Santa Fe Springs : First Latina Picked to Head Little Lake School District

Maria Gutierrez Ott, a veteran school administrator in Los Angeles, will become the first woman and the first Latina to head the Little Lake City School District. She was selected from 46 applicants.

Ott, who has extensive experience in bilingual education, will become superintendent of the district July 1. She will succeed John V. Pulice, 62, who is retiring after serving in the district for 35 years, including the last 12 years as superintendent.

A Los Angeles Unified School District administrator for 23 years, Ott has directed the Los Angeles district’s master plan for bilingual education in elementary and secondary schools, and is completing her dissertation for a doctoral degree in education.

Little Lake officials said a Spanish-speaking superintendent would be an asset in a district where more than 60% of the students are Latino. Ott’s annual salary will be about $85,000, Pulice said.

Among Ott’s first challenges will be weighing whether the district should try to take in Santa Fe High School, which is now part of the Whittier Union High School District. Little Lake currently serves students only through the eighth grade. Ott also will be overseeing renovations at the district’s seven elementary schools and two junior highs in Santa Fe Springs and Norwalk.