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The Livermore school board and second-year Superintendent Torie Gibson parted ways on Friday night, an abrupt conclusion to a tense time between the trustees and their top administrator over ways to handle an eight-figure budget deficit projected for next school year.
The trustees apparently decided to approve a mutual separation agreement with Gibson on Friday, although no action was announced after the closed session of the Board of Education’s special meeting that evening. The news was confirmed by both parties in a joint press release issued by the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District on Saturday morning.
Gibson receives a year’s worth of salary at $364,000 and medical benefits, along with the promise of a positive reference if a prospective employer contacts the district, in exchange for voluntarily resigning, ceding the remaining three years on her contract and both sides agreeing not to sue each other over the professional divorce, according to the deal – a copy of which was obtained by Livermore Vine on Saturday afternoon.
“We thank Dr. Gibson for her service and leadership during her tenure with the district. Her commitment to understanding and addressing both day-to-day and long-term structural challenges within the district is commendable. We wish her every success in her future professional endeavors,” LVJUSD Board President Steven Drouin said in the press release.
Gibson, who was hired from Amador County east of Sacramento for the start of the 2024-25 school, said her time leading LVJUSD was “deeply meaningful experience”.
“I am grateful to the Livermore community for their partnership, trust, and shared commitment to our students,” Gibson added in the joint statement. “Although we faced real challenges along the way, I am proud of the work we accomplished together to strengthen systems, improve transparency and collaboration, and better support students across the district.”
An unceremonious end to an up-and-down relationship, the superintendent came under fire in recent weeks amid public backlash when an initial list of budget reduction options featured potential school closures – which she said she was instructed to include by at least one trustee. The board took campus shutdowns off the table and took over the list-drafting process.
Drouin did not specify who is now running the district on the ground, with Gibson’s departure effective immediately.
The board is scheduled to discuss next steps for appointing an acting superintendent and searching for a future interim superintendent at Tuesday’s regular meeting, according to the agenda updated on Saturday.
Livermore will be seeking its fourth superintendent in four years.
Livermore Education Association President Aimee Thompson, whose union had a strained relationship with Gibson’s administration, particularly around the impasse in negotiations before the new teachers’ contract was approved last month, did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.
LEA’s Facebook Stories that day included sharing a post from a supporter account lauding Gibson’s exit as “Great news for LVJUSD … Now it’s time to rebuild trust and put students and classrooms first.”
The story reel also included a photo of LEA leadership posing with Drouin and three other LVJUSD board trustees at the ALCOSTA School Board Brunch on Saturday morning as the two groups continued with business as scheduled after the superintendent’s departure overnight.
Drouin said he could not respond to follow-up questions on the situation until Monday. Gibson declined further comment when contacted by Livermore Vine.
The transition returns LVJUSD to the air of uncertainty district leaders and community stakeholders had hoped Gibson would alleviate when she arrived in Livermore a year and a half ago.
Following Kelly Bowers’ 12-year run as superintendent that ended with her retirement from public education in June 2022, her deputy Chris Van Schaack had a shaky two years as superintendent that included narrowly clearing his first annual performance review by a 3-2 vote of the board at the time. He retired at the end of the 2023-24 school year.
Gibson rose to the top of that ensuing recruitment cycle, conducted with urgency by the board and consultants from Leadership Associates to get a permanent superintendent in place in time for the 2024-25 term after Van Schaack gave his notice in late March 2024.
With more than 25 years of experience in education at the time, including nine as a superintendent, Gibson was hired away from the Amador County Office of Education and Amador County Unified School District, where she served as dual superintendent.
Her early months in Livermore were spent pulling the district’s then-$218.5 million budget out of “qualified certification” status, with the California Department of Education concerned LVJUSD might not be able to meet its future financial obligations – a state list that also featured Gibson’s former districts in Amador County at the time.
LVJUSD navigated the state’s certification concern, two trustee seats turning over in the election, contentious negotiations with LEA and other employee unions, and layoffs to right the ship during Gibson’s first year.
And the heat would ratchet up even more early in the current 2025-26 school year.
