LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Unified School District has selected a new superintendent.
April Leiferman, who currently serves as the assistant superintendent and director of curriculum and instruction at the Lake County Office of Education, will take over as Lakeport Unified’s superintendent on July 1, district Board President Dennis Darling announced on Friday.
“Our board is grateful to all staff in our district and community members who participated in providing input into what is most desired to see in our next superintendent. We are confident that you will find that Mrs. Leiferman is a perfect match,” Darling said in the Friday announcement.
Leiferman succeeds Erin Smith-Hagberg, who is leaving June 30 to take the superintendent’s job in the Calistoga Joint Unified School District, as Lake County News has reported.
Leiferman has worked in K-12 education in Lake County for more than 30 years. She’s served in a variety of roles, from cheer coach and substitute teacher to assistant principal, principal and English learner director in the Konocti Unified School District before assuming her current job with the Lake County Office of Education.
Darling said she has a background and expertise in regular and special education, curriculum and instruction, state testing, and other areas that he said ultimately will benefit the district’s students.
“I am fortunate to have the baton passed to me by a school board that shares my values of collaboration, transparency and the culture of nurturing the community’s children,” Leiferman said in a written statement that was part of Lakeport Unified’s Friday announcement.
She said she’s worked with Smith-Hagberg and the district’s administrative team, as well as many of the teachers, and so she knows they’re a dedicated, talented team.
“I am confident that I can add value to the district, create a smooth transition and continue the already established tradition of success,” she said, adding that she is excited to meet each student and hopes to have the community’s support in the transition.
A native of the Midwest, Leiferman has bachelor’s degrees in sociology and psychology and a master’s degree in counseling and human resources. She went on to receive education administration degrees from Sacramento State University and Sonoma State University, the district reported.
Darling said Leiferman “believes relationships are the most important component of any organization.”
The Lakeport Unified School Board kicked off its superintendent recruitment process in mid-March, after Smith-Hagberg had notified them that she had been offered the Calistoga job.
With the end of the school year approaching, the board decided on a condensed, confidential search process and hired Dr. Scott Mahoney, a Windsor-based educational hiring consultant that previously worked in Lake County, to lead it.
The nationwide search brought in 15 applications, which were screened by professionals. The board choose six candidates to interview before ultimately choosing Leiferman, who in her current role supervises programs and services that support all of the county’s schools, Darling said.
Darling said Leiferman has worked closely with Lakeport Unified’s teachers, administrators and Smith-Hagberg over the years, “so she knows our district well.”
He added, “She has a wealth of experience and expertise that will clearly benefit Lakeport Unified School District and the entire Lakeport community.”
The original goal was to have a new superintendent selected by the start of the new school year, and the district appears on track to meet that deadline.
Darling said Leiferman’s hiring is pending the approval of her contract, which is set to be considered by the board at its May 11 meeting.
She will then visit the district for several days before the end of the school year in June in order to meet everyone and work on the transition with Smith-Hagberg, according to Darling.
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Lakeport Unified School District selects veteran local educator as new superintendent
- Elizabeth Larson
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