His bell was rung, but superintendent still has class




Some great athletes choose to retire at the top of their game; others leave because they’re cut from the team or forced out due to injury.

Longtime public school administrator Donald Zimring will never be described as a super athlete, but when it comes to educating students and managing the affairs of the classroom, he was the most valuable player the Las Virgenes school district ever had.

Sadly, the 60-year-old Zimring was told this week that his contract as superintendent of schools will not be renewed. The school board is making the proverbial “move in a different direction,” meaning Zimring has played his final game. For what it’s worth, we think he still has some good numbers left.

Like the rare hometown favorite who spends his entire career with one franchise, Zimring spent all 36 years of his career in education with Las Virgenes, starting as a middle school teacher and working his way up the ladder to deputy superintendent. He served as LVUSD interim boss prior to the unsuccessful appointment of Sandra Smyser as superintendent five years ago. It was only when the school board realized that it was Zimring all along who should have been the superintendent that he was finally given the top job.

Under Zimring’s able leadership, what should have been LVUSD’s golden years quickly turned sour due to a shift in the economy. Beyond anyone’s control, school budgets were slashed and animosities developed. That Las Virgenes was still able to maintain its reputation as one of the top school districts in California is a testament to Zimring’s skill as a leader and administrator.

He’ll be hard to replace, but he’s not irreplaceable. The district has good young talent waiting in the wings. It can also have its pick of top candidates from the outside.

What started under Zimring—the International Baccalaureate program at Agoura High, the Media Academy at Calabasas High, and new performing arts centers for both high schools, among other things—will flourish despite his absence.

Still, it’s hard not to mourn the loss of this talent. But as Zimring told The Acorn, “I have other chapters to write in my life.”

His career with Las Virgenes may not have ended the way he had hoped, but at the very least, Don Zimring goes out with his head held high.



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