Saratoga News
News
School board picks Matsuoka as district's new super
By Michele Tjin
A familiar face has returned to the Los Gatos-Saratoga High School District as its new superintendent.
The board of trustees of the district has named Cary Matsuoka to be the top administrator, replacing Superintendent Cindy Ranii. Matsuoka, who was a science teacher at Saratoga High School for 13 years, will begin Oct. 1.
The board introduced Matsuoka at its Sept. 5 meeting. He is now the principal at Cupertino High School.
"It is an honor to be selected as the new superintendent," Matsuoka said. "It's been nine years since I left here as a teacher. It's pretty special to come back."
While the board already made a public announcement about Matsuoka's hire, trustee President Phil Nielsen said that their decision is still pending, and the hire won't be finalized until after a successful site visit to Cupertino to talk to parents, staff and students. The board was to have visited the high school on Sept. 8.
"It's a confirmation visit," Nielsen said.
The board is also scheduled to approve Matsuoka's contract at its Sept. 19 meeting.
Nielsen said Matsuoka has a strong reputation as a listener who has a strong academic background in math and science.
"He has the potential to be a great superintendent and to carry the challenges of academic excellence," Nielsen said.
While at Saratoga, Matsuoka served as the science department chairman. After he left Saratoga, he was an assistant vice principal at Lynbrook High School for three years and a guidance and assessment coordinator with the Fremont Union High School District for two years after that. He has been Cupertino's principal since 2002.
Ranii will stay on and advise Matsuoka during her last year with the district. The search for a new superintendent was necessary after she announced last spring she no longer had the physical stamina to work the long hours that the superintendent's job requires. When she steps down next year, Ranii will have completed a decade with the district.