Teachers and their supporters in the community crowded school board meetings and held a number of rallies, leveling strong criticisms of Gibson, her administration, the district’s bargaining team and the trustees while labor talks dragged on without resolution. Among the areas the superintendent found herself on the defensive about was public scrutiny over her executive team’s professional retreat in Pismo Beach last summer paid by the district.
LEA declared impasse in the fall, but the two sides reached a tentative agreement during their first mediation session, a 14-hour meeting Dec. 12.
Ultimately approved by union membership and the school board, with Gibson’s backing, the deal included a 4% salary increase effective Jan. 1, another 2% effective July 1 and two staggered increases ($4,600 total) toward members’ health and welfare benefits among its key terms.
Gibson was vocal in saying the LEA agreement, along with the likelihood of the compensation adjustments being extended to all employee groups, would necessitate approximately $16 million in ongoing budget cuts over the next two fiscal years – the bulk being in 2026-27.
The trustees discussed her initial list of options to reduce $14.8 million from next year’s budget on Jan. 20, and ultimately ordered the process to start again with much more board involvement in input and information gathering.
They also rejected school closures as an option worth considering, as Gibson tried to defend herself that night saying at least one unidentified trustee asked for closures to be on the list and “Those of you who did (request), should probably own that.”
The revamped process led to a special board meeting Friday evening, with Drouin listed as the presenter, not Gibson who was in attendance. The trustees debated the potential reductions but reached no decision.
They then adjourned to a private meeting to discuss discipline, dismissal or release for an unnamed public employee. No vote was reported publicly out of closed session at the end of the meeting, but Livermore families were informed midmorning Saturday that Gibson and the board agreed to part ways.
“Dr. Gibson has served LVJUSD with dedication and commitment, leading the district through a period of significant planning, community and staff engagement, and complex fiscal and organizational challenges,” the joint press release stated.
The statement called out Gibson’s work with forming a Special Education Workgroup, establishing an English Learner Workgroup, developing and implementing the first-ever LVJUSD five-year strategic plan, creating two budget advisory committees “and ongoing enhancements to districtwide systems in support of efficient and effective operations”.
“The Board of Trustees extends its sincere appreciation to Dr. Gibson for her leadership, professionalism, and service to the Livermore community,” the statement read. “Her contributions have helped shape important district initiatives and conversations that will continue to inform the district’s work moving forward.”
It is unclear when the full board voted on the mutual separation agreement and what the final tally was among the five trustees.
“I hereby submit my resignation from employment with the Livermore Joint Valley Unified School District, effective February 6, 2026. I understand that this resignation is irrevocable,” Gibson wrote to the board in a one-paragraph resignation letter – a copy of which was provided to Livermore Vine by the district alongside the separation agreement.
Gibson’s contract, which paid her $364,000 annually, had been set to run through June 2029.
Now at its regular meeting Tuesday (Feb. 10), the board is scheduled to consider appointing an acting superintendent during its closed session that starts at 5 p.m.
Then in open session, Drouin will lead an item on “Discussion of and potential action on the process for employing an Interim Superintendent”. No further details are shared in the agenda packet.
“The Board is committed to ensuring a smooth and thoughtful transition of leadership,” Saturday’s press release stated. “The District remains focused on maintaining stability, supporting students and staff, and continuing its mission of educational excellence … LVJUSD appreciates the support and partnership of its staff, families, and community during this transition.”
A key question for the trustees will be when they want to recruit for a new permanent superintendent – in time for the start of the 2026-27 term or wait for the 2027-28 hiring cycle, or some time in between.
Under either start-of-year scenario, LVJUSD would be competing against one of its neighbors.
Dublin Unified School District Superintendent Chris Funk is retiring at the end of June, and Pleasanton Unified School District Superintendent Maurice Ghysels came out of retirement for a two-year contract as permanent superintendent through June 2027.
With Funk’s impending departure, San Ramon Valley Unified School District Superintendent CJ Cammack – who also started at the beginning of last school year – will become the longest-tenured permanent superintendent in the Tri-Valley at two years.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify Torie Gibson’s work history before arriving in Livermore.
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