The James Logan Courier

By Rick LaPlante, New Haven Schools Public Information Officer

Veteran administrator Kathy Moniz, Executive Director of Student Services for the New Haven Unified School District, announced today she has accepted a position in the San Juan Unified School District, closer to her Sacramento-area home.

Former James Logan High School Principal Don Montoya will take over as Acting Executive Director of Student Services, pending approval from the Board of Education, until a permanent replacement is hired, Interim Superintendent David Pava said.

“Over her 21-year career here, Kathy Moniz has made countless and significant contributions to the children of New Haven,” Mr. Pava said. “She will be greatly missed.”

Mrs. Moniz taught at Searles Elementary School and served as assistant principal at Cabello Elementary and principal at both Searles and Pioneer Elementary before moving to the District office in 1999. She is head of the Cabello Student Support Center, where she oversees innovations such as the Centralized Enrollment Center, mid-year kindergarten and the District’s home schooling program, as well as independent study and other services.

“I’m very proud of the work we’ve done here and our service to our children and their parents,” she said. “And I’m very confident that Mr. Montoya, with his years of experience and the care that he has for our students, will continue that good work.”

Mr. Montoya could be a candidate for the permanent position, Mr. Pava said, “but given the fact that we probably will have a new superintendent very soon, I think it would have been presumptuous for me to make that appointment.”

The District’s search for a new Superintendent could culminate this week. The Board of Education and a Superintendent Search Advisory Council, representing District stakeholders, are scheduled to interview six candidates Thursday and Friday, and the Board plans to interview two finalists Saturday.

Mrs. Moniz, whose firefighter husband retired seven years ago, said she had been considering a permanent move to the Sacramento area since the couple built a home there three years ago. In San Juan, she will work again with former New Haven Superintendent Dr. Pat Jaurequi. Her last day in New Haven will be Oct. 31.