The Mariposa County Unified School District has a new superintendent as of last Thursday. The board of trustees emerged from closed session at the beginning of the meeting and announced that Acting Superintendent Aaron Rosander will continue in that role.

Board President Eldon Henderson said simply that the board had decided to suspend the search for the immediate future. “We’ve asked Aaron to continue, and we’ll go from there,” he said.

The board had named Rosander as acting superintendent in early March, following the departure of Randy Panietz. It was tentatively planning an allout search for a new superintendent, but had not made any definitive plans.

Rosander said he had already met with the district’s leadership team and was pleased with the sense of unity he felt. He said the group is willing to work as a team to overcome the fiscal obstacles the district faces. “We’re still in this together,” he said. “We are all committed to making this work.”

Rosander said there are some big sacrifices that will have to be made in the coming weeks. “There’s a huge cloud over us, but there’s a silver lining,” he said.

Laura Lynn Hays, a 33-year teacher at Mariposa County High School thanked the board for Rosander’s swift appointment. “Aaron will serve our family very well,” she said. “Right now, we need each other, and we need people who know what’s going on.”

Rosander was formerly the principal at MCHS and Lake Don Pedro Elementary School. He has been serving as assistant superintendent for the past several years.

He has also filed to run for the elected County Superintendent of Schools position. Rosander is the only person to file paperwork with the elections department for that post.

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