Deborah Flores is scheduled to be announced as the next head of
the school district tonight.
Gilroy – Deborah Flores is scheduled to be announced as the next head of the school district tonight.
The Gilroy Unified School District Board of Trustees will vote to approve Flores, its first choice for superintendent, and a contract for her employment in a closed session tonight.
Flores will be introduced as the district’s next superintendent at about 8:25pm, according to the agenda of regular board meeting. She will be present to accept the position and meet district staff and parents, said trustee Pat Midtgaard.
Midtgaard and two trustees – Rhoda Bress and board president Tom Bundros – went with teachers and community members to visit Flores Monday in the Lucia Mar Unified School District, where she is the superintendent.
While there, the group met with parents, teachers, principals, administrators and Lucia Mar board members. It also toured an elementary school with a high Latino population and a recently constructed high school. The Gilroy school district has a 68-percent Hispanic population and will break ground on a new high school this fall.
“We had a very productive day,” Bress said. “We learned a lot about Dr. Flores’ experience as a superintendent and her leadership style. We came back with a lot of good information to share with the board.”
The three trustees met with the rest of the board in closed session Tuesday night to discuss their impressions of the Lucia Mar district and Flores.
The board picked Flores from among 39 applicants, who hailed from 10 states and included at least 18 superintendents and 13 district administrators.
They selected her as the top choice May 3. During the following two business days, they informed Flores of their decision, initiated a criminal background check and called references.
The criminal background check and reference checks have been completed, but the results could not be released because the superintendent search is ongoing, said Bundros. The board managed to hammer out a draft contract with Flores during the past two weeks, said Bundros.
Flores is likely to get a raise by coming to Gilroy. She makes $164,560 per year as superintendent of Lucia Mar.
The average salary in Santa Clara County is $187,430, a board subcommittee reported in March, and 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.
The next superintendent will get a comparable compensation package, the board decided at a March 29 meeting.
Flores’ contract with Lucia Mar stipulates that she must give 60 days notice before leaving the district. As she has not yet given notice, if Gilroy trustees vote to approve Flores’ contract, she could not start in Gilroy any sooner than mid-July.
Until she takes over the position, interim superintendent Darrel Taylor will continue in his roll as the head of the district.
