By Lookout Staff

April 29, 2010 --Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) veteran and current head of human resources Mike Matthews was named superintendent for the Manhattan Beach Unified School District on Tuesday. He will begin his new job on July 1.

“Manhattan Beach is gaining a strong leader who is dedicated to the success of all students,” SMMUSD Superintendent Tim Cuneo said in a press release issued by the District. “Mike has contributed a great deal to the success of SMMUSD and will be missed. I wish him all the best as superintendent of Manhattan Beach USD.”

Matthews has been with the SMMUSD since 1993, with a brief interruption from 2006 to 2007. He came to the District to become the first principal for the newly created Malibu High School. As principal, Matthews oversaw Malibu High become a California Distinguished School and he taught an Advanced Placement history course. In 2004, Matthews took the job as SMMUSD’s assistant superintendent of human resources.

Following the resignation of Superintendent John Deasy, Matthews was appointed interim head of the SMMUSD in 2006. He applied for the permanent

superintendent position, but then withdrew his application once it became clear to him he would not be a finalist for the job. Later that month, Matthews became the vice president of the Los Angeles office of Extreme Learning, a San Francisco-based firm involved in bringing programs to Title I schools. Less than a year later, Matthews returned to the SMMUSD, and resumed his position as head of human resources

“I have learned so much in my 17 years with SMMUSD,” Matthews said in a press statement. “I am proud of my work with Santa Monica-Malibu employees, the Board, the parents and the community, and all we have done together to benefit the students of the District.”

He continued, “I am humbled and honored to be selected as the new superintendent of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. I look forward to getting to know the Manhattan Beach community and working with the Board of Education, the employees and the community to move this great District forward.”