As part of South San Francisco Patch's year-end coverage, we're looking back at some of the biggest stories that unfolded over the course of 2011.
After Superintendent Howard Cohen at the end of 2010 for undisclosed reasons (and with a six-month salary settlement), the school board was faced with the challenge of finding new leadership for the district.
With many teachers and staff unhappy with what they perceived as a top-down leadership style under Cohen, the superintendent hiring process was a highly visible—and for some time, highly criticized. At first, the board chose not to do a wide search and , a current and a former adminstrator.
But facing calls from the community to undertake a wider search, the district to find a larger pool of candidates. Though a vocal contingent of local families , in the end, , whose arrival was met with broad support.
Take a look at the headlines below to see how the superintendent search unfolded in South San Francisco in 2011.