San Ysidro educator picked as next CUHSD superintendent
EL CENTRO — The Central Union High School District board of trustees has announced its choice for the district’s next superintendent.
The board will be voting at its next meeting to ratify an employment agreement with current San Ysidro School District Assistant Superintendent David Farkas. Pending approval of that agreement, he will replace current Superintendent Ward Andrus, who has accepted an offer to become superintendent for the Murrietta Valley Unified School District after his own contract with CUHSD expires on June 30.
Farkas has served at the San Ysidro School
District for three years, CUHSD reported in a release. While there, he has supervised educational leadership for the eight district schools, led the district’s safety department including the COVID-19 prevention plan and mitigation strategies, and directed the pupil services department. In 2020, he was instrumental in launching the district’s first Virtual Learning Academy.
He has served in many leadership positions over his 26 years in public education including executive director of human resources and principal of three schools.
In the Hemet Unified School District, Farkas was named Principal of the Year after his school achieved a 900 API,
California Distinguished School Award, and National Blue-Ribbon School nomination. According to CUHSD, he has utilized his skills to build relationships and organize intervention and enrichment programs to support all students. Through a shared leadership approach, Farkas led his schools to district high graduation rates along with consecutive years of growth on standardized assessments.
CUHSD Board President Diahna Garcia-Ruiz said the board is excited for the vision and experience that Farkas brings to the district. She also thanked district employees and the community for taking time to provide feedback that supported the hiring process.
Outside of his district responsibilities, Farkas has served as a County Office of Education administrator coach and an adjunct professor at Brandman University. Farkas and his wife, Denise, have a son at The University of Arizona and another son who recently graduated from California State University, San Marcos.
Ben Johnson, with McPherson & Jacobson L.L.C., served as the consultant in the search process and will continue working with the CUHSD board and Farkas in helping establish performance objectives for the position.