The county and city recently took a major step toward obtaining
a full-time gang coordinator by signing a contract that will set up
management and funding for the position, while San Benito High
School has declined to be a partner to this point due to cost
concerns.
HOLLISTER
The county and city recently took a major step toward obtaining a full-time gang coordinator by signing a contract that will set up management and funding for the position, while San Benito High School has declined to be a partner to this point due to cost concerns.
The city adopted the contract at Monday’s city council meeting, and the county board adopted the same contract at its meeting Jan. 27.
“I’m real excited we’re moving on,” said County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson. “This is a huge commitment to make, and our board is making that commitment and so are our partners.”
The other partners in this endeavor are the Hollister School District and the county’s office of education. The Hollister School District signed off on the contract for the gang coordinator position at trustees’ board meeting on Jan. 27, HSD Superintendent Ron Crates said. Mike Sanchez, superintendent of the San Benito County Office of Education, is in the process of reviewing the contract that went before that board Jan. 8 and said he will sign it once he clears up some questions with the wording.
San Benito High School officials were considering involvement but needed more clarification on how the program would relate to the high school district, Superintendent Stan Rose said.
“They are going to talk about it at the next board meeting,” Rose said. “We are bringing it forward again.”
He added that the high school is doing many things to offer students positive activities in their lives and that the district does use funds to keep the environment as safe as possible.
For the high school, affordability is a major question, Rose said.
“The timing of this is a tough one for us,” Rose said. “This is becoming an issue, like many things right now, of what we can afford.” He added that this project is a good idea as a whole.
City Councilman Doug Emerson noted how it will be a coordinated effort between the city, the county, the Hollister School District and the San Benito County Office of Education. Emerson said the lack of getting the high school on board “bothers me because they should be a major player.”
Funding for the project for the county will come from the general fund. Thompson said that it was added to the budget last year.
“We have a big investment – hundreds of thousands of dollars – in this position, all from the general fund,” she said.
Emerson said the city is putting $150,000 into the program for this year, which he estimates will not go entirely into salary but will also cover operational expenses.
Sanchez said that his office will be contributing $7,000 for this year. He said this is a pro-rated amount, coming directly out of the normal budget, for the year and he is still in the process of confirming those numbers with his staff. The Hollister School District will contribute $20,000 this year from the general budget, Crates said.
The importance of this position for the community is something that is not lost on Crates.
“We feel very positive about this,” he said. “We are working together by putting dollars together for the gang problem in the county. The government agencies are leveraging their dollars with this position.”
He added that he hopes this type of teamwork progresses into other areas where cooperative efforts could resolve problems.
The next step in the process, once all parties sign the contract, is to start assembling the advisory group that will be a governance body for the position. The advisory group will consist of two members from each agency. They will be responsible in establishing “what kind of skill sets we’re looking for, roles and responsibilities,” Thompson said.
Currently, the city is still in the process of getting another member. Emerson said Mayor Eugenia Sanchez will be on the advisory group, but the other still needs to be appointed.
Each governing body will have a say in the day-to-day operations of the position, but the actual gang coordinator will be hired and employed by the county and will be supervised by the probation department, Thompson said.
Emerson said that while the date for getting this position filled is unknown at the time, he would like to get the position advertised sometime in March.
Although there is plenty of excitement around the formation of this position, Thompson stressed how it is in addition to normal policing services.
“It takes a community,” she said. “It takes an awful lot of participation from the probation department in terms supervision. This is a complete package.”
