Board appoints Dr. Hoffman as senior specialized instruction officer amid questions about hiring process

The Bridge Board of Education voted June 17 to appoint Dr. Hoffman as the district's senior specialized instruction officer following an executive session.

Several board members objected to elements of the hiring process during the public motion to appoint. "We should have had two or three candidates before us or we did not get to interview them as per the hiring the certified hiring procedure that's embedded in our policies," said Mr. Sakalovic, a board member who opposed moving forward without additional candidates. He characterized the omission as a failure to follow established policy and said the board should "hold everybody to the same accountability."

The board's legal adviser told the board the attorney's opinion was that policy had been followed and that three candidates were in fact received during the process. Following discussion, the board conducted a roll-call vote and approved the appointment; the transcript records named yes votes from Andre Woodson, Miss Perez, Mr. Daniels and Mr. Traver and a no vote from Mr. Medina. The record also shows other members present and participating in the discussion.

Board materials introduced at the meeting highlighted Dr. Hoffman's experience in K–12 leadership, special education, districtwide strategy and operations. Staff described her as having led reforms, managed multimillion-dollar budgets and overseen services for large student populations.

The board announced the appointment publicly immediately after the vote and offered a welcome and brief summary of Dr. Hoffman's background.

Next steps noted by staff included onboarding and any administrative steps required to finalize the hire; no additional action items or effective-date details were provided in the meeting transcript.