St. Helena Unified trustees approve hiring of Dr. Jodi McClay as superintendent

The St. Helena Unified School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to hire Dr. Jodi McClay as the district's superintendent, with employment effective November 1, 2024. The board recorded a 5-0 vote in closed session to approve the appointment and later approved the employment contract in open session.

President Lisa Pelosi read the contract terms aloud during the meeting: "For the 2024/25 school year, the District shall pay the Superintendent a pro‑rata amount of salary equal to the proportion of the school year she worked. The Superintendent will be placed on Year 1 with an annual salary of Two Hundred Ninety-Two Thousand, Five Hundred Ten Dollars ($292,510)." The contract also provides the district benefits offered to other management personnel, up to $5,000 for work-related expenses and up to $10,000 in reimbursement for moving expenses.

Trustees approved the related personnel actions and salary schedules as part of the human-resources section of the agenda. The initial hiring vote was taken in closed session under Government Code provisions for public‑employee appointments; the open-session motion to approve the employment contract was made by Trustee Shawn Moura and seconded by Jeannie Kerr, and carried 5-0.

The board scheduled an open house for Dr. McClay on Oct. 11, 2024, at Vintage Hall, and indicated routine onboarding and evaluation steps in the contract that tie future salary step increases to satisfactory annual evaluations.