A new head of special education will join the Santa Barbara school district on January 7. Helen Rodriguez has spent the past two years as the director of special education in San Bernardino. She speaks Spanish fluently and earned a master’s in educational leadership from UCLA. Her salary will be $130,000 per year. She was voted in unanimously by the new school board in its first big decision after installing Monique Limon as president and Kate Parker as Vice President.