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Mountain View Whisman’s school board has formally hired Jeff Baier to be the district’s superintendent, approving a three-year contract with the person who has been leading the district on an interim basis for the past two months.
At an April 3 meeting, the school board voted unanimously in closed session to appoint Baier as superintendent and then in open session took another unanimous vote to approve his contract.
“On behalf of the Governing Board and the entire district, congratulations Jeff,” board President Bill Lambert said. “We are all looking forward to the continuation of our work together for the benefit of our students, employees, parents and community.”
Baier has been serving as Mountain View Whisman’s interim superintendent since early February, a role he took over from Kevin Skelly, who also led the district on an interim basis for the prior several months. Mountain View Whisman had been looking for a permanent leader since Ayindé Rudolph resigned in November.
Under the terms of the contract that the board approved on Thursday, Baier will be paid $385,000 annually, plus a $500 per month automobile allowance. He also gets the same health and welfare benefits offered to other certificated management employees, as well as one day of sick leave per month. The contract has a retroactive start date of April 1, 2025 and runs through June 30, 2028, unless it is extended or terminated before that point.
Lambert noted various provisions that the contract does not contain, including automatic pay increases, retirement benefits, higher education stipends and housing subsidies.
The previous superintendent’s contract contained elements that proved controversial with some in the community, particularly a $1.2 million low-interest home loan that the board gave Rudolph in 2020.
Baier will be coming into the superintendent role with substantial experience in local education. He served as superintendent of the neighboring Los Altos School District for a dozen years before retiring in 2022. He began his teaching career in the Mountain View School District in 1990, ultimately becoming principal of Landels Elementary School in 1998.
Baier recently told the Voice that when he came out of retirement to take the interim position in Mountain View Whisman, he didn’t expect to stay long term. However, he said that he “fell back in love with the work” and was inspired to continue.
At last week’s meeting, Baier said that he appreciated the opportunity and the faith that the board was placing in him.
“I am ready to take this on and look forward to working with our students, with our staff and with our community to really make this place the best it can be,” Baier said.
Two members of the public spoke about Baier’s appointment during Thursday’s meeting, both in support of the decision.
I would like to thank the taxpayers of Los Altos for paying ahead of time our superintendent’s retirement.