School board taps Chuck Young as interim chief

In a bold move, the Sonoma Valley Unified School District board has picked a high-powered retired educator to be the interim superintendent of schools.

The board on Thursday voted to negotiate a contract with Chuck Young, the former longtime chancellor of UCLA (1968-1997) and former president of the University of Florida, to replace outgoing Superintendent Louann Carlomagno on an interim basis while it looks for a permanent replacement.

Carlomagno, who’s been superintendent for the last seven years, announced her resignation earlier this month after disharmony racked the board. Her last day is today, June 30.

Young is no stranger to the district. He moved to Sonoma in 2010 and joined the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation board in 2012 where he was the vice chair and the treasurer. He took a leave of absence from the board earlier in June after the resignation of Carlogmagno, who was staunchly supported by Young.

Young didn’t mince words when he addressed the board at a special meeting on June 10. He called Carlomagno “the best superintendent I have found anywhere in my experience.”

“Board relationships made her life untenable and her job too difficult if not impossible for her to do (also for staff, teachers and parents) … the ultimate victim was the student,” he said. “Members allowed the board to be used as a means of obtaining retribution by an unhappy former employee and new member who appears to have sought election for that purpose.”

Young was speaking specifically about John Kelly who beat incumbent Gary DeSmet for the Sassarini attendance area seat in November.

In a subsequent email to the board, Young warned that the board had an obligation to halt what he termed “misfeasance,” by Kelly and an un-named board member (Britta Johnson). “Those Board members must now move to return the Board to functionality by using every tool at their disposal to bring about that change, fully and quickly,” wrote Young. “If they will not, or do not succeed in doing so, the citizens of this district must take the only effective action at its disposal by invoking the recall process.”

Young, 85, earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees before becoming a professor. He’s the chancellor emeritus of UCLA and a professor at the UCLA School of Public Affairs, former president of the University of Florida, and most recently, the chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.

After a two-hour closed session late Thursday afternoon, the board moved to negotiate a contract with Young. The board will vote to finalize the contract at its July 10 special meeting.

When board President Dan Gustafson announced that Young was the board’s choice to be the interim, a buzz went through the 30 or so people who were present.

Gustafson said Young’s job will be to restore confidence in the district. “Chuck can fix the board so we can hire a qualified superintendent,” he said.

John Kelly, who was the target of Young’s ire at the earlier meeting and is a UCLA grad, had nothing but praise for him. “When we called 9-1-1, Superman answered the call,” he said.

The rest of the board was equally efusive in their praise. Nicole Ducarroz called Young, “a game changer.”

But not everyone was enthralled with the choice. Celeste Winders, a parent with two special needs children, called the choice “atrocious,” and asked what Young’s background in special education was. “What is his experience with children who are not high achievers,” she asked. “It’s inappropriate. It makes me want to pull my kids out of the district.”

But Gustafson said that the district is at a crisis point right now. “He’s going to attract people who see this district in a whole new light.”

Email Bill at bill.hoban@sonomanews.com.