Students may not be “ready for college” according to some standardized test results, but that was one of many topics discussed at last week’s regular Gilroy Unified School District Board of Education meeting. Suspensions are at an all-time low this year. The board also voted to change the pay scale for substitute teachers and to ask the state to waive sections of the education code so that the district can sell, lease or exchange two surplus properties.
Suspensions at all-time low
The number of suspensions are at an all-time low this year with only three suspension recommendations and two actual suspensions this year in comparison to the more than 20 students who had been suspended by this time last year, said GUSD Superintendent Debbie Flores.
“I think it’s the culmination of so many efforts school-wide (and) district-wide,” said Flores, who explained the low suspension rates are likely an effect of the “Character Counts” program, which has been in place for six years and teaches public school children values such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
District may soon lease, sell or exchange surplus properties
Board members voted to ask the state to waive sections of the education code so that they could sell, lease or exchange two surplus properties.
The sites in question consist of more than 25 acres and include the former site of Las Animas Elementary School located at 8450 Wren Ave. and a “Grove Property” site located at the North-East intersection of Santa Teresa Boulevard and Miller Avenue.
The board voted in approval of asking the State Board of Education to waive the traditional public bidding process so that the board could entertain a more flexible range of market transactions such as selling, leasing or exchanging the lands in question.
No members of the public rose to speak during the public hearing called at the Thursday school board meeting.
The application for the State Board of Education Waiver will be placed on the school district consent agenda at the January or February meeting.
Substitute pay increasing
School board trustees approved an increase in substitute pay that will make GUSD competitive with neighboring school districts in the hopes GUSD will attract and retain more substitute teachers.
Substitute teachers will now be paid on a three-scale payment system in which elementary school teachers receive $130 for a day in the classroom, while secondary teachers receive $140 and special education teachers receive $150. They previously received $120 a day regardless of grade level.
The three-tier pay scale was developed to respond to the fact that more substitutes tend to want to teach at the elementary school level than at the high school or special education levels.
“They prefer to work with the little guys,” said John Perales, director of Human Resources and Certificated Personnel, explaining why more substitutes prefer to teach at the elementary school instead of the high school level.
While the district will put these new payment scales into place immediately, school board trustees plan to return to the topic in the future to look at the pay scale for substitutes that work a large number of consecutive days in the district.
The next regular school board meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday Dec. 12 at the district office at 7810 Arroyo Circle.
