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Portola Valley School District Superintendent Eric Hartwig announced that he will be leaving his post at the end of the school year at a board meeting Wednesday night (Nov. 14).

“This is the perfect time for the Portola Valley School District to seek new leadership as it embarks on the rehabilitation and building plan authorized by the recent passage of Measure Z,” Hartwig said in a prepared statement after submitting his resignation. “This is an immensely talented district that has many years of important and challenging work ahead. I am proud to have made a small contribution and will do everything I can to effect a smooth transition.”

Unofficial election results updated by the San Mateo County Elections Office on Nov. 13 show Measure Z, a $49.5 million district bond measure, has 1,109 votes in favor (61.24 percent) and 702 votes opposed (38.76 percent). The measure requires 55 percent of the vote to pass.

Hartwig joined the district in October 2015 to fill in on an interim basis when former superintendent Lisa Gonzales abruptly left. Hartwig’s temporary stay turned into more than three years as the district’s superintendent.

“Eric came to the district at time of sudden change and was an amazing presence,” said Gulliver LaValle, president of the district’s Board of Trustees, in a prepared statement. “He was able to boil down the immediate needs of the district and follow through beautifully. I regret to see him leave but we got far more from him than we originally expected. The board is grateful for Mr. Hartwig’s service and accepted his resignation with regret.”

Hartwig served as superintendent of Las Lomitas Elementary School District for five years before retiring in 2012.

He began his career as an English teacher in middle and high school before becoming assistant principal at Capuchino High School in San Bruno. He then served as principal at Menlo-Atherton High School for nine years.

Hartwig’s last day with the district is June 30, 2019.

Hartwig has not yet decided if he will retire, he said in a Nov. 16. email. “I’ll tackle that one further down the road,” he said in the email.

The district’s school board will form a subcommittee to develop a search process for a new superintendent. The district expects the search process will be completed “well before” Hartwig’s contract ends, LaValle said in the statement.

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Angela Swartz is The Almanac's editor. She joined The Almanac in 2018. She previously reported on youth and education, and the towns of Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside for The Almanac. Angela, who...

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3 Comments

  2. Great time to look at merging school districts in Menlo Park. Imagine the overhead savings if PV merged with Woodside, and Los Lomitas. A new district with 5 schools is a HUGE cost savings just in administrative costs alone. Is this not possible?

  3. Wrong. Maybe PV and WD could merge, but adding LLESD to the mix doesn’t make much sense. Woodside and Portola Valley are very different from Menlo Park. Nonetheless, mergers do save the schools a reasonable sum. It would be beneficial for PVSD to examine the idea of a merger with Woodside Elementary school district.

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