The assistant superintendent for school leadership in the Modesto City Schools has been appointed superintendent of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District in Santa Cruz County.
The appointment of Heather Contreras by the board of education was announced Friday. The district operates schools in Watsonville, Aptos, Corralitos, Freedom and La Selva Beach.
Contreras, who holds a doctorate in educational leadership, has spent 22 years in the field. She spent the last four years as the assistant superintendent in Modesto.
Her experience includes teaching primary, intermediate and junior high school grades and serving as a site administrator before moving to district office leadership, board President Georgia Acosta said in a statement.
Contreras succeeds Michelle Rodriguez, who moved to superintendent of schools in the Stockton Unified School District last June.
Murry Schekman, a former assistant superintendent for Pajaro Valley, has served in an interim capacity.