More than 44 organizations and individuals will be asked for
their input on developing a profile of Gilroy’s next superintendent
of schools, in addition to any input provided by the community at
large during public forums.
Gilroy – More than 44 organizations and individuals will be asked for their input on developing a profile of Gilroy’s next superintendent of schools, in addition to any input provided by the community at large during public forums.
On Saturday the Gilroy Unified School District board met with the consultant firm hired to help find the next leader of the city’s schools. Their goal: put together a timeline for the search and identify community groups that would provide insight the consultants could use in determining the right fit for superintendent.
“We want everyone to feel like we’ve come to an agreement on the next superintendent,” said Trustee Francisco Dominguez during Saturday’s meeting. “We need to make sure people don’t feel like the board arbitrarily picked someone with no regard for the community’s opinion.”
Edwin Diaz, current GUSD superintendent, announced last month that he took a new position in Pasadena that he’ll assume in March. Since the announcement, trustees have scrambled to get the search underway for his replacement.
The board made it’s first move in hiring Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, a Chicago-based consulting firm that will conduct the nationwide search. Saturday the board members sat down with Bill Attea, one of the firm’s founders, to map out the details of the hunt.
Attea told the board he would lead the search along with two consultants from Southern California. He said he expected 50 to 70 applications would be reviewed. The five best candidates will interview with the firm and their resumes will be presented to the school board, along with the community’s input on what is important in a superintendent.
The board spent a large chunk of its meeting talking about what organizations and individuals in the community should be asked specifically for input, though any Gilroy resident can provide their thoughts at two community forums, planned for Feb. 27 and 28.
All board members were present, except Javier Aguirre, whose wife just gave birth to their second child. He participated in most of the meeting through Jaime Rosso’s cell phone, adding his thoughts on community organizations and confirming his availability to participate in the days slated for candidate interviews.
If all goes according to plan, three of the five semi-finalist candidates will come in for interviews on April 30, May 1 and 2. A finalist will be selected May 3 and then several board members will visit the district the candidate currently works for. The board hopes to announce the new superintendent May 17.
Following the Saturday session, Diaz presented his transition plan with board members. He plans to leave the district March 9, but come back for three days to work with the new superintendent.
