New hire had been the principal at Solvang School for four years
Staff Report
The Ballard School District Board of Trustees unanimously selected Pam Rennick as the district’s new superintendent/principal, effective July 1. Following a nationwide search and selection process lasting four months, the board unanimously voted for Rennick to succeed Superintendent/Principal Allan Pelletier, who will retire on June 30.
Rennick has been the principal at Solvang School for the past four years, and at Hollister School in Goleta prior to that.
“I am looking forward to getting to know and learning more from the students, staff, parents and community,” Rennick said. “This is an incredible school district and I anticipate honoring the amazing established programs, accomplishments, and traditions while continuing to grow and improve.”
“Pam Rennick is a strong, collaborative, and proven leader with years of instructional and administrative experience. Her experience as an elementary teacher and principal, coupled with her exceptional interpersonal skills, are exactly what the board and our stakeholders are seeking in the next leader of the Ballard School District,” said Chris Kazali, president of the school board. “We are so grateful for Allan Pelletier’s leadership over the past 15 years and we are excited for the next chapter working with Ms. Rennick. She is very familiar with our school community and has already worked with many Ballard families as their students have transitioned from Ballard to Solvang Middle School.”
Rennick and her husband reside in the Santa Ynez Valley. The Rennicks have four children: Caden (third grade), Ryan (student at Cal Poly), Mae (Ph.D. grad student at UCSB) and Emma (fifth-grade teacher in the Wiseburn School District in El Segundo).
The one-school district will schedule a meet-and-greet opportunity for students, parents, staff and the school community before the start of the next school year as COVID-19 protocols permit.
