Big Bear News – Big Bear Lake, CA – At the regularly scheduled board meeting of the Bear Valley Unified School on January 17th, the Governing Board unanimously approved the appointment of Manny Marquez as the District’s next Superintendent following Dr. Mary Suzuki’s retirement at the end of this school year. In a letter to BVUSD staff and the community, Governing Board President, Jack Roberts expressed the Board’s gratitude to Dr. Suzuki for her many contributions to the District and a warm welcome to the District’s upcoming Superintendent, Mr. Marquez beginning July 1, 2024. During the meeting, Mr. Roberts expressed gratitude that the Board was able to find a highly qualified internal candidate and that Mr. Marquez will set a great example to the students and staff of Bear Valley Unified as the District’s first Superintendent of Hispanic descent. Mr. Marquez’s family along with many District colleagues were present at the meeting for the formal announcement.
Lieutenant Colonel Roberts (retired) letter below reflects the Boards gratitude and anticipation for continued strong leadership of the Bear Valley Unified School District.
Dear Bear Valley Unified School District Employees and Community Members:
The Bear Valley Unified School District Governing Board would like to express our profound gratitude to Dr. Mary Suzuki for her many contributions to the District and our children. Though the Board is sad to see Mary go, this is a time to celebrate her distinguished career and be thankful for the positive impact she has made on our District.
As a true professional, Dr. Suzuki started the planning process and notified the Board of her intent long before the public announcement that she would be retiring at the end of this school year. As a Board, we discussed with Mary the possible options to consider finding her replacement. Mary’s guidance and perspective have been appreciated by the Board during the discussions.
Mary has spent her tenure in the District helping us develop future leaders at all levels. This approach has helped us build a strong pool of internal candidates for future leadership positions ensuring that the unique needs of our community and the challenges of mountain living are met with capable and experienced leadership.
At the January 17th Board Meeting, the Governing Board approved Mr. Manny Marquez, the highly respected and qualified internal candidate, as the future Bear Valley Unified School District Superintendent, effective July 1, 2024. Manny has spent his career serving the community: first as a preschool teacher, teacher’s aide, classroom teacher, elementary and middle school principal, and we are now fortunate to call him our next Superintendent. We thank Dr. Suzuki for preparing Mr. Marquez for the new role he will assume when she retires. We know he has big shoes to fill, and he will continue to develop future leaders by following her example.
Please join the Bear Valley Unified School District Governing Board in expressing our gratitude to Dr. Mary Suzuki for her exceptional service and to warmly welcome Mr. Manny Marquez as he prepares to step into his new role this coming July.
Sincerely,
Lieutenant Colonel Jack Roberts (ret.)
Governing Board President
