How can, according to published quotes from Superintendent
Debbie Flores, potential district employees undergo a strenuous
pre-employment screening, yet potential coaches go through
something less?
Dear Editor,
How can, according to published quotes from Superintendent Debbie Flores, potential district employees undergo a strenuous pre-employment screening, yet potential coaches go through something less? Is the safety of “district employees” more precious than the lives of the students district employees are hired to protect and provide for?
Even the most basic of pre-employment screenings include DMV checks. Most insurance companies can do such checks, or potential hires bring in a DMV printout. I’m sure the precious district office potentials are required to bring in such a printout, yes?
That the district would reprimand an athletic director when it does not have simple safety procedures in place is deplorable and reflects directly on poor vision and leadership. Isn’t that the job of the superintendent, to verify that everything humanly possible is done to protect the well-being of the students?
The superintendent and Board got lucky. Only adults were injured on Highway 73 that evening. Take that as a warning. Cast aside your “poor me, we have no money” and hope to God the processes necessary to determine Alvin Harrison had a valid driver license weren’t some line item the superintendent had within other cuts in the name of saving dollars and district office staff … meanwhile, teachers fall by the wayside in the wake of an axe swung haphazardly which the Board approved bleary-eyed on any given Thursday night.
Flores is quoted as saying all hiring checks will now be handled by GUSD human resources. NOW going to be handled by human resources? Correct me, but isn’t that the entire reason for a human resources department in the first place? I realize it probably takes a full HR staff to track administrators’ salaries and bonus packages, but not one HR wizard is able to handle new hires? It’s not as if GUSD is hiring many people as of late, except maybe lobbyists. It sure isn’t teachers being hired.
Shame on GUSD for allowing a dedicated educator and athletic director to fall to that same axe for following procedures the superintendent and district administration were too inept to recognize and correct.
Benjamin Anderson, former Gilroyan, Fort Worth, TX
