Flores was surprised by developer impact fee issue
What’s been the biggest surprise to you as the new leader of GUSD?
The process that was underway when I arrived regarding facilities mitigation/developer fees was a bit of a surprise (but not a major concern to me). As I became immersed in the process, it made sense to me that the district, city and developers should have a dialogue about school facilities mitigation.
How frequently are you visiting classrooms, and what do you see?
I visit classrooms on most Tuesday and Thursday mornings during the school year – approximately 50 visits per year. During September, I visited Antonio del Buono, Eliot and El Roble Elementary schools; Brownell, Solorsano and South Valley middle schools, and Gilroy High School.
During this first round of visits, I have visited as many classrooms as possible for a few minutes so that I can meet the teachers. As we walked around the school, the principal talked to me about the school including past history, how things are going this year, areas of concern, facilities issues, etc. The next round of visits will focus on language arts/English and the third round will focus on math.
In your forthright estimation, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the Gilroy Unified School District?
(The following items are in alphabetical order, not in order of importance.)
Strengths:
n Board of Education focused on
student achievement
n District office team
n Enrollment increase
and staff
n School facilities
n Steady API growth
Areas of Improvement:
n Achievement gap
(see below)
n Budget – bottom line
n Facilities funding
deficit
n Increase in health
benefits
n Staff turnover
Achievement Gap
Comment:
In light of the discussion at the last board meeting, it is clear that we need to develop a clear consensus regarding what we mean when we use the term “achievement gap.” Staff will make a presentation about this at the Oct. 4 board meeting and thus, the “goals” discussion will be moved to the Oct. 18 board meeting. There are many areas of achievement that need to be addressed in our district. We need to raise the bar for all students in all subgroups. We also need to address the high percentage of students in two subgroups that are scoring in the lowest ranges on the CST – English learners and socioe-conomically disadvantaged.
What has been the most difficult task you’ve worked on since coming to the Gilroy Unified School District and why?
There have been several difficult tasks since I arrived;
a) Developer fees: The developer issue stands out in my mind as one of the most difficult. I spent a lot of time meeting with developers trying to assess their positions on the issue of a voluntary increase and encouraging voluntary participation.
b) Negotiations: Limited funds are available for negotiations and Kaiser (Permanente) has increased its rates for health benefits by 27 percent. This is a major issue that will need to be addressed both in this year’s negotiations and in future years.
c) Computer purchase: The debate over how many computers to buy, if any, was a bit challenging at my first two board meetings.
d) Determining priorities: One of our biggest challenges as a district office team is determining what are the highest priorities, what needs to be done first and in what order.
What are realistic, one-year, two-year and five-year academic goals? What instruments are key in measuring progress?
Please reference our discussion at last week’s (Sept. 20) board meeting about goals and the proposed goals that were presented. At the Oct. 20 board meeting, staff will make recommendations regarding year one, two and three goals. We are still working on what to recommend regarding how to measure the goals.
Could you share your top five priorities for the district in the coming year?
a) Complete a program/curriculum audit of every school.
b) Develop plans for each school regarding how to address student achievement issues from the lowest performing to the highest performing.
c) Make recommendations regarding Christopher High School – boundaries, course of studies and staffing.
d) Study the budget and create a comprehensive budget process.
e) Assist the board with the process of selecting legal counsel for the district.
