Decades ago, Antonio Garcia was just a Los Angeles kid, picking up English as he went along. Now he’s poised to become the top educator in the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District.
After a seven-month search, community surveys, and meetings, the school board announced Garcia as the new superintendent at the Nov. 19 board meeting. He will be leaving his current posting as the assistant superintendent of growth systems for Riverside Unified School District .
Garcia will be helming a district with more than 8,000 students, and board members are eager for him to shepherd more students into post-secondary opportunities. Garcia will earn an annual salary of $260,000, plus $15,000 in moving expenses and a $650 monthly automobile stipend.
Dominick Palera, the school board president, said community participation was essential in the new search, and it wasn’t easy to get feedback over the summer. That’s why the search didn’t take off until the fall.
“Most people, parents and everyone, don’t get engaged until the school year starts,” Palera said. “It was clear to all of us that Antonio Garcia was not just what we wanted but what the community wanted.”
Garcia was selected from a broad pool of candidates—more than two dozen—including the interim Superintendent John Davis, who took on the duties in addition to his responsibilities as assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the district. Davis will earn an extra 2 percent on his monthly salary retroactive to June when he took the reins and will continue in the role until Garcia begins Jan. 1.
Before that, Mark Richardson led the district as part of a 31-year career in education. He spent seven years as the superintendent of the school district before announcing his plans to retire last April.
Richardson was an advocate for Career Technical Education, and helped usher in the district’s new career tech high school. The campus is part of the district’s plans to help students move on to whatever is next, whether that’s college or an immediate jump into the workforce. It’ll be one of the legacies Garcia plans to continue establishing when he begins.
Palera praised Davis’ work in the interim role and said the selection was tough, but the community and the board felt Garcia’s experience in a large district would be the best fit. Palera said the district’s schools do a great job at graduating students and that Garcia can help them position more students for college or other post-secondary opportunities.
The board said it was looking for someone who could mentor teachers and provide the kind of support needed to accomplish policy goals.
Garcia’s upbringing as an educator began as a high school teacher for the Whittier Union High School District. From there he moved on to a 20-year career in Riverside. His roles have run the gamut, including assistant principal, principal, and a stint in the Riverside County Office of Education.
Diana Perez, a board member for the Santa Maria high school district, has been trying to pursue a policy requiring high schoolers to fill out documents for financial aid. The attempt ultimately didn’t pass.
“Part of the reason it didn’t pass is it’s very time consuming, and the staff needed additional support, and I agreed,” Perez said.
The district has made concerted efforts to improve its college-prep chops and is continuing to bump up efforts to get students into college. Perez said accomplishing big, ambitious goals will require thorough leadership, the sort she thinks Garcia can provide.
Perez also said Garcia will bring a fresh perspective as the district’s first Latino superintendent. He grew up with English as a second language, she said, and will bring that experience to the district’s large Latino population.
“The community survey indicated that this was one of their requests, that it would be someone who is culturally sensitive and understands the challenges of low-income students,” Perez said.
After the Nov. 19 meeting, Garcia mingled, shaking hands and introducing himself.
Eva Didion was in the audience when the appointment was made and took a moment to congratulate Garcia.
“He’s Latino,” she said. “He’s a good fit for our community.
Anthony Loverde echoed Didion’s sentiments:
“I think it’s always good when leadership reflects our community,” he said.
Garcia brings a top-flight education, too—he first studied at Stanford University then earned a master’s degree at Brown University in Rhode Island.
And when he begins the new job, he said it will be with an open mind.
“When I come to Santa Maria, I’m going to do a lot of listening and learning before I develop goals,” he said. “The discussions we’ve had have been very preliminary.”
Contact Staff Writer William D’Urso at wdurso@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 21-28, 2019.