Randy Kenyon, longtime Los Altos School District assistant superintendent and mainstay in the local schools community, retired this month after 35 years of service.
Overseeing the financial health of the district, Kenyon was never regarded by fellow administrators as the cold money man.
Kenyon had not always imagined a career in education. When he moved to the Bay Area from the East Coast in the 1970s, he was not yet sure what he was going to make of his life. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts in Boston, he taught in a Boston area elementary school, but he didn’t quite feel that he had found his calling. Seeking a change, he traveled west, working as a mechanic in San Francisco until he enrolled in a graduate program at UC Berkeley.
“In my first quarter, I took a class in school finance and I said, ‘Bingo! This is what I want to do,’” he recalled.
Not all people are cut out for crunching numbers and balancing budgets for local school districts, but Kenyon was so set on his path that he essentially designed his own program in school and earned his master’s degree in 1980.
Part of what Kenyon was seeking when he moved west was to make meaningful change. Growing up during the Civil Rights movement and later the Vietnam War influenced his approach toward his career. Although he originally thought he would make the most change as a teacher, he discovered meaning in taking on a multifaceted role outside the classroom.
“I was in the business world for years before going back to school, and I thought that education would be a great place to help,” he said. “I don’t mean to say ‘help’ – I mean to develop, change and improve things in our society.”
Finding a home
After stints in other Bay Area districts, Kenyon settled in Los Altos as the chief business officer in 1987.
Over the years, he not only earned praise for his performance in the position, but also became deeply integrated in the community. All four of his children attended LASD schools, and he said he still attends as many school functions as possible – plays, concerts and sporting events.
“Working in the field of education is all about improving our society and helping young people to achieve their maximum potential,” Kenyon said.
Throughout his time with LASD, Kenyon earned both statewide and national awards for his budgets up until his final year. Organizations including the Association of School Business Officials, the California Association of School Business Officials and the Government Finance Officers Associations have consistently recognized the excellence of LASD’s budgets, which have won the Meritorious Budget Award from ASBO for 22 consecutive years.
Beyond the awards, Kenyon is proud of the material ways he has contributed to LASD campuses. He takes pride in LASD’s commitment to pursuing environmentally conscious practices early on by installing solar panels on campuses and hiring architects who specialized in sustainable design. Another point of pride: LASD has remained financially healthy through times of recession, including the dot-com bust and the 2008 financial crisis.
“If you think back over 35 years of economic times we have gone through, Randy has really been the one to steer that financial ship and make sure that we are able to weather the very worst of times for the benefit of students in our school district,” Superintendent Jeff Baier said at a board meeting June 6.
Kenyon will be handing the reins to newly hired Erik Walukiewicz, but he won’t be totally absent – he will continue to consult for the district on a regular basis, especially for the famously complicated 10th-site school negotiations, and plans to help the new assistant superintendent ease into the role.
Baier honored Kenyon’s commitment to the district and its students.
“He would always argue to make sure kids are getting what they need, and that really speaks to who Randy is,” Baier said between rounds of applause for Kenyon. “We’re going to miss you.”
