The school district is experiencing its own staff shakeup this year as employees move to fill opening positions and make sure every job is covered before the approaching school year. The most notable change is the move of Jim Rallis, formerly the coordinator of special projects, to interim director of assessment and evaluation. This change was made after the current director, James Gulek, took a position as assistant superintendent with the Long Beach Unified School District. Former Alisal Elementary School Principal Barbara Heisser will take over for Rallis as interim coordinator of special projects.
“All of this happened right at the end of the school year where we all of a sudden had open opportunities,” said Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Cindy Galbo.
Heisser and Rallis will both hold their new positions for one year with a chance to either extend their contracts or opt out at the end of that timeframe, Galbo said.
“We have both of them assigned as interim for next school year because we didn’t do a regular search since the jobs opened right at end of year,” Galbo explained. “We wanted to facilitate movement as quickly as possible since we needed a principal before the beginning of the school year. Since it was a quick decision, we thought we’d have them try it on for size for a year.”
Rallis had expressed an interest in Gulek’s position and, given his past experience working as a director of curriculum and an assistant superintendent in other districts, he was a good fit, Galbo said. Heisser was chosen to step into the coordinator of special projects position because, as a school site principal, she had experience working with special projects and understands the kind of support principals need. The coordinator of special projects manages and monitors state and federal government funds, as well as grants, for special programs in all schools in the district, such as the Gifted And Talented Education (GATE), English Language Learners and school improvement programs.
“I was first a classroom teacher, then an assistant principal, then a principal, but this new job is a K-12 position and I think it will be really interesting to find out more about different programs for all grade levels,” Heisser said.
Amy Simione will take Heisser’s place as the principal of Alisal. She previously worked in the district as the vice principal for Hearst and Alisal elementary schools.
Other school site changes include Amador Valley High School’s Vice Principal Estella Santos’ move to Hart Middle School where she will again serve as a vice principal. Galbo said the change was made because Santos had expressed an interest in working at a middle school and had prior experience working with middle school students. This means that Amador, which normally has three vice principals, is now down to one. Vice Principal Greg Giglio recently took over as principal for Village High School.
The district is currently interviewing candidates for both vice principal positions, Galbo said. Both positions are expected to be filled in the beginning of August, and possibly sooner.
“We have been out looking for principals and assistant principals, and we’ve been very impressed with the quality of candidates,” Galbo said. “It’s a good opportunity and we’re excited about the potential.”
Other district changes include moves by Alisal first grade teacher Robin Sehrt to vice principal of Alisal and Mohr elementary schools and Valley View Elementary School dual immersion teacher Tony Preciado to a halftime vice principal position at Valley View. Esmeralda Sanchez will join the district as the a new vice principal for Alisal and Walnut Grove elementary schools, coming from the Berkley Maynard Academy, a K-5 public school in Oakland. Also joining the district is Gina Baumgarter, who comes from the Livermore Unified School District and will take over the role of vice principal at Hearst and Vintage Hills elementary schools. In the district office, Kathryn Benson is stepping in as director of classified personnel in the Human Resources Department, coming from the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, and Sandie Betts has been promoted from program specialist to assistant director of special education.
