Jud Kempson at the Helm of the Burlingame School District

When Jud Kempson came to the last year as assistant superintendent of education services, his plate was full overseeing curriculum and instruction, English language learners, the gifted and talented program, testing and special education. Little did he know he would soon take on even greater responsibilities as superintendent.

When the former superintendent Dianne Talarico became seriously ill in the fall of 2010, Kempson stepped in as acting superintendent and then, upon Talarico’s resignation, the Burlingame School Board appointed him as interim superintendent in January 2011.

Burlingame School Board member Michael Barber speaks highly of Kempson. “He is an amazing guy stepping in to fill the gap in Dianne Talarico’s absence," he said. "She has big shoes to fill, but he is holding his own.”

Kempson Brings Wide Experience to His Post

Before coming to Burlingame, Kempson taught at the middle school level and served as assistant principal in San Francisco and  then in the Alameda Unified School District. He also worked at the district level in San Francisco, developing literacy intervention programs and facilitating instructional reform.

Now as interim superintendent in Burlingame, Kempson is focusing on three main priorities: assisting with the search for a permanent superintendent and making sure there is a smooth transition, working with key stakeholders in the school district to decide how best to use the Hoover School property and keeping an eagle eye on the budget.

Superintendent Search

The Burlingame School District has contracted with Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, a national search firm to assist with the superintendent search. Consultants from the firm have met with constituent groups, developed a leadership profile and held community forums.  The position has been posted locally, at the state level and nationally. March 28, 2011 is the deadline for applicants, and the Burlingame School District Board of Trustees plans to interview candidates and hire a new superintendent to start on July 1, 2011.

The Future of Hoover School

Since the purchase of the Hoover School property last October, Kempson and the Board have been looking at options for the site, with an eye toward reopening the school in 2014. The options they considered included making Hoover a neighborhood school, language immersion school, science and technology magnet school or a hybrid of these choices. After holding forums and posting surveys to gather community input, the Board made their decision this week to reopen Hoover as a neighborhood school.

“The real question we faced was what model will best serve the educational vision of this district,” said Kempson. “The prospect of opening Hoover School presents a challenge and an opportunity.”

Burlingame School District’s Budget: A Moving Target

The Burlingame School District is in the process of creating several budget proposals for the next fiscal year. If the California state legislature places tax extensions on the ballot, as Governor Brown has been advocating, and if those tax extensions pass, the Burlingame School District will still need to cut funds from next year’s budget, but the amount to be cut could drastically increase if there are no tax extensions.

“The greatest challenge for the district is the budget,” said Kempson. “Even if voters approve tax extensions in June, we will still need to cut $360,000 in order to maintain where we are. If the tax extensions don’t pass, we’ll have a $1 million deficit. We’re doing much better than districts around the state. Our board has done a good job fiscally, keeping a reserve level of 7 to 12 percent. We haven’t had to have furlough days like some other districts. We are also fortunate to have BCE [The Burlingame Community for Education Foundation.] The community has really stepped up to help us out.”