GUSD board, interim supe verbally agree; Brinkman may follow
Diaz to Pasadena
By Christopher Quirk Staff Writer
Gilroy – As the Gilroy Unified School District draws closer to securing an interim superintendent, it might be getting closer to losing an assistant superintendent.
While the leading candidate for interim superintendent, Darrel D. Taylor, is in contract negotiations with the district, Steve Brinkman, the assistant superintendent of business services, said he is looking at a similar position with the Pasadena Unified School District – the same district outgoing superintendent Edwin Diaz will be employed by and the same district Taylor hails from.
While Brinkman’s potential departure is the latest in an ongoing turnover of administrators at the district, the board is focusing this week on filling the interim superintendent slot.
“We came to a consensus on one [candidate] as our first choice. We made an offer and it was verbally accepted,” GUSD board president Tom Bundros said about the interim post, which Diaz also confirmed.
The board will meet in closed session Monday night to discuss the interim superintendent contract following the quarterly meeting with the city council. If the contract is approved, they will formally announce the chosen candidate after the meeting.
For the past four months, Taylor has been the interim superintendent of schools with the Pasadena Unified School District, where Diaz will start work as superintendent March 9.
“I have nothing but the utmost respect for Dr. Taylor and what he has managed to do in such a short time,” said Peter Soelter, president of the Pasadena school board. “He was able to bring civility to our board and continue to move forward our priorities.”
Taylor, who has a permanent residence in Davis, has held six interim superintendent positions since retirement in 1998, including a one-year stint with the Oxnard School District from 2004-2005. At the time, GUSD Trustee Francisco Dominguez was president of the OSD board and oversaw the hiring and tenure of Taylor.
“I was happy because having worked with him in the past I knew his ability to provide leadership during the transition,” Dominguez said.
Taylor declined to comment.
While Taylor seems to be sailing into the superintendent slot, Brinkman appears to be pulling up anchor and heading to the Pasadena district. On Jan. 30, the PUSD interviewed the last of seven candidates to replace its interim assistant superintendent of business services and will announce its choice for a permanent assistant superintendent within the next two weeks.
Brinkman would not say he had interviewed with the PUSD, but said, “We had discussions with them. They’re not going to make you a finalist unless they meet with you.”
Brinkman, who heard about the position from the PUSD team that visited Gilroy while Diaz was interviewing for the superintendent position, said that if selected he would oversee a larger school district and could continue to work with Diaz.
“The leader is a key to any organization and the organization takes on the tone of the leader,” said Brinkman. “And that’s known to me with Edwin and that’s a positive.”
However, Brinkman stressed that he would not leave until early summer.
“We have some really critical things going on now that have to be finished,” he said. “I couldn’t even consider anything unless it were several months down the road.”
While Bundros said it would be a “great loss” to lose Brinkman, he hoped nobody else has plans to leave.
“I would expect nobody else to leave until the end of the year,” Bundros said. “They have contracts.”
Jacki Horejs left the GUSD in December and Olivia Schaad, Linda Piceno and Juanita Contin all have plans to leave the district before the fall.
Chris Quirk covers education for the Dispatch. Reach him at 847-7240, or e-mail
cq****@************ch.com
