SLVUSD superintendent announces retirement
San Lorenzo Valley Unified Superintendent Laurie Bruton is calling it a career.
She announced her retirement to the district and the surrounding community earlier this month. Bruton worked in education for 35 years, seven of which were spent at SLVUSD as the district’s superintendent.
“It has been my extreme honor to have served as the superintendent in SLV for the last seven years,” Bruton wrote in a letter. “It is with the fondest regards and a thankful heart that I submit my notice of retirement, effective June 30, 2021, to the SLVUSD Board of Education.”
Bruton originally planned to retire last year but decided to stay on board as the COVID-19 pandemic threw the education world into a tailspin. She felt the need to provide stability during a tumultuous time.
“This has been a hard year for everyone in public education,” she said. “I stayed. And I’m glad I did. It’s been a wonderful year in a lot of ways.”
Bruton is unsure of what the future holds for her at the moment. While her career as an educator is over, she said she would be interested in finding a way to stay involved. She went back and forth over whether she could see herself running for the school board in the future.
“I don’t think I have aspirations to be a board member, at least right now. That is important work, so potentially yes,” Bruton said. “I’m not sure I want to do that right now. Right now, I am more interested in having the world open up.”
She has expressed an interest in traveling once COVID-19 restrictions loosen. England, France and Italy are on her shortlist of overseas destinations.
She also has a desire to visit her family. Bruton has four children and 10 grandchildren. One of her children and his three children live in Montana, while her other children and grandchildren are in Southern California.
While Bruton figures out what is in store for her future, SLVUSD will do the same. The district is beginning its search for a new superintendent. It will search for Bruton’s replacement with the help of Leadership Associates, the same recruiters that brought Bruton to the valley.
“They do a wide search across the state. They’re guided and owned by former superintendents,” Bruton said. “They have a lot of experience on their side of helping boards through the hiring process. They match people with the place and what the needs are of the district.”
The Board of Education will meet on Monday to discuss what the future of the superintendent position at SLVUSD will hold.
The meeting is at 4 p.m. via zoom and can be accessed on slvusd.org under the Board Agenda, Packets & Minutes page. The discussion is planned for closed session before adjournment of the meeting.
As she prepares to walk out the door, Bruton left a bit of advice for her successor. “My most important advice to educators is know your mission,” she said. “Know what your North Star is because it’s easy to get dissuaded from that.”