The school district’s facilities director stepped down from his
post, leaving a high-ranking vacancy during an important period in
district construction.
The school district’s facilities director stepped down from his post, leaving a high-ranking vacancy during an important period in district construction.
Though trustees hinted at tensions between Facilities Director and former San Benito County Planning Director Rob Mendiola and other staff members, Mendiola’s decision to retire after four years with the district was purely his own, Superintendent Deborah Flores said. Mendiola could not be reached for comment. Now, trustees are looking for someone who will keep costs down and help develop a long-term plan for district facilities.
Former trustee Jaime Rosso, who worked on the district’s facilities master plan during his tenure as a board member, said Mendiola was always helpful and committed to his work with the district. However, Rosso acknowledged that “some things didn’t go the way we hoped.”
Trustee Denise Apuzzo agreed that the board has grappled with approving unpleasant cost overages in the past few years but didn’t know “if what we were unhappy about necessarily had to do with the facilities director.”
Apuzzo said she was looking for a candidate who will be able to keep a “tighter rein” on expenditures especially now that the district is mapping out a plan for the $150 million school facilities bond voters approved last November.
“I just feel that so many things spun out of control because there wasn’t the oversight there should have been,” she said. “We’ve got to work to get a facilities master plan in place so we can say ‘here’s some mistakes that happened in the past – let’s not replicate those.'”
She gave Las Animas Elementary School as an example. The district will spend in excess of $100,000 to place three portables on the new school’s campus while some of the oldest schools in the district suffer from dilapidated facilities and outdated technology.
“We just can’t go that route,” she said. “I really have an issue with moving portables around and temporary housing. We didn’t sell that to the voters. What was sold was facilities and upgrades.”
Flores said she wants someone who has school construction experience, is detail oriented and “knows construction inside and out.”
“We’re going to be moving at a very fast pace with Rod Kelley and Rucker (elementary schools) as the most immediate projects,” she said. “I want someone who will work until the job’s finished and who’s willing to work hard, long hours.”
The district posted the position on EdJoin.org, a public education job posting Web site, on Sept. 25 and will leave the posting up until the position is filled, Flores said. While Mendiola collected $150,000 annually in salary and benefits, the posting advertises a monthly salary of $7,364 to $9,442.
Mendiola came to the district in 2005 after his 20-year career with San Benito County ended amidst corruption allegations. He was fired as a planning director there after at least two county employees accused him of granting favors, such as hastily rezoning portions of county land for certain developers for personal financial gain.
The county investigated Mendiola and the planning department as a whole, and eventually cleared him – a fact some locals said revealed Mendiola was fired without cause. During his interviews with the school district, Mendiola was upfront about his previous position, former Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Steve Brinkman told the Dispatch after Mendiola’s hire. Mendiola’s references were impeccable, Brinkman said, and former Superintendent Edwin Diaz signed off on the decision.
Nonetheless, many of the district employees hired during Diaz’s tutelage are no longer with the district. Nearly all of Diaz’s administrative team has turned over since Flores took the helm in 2007.
“She made some great hires,” said Rosso. “For the most part, she’s doing what a good leader should do.”
