LOWER LAKE — Konocti Unified School District (KUSD) board of trustees announced Wednesday the appointment of Donna Becnel to the position of district superintendent. Becnel appointment is effective July 1. She is replacing Bill MacDougall, who will retire on June 30.
Becnel currently serves as the assistant superintendent for human resources in the Hayward Unified School District. Prior to her service in Hayward, she worked in personnel services in the Antioch, San Lorenzo and Castro Valley unified school districts. Her first administrative position was in the Mt. Pleasant School District, where she served as director of special education and pupil services.
According to a press release issued by the board of trustees, while Becnel”s main area of expertise has been in human resources, she also has experience in curriculum and instructional services. In the Hayward district, she designed and implemented a program call “Aspiring Administrators” to provide coaching and mentoring support to new certificated and classified management staff.
Becnel was involved in the communities where she worked, volunteering for community service through Rotary, Chamber of Commerce and the Police Activities League. She currently serves on the board of directors for a nonprofit organization that provides counseling services to the local schools and community.
The KUSD conducted a nation-wide search for the superintendent position and received more than 30 applications. The applications were screened by a team of educators and the board selected eight candidates to be interviewed. In addition to an hour-long interview the candidates also met with a community committee composed of 17 local citizens including parents, community business leaders, teachers, classified staff and school administrators.
After listening to input from the community committee, the board selected three candidates for a second interview. Once they identified the top candidate, two board members visited Becnel”s current district of employment to interview teachers, staff and co-workers.
Anita Gordon, KUSD board president, said the board voted unanimously to hire Becnel. She said the district is fortunate to have found such an experienced and skilled school administrator to provide leadership to the students and staff of the KUSD.
