Two staff members from Conejo Valley Unified School District were awarded top honors from the Association of California School Administrators earlier this month.

Dep. Superintendent Jeff Baarstad was named the education chief business official of the year, and Thousand Oaks High School principal Tim Carpenter was named administrator of the year in the secondary principal category.

"Both of these men are outstanding leaders who are highly respected by their peers because they've earned it," said CVUSD Superintendent Mario Contini. "They are among the best there is in the entire state of California."

The awards covered the ACSA's 13th region, which includes Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Baarstad has worked as deputy superintendent, business services since 2003. Before coming to CVUSD, Baarstad was an administrator and teacher in the Hueneme Elementary School District. He also serves as president of the ACSA state business council.

Carpenter has been principal at TOHS since 2005 and was the head of Redwood Middle School for the 10 years prior. He's also worked as an assistant principal at Conejo Valley High School and at Colina Middle School. He began his career in the early 1970s as a middle school teacher at Sequoia.

Carpenter has been an active member of ACSA since 1989. He is currently the membership chair for the 13th region.

—By Joann Groff