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Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Superintendent Dan Deguara is leaving to take the same leadership position at another K-8 district.
In a message to the Belmont-Redwood Shores community on Wednesday, May 13, Deguara announced that he is leaving at the end of June after six years helming the district.
“After thoughtful reflection, I have decided to accept an opportunity that will allow me to continue serving in a superintendent role closer to my home,” he said in his message. “This transition will significantly reduce my daily commute and provide me with more time with my family, greater balance and additional space to sustain the energy and commitment needed for the important work ahead.”
In an email to the Pulse on Thursday, May 14, Deguara said he’s taking the reins from the retiring superintendent at Los Gatos Union School District, beginning July 1. Deguara lives in San Jose.
“I was fortunate to have worked with an amazing and supportive community dedicated to the success of all students,” Deguara said of Belmont-Redwood Shores in the email. “I am grateful for SchoolForce, our community foundation, which helps provide high-quality supports and programs that are not available in many public schools. I appreciate the dedication of our incredible, high-quality staff members, who are dedicated to helping all students attain academic success.”
In his announcement to the community, Deguara acknowledged mixed feelings about his decision to leave, saying his tenure “in Belmont-Redwood Shores has been deeply meaningful to me. … Together, we have navigated some of the most challenging moments in public education, including the COVID-19 pandemic, with a shared commitment to our students and to one another. I am incredibly proud of how our community came together during that time with resilience, care and a commitment to what mattered most.”
Deguara expressed confidence that he is leaving Belmont-Redwood Shores strong and well poised for the future.
“In partnership, we implemented and fulfilled a strategic plan reflecting our shared values and aspirations, which positions the district well for what comes next,” he said. “This work, alongside the development of our Profile of a Learner, provides a clear starting point for the next leader to continue and further the important progress under way.”
The district’s strategic plan provides a framework for developing well-rounded learners, promoting community engagement, fostering equity and a sense of belonging, and striving for fiscal and operational sustainability.
Profile of a Learner is a holistic strategy that includes creating a multi-year plan to integrate skills and goals into a student’s educational experience.
Deguara came to Belmont-Redwood Shores in 2020 from Evergreen School District in San Jose, where he served as an assistant superintendent and in other roles.
Deguara will continue to serve Belmont-Redwood Shores through June and help in the district’s transition process to find his successor, he said.
Belmont-Redwood Shores board President David Koss told the Pulse that he and his fellow trustees are grateful for Deguara’s leadership over the past six years and understand his reasons for leaving.
“It’s bittersweet for me and the board,” Koss said. “We’re sad to see him leave.”
But they respect Deguara’s decision with family and commute time playing major factors, Koss said.
Koss described Deguara as providing “steady and thoughtful” leadership amid some “enormous challenges in public education,” particularly the pandemic.
“He has a very unique ability to just be collaborative, hear the needs of stakeholders and come to a shared understanding,” Koss said.
Koss also brought up the district’s strategic planning and Profile of a Learner efforts as hallmarks of Deguara’s tenure.
Such work has placed “our district on a solid standpoint operationally and strategically,” Koss said. “We’re very appreciative of what he has instilled in us and our district. He has very much left us plans we can work off of and the incoming superintendent can work with and add to.”
Among the challenges the new superintendent will have to contend with are ongoing budget constraints and declining enrollment – challenges other districts across the state are navigating.
Belmont-Redwood Shores has been grappling with a structural deficit of about $4.8 million, Deguara previously told the Pulse. The district eyed using reserves to gradually bridge the deficit.
According to a projections report in October, Belmont-Redwood Shores’ enrollment would decline by more than 400 students in five years. The district currently has about 3,900 students this school year.
Ideally, Koss said, the district would find its next superintendent in time for the start of the new school year, although a good search typically takes a few months.
“We don’t want to rush the process,” he said. The board seeks to “bring in the best talent in that role.”
If needed, he said, the district would call on an interim superintendent until a permanent one is found.
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