One top position already vacant, two more will open in spring at
district
Gilroy – Three top jobs – including superintendent – at Gilroy Unified School District are up for grabs, creating a vacuum of leadership and a potential rocky road for schools, the board and administrators.
Edwin Diaz, superintendent of the district, announced earlier this week he hopes to leave as early as March for a new job as superintendent of Pasadena Unified School District. Jacki Horejs, assistant superintendent of educational services, left Dec. 1 to take the reins of Campbell’s Union School District as superintendent. Olivia Schaad, director of curriculum and instruction, also currently filling in for Horejs, plans to retire in March.
“There’s no doubt that there’s going to be a big void, especially if the board doesn’t move quickly now,” Schaad said. “It can take, at minimum, two or three months to hire someone, but that means they need to hire a consultant to start the search now – like as we speak.”
It is common practice for school districts to hire consultant firms to find candidates for superintendent positions. The firms take charge of advertising, narrowing down the list of applicants and presenting resumes of the top candidates to the board. The board then decides which of the applicants should be interviewed for the job.
After hearing the news that Diaz was leaving, Tom Bundros, president of the school board, said he immediately started researching consultant firms that will aid the board in finding candidates for the superintendent position. Bundros will present his research at the Jan. 4 board meeting, when trustees will discuss what they’re looking for in a superintendent candidate and how to proceed with the hiring process.
“The board will have many discussions with Edwin and the staff about the best way to proceed over the next five or six months,” Bundros said. “We’re expecting a transition plan from Edwin at the next board meeting, and there will be a lot of discussion of the issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible.”
Diaz said he was already putting together recommendations for the board, including his thoughts on how to handle the transition, where the board’s focus should be during the changes and a list of names to fill Schaad’s position.
“I will be recommending someone internal to fill Olivia’s position, which will, of course, open up another job at the district,” Diaz said. “The rest is a matter of being strategic, maybe scaling back things the district had planned until after a new superintendent comes in, and making sure things like the district-wide math plan are implemented and the new bell schedules at middle schools are evaluated. These are things that have been through initial implementation and now need to be driven home.”
Many people remaining at the district office have been there for years, providing a wealth of knowledge for the new people coming in, Diaz said, which should help them avoid floundering.
“It will be difficult – there’s no denying that,” he added. “The timing of me leaving is going to be tough with the other positions to fill, but there’s a benefit to having one of the assistant superintendent positions open. It’s always a good idea for a new superintendent to hire a senior team member who they feel comfortable with and can work well with.”
Both Schaad and Bundros agreed that it’s a good idea for the new superintendent – whoever that may be – to hire the person to fill the position vacated by Horejs.
The exact date of Diaz’s departure is up for negotiation with the school board, but Bundros and Trustee Pat Midtgaard have said they expect the district will have an interim superintendent after Diaz leaves and before a permanent replacement is found.
The possibility of who might fill the interim superintendent position will also be discussed at the Jan. 4 board meeting.
