Following its usual rotation, Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District's board picked its leadership for the coming year at a Monday, Dec. 18, meeting, unanimously electing Sanjay Dave as president, Esmeralda Ortiz as vice president and Thida Cornes as clerk.

The five trustees generally rotate through the leadership positions each year, with the clerk moving into the vice presidency, and the vice president ascending to the presidency, a tradition that the board adhered to this time around.

The president is in charge of leading meetings, as well as working with the superintendent to create meeting agendas.

After the board voted in the new officers, Superintendent Nellie Meyer thanked outgoing president Phil Faillace for his leadership.

"I wanted to not only thank you for your service, I wanted to thank you for your support of our district, our students and your spokesmanship to the community – that is not an easy task. It has been an interesting year with a lot of passion, and a lot of emotion and a lot of difficult, difficult subjects," Meyer said.

Dave similarly praised Faillace's skill at leading the board, and said that he has been grateful to have Faillace as a mentor for the position.

"You are a very seasoned board president and it shows," Dave said. Faillace has served on the school board since 1996 and been president multiple times.

Faillace thanked district leaders and his fellow board members for their contributions to the district.

"The president's job is not easy, but it is made easier than it would otherwise be by having a great team – and I think the four of you have made this a great team," Faillace said. "We don't always agree, but I think that's essential for a high-functioning organization."