The San Marino Unified School District Announces Dr. Alex Cherniss as Finalist for District’s New Superintendent

The San Marino Unified School District is proud to announce the selection of Dr. Alex Cherniss as the finalist to become the District’s new Superintendent of Schools as of July 1, 2014, pending a “site visit” meeting on May 19, 2014, and Board approval at the regularly scheduled meeting of May 27, 2014.

Following approval, Dr. Cherniss will come to SMUSD from the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), where he currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer. As CFO of LACOE, Dr. Cherniss certifies the budgets of all 80 school districts in Los Angeles County, which includes over $13 Billion dollars in fiscal oversight. Dr. Cherniss routinely instructs superintendents and school business officials throughout the county on the new state funding and accountability laws and procedures, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). Additionally, Dr. Cherniss manages the office’s internal operations of approximately $650 Million dollars, which includes the award winning specialized high school, Los Angeles County High School of the Arts (LACHSA), as well as over 100 alternative education schools and programs throughout the county. LACOE is the largest regional education agency in the United States.

Dr. Cherniss also serves as a professor in the doctoral program at USC’s Rossier School of Education, where he teaches EDUC 717: Education as an Economic Entity.

Prior to joining LACOE, Dr. Cherniss held leadership positions for more than ten years in the Beverly Hills Unified School District, where as principal of Hawthorne School (K-8), he led the school to the highest API score in the district and a California Distinguished School honor. As Director of Human Resources and Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Dr. Cherniss successfully served in a variety of leadership roles including the mentoring of site administrators, the fiscal management of the district’s $330 Million dollar school construction program, and the establishment and facilitation of the district’s Finance Committee and the Basic Aid Special Reserve Fund.

Dr. Cherniss’ other professional accomplishments include having been named the American Association of School Administrators Education Scholar, the USC Dean’s Superintendents Advisory Group Scholar, and the Beverly Hills Unified School District Administrator of the Year.

Dr. Cherniss earned his Bachelors degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara, his Masters degree from Pepperdine University, and his doctorate from the University of Southern California.

“I am truly honored at the prospect of joining the San Marino school community,” said Dr. Cherniss. “San Marino has a long established tradition of excellence, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with the district toward achieving even greater levels of success in the future.”

“The Board of Education, with Leadership Associates as our consultants, conducted a lengthy and rigorous search process,” said Chris Norgaard, President of the San Marino Board of Education. “We listened to the community, and we are confident that Dr. Cherniss can lead us to where we all want to be – proud of but never resting on past success, always doing better, and helping our kids achieve the best possible education in every sense.”

San Marino Unified School District, 1665 West Drive, San Marino, (626) 299-7000 or visit www.smusd.us.