On Dec. 20, 2024, Superintendent Tara Taupier announced her upcoming retirement to the Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) community effective June 30, after 30 years in education and seven years as TUHSD superintendent. Since this announcement, the TUHSD has embarked upon a search for someone new to hold the position. The first community event surrounding the search took place Wednesday, Feb. 5, with the TUHSD hosting a community input session at Redwood High School to solicit information for its superintendent search.
Before the community input session, the TUHSD sent out a survey Feb. 4 seeking parent and family viewpoints on the superintendent search. The survey asked respondents questions related to TUHSD’s strengths and challenges, what is important for the new superintendent to know about the district, and any other qualities or characteristics important for the next superintendent to possess.
The attendees of the event mostly had similar hopes for the new superintendent. They wanted an honest experienced person who would not be afraid to advocate for students in the district. Everything that was said was noted by the representative from Leadership Associates.
In order for the TUHSD Board to find the most ideal candidate, they have hired an executive search firm, Leadership Associates, as an advisor during the search process. Chief Fiscal Officer of Leadership Associates Marc Ecker moderated Wednesday’s event and recorded feedback from the parent community. Ecker has helped many other school districts in the area with their searches for superintendents, including the Mill Valley, Ross Valley, and San Rafael districts.
“I think people want an honest, trustworthy, competent individual who is caring. They want someone with experience in education as well as bringing corporate skills to the table. They want a strong decision maker who is an equity-minded individual that is going to be able to bring people together,” Ecker said.
Tamalpais High School alumna Tammy Edmonson attended the event due to her interest in educational issues in Marin County and the racial incidents that have occurred throughout the district. She believes that the most significant problem the new superintendent will need to address is racial inequality.
“The most challenging and long lasting problem that the district has had is this issue of racial inequity, and it seems to be getting worse from the time when I was a student. We didn’t have the kind of racial incidents that have occurred in the last two years. I think it’s really important that we not backslide on the efforts that the district has undertaken,” Edmonson said.
Similar to Edmonson, community member Christy Chandler attended the session because she holds concerns about local educational issues and racial justice initiatives. She believes that a strong superintendent can help the district become more aware of the racial inequality she perceives in the district.
“The courage and commitment to their values given how I do believe it’s going to be a pretty politically fraught environment that we’re looking at, and partly because of what’s happening at the national level, I think will be apparent at our district level. So I’m looking for somebody who values equity, and addressing all of the opportunity gaps is important given the potential challenges caused by our political scene,” Chandler said.
Input from the survey issued prior and the Feb. 5 community session will be presented to the TUHSD Board, and then compiled, summarized, and published publicly on the TUHSD website. No formal timeline has been established for selection of the new superintendent.
