LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Middletown Unified School District is changing its superintendent once more.
Thad Owens, who has served as the district superintendent for 18 months, is being assigned to another job for the remainder of the school year.
On Wednesday evening, the district’s board emerged from the latest of 19 closed session discussions and evaluations regarding his performance since his hire in March 2022 to announce the change in leadership. Seven of those closed sessions have happened since Aug. 9.
The board went into closed session just after 4 p.m. Wednesday.
When it convened in open session at 6 p.m., Board President Larry Allen reported that the board had taken action.
“The board moved to mutually agree with the superintendent to end his existing contract with the MUSD Board and move forward appointing him as administrator on special assignment for the duration of the 23-24 school year,” said Allen.
The vote was unanimous, Allen said.
The board also voted unanimously to appoint David Miller as interim superintendent with an intent to publish and ratify a contract with him in their next open session.
Owens was not seated at the board table as he has been in previous meetings.
This will be the third time that Miller has been appointed as an interim superintendent at district.
He is one of six people who have held the job either on a permanent or interim basis since the board released Superintendent Catherine Stone from employment in 2019.
She was followed by Heather Rantala, the then-chief business officer who acted as superintendent before the first of Miller’s interim appointments.
Miller held the position until Michael Cox was hired. Cox stayed in the job for 15 months; during his tenure, he was the subject of 10 closed session performance evaluations or discussions.
Cox was succeeded by Tim Gill, who served from October 2021 to March 2022. The board then temporarily appointed Chief Business Officer Julie Alves before Owens was hired at the start of March 2022.
At the end of Wednesday’s meeting, Board member Annette Lee asked for the request for proposals for the superintendent search to be on the board’s next meeting agenda.
Owens, a Montana native and a veteran of the U.S. Army, taught for 10 years in grades sixth through 12, and has been an elementary, middle, high school and alternative education principal.
He has been employed by Middletown Unified in the past as the Middletown High School assistant principal, Middletown High School athletic director, Middletown Middle School principal and Minnie Cannon Elementary principal.
Owens also worked as director of alternative education for Konocti Unified School District.
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Middletown Unified School Board and superintendent agree to end contract; new interim superintendent appointed
- Elizabeth Larson
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