Garvey Schools : Berkeley Picks Viscovich
Garvey School Supt. Andrew J. Viscovich, who last month tendered his resignation, effective at the end of this school year, has been selected superintendent of the Berkeley Unified School District.
Viscovich, 62, who came to Garvey from the Palm Springs school system in 1979, will take over in Berkeley on July 1. He will replace Louis Zlotkovich, who is retiring. “There’s no doubt there’s plenty of challenges,” Viscovich said. “I’d like to turn (Berkeley) around the way I turned Garvey around.”
Viscovich grew up in Oakland and received his undergraduate and doctorate degrees from UC Berkeley. He served for a time as an assistant superintendent of schools in Oakland.
Viscovich resigned after an angry debate among school board members, including Chairman Jim Smith. Viscovich complained that Smith had called him a liar when the board was discussing a controversial program in which teachers from Spain work as interim teachers in Garvey schools. Smith later said he did not intend to call Viscovich a liar.
The Garvey district, which draws its students from Monterey Park, Rosemead and San Gabriel, has 7,404 pupils in kindergarten through eighth grade. The board will discuss Viscovich’s replacement at its June 2 meeting.
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