AUSD names new supe

The Auburn Union School District announced Brittaney Meyer as the district's new superintendent on Wednesday night. Meyer's contract was unanimously approved as board members spoke highly of Meyer, who is slated to start July 1. "Dr. Meyer stood out as someone who has tremendous experience," said Trustee Sarah Brichler. "She can help us improve and support our district. She has so many different strengths I can speak to, as she is someone who is thoughtful and analytical." Meyer currently serves as assistant superintendent for educational services in the Loomis Union School District. According to an Auburn Union press release, Meyer has experience as a classroom teacher, high school and middle school vice principal and a K-8 principal. Her responsibilities have covered various programming areas and corresponding budgets, including curriculum adoption, professional development, special education, principal coaching and school safety. She has led as the district coach for the Positive Behavior and Intervention Support (PBIS) program and has been instrumental in developing the Loomis district's Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). "Dr. Meyer's appointment comes after carefully considering her outstanding background, experience and professional qualifications, which align perfectly with the leadership attributes our community and staff prioritized during the search," a district release stated. "Throughout her impressive 20-year career in education, Dr. Meyer has demonstrated a deep commitment to student academic achievement, collaborative teamwork with staff and families, adept management of instructional programs within budgetary limitations and a genuine value for community engagement." In an email to the Auburn Journal, Meyer said she looks forward to creating positive outcomes for students. "I value the relationships that can be built and the collaborative work that can be done with staff, students and the community in a smaller school district," Meyer said. "This, coupled with my experience in the K-8 setting, made the position feel like a good fit that would allow me to grow as a leader while providing the support that AUSD needs moving into the coming years." Brichler said she was grateful and hopeful for the future of the district with Meyer at the helm. "I want to briefly say that I know we are in this transition period as a district but what we really need is leaders who can help us through this challenging time," she said. "I have a great deal of confidence in Dr. Meyer's ability to bring us together and support us." Trustee Jayson Wedge said he was happy the community panel participants and the board seemed to come to the same conclusions regarding the superintendent candidates. "That was encouraging to me that we were all on the same page," he said. Trustee Renee Grigsby said she was ecstatic about the selection. AUSD worked with the Placer County Office of Education on its superintendent selection and used input from an online survey and stakeholder feedback forums to craft the attributes of the best candidate. The search produced 22 applicants with diverse backgrounds. "Dr. Meyer was chosen from an impressive pool of candidates after a thorough statewide search, with valuable input from parents, staff and community members, and an extensive interview process that included a community panel," the district release stated. "We extend our gratitude to everyone involved in this thorough and thoughtful process. Your participation played a crucial role in identifying the best leader for our district in the upcoming year." According to the district release, Meyer has been married for 20 years to her husband, Ryan, and has three children. She is an alumna of UC Davis, where she earned a Master of Arts in Education and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Meyer attended the May 8 board meeting and expressed her excitement to get started and getting to know more about Auburn. "I am thrilled to join the Auburn Union School District and look forward to working collaboratively with the staff, students and community to foster a nurturing, innovative and successful learning environment for all our students," she said. Meyer's contract has a base salary of $210,000 with a potential 2.5-percent annual increase. Board President Greg Holt and the district's attorney negotiated the employment agreement. Meyer replaces Interim Superintendent Michelle Lucci-Garcia, who announced she was leaving the district earlier this year. Lucci-Garcia began working as acting superintendent in February 2023 and her contract as interim superintendent was approved in June 2023. Her base salary is $174,000, which Holt described at the time as "falls in the middle of averages for staff in similar-sized districts." Auburn Union Teachers Association President Sara Liebert questioned how the district can afford to pay for a new superintendent while the teacher's contracts are not settled and they aren't receiving high-enough cost-of-living increases. "You're not paying your employees the cost-of-living wage needed to be able to stay at their jobs, pay their bills, feed their families," Liebert said. "While I recognize the district needs to hire a qualified superintendent and pay them comparably to other districts in Placer County, I do not understand how the district can afford to pay for a new superintendent but not take care of their employees." Liebert said now there is a 1.5-percent cost-of-living increase proposed, but that does little to cover the teachers' 15-percent increase of healthcare costs. "Well done AUSD," Liebert said. "Great ways to make employees feel valued and appreciated. Maybe we should buy you some cake."