spread out over five elementary schools and one middle school. Considered a high-performing school district, four out of the five schools have a high academic performance index score.
Talarico was named as Deasy’s successor in July 2006, coming to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District from the Canton City Schools in Ohio where she served in a similar capacity for five years. She also held several positions in the San Francisco Unified School District for nearly two decades before moving to Canton, including associate superintendent and teacher of special education.
She was among approximately 46 candidates who applied to replace outgoing Burlingame Superintendent Sonny Da Marto who will serve as the head of the Turlock Unified School District on July 1, the same date in which Talarico’s three-year contract will take effect in Burlingame. Da Marto announced his resignation in February after serving nearly nine years.
Burlingame was one of two districts with superintendent openings sought by Talarico, the other — Newark — located about 25 miles south of Oakland. Newark was taken out of consideration when the district decided to look within the organization for a superintendent, hiring its associate superintendent for educational services.
“I was very selective about where I applied in terms of trying to determine a school district that would be a good fit and match for my passions and what I thought I could contribute for the children and the school district,”Talarico said. “(Burlingame) thought I would be a good match for them and they definitely are a great match for me.”
Michael Barber, the president of the Burlingame Board of Trustees, said Talarico stood out from the competition for her strong curriculum background, work in special education and experience as superintendent in other districts.
“A lot of it was about the right fit and we as a board felt she was a good fit for the district,” Barber said.
The district used management search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to assist in the hunt for a superintendent, the Chicago-based company the same one that recruited Talarico for the Santa Monica-Malibu position. The board interviewed Talarico earlier this month and several trustees were in Santa Monica on Thursday interviewing district staff.
Talarico’s short stay in Santa Monica-Malibu was marked by one controversy after the next, many of the issues preceding her administration but boiling over in the past two years.
The issues started popping up about six months into her stay after former Chief Financial Officer Winston Braham resigned, continuing over into the confidentiality clauses in special education and most recently, a sexual molestation scandal involving an ESL teacher at Lincoln Middle School. Many school community members say that Talarico inherited the problems.
Barber said the trustees were aware and concerned over some of the issues at SMMUSD, but recognized that every district has problems.
“We learned the school district had its share of issues over the years preceding Dianne,” Barber said. “From that perspective, every school district has its own personality.”
The controversies did not play into the departure, Talarico said. Instead, the outgoing superintendent said she believes the challenges have only made her stronger.
“Through the many trials and tribulations here, I reflected back to the saying my father said to me — fall down seven times and get up eight — and I live by that philosophy,” Talarico said. “Regardless of how intense things were sometimes, I was able to stand back up and face whatever adversity I had to keep us focused on our core mission.”
Talarico said despite some of the challenges experienced by the district in the past several years, she hoped that the community will be able to focus on some of the positives, understanding that children have to be the first priority.
She pointed to accomplishments such as the strong academic performances at many of the schools, the awards won by student organizations at the high schools and the successes of several tax measures, including Measure R in February, which combined two existing parcel taxes that were set to expire in the coming years. Measure R is a critical funding source for the district, providing roughly $10 million a year to schools, education advocates said.
“We are award-winning in so many ways that it behooves our community to accentuate the positives, focus on the successes and really celebrate all of the outstanding achievements that our students are making,” Talarico said.
Talarico will spend the next week in Burlingame meeting the staff and conducting some transitional work, returning to Santa Monica in time for the high school graduation ceremonies. Her last day will be June 20.
The SMMUSD Board of Education plans to meet on Wednesday to talk about the search for an interim superintendent, which school officials say will not come from within the district.
Board President Oscar de la Torre said while the interim superintendent will most likely be named in the next few months, the search for a permanent replacement will not begin until after the November election.
“We want to make sure the board is settled and in place,” de la Torre said.
Three board members — Jose Escarce, Maria Leon- Vazquez and Kathy Wisnicki — are up for reelection. Former board member Emily Bloomfield’s half-term seat, currently occupied by Ralph Mechur, is also up for grabs.
De la Torre said the search process for both the interim and permanent superintendents will be a public process, adding that the board plans to hold a community workshop in which parents can comment on the qualities they would like to see in Talarico’s successor.
“It’s a change from the past and the reason is because we are striving for a great level of transparency and accountability,” de la Torre said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 31, 2008. Read the original PDF.