The Mountain View Whisman school board is tapping Kevin Skelly as the district's interim superintendent. Skelly, the former superintendent of Palo Alto Unified School District, will lead the K-8 district from Jan. 1 through June 30.

Skelly, joined by his wife and kids at the Dec. 11 board meeting, told board members he was excited for the opportunity and that it seemed like the "perfect" thing to do. He said working in Mountain View is particularly exciting for him because the city is changing so fast.

"Mountain View is such an interesting community," Skelly said. "A changing, evolving community."

Skelly only recently stepped down as superintendent of Palo Alto Unified, where he served as superintendent from July 2007 to June 2014. Before that, he was an administrator at a San Diego County school district that served 35,000 students. He also served as principal of Saratoga High School for 11 years.

Skelly said current superintendent Craig Goldman, whose resignation takes effect Dec. 30, has been "tremendously supportive" and that he looks forward to working with him and learning about the district in the coming weeks.

Prior to Skelly's appointment, the board passed two resolutions: one to recognize the contributions of retiring board member Phil Palmer and one to recognize Superintendent Goldman. Both resolutions inspired emotional stories by parents and former board members, which Skelly said showed the district has a strong sense of community and a commitment to providing the best education possible for kids.

"You can be right next door to a district and not really know all the things that are going on," Skelly said. "It's enjoyable to see that sense of community and sense of caring about kids."