![\"Steven](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MIJ-L-SMC-SUPE-0913-01.jpg\")
Steven Richardson is the new interim superintendent at SMCSD, effective Oct. 1.(Keri Brenner\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\nSteven Richardson is the new interim superintendent at SMCSD, effective Oct. 1.(Keri Brenner\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n
The Sausalito Marin City School District has hired an administrator in Southern California as interim superintendent.<\/p>\n
Steven Richardson accepted a contract through June 2028 at $275,000 a year. District trustees unanimously approved the contract on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The contract starts on Oct. 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe greatly anticipate the opportunity his leadership brings in creating a world-class school for the children of Sausalito and Marin City,\u201d said Lauren Walters, president of the district board.<\/p>\n
Richardson has worked for the 8,700-student Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District for the past 16 years. In 2022, he was appointed executive director of its elementary schools division, comparable to superintendent for the kind of TK-8 school districts that are in Marin.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a 30-year journey,\u201d Richardson, 56, said of his career in California public schools. \u201cAnd I feel like every experience that I\u2019ve had has led me to this place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richardson\u2019s district is considerably larger than the Sausalito Marin City School District, which has about 270 students in one school. But Richardson said it is similar in its racial and cultural makeup.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the last 16 years, I\u2019ve been in a community, much like this one, with such a beautiful sense of diversity,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s really drawing me. It\u2019s really hard to find.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richardson will replace LaResha Huffman, who departed in June as superintendent after three years on the job. Huffman\u2019s predecessor, Itoco Garcia, held the job for four years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a superintendent who has had experience with a district like ours,\u201d said Shirley Thornton, a former trustee. \u201cHopefully that will help us be the world-class school that we know we can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recruitment consultant Terena Mares, a former superintendent for the district, said she used her knowledge of its dynamics in her search for a superintendent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe board of trustees chose Dr. Richardson based on his extensive experience leading school systems in diverse communities,\u201d Mares wrote in a statement released by the school district on Friday. \u201cThat includes his understanding of the dynamics of a socioeconomically, racially and ethnically diverse community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amy Hale, principal of the district\u2019s TK-8 school, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy in Sausalito, was on the candidate interview panel on Sept. 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only did he know my name,\u201d Hale said, \u201che knew what things I have written, and he had my \u2018clarity, coherence and capacity\u2019 lines that I have used. I was grateful for that. He had done his homework, and I appreciated that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richardson, who said he would expect to relocate with his family to the Bay Area after the 2026-27 school year, has vowed to add more staff members from diverse backgrounds. He also intends to develop a strong relationship with the Sausalito and Marin City communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Richardson has also built a track record of long-term commitment to the districts he serves,\u201d Mares said in the statement.\u00a0 \u201cThe board was drawn to that same staying power in considering him for this role.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richardson, who grew up in Detroit, received a master\u2019s degree and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of California at Los Angeles. He is married and has four children.<\/p>\n
Much of his career has been at Title I schools, mostly as an elementary and secondary school principal. Title I schools are those that receive extra federal funding because many of the students come from low-income families.<\/p>\n
\u201cI welcome the chance to immerse myself in the SMCSD community and work alongside leaders at every level toward the common values of student centeredness, belonging and mutual accountability,\u201d Richardson wrote in his letter of intent to the district.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Steven Richardson is the new interim superintendent at SMCSD, effective Oct. 1.(Keri Brenner\/Marin Independent Journal) The Sausalito Marin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[7,15,181,23,8529,992,8530,100,180,993,266,101,103,102,3624,8531,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-462837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-california","tag-education","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-marin-city","tag-marin-county","tag-marin-schools","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-north-bay","tag-northern-california","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sausalito","tag-sausalito-marin-city-school-district","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}