Los Gatos names new school superintendent

An overflow crowd turned out Monday night to meet the Los Gatos Union School District’s new superintendent, with the board of trustees voting unanimously to appoint Paul Johnson to the post.

He’s currently superintendent of the Mill Valley School District in Marin County.

Johnson was chosen from a field of 36 applicants and will be paid $278,000 during the first year of his three year contract, plus benefits, a car allowance and moving expenses.

Johnson and his wife Debbie plan to move to the South Bay prior to the start of the 2018-19 school year.

During the approximately four month superintendent search process, the school district gathered input from some 700 Los Gatos community members about the characteristics they’d like to see in a superintendent, which included a “proven track record” of community collaboration.

“Collaboration is key because this community loves its schools,” Johnson said.

Johnson has been Mill Valley’s superintendent for seven years. Mill Valley is similar to Los Gatos Union because both K-8 districts have five elementary schools and one middle school.

“We truly believe we’ve found a leader who meets all the criteria from the community,” Board of Trustees President Peter Noymer said.

Noymer and other trustees were impressed that Johnson led two successful parcel tax campaigns in Mill Valley.

Parcel taxes are a touchy subject in Los Gatos, where voters turned down a $290 annual parcel tax in May 2017. The failed parcel tax is one reason why then-Superintendent Diana Abbati was let go in late January.

In addition to the Mill Valley superintendent’s job, Johnson was also superintendent of the Loomis School District near Sacramento. He started his education career in 1987 as a teacher in Riverside and has also worked as an assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent.