No new contract for Alum Rock supe.
Superintendent of troubled district falls a vote short in request for two-year extension
SAN JOSE — Hamstrung by trustee absences, the Alum Rock Union school board failed to extend the contract of Superintendent Hilaria Bauer, raising questions about the future leadership of the beleaguered district.
Although Bauer’s contract continues until June 2018, she requested a new contract through June 2020. Such extensions are common practice among school boards to give their top employee job security and provide clear continuity within the district.
Refusal to extend a contract is commonly considered a message that the employee’s tenure is at risk. In a board vote Thursday, Bauer’s request got the support of two trustees, but she needs at least one more.
“Let’s show that we have stability here, and we are stabilizing the ship,” said board Vice President Andrés Quintero, in advocating to extend Bauer’s contract.
Alum Rock is under scrutiny over whether it paid its construction manager, Del Terra Group of Southern California, more than $300,000 for work not performed.
The district has a history of churning through top-level administrators. Some worry that Thursday’s vote may signal a return to the days of ousting superintendents.
Trustee Karen Martinez joined Quintero in voting for Bauer’s request. However, that was not enough. Board policy requires three of the five trustees to approve all actions. Board President Khan Tran
was in Singapore on business, trustee Dolores Marquez had to leave early for a family matter and trustee Esau Ruiz Herrera abstained.
Herrera said he wanted to wait for the full board to make a decision on Bauer’s request for an extension. “This is not intended to be an evaluation of the CEO. This is a business decision,” he said.
Quintero argued that Tran wanted the board to “move forward” on the contract. Reached before Thursday’s meeting by phone, Tran said he had intended to participate via teleconference. But board attorney Luis Saenz said Tran’s Singapore hotel failed to post a timely notice as required by state law — 72 hours in advance — of the Alum Rock board meeting, thus disqualifying Tran from participating.
It is uncertain when Bauer’s contract, if she brings it up, will be resolved. She did not respond to requests for comment about her contract on Friday. Tran told this newspaper that after his business trip, he planned to vacation in Asia. Quintero said Tran will miss the board’s next monthly meeting.
Bauer supporters have been watching the board closely.
“She embraces innovation in her district,” said Jon Gundry, superintendent of the Santa Clara County Office of Education. “I think she’s made a very positive difference for kids.”
Jolene Smith, executive director of First Five Santa Clara County, also praised Bauer’s work on behalf of children. The group, which advocates for children and channels funds to organizations, has opened a Family Resource Center for Alum Rock parents.
And San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said Friday: “Alum Rock has a superintendent who has exposed seemingly serious episodes of misuse of public dollars from the education of our children. This is precisely the time when the board should be supporting Superintendent Bauer rather than undermining her reforms.”
Bauer was hired in 2014 to replace Stephen Fiss, who had joined the district in 2012 as interim superintendent. Before Fiss arrived, the board had ousted Jose Manzo, who in 2008 replaced another superintendent who fell out of board favor, Norma Martinez.
The district paid severance packages to Martinez and, before her, ousted chiefs Alfonso Anaya and Joe Carrillo.