❒ Dr. Charles Young has been assistant superintendent in Palo Alto Unified School District for 4 years

Benicia Unified School District has a new superintendent. On Wednesday, trustees are expected to approve his new contract at a special meeting of the school board.

Dr. Charles Young, currently in his fourth year serving as associate superintendent of educational services in the Palo Alto Unified School District, is trustees’ choice to replace long-time Superintendent Janice Adams, who announced her retirement in January.

Given the lengthy and input-rich process that led to this point, the approval of Young’s contract by the school board seems all but assured.

At a special meeting March 25, the board and Bob Ferguson of McPherson & Jacobson LLC reviewed stakeholder input, selected interview questions and determined the interview process, and also discussed a range of issues regarding a potential contract.

Applications were reviewed at a special meeting April 22, and candidates were selected to for interviews. Trustees interviewed candidates April 27-29 and made their preliminary selection April 29.

Young earned his bachelor’s degree in English from California State University-East Bay in 1984 and his master’s degree in educational leadership from CSU-East Bay in 1995.

He achieved his doctorate in educational leadership in 2004 at the University of La Verne in La Verne, Calif.

Young started his educational career as a high school teacher, then moved to site administration as a vice principal and principal at both the elementary and middle school levels. He is a contributing member of TICAL, the Technology Information Center for Administrative Leadership, and a facilitator for the Association of California School Administrator’s Leading Edge Certification technology course.

Young has published articles on a variety of educational topics, including “Top 15 Personalized Learning Tools for 2015” in the January 2015 issue of Leadership magazine. He also keeps his own blog (drcharlesyoung.org) that contains articles, audio and video.

According to a BUSD news release, Young “believes deeply in the potential and promise of all students and the vitally important role school districts play in creating safe, welcoming, dynamic and innovative learning environments to help all students reach their fullest potential.

“Dr. Young is very excited to be joining the Benicia Unified School District as the new superintendent. He is looking forward, with great enthusiasm, to working with the community in a collaborative effort to continue building upon the many successes accomplished throughout the years.”

In other business Wednesday, the board will consider and is expected to approve a tentative agreement between the district and the Benicia Teachers Association.

The contract for the Benicia teachers expired in October 2014, and the district and the union bargaining teams met at the table for 11 bargaining sessions.

The final agreement was a 9-percent salary increase over two years, which translates to a 3.5-percent salary increase for the 2014-15 school year, retroactive to July 1, 2014; and a 5.5-percent salary increase effective July 1, 2015.

The contract includes two additional teacher work days. There will also be a $150 increase toward medical insurance, effective July 1, 2015.

If You Go
The special meeting of the BUSD Governing Board will be Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the BUSD board room, 350 East K St. See the agenda at benicia.agendaonline.net/public.