Gilroy
– Visualize the perfect superintendent presiding over the school
district with attentiveness, intelligence and care.
Gilroy – Visualize the perfect superintendent presiding over the school district with attentiveness, intelligence and care.
That is what Hazard, Young and Attea, the consulting firm hired to pick Gilroy’s next superintendent, is asking community stakeholders to do at a series of leadership profile development meetings beginning today and continuing Wednesday.
“I think it’s extremely important,” Trustee Francisco Dominguez said of the meetings, “because the community can give their suggestions on the profile. Without it, there’s really no other way to get involved.”
The spate of meetings includes group sessions with community organizations, including private and home schools, the Gilroy Teachers Association and the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce. Current Superintendent Edwin Diaz, City Administrator Jay Baksa and each of the seven members of the Gilroy Unified School District Board of Trustees will have individual meetings with consultants from the search firm.
“They’ll have an opportunity to learn a lot about the district, the board and the direction it’s taking,” said Trustee Rhoda Bress.
Part of the leadership profile development involves two open community forums, one in Spanish scheduled for 7:30pm tonight and one in English slated for 6:30pm Wednesday.
Having bilingual forums “gives us a chance to include the whole community and since such a large part of it is Hispanic, this gives them a way to participate,” said Dominguez.
The responses from stakeholders gathered in these meetings will be compiled into a report, which will be presented to the board in a closed session on March 8.
The report will numerically sort by popularity which personal qualities are desired by which stakeholders. The report will also summarize responses to free-answer questions and highlight the most common ones.
Diaz, whose first day with the Pasadena Unified School District is March 12, will serve his last day in the GUSD district March 9. Recently-selected Interim Superintendent Darrel Taylor will likely start on Diaz’s final day, though he will have regular contact with Diaz starting March 7.
Following the March 8 presentation, the consulting firm will advertise the Gilroy superintendent position and match applicants against the information provided by stakeholders.
On April 23, Hazard, Young and Attea will present a slate of candidates to the board. The board will then conduct five days of meetings between April 26 and May 2 to narrow down the applicant field.
On May 3, board members will identify their preferred candidate in a closed session meeting and will visit the applicant at his workplace. On May 17, the board will announce its selection for a new superintendent.
Taylor’s month-to-month contract specifies that it will terminate 30 days from the day the board appoints a new superintendent or by mutual agreement of both parties.
“Because we’ll kind of have time before the change, it gives Dr. Taylor time to wind down and prepare the new superintendent to come in,” said Dominguez.
