The deadline to submit applications for the citizens oversight
committee that will supervise the expenditure of Measure P, the
$150 million school bond voters passed in November, has been
extended to Feb. 13 for lack of applicants.
The deadline to submit applications for the citizens oversight committee that will supervise the expenditure of Measure P, the $150 million school bond voters passed in November, has been extended to Feb. 13 for lack of applicants.
Only half a dozen citizens have applied to serve on the committee, said Deputy Superintendent of Business Services Enrique Palacios, and the committee requires at least seven members.
Palacios said the deadline was extended because he would like the school board to be able to choose from a larger pool of candidates.
“We want to make sure that everyone interested in serving on the committee has a chance to apply,” he said.
State law calls for an oversight committee of at least seven people for any bond requiring a 55 percent of the vote to pass. The committee must be established within 60 days of the date the board enters the official election results into its minutes, which it did Dec. 11. Members must serve a term of two years, without compensation, for no more than two consecutive terms. The committee must include one member active in a business organization, one member active in a senior citizens’ organization, one member active in a bona fide taxpayer association, a parent of a child enrolled in the district and a parent active in a parent-teacher organization.
With the passage of Measure P comes a number of accountability measures aimed to make sure the district spends the money on what it said it would *– mainly completing Christopher High School, Gilroy’s second high school, scheduled to open in August 2009.
If the committee reviews the district’s expenditures and finds that funds were misappropriated, the school board is notified and the district would have to reimburse the bond fund, Palacios said.
After Palacios and Superintendent Deborah Flores interview each of the candidates, they will make a recommendation to the board who will vote in open session on the final committee, Palacios said. He hopes to receive enough applications so that trustees can appoint the committee at a Feb. 26 board meeting.
Instead of using the same members of the oversight committee that reviews the expenditure of Measure I funds, the school board decided to draft new members from the community, although Palacios said he would welcome applications from members of the current oversight committee.
Several trustees agreed at an earlier board meeting that the oversight of funds generated by earlier bonds posed a stumbling block during the campaign for Measure P and that, during the campaign, they promised to open the oversight of the new bond to the community. They found an advantage in keeping the funds, the projects and the oversight committees separate.
“We absolutely need to be completely transparent in this process,” said trustee Denise Apuzzo before the board made the decision to select a new committee. “We do that by saying we welcome people who did not support the bond. Gilroy’s a growing community. This will not be the last time we have to go to the voters for a bond.”
Citizens wishing to serve on the oversight committee may pick up an application from the district office at 7810 Arroyo Circle or by logging on to the district Web site at www.gusd.k12.ca.us. For more information, call Janet Castro at 848-7116.
