Former Gustine High Principal Adam Cano is now the new assistant superintendent at Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District after he submitted his resignation earlier this month. His first day was on Monday, according to NCLUSD Superintendent Justin Pruett.

Cano joined the district after Jessie Ceja, former assistant superintendent, announced his departure to Le Grand Union Elementary School District during a June 15 Board of Education meeting. He will become both the district’s superintendent and the principal at El Grand Elementary. Ceja told the Westside Connect he would have to take on a dual-role due to the size of the single-school size K-8 district.

Pruett said it was important for NCLUSD to find someone who understood the Westside community and felt Cano was the right fit.

“We were looking for someone that is committed to the Westside, committed to our district and, not that you require it, gave us the feeling that their goal was to be able to stay here,” Pruett said. “He understands the culture of the Westside.”

NCLUSD staff began the search for the role late last month with a pool of six candidates, Pruett said.

Both individuals have known each other since competing against one another in high school sports. That competitive nature continued into their professions when Pruett and Cano were principals at Orestimba High and Gustine High, respectively.

When both were in charge of schools that were rivals to one another, Pruett said he and Cano held multiple conversations together and liked that they both encouraged each other to perform better.

“Rivals don’t always mean a bad thing,” Pruett said. “I think with growing up together and playing sports against each other, we always challenge each other to be better, and I think we’re able to apply that in a professional manner.”

Now as colleagues, Pruett said he looks forward to working with Cano to “put forward the best possible district for our community.”

“If you talk to people that have worked with him, he definitely has something that’s really important to me, and that is forming relationships with people,” Pruett said.

With the resignation coming more than a month until the start of the 2026-27 school year, Gustine Unified School District Superintendent Bryan Ballenger said district staff have begun the search for the school’s next principal.

Interviews began last week, Ballenger said, with a decision expected to be made in the middle of this week. While he didn’t provide a specific headcount, GUSD has a few candidates, Ballenger added.