The Los Gatos-Saratoga High School District will promote their interim superintendent to the permanent post after the former superintendent’s sudden departure rocked the community.
Heath Rocha has served the district as assistant superintendent of student services for nearly a decade, and added interim superintendent to his responsibilities in the fall after former superintendent Bill Sanderson left the district amid ongoing controversy over his leadership style. Rocha has since positioned himself as the anti-Sanderson, prioritizing direct lines of communication and transparency with community members – addressing the complaints that students, parents and faculty had about Sanderson’s leadership.
At the district board’s Jan. 28 meeting, trustees voted unanimously to appoint Rocha as permanent superintendent, effective once the board approves his new contract on Feb. 11. The board at its Jan. 14 meeting considered conducting a full search process using either an external firm or the district’s human resources department, but instead decided to conduct a survey on what community members wanted to see in their new superintendent, agreeing that Rocha was their “preferred candidate.”
At the Jan. 28 meeting, Tanya De La Cruz, the district’s public information officer, said the roughly 300 survey respondents indicated that, among other things, a new superintendent should know about Los Gatos and Saratoga high schools’ strong community identity, high levels of parent involvement and interest in extracurriculars.
“Parents are highly involved, and expect strong collaboration and responsiveness from district leadership,” she said.
Rocha set his sights set on the position as far back as December, when he told this publication that he was planning to put himself up for the job when the search for a permanent superintendent began.
Before the Jan. 28 regular meeting, Rocha in a special meeting delivered a presentation on his background, vision and goals as superintendent. The 30-minute presentation drew applause, and 10 community members spoke enthusiastically in support of Rocha, some even brought to tears over what they said Rocha had done for them and their families in his tenure with the district.
Former trustee Cynthia Chang said Rocha’s integrity and leadership skills made him an ideal candidate for the permanent position. “Heath will hit the ground running,” Chang said.
Rocha highlighted his background in special education and his time as a school psychologist in his presentation, saying he was prepared to take on the role of superintendent after two decades in K-12 education in California.
“I have been implementing my vision for student services with incredible success and now would love the opportunity to carry forward that success to other parts of the district,” Rocha said.