On June 30, while faculty and students alike enjoyed the long-awaited summer months, a quiet but significant change occurred at the district office: Cary Matsuoka left his post as superintendent of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District after nearly five years.
At a board of trustees meeting earlier that month, Matsuoka gave his resignation. He had accepted an offer from the Milpitas Union School District and started his job as superintendent there on July 1.
“I wanted to try a larger challenge and a larger district,” Matsuoka said. His new position also offers him a higher salary.
Unlike the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District, which is composed of two high schools, the Milpitas Union School District holds 13 schools and serves roughly 10,000 students. Of those 13 schools, two are middle schools and nine are elementary.
“I have never worked in an elementary school setting, and it’s been a long time since I’ve worked in middle schools, so it’s a brand new environment,” Matsuoka said. “Now I’m educating kids from age three, up to high school graduation.”
Additionally, Matsuoka found himself attracted to the ethnic diversity of Milpitas schools. The high index of immigrant families offers a rewarding challenge.
“I’ve also been learning about literacy. Say your parents tell you that you need to move to Spain, and then all of a sudden all the instruction is in Spanish,” he said. “ Imagine learning AP Biology in Spanish.”
Matsuoka first began to work for the district in 1984 at Saratoga High School, where he taught science until 1997, when he became the assistant principal for Lynbrook High School. In 2006, he returned to the district as superintendent.
Tom Woodruff, the associate superintendent of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District, said that Matsuoka, in addition to being a close colleague, was a caring personal friend.
“I’ll miss not seeing him every day,” said Woodruff. “My father died a week before I started working [in the district. Matsuoka] completely supported me.”
Senior Anshu Siripurapu, the board representative for Saratoga High School last year, also appreciated Matsuoka’s approachable personality.
“I think he was a good listener above all things,” Siriprapu said. “He cared about what I had to say, about what students had to say in general.”
Matsuoka’s efforts culminated last year with the passing of the district’s first parcel tax, which has addressed the “need for funding under local control,” according to Jane Marashian, who worked as administrative assistant.
However, Matsuoka believes that his greatest contribution lies in the administration team that he left behind. “I think the biggest thing was kind of the behind the scenes,” Matsuoka said. “We have 13 administrators in the district, and I left a top-notch administration team.”
Matsuoka also left behind the daunting task of selecting a new superintendent. The district hired Leadership Associates, a search firm specializing in the selection of executive leaders.
“The board is committed to finding and hiring the best possible leader for our district,” Marashian said. “To that end, a professional search firm provides us with the expertise to coordinate the complex process of advertising, recruiting, collecting community input, and interviewing.”
Marashian expects the board to announce the final decision soon after the Sept. 17 finalist interview date. The new superintendent will most likely begin to work in October.
