The school district is searching for seven citizens to oversee
the expenditure of $150 million in bond money.
The school district is searching for seven citizens to oversee the expenditure of $150 million in bond money.
With the passage of Measure P comes a number of accountability measures aimed to make sure the district spends the money on what it said it would *– mainly completing Christopher High School, Gilroy’s second high school scheduled to open in August 2009.
The school board considered the following two options: use the same members who oversee the expenditure of Measure I funds or draft new members from the community.
In a 6-1 vote, the board decided to reach out to the community for new overseers. Trustee Jaime Rosso cast the only opposing vote.
“Measure P is a new measure,” said Board Vice President Javier Aguirre. “I feel that during the campaign, the oversight of Measure I was a concern. We owe it to the voters to start fresh with a new committee.”
Several trustees agreed that the oversight of funds generated by earlier bonds posed a stumbling block during the campaign for Measure P and that, during the campaign, they promised to open the oversight of the new bond to the community. The found an advantage in keeping the funds, the projects and the oversight committees separate.
“We absolutely need to be completely transparent in this process,” said trustee Denise Apuzzo. “We do that by saying we welcome people who did not support the bond. Gilroy’s a growing community. This will not be the last time we have to go to the voters for a bond.”
Rosso argued that a more experienced committee might have a better grasp of the “big picture” issues with school facilities and take up fewer staff resources familiarizing themselves with the district’s finances.
State law calls for an oversight committee of at least seven people for a bond requiring a 55 percent of the vote to pass. The committee must be established within 60 days of the date the board enters the official election results into its minutes, which it will do Dec. 11. Members must serve a term of two years, without compensation, for no more than two consecutive terms. The committee must include one member active in a business organization, one member active in a senior citizens’ organization, one member active in a bona fide taxpayer association, a parent of a child enrolled in the district and a parent active in a parent-teacher organization.
Superintendent Deborah Flores said the district will advertise for the position by running an advertisement in the newspaper.
