RSF School board approves contract for new superintendent

The Rancho Santa Fe School District board approved a one-year contract with new Superintendent Dr. Tom Bennett at its June 9 meeting.

After a six-month search, President John Tree said the board selected Bennett with the hopes of continuing to improve the district and “head in the direction all of us want to, which is high academic achievement, a very kind and warm, nurturing school and professional development for the staff.”

The district’s new leader, the former head of schools at the private Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach, started his new role on June 12 with an annual salary of $220,000.

Bennett has a background in math, beginning his career in education as a math teacher in the Grossmont Union High School District. He earned his Ph.D. in educational psychology, learning and instruction from UCLA, completing his dissertation on how children learn. Bennett also has experience in higher learning, spending 14 years at California State University, San Marcos as an education professor and vice president for academic affairs. For the past six years, he has been working as an education consultant.

Tree said the most attractive part of Bennett’s resume was his nine-year tenure as head of schools for the K-12 Santa Fe Christian, where both schools were honored as Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

“We’re excited about what he can do here for us,” Tree said.

The June 9 board meeting was the last for Superintendent Donna Tripi, who announced her plans to step away at the beginning of the school year. Tripi took over in 2018, coming from La Jolla Elementary School where she had served as principal for 19 years.

At Rancho Santa Fe, Tripi oversaw some “tumultuous” times, including dealing with a budget deficit, teacher layoffs and a global pandemic. She has been celebrated by the board and the community for leading the first school in the county and the state to reopen for in-person learning during the pandemic.

“To hear the sounds of the kids coming back on the first day of school was the highlight of my career,” said Tripi.

Tripi was tearful as the board acknowledged her self-sufficiency, patience and grace under pressure. Tripi said her time at Rancho Santa Fe has been a labor of love: “I’m proud of the work I’ve done here.”