After spending just one year at the helm, Becky Clark was dismissed from her role as Watsonville High’s athletic director effective at the conclusion of the 2024-25 school year.
Clark told The Pajaronian on Tuesday that she received a letter from Pajaro Valley Unified School District dated March 11 and signed by interim assistant superintendent Angelica Renteria to notify her of the release.
The letter said the decision was made during a PVUSD’s Board of Education meeting on March 5. During a closed session, it came down to a 6-1 vote with Gaberiel Medina as the lone board member to oppose Clark from being ousted.
“It was just a series of unfortunate events that I had felt like I was never really given the chance to be AD,” Clark said. “I was continuously hoping to prove to the administration that I was valuable, that I really cared, and I wanted to start that through my work.”
“I was just shocked at how it was handled because initially I was promised we would set goals and we’d have goals to reach,” she added. “The initial job description is from 1980, something that I brought to the assistant superintendent’s attention and the superintendent’s attention early on during the school season.”
Clark, 40, became the first female athletic director at Watsonville High when she was hired July 8 to take over for Marcus Northcutt.
Clark said she first met with Watsonville assistant principals Rafael Ruiz and Sara Subbiondo in February for an evaluation meeting. The summary comments read “Becky Clark has not met the Professional Standards of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and is not recommended for advancement.”
“I was confused because I had never even sat with [Ruiz] to set my goals,” Clark said. “I read [the review] and I was kind of appalled with everything I read, especially since I hadn’t seen him or Principal [Joe] Gregorio all winter break.”
The Pajaronian reached out to PVUSD, but they declined to share details of Clark’s dismissal, and instead sent an official statement via text message.
“Thank you for your inquiry. As this is a personnel matter we are unable to comment on the specifics of the situation. However, we at PVUSD remain committed to supporting our student-athletes and ensuring the continued success and integrity of our athletic programs.”
Prior to the evaluation meeting, Clark had approached Watsonville Principal Joe Gregorio with concerns about Ruiz being cleared to oversee student-athletes, specifically those on the girls’ soccer team.
Clark said Ruiz refused to do a State Identification Number background check, which is one of the requirements needed to be allowed on the sideline as an acting coach during a game.
Clark went through the same process with PVUSD’s human resource department, including a fingerprint check to become an assistant coach on the wrestling team.
“It’s the same with Joe Gregorio, he was principal but also football coach,” Clark said. “[Ruiz] was refusing to do it, and I couldn’t understand why.”
Clark said she immediately thought that was one of the reasons for her review, and was asked not to return.
“When I was reading it, I looked at [Ruiz] and I was confused,” Clark said.
Clark said taking on tasks for athletic director was a slippery slope since the start, beginning with concerns of students who were not cleared to compete in athletics during the fall season.
She added there was also the situation of not having Emmett M. Geiser Field available on campus for use for programs such as football and soccer, which led to issues with scheduling home games.
“That adds a whole other element,” Clark said. “I wasn’t given any notes from the previous AD, and I had very little to no support. It felt like I was fighting against a system that didn’t want to be fixed. I had really high hopes to change because we had goals with that school.”
