Chino Valley Unified board announces multiple principal and assistant principal appointments
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Summary
The Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education, meeting June 18, announced several personnel appointments made in closed session, naming new principals and assistant principals with effective dates in July; all appointments were reported approved by a 4-0 vote with one member absent.
Chino Valley Unified School District — The Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education announced on June 18 that it appointed a principal and multiple assistant principals during a closed session held before the regular meeting, and the board reported the actions in open session that evening.
The board met in closed session from 4:30 p.m. to 5:35 p.m. and reconvened the regular meeting at 6 p.m., where the district’s recording secretary announced the personnel actions. The appointments announced included Lisa Surra as principal at Ramona Junior High School effective July 1, 2025; several assistant principal appointments effective July 14, 2025; and one assistant principal appointment with an effective date to be determined.
Why it matters: Principal and assistant principal assignments affect school leadership, operations and the start-of-year staffing at the named campuses. The appointments were handled in closed session as personnel matters and were disclosed in open session per legal requirements.
The district’s announcement listed the following actions and effective dates as disclosed by the recording secretary: - Appointed Lisa Surra as principal at Ramona Junior High School, effective 07/01/2025. - Appointed John Kunishima as assistant principal, athletics and facilities, Ayala High School, effective 07/14/2025. - Appointed Whitney Schiller as assistant principal, Ayala High School, effective 07/14/2025. - Appointed Arthur Garcia as assistant principal, athletics and facilities, Chino High School, effective date to be determined. - Appointed Jennifer Bake as assistant principal, Butterfield Ranch Elementary School, effective 07/14/2025. - Appointed Amparo Cova Rubias as assistant principal, Chaparral Elementary School, effective 07/14/2025. - Appointed David Lines as assistant principal, Dickey Elementary School and Marshall Elementary School, effective 07/14/2025. - Appointed Kit Matkin as assistant principal, Eagle Canyon Elementary School, effective 07/14/2025.
The recording secretary reported that each appointment was approved by a 4-0 vote with Board Member Monroe absent. The public announcement noted the numeric vote totals (4–0) and explicitly named board members recorded as voting yes when read aloud; the recording stated the yes votes by name as Cervantes, Cruz and Nashaw and said Monroe was absent. The public statement did not record mover/second details for the individual appointments.
These personnel matters were discussed in closed session under the categories listed on the printed agenda, including public employee appointments and public employee performance evaluation. The board’s open-session summary noted that no additional disclosure beyond the announced appointments was required.
Background and process notes: The meeting agenda and the district’s public comments indicated the board met in closed session for multiple items (legal counsel anticipated litigation, student discipline, and public employee appointments). State open-meeting law allows personnel decisions to be discussed in closed session; the board provided the required disclosure of the appointments after reconvening.
What the district said next: At the open meeting the recording secretary read the appointments and effective dates into the public record and confirmed the vote tally. The superintendent and board members did not offer substantive public discussion about the individual appointments when they were announced.
Next steps: Effective dates listed above will determine when the new assignments begin or when the district will post an updated staffing roster; one appointment (Arthur Garcia, Chino High School) was announced with the effective date to be determined. The district did not provide additional details about transition plans, contract terms beyond effective dates, or whether the appointees will require any external approvals.
(Reporting based on the board’s June 18, 2025 meeting record and the district announcement made in open session following closed session.)
