Temecula Valley Unified hires Kimberly Velez as superintendent, appoints Nicole Deis as assistant superintendent

The Temecula Valley Unified School District Board of Education approved employment agreements on Sept. 23 to hire Dr. Kimberly Velez as superintendent and Nicole Deis as assistant superintendent, both effective Jan. 1, 2026.

The board read a statutory compensation summary required by Government Code section 54953(c)(3) before taking final action. The public summary the board read aloud said Dr. Velez’s salary will be $349,904 and that she will receive district health, vision and dental benefits, a $500,000 term life policy paid by the district, mileage reimbursement and 12 days of paid sick leave per year. The assistant superintendent’s salary in the read summary was $256,408 with similar health and welfare benefits and a $250,000 term life policy paid by the district.

Board members discussed the hires briefly before voting. Trustees voted to approve both employment agreements in open session; board members recorded their affirmative votes and the board announced the motions passed.

The appointments follow the board’s closed-session personnel and negotiation work earlier in the day; the board said it would continue to follow the Government Code’s public-notice requirements for executive contracts. Dr. Gary Woods, the current superintendent who presided over part of the meeting, introduced the employment item and invited board discussion before the votes.

The district will publish the full, signed employment agreements once final ministerial steps are complete. The board did not change the effective dates read into the record during the meeting.

Board President Melinda Anderson and the superintendent’s office said the district will continue standard reporting and performance-review processes for the new contracts.