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The Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees officially appointed Maurice Ghysels as the district’s permanent superintendent during Thursday’s school board meeting and approved his new contract.
Ghysels will serve as PUSD’s top administrator for the next two years, per his new contract. Ghysels was appointed as the interim superintendent back in July 2024 following the departure of former superintendent David Haglund.
In a statement to the community following his appointment, Ghysels said even though he did not expect to stay longer than his year-long interim tenure, he is honored to continue serving the district that kicked off his career in education.
“When the board offered me the opportunity to stay on as permanent superintendent, it was quite a surprise, yet it was an easy decision to make,” Ghysels said in his statement on Friday. “I accepted the charge with humility and enthusiasm, honored by their trust and inspired by the incredible work performed by Team PUSD in our exemplary schools and programs.”
Ghysels’ new contract will begin on July 1 through June 30, 2027.
While the agreement includes a base annual salary of $345,000 for the 2025-26 school year, his total annual compensation for the next school year — after factoring in things like stipends and allowances — under the new contract is $355,445.
The total cost for his temporary contract in September 2024 was previously estimated at $283,340 but according to the district that estimate was based on partial-year information. Ghysels’ total compensation for the 2024-25 school year is now estimated at just over $379,000.
According to Susanne Frey, PUSD’s coordinator of safety and communications, it will be up to the board’s discretion to determine whether or not to keep Ghysels as the superintendent after his two years are up. However, she also added that the tentative plan, as of now, will be to “conduct another superintendent search at that time”.
The superintendent appointment came after the board announced earlier in the week that Ghysels was their top pick for the position following two months of candidate interviews and nearly a full year since Haglund left his post. Following Haglund’s departure, the board appointed Ghysels to the interim role and began their search for a new leader.
According to Ghysels, from the moment he took on his interim role, his main goal was to help set PUSD up with a permanent superintendent.
“When I first returned to PUSD last July as your Interim Superintendent, I expected a short-term role to help guide the district through a leadership transition,” he said in his statement. “When the need for steady leadership remained last October, I made the uncommon decision to ‘unretire’ and step back into full-time service, driven by a deep commitment to this district and the people who make it special.”
He even added that just last week, he was ready to “ride off into the sunset”.
But according to school board vice president Kelly Mokashi, after months of working with Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) — the executive search firm the board contracted to help with the superintendent search — the board decided Ghysels was the best fit for the permanent job.
“Ghysels was ultimately selected not because he was already serving as interim, but rather, — after a full and competitive process — the Board determined he was the most qualified and best candidate to lead PUSD forward,” Mokashi said in a statement to the Weekly.
“Maurice has proven to be an outstanding leader,” she added. “His work not only has reflected 13 years of superintendent experience, he also has exceeded his goals and unselfishly set us up for our permanent superintendent. He surely didn’t expect the appointment.”
Mokashi also said that the entire search process, which included paying the HYA consultants money to build a leadership profile and to conduct the search for candidates, was worth the time and money even though the district ultimately chose Ghysels.
“We hired HYA because the Board was committed to conducting a rigorous, community-informed search process, regardless of who the final candidate would be and to use an unbiased process,” Mokashi said. “It was essential to engage all educational partners to develop a leadership profile rooted in district and community needs and conduct a comprehensive national search.”
According to a letter of agreement approved by the Board of Trustees on June 27, 2024, the district spent about $14,000 for HYA to conduct that listening phase of the superintendent search.
The board also agreed to approve a $30,000 base consulting fee with HYA this past February for the search firm to continue aiding the district with its search for the permanent superintendent.
“The process helped us realize who we wanted as a superintendent and gave us comparables to assess our final decision,” Mokashi said. “Because we conducted a full-blown selection process, we are confident that we made the right choice in our leader with Maurice at the helm.”
“Given the significance of this leadership role and the importance of making a well-informed decision, the Board believes this was a prudent and worthwhile investment in the future of our district,” Mokashi added.
Looking ahead, Ghysels said he and the district still have a lot of work to do during these next two years and said he is committed to face PUSD’s financial challenges and to do what is best for students.
“This summer, I’ll remain focused on the momentum we’ve created — establishing new and strengthening existing relationships, advancing our construction work and ensuring our campuses are ready to welcome back our teachers on Aug. 4 and our students on Aug. 7,” Ghysels said in his Friday statement. “I truly appreciate your confidence and support, and I will do my best to meet your expectations.”
