Inside the school board’s superintendent decision

When Petaluma City Schools Superintendent Gary Callahan told school board members and top level administrators privately that he planned to step down at the end of the year, many were shocked.

The second semester of an unprecedented remote learning school year was just beginning, and school officials were busy readying a reopening strategy and puzzling together a timeline for teacher vaccinations.

Callahan’s decision to retire, communicated to district leadership in January, wouldn’t become public knowledge until last week, but the intervening months gave the Board of Education for the county’s second-largest school district time to ponder the path forward.

Would school leaders cast about for a qualified external candidate, competing against a growing list of county districts searching for their next leader? Or would they choose somebody in-house?

On Tuesday, the Petaluma City Schools Board of Education tapped Assistant Superintendent Matthew Harris as the district’s next chief, promoting from within an administrator described as exceptional, humble and trustworthy.

The board’s decision, mulled in a series of closed-door meetings since January, including in a final session this past Wednesday, gives Petaluma Schools a tested, familiar leader to guide a district still grappling with its response to the pandemic, including massive efforts to bring students back into classrooms after a year of remote learning.

Given the ongoing challenges, and the opportunity for a smooth transition by the time Callahan leaves on June 30, board President Joanna Paun said Harris emerged as her favored pick fairly quickly.

“It’s great that we can have someone who can work with Gary through that process,” Paun said. “We’ve had smoke days, we’ve had blackouts, we’ve had wildfires, evacuees have come here. We have someone who has walked with our district through all of these different events.”

Harris has served as assistant superintendent of human resources with the district since 2018. Before that, he was credited with revitalizing McKinley Elementary School, where he was principal from 2012-18. During that time, he also led Petaluma Accelerated Charter School from 2015-18 and Harris earned the city’s Excellence in Education award in 2017.

In a statement last week, Harris called the appointment an honor, and he said he was ready for the tough work to come.

“We’re in this unique time right now. None of us have ever been through a global pandemic before – there’s so much uncertainty, so many unknowns,” Harris said in a phone interview last week. “I just knew it was time to step up, time to lead us through these next chapters.”

Harris has for the last three years served as the district’s lead negotiator in teacher contract talks, where he’s credited with helping restore relationships with the Petaluma Federation of Teachers.

Before Harris took over, the relationship had soured, reaching an inflection point during a one-day teachers strike – the district’s first – in 2017. Harris, who was a principal at the time, called it a low point for the district.

“We’re thrilled. He’s the perfect person for the job,” said Sandra Larsen, the Petaluma Federation of Teachers president who also teaches third grade in the district. “As union president, I think he’s responsible in large part for how well we’re working together. We 100% support the board’s decision.”

On Friday, Harris notched another win, as 98.5% of teachers voted to approve the most recent round of contract talks, which include a 2%, across-the-board raise Harris helped secure.

Harris takes over for Callahan, who last week announced he will join a growing list of Sonoma County school administrators who have left, or plan to leave, their posts this year. Santa Rosa’s Diann Kitamura, Bennett Valley’s Sue Field, Kenwood’s Bob Bales and Twin Hills’ Barbara Bickford are also retiring. Roseland’s Amy Jones-Kerr resigned, and Sonoma Valley’s Socorro Shiels was fired.

Callahan, who said he was retiring to spend more time with his family, including his 8-year-old son, praised Harris as a student-centered leader who is invested in the community.

“Matthew Harris is positioned to take Petaluma City Schools to even greater heights,” Callahan said in a statement provided to the Argus-Courier.

Matthew Harris is positioned to take Petaluma City Schools to even greater heights. He will be a student-centered leader who will work collaboratively with all stakeholders and is invested in the community.

Paun acknowledged that the board’s seemingly quick move to replace Callahan surprised some, with last Thursday’s announcement of the board’s intention to appoint Harris coming just one day after Callahan publicly disclosed his intention to retire after six years at the helm.

Calling him a “rare, exceptional administrator,” Paun said Harris embodied all of the qualities board members sought in the district’s next leader.

“The type of superintendent we would want, we already had in our district, so we didn’t feel the need to hire an agency, spend tens of thousands of dollars, spend months,” Paun said.

Some also questioned the appointment of one white, male administrator to replace another, a move seen by some as a missed opportunity to bring in an administrator from a different background.

Paun, a Black woman, said she agreed with the sentiment, but she also said she is confident, based on his background, that Harris will bring a lens of equity to his role as superintendent.

Harris started his career in Southern California, with stints as a teacher for the Lawndale Elementary School District and Lynwood Unified School District in Los Angeles as part of the Teach for America program, which places educators in low-income districts.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in French language and literature at the University of Michigan, and speaks French, Spanish and English, a trait trustees highlighted in their Wednesday statement.

Harris has a master’s degree in education from Loyola Marymount and master’s in education administration from California State University Northridge. He earned a Juris Doctorate from UCLA School of Law.

For the past decade, he has lived in Petaluma with his wife, Elizabeth, and their growing family, which includes four children and a fifth on the way.

Tyler Silvy is editor of the Petaluma Argus-Courier. Reach him at tyler.silvy@arguscourier.com, 707-776-8458, or @tylersilvy on Twitter.