Hermosa Beach District Selects New Superintendent

An assistant superintendent of the Las Virgenes Unified School District will take the helm of the 1,000-student Hermosa Beach City School District next month, officials announced Thursday.

M. Robert “Duffy” Clark, 52, of Orange will become superintendent of the two-campus, kindergarten-through-eighth-grade district on July 1. He will earn $118,000 a year, plus benefits, under the terms of his three-year contract.

School board President Cathy McCurdy said the board offered a “competitive salary” in hopes of attracting--and keeping--a well-qualified superintendent in a district that has seen a lot of turnover at the top.

“He said he feels comfortable staying in a district our size,” McCurdy said of the new superintendent.

Clark, who has more than 30 years’ teaching and administrative experience in Southern California schools, was the unanimous choice of the school board.

He holds a master’s degree in history from Loyola Marymount University and a doctorate in education from USC. He began his career as an elementary school teacher in Orange County and was principal at two high schools--Tustin, then Mission Viejo--before moving to the Las Virgenes district in Calabasas three years ago.

As assistant superintendent for educational services, he supervises curriculum, special education and special programs and oversees student assessment and technology staff development.

And, added McCurdy with a laugh, “He surfs. I love it!”