Former School District Superintendent Dianne Talarico Dies

Dianne Talarico, superintendent of the from 2006 to 2008, died Tuesday after a battle with lung cancer. She was 53.

"I'm sure that everyone in the community is deeply saddened by her passing," said Mark Intrieri, president of the school board for the Burlingame School District, where she served as superintendent prior to her death. "She was a great person personally and professionally, she was a great asset to the district, she was an advocate for kids, she was just a wonderful, wonderful person."

Talarico became the SMMUSD superintendent in 2006 as the replacement for , current head of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Her tenure was marked by significant controversy, much of it outside her control.

"Challenges in any area happen for a reason, and I'm a stronger leader because of them," Talarico told The Malibu Times in 2008 after she announced her resignation.

She left the SMMUSD for Northern California to be with her husband Enrique Navas-Vasquez. The two had been commuting to see each other a few days per month. Talarico decided she did not want to do that anymore.

"Last July I turned 50, and it came to me, 'Oh my God, life is so short. This is ridiculous. I'm living apart from my one true love,'" she told The Times. "I put some things in perspective and realized that I really wanted to have a balanced life." 

Talarico’s family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in her name are sent to the Burlingame Community for Education Foundation.