Santa Monica-Malibu Schools Chief Picked

The head of the public school system in Canton, Ohio, has been chosen to become the new superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

Dianne Talarico, 49, who has been superintendent of the Canton City School District for five years, is to be officially appointed to her new job Thursday. The Santa Monica-Malibu school board chose her during a closed-door meeting Sunday, said the board’s vice president, Kathy Wisnicki.

For Talarico, the appointment would mark a return to the state where she has spent most of her career. Before becoming superintendent in Canton, she worked for the San Francisco Unified School District for almost 20 years, including three years as an associate superintendent.

She began her career as a special education teacher in Ohio. In addition to working in San Francisco, Talarico was principal of the American Overseas School in Rome for one year.

Wisnicki declined to disclose Talarico’s salary in her new job, saying that the contract has yet to be signed and details remain to be worked out.

Talarico is set to replace John Deasy, who left the 12,000-student Santa Monica-Malibu system in the spring to become chief executive of Maryland’s second-largest school system, the Prince George’s County school district.

Michael Matthews, who was the Santa Monica-Malibu district’s interim superintendent for the last several months, has announced that he is leaving to join a firm that develops after-school programs.