Leader of Mead schools takes position in California

After three years at Mead School District, Superintendent Steve Enoch is leaving for a much larger school district in California.

Enoch sent out a news release late Thursday afternoon announcing that he will leave in July to become the superintendent of the San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento. The district has more than 70 schools and 47,000 students.

Enoch came to Mead in 2002 from Washington’s San Juan Island District on Orcas Island.

“The whole thing came very quickly,” Enoch said. “My head’s still spinning.”

His father passed away a year ago, leaving his mother alone in Orange County, Calif. He also has siblings in Southern California.

Enoch said he was at an education conference in San Diego with his school board and met someone from the California School Board Association, who later suggested he apply for the Sacramento job.

“I actually resisted initially, thinking perhaps it wasn’t the right time,” Enoch said.

Ultimately, Enoch said, the new challenge was simply too much to turn away from.

The new job gives Enoch the chance to see just how much impact a superintendent can have on a large school district.

Enoch, 56, has been a superintendent for 13 years and served as a school principal for 10 years.

“It’s been a great run (in Mead),” Enoch said. “There’s been plenty of challenges, and the list of things we accomplished are very real.”

Enoch oversaw the passing of a levy and a major construction/technology bond. Students will return in the fall connected to a wireless network, with laptop computers available in all the schools. All grades for secondary students are now posted online, and a majority of teachers share information with students and parents through individual Web sites.

California’s San Juan Unified School District has faced extreme financial challenges due to reduced state funding, increased operational costs and declining enrollment, according to a Web site posting from out-going superintendent General Davie Jr. The district will soon restore previously cut positions, including vice principals, counselors, librarians and nurses.