Superintendent

R1

Boards of Trustees should carefully review the benefits listed in Finding 1and: -Eliminate health benefits for Board Members -Minimize travel and conference costs -Eliminate pension contributions GUSD Response: Disagree. Therecommendation toeliminate health benefits willnot be implemented. Board members benefits do not exceed those ofstaff. Health benefits for board members are authorized by law. Board members devote many long hours each month - estimated to be an average of30+ hours amonth - toschool districtmatters. Theyare literally on-call to thepublic and district at alltimes. Thecompensation they receive is a small price to pay for the time they devote to thisjob and theservices theyprovide to the GUSD. If benefits are eliminated, then the pool ofcandidates running for school board will be limited to those who can afford their own health benefits. A school board should represent all segments of the community. Board travel and conference costs are already minimized. Theyattend one conference per year, the Califomia School Board Association annual conference. Thisconference provides essential training and information needed to effectivelyperform their duties. Board members do not receive pension contributions. FindinQ2 Boards of Trustees are approving overly generous benefits to Superintendents and Chancellors, including the following: - Auto allowances (auto leases/purchases, insurance, maintenance, etc.) to superintendents - Housing allowances 30f5 • Million dollar housing loans at zero or below market interest rates • Guaranteed annual step and/or longevity increases • Signing bonuses • Contract buyouts • Excessive performance bonuses • Per diem payments when out of the district • Personal technology allowances • Professional memberships and subscription allowances • Excessive travel and entertainment expenses • Salary increases automatically triggered by increases inteacher's salaries which are in addition to other guaranteed salary increases • Pension allowances (in addition to regular STRS/PERS contributions) • Advanced degree stipends • Lifetime medical insurance benefits • Annual physical

R2

Boards of Trustees should carefully review and renegotiate the Superintendent/ Chancellor benefits listed in Finding 2 for possible reduction and/or elimination. GUSD Response: Disagree The GUSD Board of Education already has in place a process to review and renegotiate the Superintendent's benefits. Five of the items listed in the report apply to the GUSD Superintendent and are warranted for the reasons listed below; 1. Auto allowance - to fairly compensate the superintendent for actual expenses 2. Contract buy-out - to allow the board the option to release the superintendent if conditions warrant it 3. Professional memberships and subscriptions - to ensure that the superintendent receives vital information and training related to the position. 4. Advanced degree stipends - to attract highly qualified, skilled individuals to the position 5. Annual physical- to ensure the superintendent's health willallow him/her to sustain the rigors of theposition. Findinq 3 Superintendent salaries and increases appear to bear no relationship to the number of schools, students, and employees they oversee, nor their district's academic improvement.

R3

The Board of Trustees should ensure that Superintendent/Chancellor salaries and increases take into account the number of schools, teachers, and students they oversee, and are tied to the district's students' progress and quantifiable metrics. 40f5 GUSD Response: Disagree The GUSD Board of Education can not comment on other district's compensation of superintendents. However, in the case of the GUSD Superintendent's compensation, the Board has taken into account various locally based indicators, particularly, the GUSD budget, in determining appropriate compensation. The superintendent's salary is less than .2% ofthe total GUSD budget. Also, in order to attract highly qualified individuals to thejob, it is necessary for the compensation to be competitive and to compensate the superintendent for real expenses. The total compensation should also match the level of responsibility of the position. The GUSD superintendent is the CEO of a large, complex, organization that has, for instance, over 1,000 employees, 11,000 students, and 18 schools. Findinq4 Boards of Trustees hire costly search firms to recruit successors for retiring or dismissed Superintendents/Chancellors.

R4

Boards of Trustees should conduct a preliminary search within the local area prior to hiring search firms. GUSD Response: Disagree The Board of Education believes it is essential to hire the best qualified individual as the Superintendent and educational leader ofthe GUSD. Superintendent search firms specialize in Superintendent searches and are most capable ofidentifying top notch individuals. Findinq 5 Boards of Trustees approve the hiring of multiple private attorneys, in some cases at a tremendous expense.

R5

All Boards of Trustees should engage County Counsel whenever possible and leverage their buying power to negotiate lower fees with private law firms. GUSD Response: Disagree In 2008, the GUSD Board of Education released an RFP for legal services, interviewed legal firms that specialize in educational legal matters, and selected one legal firm to provide legal services to the district. This resulted in better, more cost effective services to the district. It is essential that the district utilize the services of a legal firm that specializes in K-12 educational law with members of the firm who understand and know the laws that pertain to the issues facing public schools. 50f5 FindinQ 6 The operation of 34 K-12 school districts and four (4) community college districts creates excessively high management and administrative costs. Five K-12 school districts have excessively high Superintendent costs per student which is reflective of the district's having only one or two schools.

R6

A consolidation of districts should be considered to reduce the numbers and costs of Superintendents/Chancellors, Boards of Trustees, administrative staff and overhead. GUSD Response: Disagree The GUSD is located in the southern most area of the county. It serves the unique needs of the Gilroy community and a very large geographic area (approximately 600 square miles). It would not be cost effective to consolidate with other districts. Additionally, there is aprocess required by law for the consolidation of school § districts as outlined in the Education Code.Education Code 35500 to 35785, describes the procedure and requirements for the reorganization ofdistricts. The process can be complex and costly.