Menlo Park district superintendent to resign his post at year’s end

Menlo Park City School District Superintendent (MPCSD) Erik Burmeister will resign his position by Dec. 31 to “pursue other opportunities,”

according to a Monday, April 4, press release

Burmeister, who first joined the district in 2012 as Hillview Middle School’s principal, served as assistant superintendent before taking on MPCSD’s top leadership role in July 2017.

“Today’s announcement offers the school board a long runway to choose the right path forward for MPCSD and the opportunity for Burmeister to stay in the role to help with a smooth transition,” the release states. “The district is confident that its elected school board members will continue to do what is right for MPCSD and keep the supportive culture and noteworthy success of the district alive and well throughout this transition.”

Burmeister has not spent a great deal of time looking for another job, said Parke Treadway, the district’s public information officer, in an email.

“He knows that it’s time to take a break from the 24/7 demands of being a superintendent when he has two young kids still at home,” she said. “He also knows that there are a myriad of opportunities available for him and it will be a matter of deciding what will allow him the personal and professional fulfillment he and his family desire.”

Burmeister, who has 7- and 12-year-old sons, along with an adopted adult child, said heading the district during a pandemic has been “super rewarding,” and “super exhausting.” He said the stress may have accelerated his decision to leave, but it isn’t the reason for his departure.

“Change is often good for people and organizations,” he said. “After all we have accomplished since I joined the team 10 years ago, it’s time for a new perspective to take our learner-centered work forward. I am personally eager to find a work-life balance that allows me to be more fully present with my children, who are still young.”

Burmeister plans to pursue roles that are in the realm of education and leadership.

“I am not closing the door on returning to a superintendency in the future; I just want to flex new intellectual and creative muscles in my next professional step,” he said on Tuesday, April 5. His second grade son asked him what he was going to do for work if he’s not going to be the superintendent, Burmeister said.

“I told him I didn’t quite know, but whatever it is it will mean I get to spend more time with him. To which he replied, ‘I think you should go work at the Jelly Belly Factory!'” Burmeister said. “These are the moments I want to spend more time enjoying.”

The board will discuss how to replace Burmeister at its April 14 board meeting. It has the option of either select an internal candidate or conduct a national search, according to the district.

Burmeister initially signed a three-year contact to serve as superintendent of the district beginning in 2017, with an annual salary of $223,000.

In 2020, the school board unanimously approved a new contract for Burmeister, which included a 5% raise during the 2019-20 school year, retroactive to July 1, boosting his salary up to $258,151.

It also voted to extend his contract by three years to June 30, 2023, with an automatic 2% pay hike and a “retention bonus” at the end of each of the three years.

The bonuses would be 5% of his annual salary at the end of the 2020-21 school year; 7.5% at the end of the 2021-22 school year; and 10% at the end of the 2022-23 school year, according to a staff report.

During his tenure, the district passed two parcel taxes, Measures X and B. MPCSD was the first in the state to reopen to in-person learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2020 and “its practices have been followed by countless other districts across the country as a model of keeping schools open and staff and students safe,” according to the release.

In 2021, the Association of California School Administrators named Burmeister the Superintendent of the Year for Region 5. The association previously awarded Burmeister the Region 8 principal of the year award, as well as state principal of the year.

“Superintendent Burmeister is recognized as a pioneer in bringing design mindsets to education and is frequently sought as a speaker and collaborator when educators want to build a learner-centered culture, improve outcomes for all students, and offer successful paths for students to succeed in the higher education and workplaces of the 21st century,” the release states. “A believer in strong teamwork, Burmeister has built a leadership team within MPCSD that will continue to serve the staff, students and community and allow students to engage, achieve, and thrive.”

The district will announce “additional administrative adjustments” to support a new leader later this week, the release states.