A former teacher at South Tahoe High School was chosen the next principal of the school ending a lengthy search that had two rounds of candidates.

Ivone Larson will officially become principal of the school Aug. 1 with an annual salary of $95,697. She was hired Tuesday night during a school board meeting.

Larson was a teacher at the high school for 12 years beginning in 1989 but changed careers and worked at the Sacramento County Office of Education in the Advancement Via Individual Determination program. In that capacity she helped serve 10 counties, yet still lived in South Lake Tahoe.

Larson, 48, speaks three languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The district conducted two rounds in its search for candidates. Larson said she didn’t apply the first time, but was contacted by several people requesting her to apply.

Board president Wendy David said Larson was the “best fit from our pool of candidates” and is “very curriculum based.”

David said Larson has knowledge on the four-by-four schedule, which is being implemented for the first time for the 2006-07 school year.

Superintendent Jim Tarwater, who had a one-year contract extension through June 30, 2009 at the meeting, liked Larson’s residency and experience in the district was a plus.

“She’s very strong, organized, very data driven, very tech savvy,” Tarwater said. “She has those pieces and she knows the community.”

Larson said she “suffers from techno lust” and has written grants related to technology in schools.

On Tuesday, the board also voted to boost technology at the high school with new computers and related infrastructure.