PUSD board to vote on extending Ghysels’ contract through June

The Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees will be voting Thursday on an amendment to Interim Superintendent Maurice Ghysels’ contract with the district, which would extend his tenure in the role through June 30.

Following the departure of former Superintendent David Haglund, the district asked Ghysels to come out of retirement back in September to take the reins while PUSD recruits a permanent replacement.

That same month, the district entered into an employment agreement with Ghysels that covered the period of Oct. 21, 2024 through May 31, 2025. However, according to the Feb. 27 staff report, the newly amended agreement — if approved — will supersede the previous agreement and instead extend Ghysles’ term through June.

The board will also be voting during its consent calendar to approve a proposal from Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) for the Illinois-based executive search firm to lead the search for the new superintendent. The consent calendar are items considered routine in nature and typically approved through a single vote.

According to the staff report, the board previously directed staff to proceed with HYA’s services following a series of initial and final board interviews of other firms. The district will spend $30,000 on a base consulting fee with the firm — the fee could include potential additional expenses for “reimbursable travel and optional services.”

The board’s open-session meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 27). Read the full agenda here.

In other business:

* The board will be reviewing and accepting staff’s forecast of student enrollment spanning from 2024 to 2032, which shows continued declining enrollment in the coming future due to various factors.

According to staff, the enrollment forecast report was completed in January and uses a variety of data points including “local birth rates, district-specific student yield factors based on housing type, mobility factor (incoming/outgoing students), and new housing to determine its projections.”

“The report data shows that enrollment will continue declining in the next seven years, with smaller incoming (transitional kindergarten/kindergarten) and larger graduating classes being the main drivers,” the staff report states.

The forecast does include 2,800 residential units being built in the next seven years, however staff note in the report that future forecasts will fluctuate depending on the actual number of units that are built.

The staff report also states the district had been ramping up its enrollment efforts by reaching out to local businesses in order to “attract students from parents who work in Pleasanton.” 

Staff hope that if these and other communication-based enrollment efforts are effective, the results will be reflected in future updates and projections.

* Also during its consent calendar, the board will be looking to approve various revised managerial and confidential job descriptions in the district’s Business Services and Educational Services departments as well as the superintendent’s department.

During its Feb. 13 board meeting, the trustees directed staff to reduce specific managerial and confidential job positions, which led to the reorganization of multiple PUSD divisions, according to staff.

These seven reclassifications, according to the report, combined are estimated to save the district $175,000. 

* Staff will be seeking board approval to purchase a new skylight system for the Pleasanton Middle School library, which staff said has aged beyond its useful life and is now leading to “concerns regarding durability and performance.”

According to the staff report, the district will be using $227,552 from its Measure I1 bond fund for the project.

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