Features

Two top-ranking school officials announced this week that they will be leaving the Berkeley Unified School District in the coming months. 

Jerry Kurr, associate superintendent of business, will leave in May; David Gomez, associate superintendent of human resources, will leave in June to take the reins as superintendent of the Santa Paula High School District in Ventura County. 

“It’s been a wonderful experience,” said Gomez, who has been with Berkeley Unified for three years. “I’m very impressed with the commitment the community has to public education.” 

Gomez’s new job will be a 10-minute drive from his wife and son in Ventura. 

Kurr, who could not be reached for this article, took over Berkeley Unified’s troubled business office last year after serving as a consultant to the district. He helped ease the transition to a new accounting system. 

Gomez said Kurr likely will return to consulting. 

Eric Smith, the well-respected Deputy Superintendent of Business Services for the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education, will take Kurr’s place on May 5. 

Smith will inherit a district with a 2003-2004 deficit of at least $3.8 million. 

“That’s part of the attraction — the challenge,” Smith told the San Luis Obispo Tribune. “Obviously some things need to be cleaned up, but I like doing that.” 

—David Scharfenberg