The Long Beach Unified Board of Trustees named a new superintendent Monday, choosing an internal candidate to succeed Jill Baker and eliciting a standing ovation in the boardroom.
David Zaid, the current assistant superintendent in the elementary office, will begin his role as LBUSD superintendent on July 1.
His appointment, unanimously approved by the school board, is the product of a months-long search process, which began after Baker announced her retirement in January. While the school board does not hire or fire any other LBUSD employees, it is tasked with selecting and evaluating the superintendent, the only direct employee of the board, who oversees district operations.
The trustees undertook a nationwide search with the firm Leadership Associates, receiving 21 applications, according to members of the firm who presented at a recent board meeting. They solicited feedback from community members through a survey and a series of listening sessions, receiving thousands of survey responses, which informed the criteria for selecting the next candidate, they said.
“We have found somebody who has experience with our district, who has heart for our students, for the staff,” said school board president Diana Craighead on Monday. “We have chosen somebody who has displayed a vision for how we go forward,” she said.
A graduate of Poly High School, Zaid has spent more than 30 years as an educator — serving LBUSD for all of them, as a teacher and in a range of administrative roles, including in employee relations, human resources and his current role as assistant superintendent of elementary and K-8 schools.
Craighead cited his commitment to investing his career “solely in Long Beach” as one of the reasons he was selected for the role. The board faced some pressure to broaden its search this year, including from board member Maria Isabel López. Instead, the board chose an internal candidate, as they have historically done.
“We’re going to put you to task because you are the right person,” board member Juan Benitez said to Zaid, singling out Zaid’s awareness of what the district is doing well, in addition to where it needs to improve, particularly with respect to supporting students who have been underserved by LBUSD, Benitez said.
Zaid is assuming the role at a critical moment, when the district is facing a $72 million budget deficit, student enrollment that is expected to dip below 60,000, further program and staff cuts and lagging achievement outcomes.
Yet board members and administrators attested to his ability and readiness to take on the task of leading one of the largest districts in the state. Superintendent Baker, who has worked alongside Zaid as an administrator for 20 years, spoke about his many contributions: making decisions to safely reopen schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic, helping develop the equity leadership team, building trust within the Long Beach community, shaping budget priorities and contributing to the Black Student Achievement Initiative.
Baker then passed a literal baton to Zaid, as he took the microphone.
“Today I stand before you not as someone who is new to the district but as someone who has been shaped by the district,” he said, adding that his long tenure has given him many perspectives.
Zaid pledged to listen to all community members to address the large challenges before the district. “I believe Long Beach can meet this moment,” he said, “united by the children depending on us.”