The West Contra Costa Unified School District on Wednesday night announced it is hiring a former district educator as its new superintendent.
Cheryl Cotton, who will become the first African American woman to lead the district of 25,000 students, spoke at the school board meeting tonight at DeJean Middle School in Richmond just after the news was announced and then spoke to Richmondside afterward.
“I think that this is one of the most important jobs,” she told Richmondside. “This is my life’s work. This is my home. This is my community.”
The board unanimously approved a three-year, $320,000 contract for Cotton, with board member Cinthia Hernandez absent. Cotton will assume the role about two weeks earlier than the district had previously stated — on June 20 — just days before the district is set to approve its 2025-26 budget.
“I am happy to welcome Ms. Cotton back to the WCCUSD. Her familiarity with our community and wide-ranging professional experiences will be instrumental in driving student achievement,” WCCUSD board President Leslie Reckler said in a press release.
Originally a classroom teacher, Cotton said in a 2011 Patch interview that she grew up in Richmond and attended schools in San Pablo and El Cerrito. According to the district’s press release, she earned a bachelor’s degree in social welfare from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree in education from Mills College.
After starting out as a classroom teacher, she told Patch she was drawn to school reform work and then served in a number of administrative roles, including at the San Francisco Unified School District, before joining the WCCUSD in 2004, where she served as principal at Valley View Elementary School in Richmond and then at Madera Elementary in El Cerrito, working in the district for 14 years.
New superintendent most recently worked for state Department of Education
Cotton most recently served as deputy superintendent of public instruction in the instruction, measurement and administration branch of the California Department of Education, which oversees programs promoting innovation and improved student achievement. The district said Cotton was responsible for overseeing the Curriculum Framework and Instructional Resources Division, Multilingual Support Division, Professional Learning Support Division, and the State Special Schools and Services Division.
Cotton told Richmondside her No. 1 priority is to reacquaint herself with the district after seven years away and to start building trust with the community.
“I heard a lot of comments in there (the school board meeting) just about the lack of trust and seeking trust of the district and wanting to have that relationship with the district,” Cotton said.
Cotton said she was able to build “positive relationships” with teacher unions throughout her career, which included serving as director of human resources at WCCUSD, assistant superintendent of human resources at the Contra Costa Office of Education, and deputy superintendent of human resources and labor relations at the California Department of Education.
“At the state you’re thinking about all 5.8 million kids, but at this point the focus needs to be on the 25,000 kids here in west Contra Costa,” Cotton said.
Several public speakers seemed to appreciate the choice of a “homegrown,” leader, with many of them saying, “Welcome back home.”
Cassandra R. Jackson, DeJean Middle School campus security guard, gave Cotton a big hug after the announcement. She said she met Cotton several times when she visited the campus throughout the years and is excited to have a Black woman from Richmond lead the district.
“She knows the community. She knows the schools,” Jackson told Richmondside. “When you have that love for the community and come back to serve your community, that’s the most important thing.”
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“I think that this is one of the most important jobs. This is my life’s work. This is my home. This is my community.”
— Cheryl Cotton, incoming WCCUSD superintendent
The district has faced numerous challenges over the past year, including budget cuts, high staff turnover, a school closure and frustrated educators, families and students, who’ve said repeatedly that they don’t think the district has done a good job of communicating with its stakeholders or being transparent enough about how it makes policy decisions.
Cotton assumes a key role for the district. A school superintendent acts as the top executive and is responsible for all aspects of the district’s operations — essentially serving as CEO. While the board and the superintendent are supposed to work together, the superintendent shapes the daily operations and direction of the district, with the help of their leadership team.
While the board can set policies, the superintendent oversees the implementation. The board approves a curriculum at a high level, but the superintendent develops and executes the details. And while the board votes to approve the budget, it is the superintendent that oversees the allocation of funds, signs contracts and manages district expenditures.
After the 2024 resignation of former Superintendent Kenneth “Chris” Hurst, the district hired Leadership Associates, an executive search firm that’s worked with schools for more than 28 years, to conduct a months-long, nationwide search to find his successor. According to the district’s job description, they were seeking a decisive leader and experienced educator who has a track record of improving underperforming schools, enhancing academic performance, and addressing systemic issues. They also sought someone who is “culturally competent, anti-racist, and deeply committed to equity,” particularly those from marginalized communities.
Hurst resigned in September 2024 for personal family reasons after holding the role for about three years, leaving his post at the end of the year. Kim Moses, WCCUSD associate superintendent of business services, has served as interim superintendent.
Moses took over after a tumultuous summer. The district had failed to pass its 2024-25 budget on time due to disagreements about its local accountability plan, an in-depth blueprint for how the district serves its most at-risk students. The district said she will return to her previous role.
“Given my commitment to support the fiscal operations of our district, I am eager to resume my role as the Associate Superintendent of Business Services. Our collective work is extremely important to the success of our students and our schools, and I look forward to supporting our new leader in moving our district forward,” Moses said in the district’s statement.
