Gilroy
– Only a few small steps are left before Gilroy’s first female
school superintendent comes on board.
Gilroy – Only a few small steps are left before Gilroy’s first female school superintendent comes on board.
The Gilroy Unified School District board of trustees informed their preferred candidate Friday that it had selected her and began negotiations on a contract. The board also is checking her references, running a criminal background check and planning to visit the candidate at her current school district – where she is the superintendent – early next week.
At this point, the board and the candidate have both agreed to come to the bargaining table, said Tom Bundros, president of the board.
“We’ve floated the offer but we haven’t worked out the details,” he said.
While both parties have agreed on a base salary, benefits such as health insurance, life insurance and travel money have not been determined. When they come to consensus, a contract will be drawn up, both sides will have lawyers look at it and they will sign it.
The compensation package will be comparable to those of superintendents at similar districts in Santa Clara County, the board decided at a March 29 meeting. The average salary in the county is $187,430, a board subcommittee reported. Former Gilroy superintendent Edwin Diaz’ compensation package included $187,250 in salary, 22.5 vacation days, health care coverage and an $8,000 contribution to a retirement account.
As it negotiates a contract, the district awaits the results of a criminal background check, initiated Friday. The board does not expect to find any offenses, but requests the report to make certain there are none, Bundros said. It should be available by the end of the week, he said.
The search firm hired to conduct the superintendent search – Hazard, Young and Attea – has been calling references and speaking with the candidate’s colleagues.
On Monday or Tuesday, trustees will have a chance to speak with the references and colleagues in person. The board will take a trip to the candidate’s current school district to see how the person functions in a work environment, validate information that arose in the interviews and get a third look at the candidate.
If the district and candidate agree on a contract, the criminal background check returns no major offenses and the reference check does not turn up significant questions, the board will announce its selection to the public at a special meeting May 17.
