Maurice Ghysels, the superintendent of the elementary school district in Mountain View for five years and, for the last 10 months, an administrator in the Santa Clara County Office of Education, has been named the new superintendent of the Menlo Park City School District, effective July 1.
School board President Maria Hilton announced the appointment in an email to district families Friday afternoon (May 6), saying Ghysels “possesses an impressive depth of educational and business leadership experience and a demonstrated passion for excellence.”
Ghysels will replace Ken Ranella, who began his tenure as district superintendent in 2002 and announced his retirement, effective in June 30, in January.
Ghysels, who was one of six finalists for the position, has since last July served as the chief schools officer for the Office of Education in Santa Clara County, managing a staff of 1,400 providing services to about 50,000 students in 32 districts, according to Hilton’s prepared statement.
Before taking that position, he was superintendent of the Mountain View Whisman School District, beginning that job in 2005. The end of his tenure there was overshadowed by a controversy that brewed over his romantic relationship with a principal of one of the schools he oversaw. He and the principal, Carmen Mizell, were married to other people and were in the process of filing for divorce when they informed the school board of their relationship.
The announcement in 2009 caused an outcry by some members of the school community, some of whom complained that a conflict of interest existed, particularly in light of Mizell’s transfer in 2008 to a high-performing school, according to an Oct. 26, 2009, article in the Mountain View Voice. Other parents and community members stated their continuing support for both the superintendent and the principal, the Voice reported.
After informing the school board of the relationship, Ghysels changed district protocol to allow Mizell to report to the assistant superintendent rather than him as a way to avoid a conflict of interest, the Voice reported.
In November 2009, Ghysels informed the school board that he was looking for work outside the district, and the board publicly announced soon after that “our team has been discussing an internal succession plan for quite some time,” according to a Nov. 10 article in the Voice.
Ghysels could not be reached for comment for this story.
Hilton also could not be reached for comment for this story. In her prepared statement, she said that board members “recently conducted extensive on-site interviews at both the Mountain View Whisman District and the (county office of education), which included many staff, administrators, parents and community members.
“These individuals consistently described Dr. Ghysels as a dynamic and collaborative leader who always puts the needs of students first.”
Ghysels began his career as a high school teacher and principal, according to Hilton’s written statement. He went on to serve as a middle school principal, then was appointed deputy superintendent/chief operations officer of the Campbell Union School District.
His career also includes a five-year stint at Citibank, Hilton said, adding that during his years in the business world, “his responsibilities included training and professional development in executive coaching, communication skills and project management.”
The board is hosting a “welcome reception” for Ghysels before its regular meeting on Tuesday, May 10. The reception will be from 6 to 7 p.m. in the district office at 181 Encinal Ave. in Menlo Park.
I wish this news were from Palo Alto School District. I guess we are not so lucky to have a new leader yet, perhaps when more bad staff happens around here we will get to see news like that for Palo Alto. I would think that there is plenty of bad staff, but I guess some people, just turned a blind eye. Sad.