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New Superintendent Tony Limoges intends to bring stability to the Livermore school district following what he called a period of “tough times”, marked by budgeting challenges, tense labor negotiations and more leadership change at the top.
At the helm, Limoges said his priorities lie in superintendent-board relations, labor management, student attendance, academic achievement and fiscal sustainability — a topic of ongoing attention even as the district anticipates an increase of over $12 million for 2026-27 in state funding.
The longtime education leader succeeds Torie Gibson, whose midyear departure in February prompted the school board to appoint assistant superintendent of educational services Michelle Pechette as acting superintendent for the rest of 2025-26. Limoges becomes Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District’s fourth permanent leader since 2022.
During an interview with Livermore Vine last week, Limoges regarded with optimism potential challenges associated with first-ever superintendency and school board turnover due to the November election.
“Any district that went through tough times, which is what they did in the last year and some change, you need somebody to come in and create some calm and give people an opportunity to have a voice and do a lot of listening and ultimately give people the opportunity to heal a little bit and move forward,” Limoges said.
Prior to joining LVJUSD, Limoges worked as associate superintendent of human resources for the past eight years at the Rocklin Unified School District.
Through his work in the executive cabinet, Limoges said he felt ready for his first superintendency.
He was also equipped with four years of experience as the director of secondary education for Elk Grove Unified School District, 10 years as a middle school and high school administrator and eight years as a teacher of science and social studies.
“The more I learned about the needs of the district, the more I felt like my experiences aligned with it,” Limoges said of the LVJUSD superintendency.
He pointed to his experiences with labor and fiscal issues, academic achievement, English language learners and special education as areas of overlapping need and experience.
“The other thing is, they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” he added.
Following an interview with the board, the trustees invited Limoges children to introduce themselves, he explained.
Limoges saw the gesture as a way the board recognized his kids as being part of the “Livermore Unified family”.
“What I love about this community, besides its strong focus and love of their schools, is there really has a strong family feel,” Limoges said. “It was pretty hard for me to say no to a position that aligns with my family values.”
The school board selected Limoges as the district’s next superintendent through a months-long recruitment process with the Alameda County Office of Education. The board unanimously approved his employment contract last June for the post effective July 1.
“A lot of my work in the beginning, though I have very lofty priorities, is really gonna be on doing a lot of listening and doing my best to create relationships with people and create a sense of stability and have people understand who I am and what my leadership style is,” he said.
Limoges likened his leadership style to a three-legged chair built on transparency, communication and collaboration.
“I don’t always have to be the smartest person in the room, and by being transparent with whatever you’re talking about, gives other smart people in a room an opportunity to have input,” he added.
The district is not in need of a complete revamp in his eyes.
“The last thing that I ever want to do is try to fix something that isn’t broken,” Limoges said. “This is a great district. It doesn’t need an overhaul. It doesn’t need a new vision. It needs someone to celebrate the great things that they’re doing, but also to look at the things that maybe are areas of growth.”
As conversations in education arise around LGBTQ+ students and immigration, Limoges said he is committed to building supportive programming.
“Every marginalized group needs to have focus put on their success,” he said.
As a first-year superintendent, Limoges expects the road ahead will be packed with lessons.
“This is my first superintendency, so there’s always a huge learning curve,” he said.
But the district office is strong and the school board has been supportive in his learning process, Limoges said.
Limoges also plans to take in stride upcoming turn over on the school board.
Three trustees of the five-person board are leaving at the end of their terms this year.
The remaining trustees, Deena Kaplanis and Christiaan VandenHeuvel, are competing for one of the seats to represent Area 5 in what will be LVJUSD’s first by-trustee-area election. Given both trustees’ election in 2024, Kaplanis and VandenHeuvel both have two years remaining on their current, at-large terms.
If either Kaplanis or VandenHeuvel wins the Area 5 seat, their at-large post would become vacant. The school board would then decide whether to pursue a district-wide special election paid by LVJUSD or an application process for direct appointment.
“That’s always less than ideal, on paper, of having a new board that maybe wasn’t part of your hiring process,” he said. “I have a sincere sense of trust in that the community will choose the individuals they best feel represents their interest to ultimately be the board of trustees of the district. So at the end of the day, I don’t lose any sleep over that. That’s just part of the process.”
