Crates appointment to full-time superintendent of district
called into question
The recent appointment of Hollister School District
Superintendent Ron Crates from interim superintendent to full-time
superintendent is not going over well, especially with members of
the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).
Crates appointment to full-time superintendent of district called into question
The recent appointment of Hollister School District Superintendent Ron Crates from interim superintendent to full-time superintendent is not going over well, especially with members of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).
Crates was hired on Aug. 9, 2005 to fill the top slot in the district after a fast recruitment following the resignation of Judith Barranti that year.
At the time of his hiring as interim superintendent LULAC raised questions about Crates record relating to the Hispanic community in his previous job as superintendent of the Redwood City School District, and the hiring procedures of the district.
Crates has 24 years of experience as a school district superintendent, first in Arizona and then for the 15 years prior to his tenure here, with the Redwood School District.
When Crates was initially hired a press release from LULAC was issued clearly indicating that they were unhappy with the decision. The press release claimed that LULAC President Mickie Luna as well as other board members “personally witnessed Mr. Crates’ arrogant treatment of Hispanic parent and teachers in Redwood City… Because of Mr. Crates’ inability to work constructively with these parents and teachers a LULAC council was chartered in Redwood City.”
LULAC also voiced concerns over the fact that the Hollister School District Board of Trustees did not include community input in the hiring process and did not hire from within the district when it could have saved money in doing so.
“We’ve had a number of concerns from the beginning. Among them is the fact that nobody local had the opportunity to apply for this job and that this person was fired from their previous district. When the board hired him, they didn’t take into account their financial situation,” Luna said.
LULAC also took issue with the agenda, which they claim was not posted. Aurelio Zuniga said that his complaint directly had to do with the fact that he could not find a copy of the agenda posted before the day of the meeting. He claims that beginning the Friday prior to the posted meeting on Feb. 28, and continuing throughout the weekend he attempted to go to the district office and view a copy of the posted agenda, but that the office was closed on Friday.
Zuniga said that he could not find a copy of the agenda posted anywhere, including the public library. He claims that the meeting was not legally posted correctly according to the terms of the law. Therefore, any action taken by the board at that meeting is made null and void.
Furthermore, he claimed that by looking at the agenda it was not immediately recognizable that the superintendent’s position was going to be extended.
“We know elected school officials have a right to do as they wish, but the grounds of full disclosure need to be upheld. I think they will undermine the integrity of the board if they don’t uphold open meetings,” Luna said.
She said that LULAC is strongly urging the community to question whether this was a legal meeting.
The board actually took no legal action at the Feb. 28 meeting, but merely made a public announcement that Crates had been named as the new full-time superintendent. A vote of 3-2 was taken during the closed session of the special Feb. 13 board meeting for which the trustees met to discuss the budget situation.
The agenda for the meeting on Feb. 28 was posted at the district office and each of the school sites within the district, according to Trustee Margie Barrios. She said that as she sees it, the person who complained at the meeting wanted to see the agenda placed at other locations, including the public library, and perhaps rightfully so.
At the meeting on Feb. 28, Trustee Dee Brown stated that she was one of the two “No” votes against continuing with Crates as superintendent.
“I think it’s one thing we’ve done that I’m not proud of. We never evaluated him. We never consulted the community. We promised we would do a search that would involve the community and we promised HESTA – the teachers association – they could be a part of the process and LULAC too,” Brown said. “I really feel we did the community a disservice by not having a community process.”
Barrios explained that in the past the district has done a full-blown process when looking for a superintendent and it is a great process. It is the most important job in the district and traditionally leaders have gone through this process, but it doesn’t always prove well.
“Dr. Crates has been here since September and he’s proven himself to the board. He’s helped balance the budget; he’s raised morale; he’s worked hard and he’s done whatever it takes. He engages the community, its business leaders and parents to become more involved with the schools. We chose to appoint him because he has the best interest of the kids at heart.”
