thursday when each candidate participated in a public interview. Each candidate was interviewed for 45 minutes by Dennis Morgigno, a broadcast journalist from Cox Communications.
The interviews were televised on iTV Cable Channel 16 and streamed live on the district’s website at www.sandi.net/boardtv.
The public can share comments about the candidates with the Board of Education via e-mail at communications@sandi.net.
