The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted to appoint a candidate to fill the county school superintendent vacancy effective July 28, 2025. The board said it prioritized school finance expertise, management experience, grants knowledge and the ability to serve as a fiscal agent for school districts when making the appointment.

Why it matters: The county superintendent supervises school finance, tax-rate setting and compliance matters for local school districts; an experienced officeholder affects district budgeting and statutory compliance.

During the discussion the chair said the board looked for “a person of knowledge of school finance, experience in management, grants, and overall enthusiasm toward the position,” noting the job “is a really complex job.” A supervisor moved to appoint the candidate the board identified and a second was recorded; the motion carried. The meeting record lists the effective date as 07/28/2025.

The board thanked all three finalists for applying and noted it reviewed letters of support and other submitted materials. County staff clarified that the petitioning process for the next election cycle will open in March and that the position will be on the ballot in the next regular filing cycle (the board and the recorder’s office provided procedural timelines during the discussion).

Transcript inconsistency: The public transcript records the motion to appoint “Maya Donnelly.” Later in the same discussion someone said “Congratulations, Ryan.” The board record does not clarify that discrepancy on the public record; the registry of candidates and the county recorder’s filing information should be consulted for the official appointment name and next filing deadlines.

What was not changed or decided here: The board made the appointment and did not adopt any separate policy changes to school finance or tax rates at this meeting. The appointee's term and any subsequent election depend on the normal petition and election process discussed in the meeting.