Ledes from the Land of Enchantment

Second Top Administrator Leaving Lompoc School District | School zone

A second top administrator has announced plans to leave the Lompoc Unified School District.

Bree Valla has been hired as the superintendent for Vista Del Mar Union School District, according to an announcement sent Thursday night from LUSD.

Valla, who has worked for 22 years in the Lompoc district, most recently has served as his deputy superintendent.

The announcement did not include an effective date.

She is leaving a district with 16 campuses and more than 9,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade to lead a single-school district on the Gaviota Coast. The lone school, Vista De Las Cruces, had an enrollment of 29 students last year in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Valla’s departure comes days after the abrupt resignation of Superintendent Trevor McDonald, who cited family reasons for his immediate departure.

The press release announcing McDonald’s departure claimed that Valla had been name interim superintendent. Hours later, Valla said in an email that an interim superintendent had not been named.

Oddly, the announcement about Valla’s departure from the district was sent after normal business hours to media from the email account of the executive assistant in the LUSD Superintendent’s Office and on LUSD letterhead.

A month ago, Lompoc officials released the results of a climate survey showing that the Lompoc school leadership team received low opinion from staff and parents.

Only 27.8% of staff responding to the survey agreed that favoritism is not a problem and gave similarly low scores for whether all employees are treated justly and equally and if leadership is fair and evenhanded in the treatment of all employees.

The departures from the top two jobs also occurred as the district once again asks voters to approve the $125 million Measure A on the Nov. 8 ballot to undertake significant projects at campuses. It will be the fourth attempt to get voters to approve a bond measure since 2016.

During her time with the district, Valla worked as a teacher and principal before moving to the district office to work in human resources as a director and assistant superintendent. She was named deputy superintendent in July 2020.

“I am grateful for all that Lompoc has taught me during my tenure. I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish with Lompoc and cannot wait to be part of the Vista team,” Valla said in a written statement.

She has received a number of awards while working for the district.

Last month, the Lompoc school board approved a one-year extension of Valla’s contract to 2024.

Lompoc’s new school year starts Aug. 15.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

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