After four years at the helm of Gilroy High School, Principal
James Maxwell will head north in the fall for a job with a 25
percent raise.
Maxwell was set to be approved as principal of the 1,900-student
Fremont High School in Sunnyvale at the Fremont Union High School
District governing board’s meeting Thursday night. The job will pay
well above his current total compensation of $151,000.
After four years at the helm of Gilroy High School, Principal James Maxwell will head north in the fall for a job with a 25 percent raise.
Maxwell was set to be approved as principal of the 1,900-student Fremont High School in Sunnyvale at the Fremont Union High School District governing board’s meeting Thursday night. The job will pay well above his current total compensation of $151,000.
“When it comes to me and my family, if it were 5 or 10 percent, I would have said nah,” Maxwell said.
But the significant pay raise plus the possibility for career growth were too good an opportunity to pass up, he said.
With a son in the sixth grade at Brownell Middle School and a daughter in the fourth grade at Luigi Aprea Elementary School, Maxwell said he plans to remain living in Gilroy if he is hired for the position, but he’ll be sad to say goodbye to a school where he has built so many fond memories.
“I have very mixed feelings,” he said. “It’s an excellent opportunity because it’s a high school district. I’m a lifelong high school person so the opportunities for future growth are greater for me in terms of my career.”
District adminstrators, teachers and students also said they would notice Maxwell’s absence.
“I’ll be very sorry to see him leave,” said Gilroy Unified School District Superintendent Deborah Flores, who has known about the possible move for several weeks. “He’s helped take the school to its new status as a California Distinguished School. But I understand his reasons, both professional and personal.”
She planned to make an announcement at Thursday night’s board meeting.
Though trustee Mark Good was surprised by the news of Maxwell’s move, he said GHS’s recent performance was a testament to a job well done by its principal.
“They got the Distinguished School award under his tutelage,” Good said. “Obviously that speaks toward his leadership.”
However, Gilroy’s loss is Fremont Union’s gain, and though FUHSD Superintendent Polly Bove emphasized Thursday morning that the position was not definite, she gave Maxwell high marks.
“I have every reason to believe he’s a phenomenal candidate,” she said.
Flores planned to post the position both internally and externally on EdJoin this morning. After a three or four week application period, the district will assemble a panel of teachers, parents and a student to review the candidates. She and the school board will make the final decision, hopefully by July 1, she said.
“It’s a little ambitious but I think we can make that deadline,” she said. “The challenge is that I always like to visit the school districts and the timing will be tough at the end of the school year.”
Several other assistant principals have also expressed an interest in the position as well, Flores said.
“The problem is that we might have too many good applicants,” she said.
Ascencion Solorsano Middle School Principal Sal Tomasello plans to stay put, however. Within three years of retiring, Tomasello said he didn’t want to make such a dramatic change at this point in his career, even though GHS is his old stomping grounds – having served there as a teacher, dean of students, athletic director, and football and basketball coach.
“I’ve got a good thing going on here” at Solorsano, he said. “This is a great place for me to be.”
When asked if she was considering applying for the position, GHS Assistant Principal Stefani Garino said “that’s entirely a possibility.”
When Garino first came to GHS three years ago, she was impressed with how approachable Maxwell was. With many things in common, including their love for music, Garino said they fit well together. For the last three years, she’s been trying to get Maxwell to bring in a photograph of his earlier years, when he was a guitar-toting, afro-wearing rock musician.
“I’ve been dying to see a photo,” she said with a laugh. “Occasionally he’ll break into song.”
Office Coordinator Janie Gillespie, who has shared an adjoining office with Maxwell for the last four years, has seen principals come and go in her 25 years at GHS. Even though she’s taking a position at Christopher High School next year and wouldn’t be working for Maxwell anyway, she said she’ll be sad to say goodbye to such a steady, supportive and capable leader.
“Everything that could have gone wrong has,” she said of the last year at GHS. “And we’ve still managed to keep our head above water. It has a lot to do with our leadership. He brought us another step forward. It’s been my pleasure working with him.”
Students will miss hearing Maxwell’s distinctive voice over the intercom.
“This is your principal James Maxwell,” said senior Tyler Park, deepening his voice to mimic Maxwell.
Maxwell guided many students through the college admissions process, senior class valedictorian Christine Bobula and salutatorian Kathleen Miller said. For them, he wrote glowing letters of recommendation and offered to arrange tours at some of California’s top schools, they said.
Leaving on a high note, Maxwell said he will miss GHS and all the accomplishments its students have worked for during his tenure.
“Look at what’s gone on in the last four years,” he said. “Gilroy High has done great both athletically and academically. It’s been the pinnacle of my career.”
Jim Maxwell’s career
-Four years at Gilroy High School
-Boosted API score 40 points during tenure
-More than 20 years of administrative experience, 13 years of classroom teaching
-Lives in Gilroy with wife and two children
-Guiding quote: “A good administrator wears out the soles of his shoes, not the seat of his pants.”
