In the midst of a major budget shortfall, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has appointed Tim Cuneo as superintendent, per confirmation by the Board of Education at its meeting next week. Cuneo has served as interim superintendent since July of last year.
Cuneo’s move to a permanent position comes at a rough time for the school district. Last week, school officials said the district’s deficit may be as high as $12 million within the next 18 months, and will be looking to make roughly $6 million in cuts for the 2009-2010 school year. This will likely mean larger class sizes, teacher layoffs, and a reduction in benefits and school services.
“Tim Cuneo is and will continue to be a strong leader in helping SMMUSD to get through this financial crisis,” said district Assistant Superintendent Mike Matthews. “It will take clear thinking, the ability to make difficult decisions and the ability to communicate with all groups, employees, parents and citizens about the dismal state of the California budget, its impact on SMMUSD and how the decisions we will make will help us stay financially solvent and best address the needs of our students.”
Cuneo was hired for the interim position after former Superintendent Diane Talarico stepped down to take a position in the Bay Area, with the understanding that he would only stay a year.
For four decades, Cuneo held a number of administrative positions within various school districts, including several as a superintendent. He had retired from school district administration, moving on to educational investment and reform, when he was asked to apply to SMMUSD last year.
“Coming in from the outside gives me a basis to try to evaluate the effectiveness of our school system and benchmark it against other school systems,” Cuneo said. “I don’t have preconceived notions on what may be some of the challenges in the district.”
Cuneo came to SMMUSD in the midst of an overhaul of the district’s special education program after an independent evaluation revealed many of its shortfalls, including having parents of special education students sign confidentiality agreements prohibiting the disclosure of the services the district was providing their children.
Cuneo has been credited with spearheading initiatives such as producing a parents’ special education handbook, hosting a fall forum and starting a collaborative working group to review the district’s special education program, which were enough indications to the City of Santa Monica that the problems with the program were being addressed to release roughly $804,000 in funds they had withheld for a year and a half.
Cuneo said he has seen a positive and “very different picture” from parents and staff about the special education program than he did when he first arrived in the district, and still has some initiatives planned, such as a parent support group slated to start meeting this spring.
“This is a beginning and not an end,” Cuneo said of the district’s special education program and plans for the future. “There is a process in place that will continually improve over time.”
Yet, in the midst of the economic climate, Cuneo said he still plans to tackle other issues facing the school district, such as continuing to reform the special education program and work toward closing the achievement gap, as scores of Hispanic and black males are not measuring up academically to other groups within the district.
“No matter whether we have a budget crisis or not, we must focus on closing the achievement gap,” Cuneo said. “I don’t believe it’s getting closed fast enough. We may need to rethink our strategies a bit, but we still need target students that are falling through the cracks.”
Starting in December, the board met behind closed doors to evaluate Cuneo’s contract and, rethinking their original plans to look for a permanent replacement, concluded that Cuneo was someone they would strongly consider for the permanent position, said Barry Snell, board vice president.
Board President Ralph Mechur said Cuneo “rolling up his sleeves” to take on tough issues like the special education program and achievement gap within the district was the reason board members believed he was the right choice, particularly because looking for a new candidate who would need to “get up to speed” and understand the school district would not be a good decision during a tough financial time.
“Tim has displayed strong leadership skills, particularly involving our special education issues,” Snell said. “He has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and has already been involved with the district. I thought it was good continuity for us to keep him given our current economic condition.”
Cuneo has held administrative positions in the Oak Grove, Whisman, Pajaro Valley Unified and Fremont Union High School districts, in addition to serving as senior executive director for the 21st Century Education Initiative: Silicon Valley Network, as well as several positions on boards devoted to educational policy. Cuneo has a bachelor’s degree in biological science from Chico State University and a master’s degree in counseling and guidance from Santa Clara University. Cuneo also has a California Administrative Credential from San Jose State University.
Cuneo’s contract was not ready for the Board of Education meeting on Feb. 5, but will be part of the agenda for the next meeting on Feb. 19. The public will be allowed to comment on the contract and the board will vote on its confirmation. If confirmed, Cuneo will serve as superintendent until June 2011.