MISSION VIEJO : Saddleback Unified Names New Leader
The Saddleback Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees this week unanimously elected Raghu P. Mathur as its new president, succeeding R. Kent Hann.
Mathur, 43, is serving his second term on the board. He was first elected in 1983 and previously served as board president in 1986.
“I’m honored to be president again,” Mathur said shortly after being elected. “The president provides leadership for the board and we feel we have a good team of teachers, staff, classified employees and a community working together.”
Mathur said that although teachers are upset about stalled contract negotiations, he is optimistic that the financially strapped district will be able the weather the storm.
“The board is determined to do the best it can with the resources that we have,” he said. “We have to strike a balance that is in the best interests of the students. They have to come first.”
Mathur, a resident of Laguna Hills, is a chemistry professor at Irvine Valley College. Other trustees elected to new board positions were Hann as vice president and Marcia Birch as clerk.
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