LAMORINDA WEEKLY | A familiar face returns to Acalanes Board of Governors


Richard Whitmore Photo provided

Back again after a break of only just over a year, Richard Whitmore has been appointed to the Acalanes Union High School District board, to fill the vacancy created by the recent resignation of Craig Cheslog. His term will run until the next regularly scheduled election in November.

The board voted unanimously to appoint Whitmore at the Jan. 11 special meeting. Board President Bob Hockett said that Whitmore was selected from a very impressive field of 10 applicants, down from 14 initially.

Whitmore is no stranger to the board, having recently completed 14 years serving from 2002 until 2016. He also volunteered during that time as a board member and is a past president of Lafayette Partners in Education.

Whitmore lives with his wife in Lafayette. Their three children all went through Lafayette schools. He is a Stanford graduate who went to Harvard University to earn an MBA.

Whitmore works as the chief administrative officer of West Ed, a nonprofit educational research and development agency. He previously served as the deputy superintendent at the California Department of Education and as the superintendent of the Los Gatos Union School District.

When his term expires in November, Whitmore says currently he has no plans to run again.

"I'm very happy to be rejoining some very talented colleagues on the board and always happy to be working to keep our local schools among the best anywhere," says Whitmore.