GILROY
– Increasing enrollment, developing new courses, participating
in professional training and producing award-winning students does
not meet the teaching standards of Gilroy High School.
GILROY – Increasing enrollment, developing new courses, participating in professional training and producing award-winning students does not meet the teaching standards of Gilroy High School.
That’s the perplexing conclusion agricultural science students and their parents had to swallow Thursday night after school board trustees unanimously decided to not rehire ag teachers and Future Farmers of America coordinators David Duarte and Sabrina Olivas-Henry for the 2003-04 school year.
GHS ag boosters and FFA students, clad in their organization’s navy blue and gold blazers, packed the district board room last night, showing support for their soon-to-be-ousted teachers and demanding trustees keep the 75-year-old ag program intact in future years.
“You lose them, you lose the ag program,” parent Donna Orsetti said. “When you change teachers every two years, you lose kids.”
District staff and school administrators remain tight-lipped about their reasons for letting the popular teachers go but said the move was not a cost-saving measure done in light of current budget troubles. Duarte and Olivas-Henry will be replaced by qualified teachers before next school year, district officials said.
“Contracts are renewed based on district standards and performance,” said Linda Piceno, the district’s assistant superintendent of human resources. “If we were flush with funds, this would still be happening.”
Even Duarte and Olivas-Henry do not know why they aren’t being asked back next year.
“All we’ve been told is we’re ‘not a good match,’ ” Duarte said. “Apparently that’s all they need to tell us since we’ve worked for the district two years or less.”
In just their second year at the helm of the agricultural science department, Duarte and Olivas-Henry have increased the program’s enrollment from roughly 150 to 240 students and have tripled the amount of state awards their students receive. The duo also has expanded vocational offerings at GHS, adding welding and horticulture courses to the curriculum.
Parents and students last night called them the best ag science teachers since longtime FFA leader Bob Kuntz retired several years ago.
Nonetheless, the district is standing firm on its decision.
“This was very carefully considered, as are all personnel matters,” Trustee David McRae said. “Nothing was done lightly.”
“I was impressed with the student speakers, and we did hear them,” Trustee Tom Bundros said. “It looks like a confusing situation, but staff gave us their reasons for not rehiring them, and the board made its decision based on that.”
Superintendent Edwin Diaz and GHS Principal Bob Bravo promised ag students and supporters the growing program will continue. After word of the firings spread early this week, the ag community was rife with rumors that ag science in Gilroy was on its way out.
Even last night, parents were not convinced the district intends to keep ag science and the FFA program alive.
“We’re worried that this is the start of FFA being taken away,” parent Albert Escobar said. “It’s real easy to put another teacher in there, but to get someone that really inspires and is willing to work after hours, during the summer and on weekends …” isn’t easy.
“Whatever (the board and staff) think they’re doing it’s wrong,” ag boosters President Paul Kenney said. “Letting these teachers go is not what’s best for the children.”
A number of speakers, including current and former students, made a case for agriculture as a viable career opportunity, noting the high-tech and highly lucrative component of the industry that goes beyond growing crops and raising livestock. Others talked about how the FFA program, through its leadership seminars and skills competitions, had instilled a sense of confidence and responsibility in them.
“I’m standing here tonight doing public speaking, which is what I feared most when I was little,” GHS student Staci Linden said. “I would not be here tonight if it were not for the program and the support of the teachers.”
Duarte, 27, and Olivas-Henry, 32, are not pursuing legal recourse, at least for now, and have not made firm plans for next school year.
Duarte said he may try to devote himself full-time to a business venture he recently started. Olivas-Henry said she would look into job opportunities in other districts.
“I’m shocked by this,” Olivas-Henry said. “I was really enjoying my job in the district. This was the best work experience I’ve ever had.”
