In an email sent out to students and parents on May 11, the Tamalpais Union High School District Office of Human Resources informed the community that the prospective principal candidate for Tam next year did not accept their offer of employment.
Former Tam principal, Julie Synyard, left Tam for an Assistant Superintendent Position in the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified District, on November 1 this school year.
Since then, Dr. David Brown has served as interim principal three days a week. Assistant Principals Brian Lynch, Leah Herrera, and Wendy Stratton, and Assistant Superintendents Tara Taupier and Lars Christensen, have served as principal when Brown is unavailable.
The district will continue interviewing candidates until another candidate is found. “The Tamalpais Union High School District…is committed to finding and securing an exemplary instructional leader to serve as the Principal of Tamalpais High School. To that end, we will continue in our search and selection process until the position is filled to the satisfaction and approval of all interested and affected stakeholders in the Tam High community,” the email said.
District administrators repeated the sentiment. “We remain confident that we will have a permanent principal in place prior to the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year,” Christensen said.
However, if the position remains unfilled Brown could potentially remain at Tam a little bit longer.
“I could be a possibility for a brief period, but what this school needs is leadership continuity,” Brown said. “Hopefully, a candidate will surface through this present search who can be identified soon.”
He also felt that the job was a great opportunity. “I don’t know the circumstances, [but] from my perspective it is missed opportunity for anyone selected who turns down the position,” Brown said. “Tam has a strong environment for learning with so many ‘rock star’ teachers, supportive parents, and decent, caring, high-performing students. Tam is, after all, a high school, so conditions are not perfect. Nonetheless, were I younger, it would be a service opportunity I would aggressively seek.”