Tamalpais Union High School District trustees have approved a three-year contract for the district’s new superintendent.

Courtney Goode, an assistant superintendent at the Escondido Union High School District near San Diego, will start the Marin job July 1. His starting annual salary is $311,326.

The trustees voted on the contract at their meeting Tuesday.

Goode will replace Tara Taupier, whose retirement date is June 30. Taupier spent 23 years in the district and seven as superintendent.

Cynthia Roenisch, the board president, said Goode was selected from five finalists out of a field of 22 applicants.

“Dr. Goode really stood out in his responses to our questions — at least in my perspective,” Roenisch said. “They showed how much he really cares about students, and how much he believes that all students not only can succeed, but should be given the tools to succeed.”

She added that Goode’s “empathy, and his belief in constantly learning about the tools in education, really stood out to us.”

Goode, who has been at the Escondido Union High School District district since 2021, has 20 years of school leadership experience. He has been the principal of Mission Hills High School in the San Marcos High School District as well as a high school assistant principal, a middle school principal and a teacher.

Goode has a bachelor’s degree in history and health education from Ohio Northern University and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of California, San Diego.

“To the Tam community, know that I come to you with a profound belief in the power and the importance of public education,” he said Tuesday.

He said he sought to join the district because “it was readily apparent to me that this is a community that recognizes the important work we do as educators to foster a sense of hope and opportunity in someone’s life.”

“It doesn’t just happen,” Goode said. “It happens when we are intentional in creating an environment where every child, regardless of their background or life circumstances, know that they matter and they know that they belong.”

He said it also happens “when every child on the campus knows that there is at least one adult who believes in them, when they might not be able to believe in themselves.”

Goode’s wife, Jo Bonfiglio, accompanied him at the board meeting. They have two daughters, one in college and the other graduating from high school this year.