SDUSD Superintendent Bill Kowba to resign at end of school year
(CNS) – San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Bill
Kowba says he has decided to retire when his three-year contract ends on June
30.
Kowba, 61, a retired Navy rear admiral, was named the district's
superintendent in June 2010. He previously worked as the district's interim
superintendent, chief financial officer, chief special projects officer and
chief logistics officer.
He notified the Board of Education of his decision Tuesday.
“It is only after extensive reflection with my family and great mixed
emotion that I have formally notified the Board of Education of my decision to
retire on June 30, 2013,” Kowba wrote in a statement to the district's
employees and the San Diego Unified community.
“In the months ahead, I will have opportunities to thank all of you for
your support, loyalty and commitment to out San Diego Unified mission. But
one can never thank enough those who have dedicated themselves to singular
sacrifice and collaboration on the incredible journey of the past seven
years.”
Kowba's time as superintendent has been marked by the expansion of
technology available to students, including iPad tablets and the Promethian
“smart boards” that equip a growing number of classrooms. San Diego Unified's
record of academic achievement had also brought about national attention,
district spokesman Jack Brandais said in a statement.
Student achievement had progressed throughout Kowba's tenure despite
continual cuts in funding. Voters approved two bond measures during Kowba's
time as superintendent, one in 2008 and one in November, that provided for
infrastructure improvements as operating funds were slashed by state and
federal cutbacks.
“This tenure has been earmarked by both great resource challenge and
solid academic achievement,” Kowba wrote. “At center stage, the Board, staff
and community have had to deal with incessant draconian cuts to the state and
district budgets triggered by the single deepest and most prolonged economic
downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.”
Kowba said great sacrifice and collaboration by all had enabled the
district to accommodate budget deficits, and district officials must
relentlessly address future fiscal challenges with balanced, long-term budget
solutions.
The Board of Education has yet to announce a plan for naming a successor.
