The Santa Barbara School District announced former Dos Pueblos High and Goleta Valley Junior High Principal David Cash as its new superintendent during a special board meeting Wednesday morning.

He will begin his new position on July 1 with a salary of $209,000 — $5,000 more than retiring Superintendent Brian Sarvis makes now.

The school board unanimously selected Cash, who thanked the district for the homecoming opportunity.

He came to the meeting with his wife, Heather, and young daughter Ella and said he wants to emphasize “every child, every chance, every day” and that his goal is to listen carefully to all stakeholders, especially communities who may feel disenfranchised.

“We can’t leave a single child unnoticed in any school,” Cash said, adding that he also wants to eliminate boundaries between schools and the rest of the communities, and encourage even more public-private partnerships.

Sarvis wasn’t involved in the selection process but said he can now retire knowing the district is in very good hands.

Board member Susan Deacon said Cash, who was principal when her sons were in school, was on her wish list for the job.

Other board members said everything they had heard about Cash was positive, including discussions during the Monday site visit to his current Clovis Unified School District.

Santa Barbara board member Monique Limon said he will bring an insider and outsider’s perspective, and applauded his willingness to learn Spanish for the job.

Cash was superintendent of the Clovis Unified School District from 2009-11. He also served as superintendent of the Claremont Unified School District, from 2006-09.

Deacon said his availability may not have worked out a few months earlier. He abruptly announced his retirement on May 6 in Clovis, telling the Fresno Bee he wanted to spend more time with his family after the death of three close friends. The district appointed an interim superintendent on May 11, according to the CUSD website. He was halfway through a four-year contract but the board allowed him to retire, effective July 31, according to news reports.

Within the Santa Barbara district, he was principal of Dos Pueblos for five years and principal of Goleta Valley for four years. He also worked as a teacher at Peabody Charter School.

Cash has a doctorate in education and a J.D. law degree, and was a trial attorney before going into education. In 2009, he was selected as a fellow in the Broad Superintendents Academy.

He also has worked as superintendent of the Buellton Union School District and as a special-education administrator for the Santa Barbara Special Education Local Plan Area.

He was selected from a field of 58 applicants, narrowed down with help from the Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates search firm. Thirty-one applicants were from California, and 24 applicants had previous superintendent experience.

— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk or @NoozhawkNews.