Fomer superintendent of schools Tim Foley looks forward to
farming life
Tim Foley came to San Benito County in 1990 to establish a
school for just eight students. When he retired during the first
week of the new year, he said goodbye to 11,663 students for whom
he was responsible.
As a native Californian, Foley spent four decades working in
education and retires secure in the belief that the district is on
what he calls an
”
an upward trajectory.
”
Fomer superintendent of schools Tim Foley looks forward to farming life
Tim Foley came to San Benito County in 1990 to establish a school for just eight students. When he retired during the first week of the new year, he said goodbye to 11,663 students for whom he was responsible.
As a native Californian, Foley spent four decades working in education and retires secure in the belief that the district is on what he calls an “an upward trajectory.”
Mike Sanchez, Foley’s appointed successor, agrees with that assessment.
“One thing I know about Tim Foley is that he has maintained, and is leaving me, a family friendly organization that puts students first. It has always been that way with Tim, a focus centered on providing service to districts which translates to service for families and kids. His approach allowed us to develop programs and maintan levels of service that give students the best level of education. Tim did very well during the current fiscal crisis keeping the focus on service and a collaborative dialogue between everyone involved.”
Foley started his life in Southern California, born in Long Beach and then attended Coachella High School.
“The school had a lot of the attributes of San Benito High School. It is a single comprehensive high school in an agricultural community. That is one of the reasons Hollister has always felt so comfortable to me,” said the retiring superintendent.
After high school, Foley attended the University of Redlands, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in speech therapy while working, first with special needs children at Patton State Hospital, and then as a teacher.
“After graduation I worked for four years as a speech therapist in Southern California before moving to San Mateo County in 1976 … then moved to the Bay Area where my wife and I lived until 1990 when we moved to Hollister, and our daughter Ila was born.
“I was brought in that year to start the San Benito County Community School, which we renamed Pinnacles Community School,” Foley said. “My family and I have been here ever since. We immediately felt at home and that we were putting down roots. Moving to Hollister was best thing we ever did.”
Foley’s career in local education started with a small number of students, “The day we started at Pinnacles it was me, eight students and an aide in a room with eight desks borrowed from San Benito High School,” he said. “When I left in 1996 it was a fully functioning alternative school integrated into all the schools of the county. We had maybe 120 kids at any one time.”
Pinnacles Community School continues today under the leadership of Angel H. Rivera who says that Foley was the “most supportive superintendent I have ever worked for. He is an advocate for alternative education, and he was there to implement changes in educating all children, especially those at Santa Ana Opportunity, San Andreas Continuation, and Pinnacles Community School.”
“He loves our students and our students love him,” Rivera said.
From there Foley was appointed in 1996 to complete Dick Lowry’s term as county superintendent of schools when Lowry left the office midway through his own term.
“I was presented with a fiscally secure, stable program that was well managed, and was able, for the last 12-and-a-half years, to build on that,” said Foley.
Stan Rose, Superintendent of San Benito High School, believes that Foley is leaving the district in even better shape than he found it.
“He has an outstanding staff whose competencies and qualifications are as good as are available anywhere in the state, and he has been an advocate in Sacramento, among the state’s other county superintendents. Tim will leave the county office in a better place.”
Where Foley found the district when he became superintendent was at the start of the technological revolution for schools, and that scenario presented its own challenges.
“It was an exciting time in education when I first came in under Gov. [Pete] Wilson,” he said. “Times were flush and we were able to implement the tech programs in the county. The first year or so, the challenge was to get every school in county connected to the Internet.
“That was a brand new thing at the time,” said Foley. “Since then we have developed a state-of-the-art tech system. Not just computers, but technology as an everyday fact of life in schools. The county Office of Education takes the lead on that.”
A current area of focus for his office, said Foley, is demands state testing bring to California schools.
“We have developed a support system for the schools through the County Achievement Team, known as CAT, that goes in and helps districts analyze their academic programs, and then train them to implement the state testing and student evaluation programs. The team has been very successful.”
Deputy superintendent for San Benito County Susan Villa has been in a good position over the years to witness Foley’s accomplishments during his 12 years.
“During Tim’s time as a superintendent, the county office of education was instrumental in getting all the districts in the county connected to the Internet, which was no small task,” Villa said.
“Support for districts (During Foley’s tenure) in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and intervention also increased through expanded staff and accessing regional grant funds. Tim also supported the position of a grant writer who brought in several million dollars over a short period of time to fund gang prevention and drug and alcohol intervention programs. Tim was a strong proponent of quality education and supported county-wide staff development opportunities, the San Benito County Reading Council, and district pilot projects.”
He has faced major challenges during his tenure as well, said Foley, though perhaps none have been as significant as the current financial situation.
“Lately, one of big challenges is to help the district meet the crisis of the economy’s collapse. Of course, the hardest part is watching over an era of cutbacks. It is imperative that it be done, but we have to be sure they are done as responsibly as possible with the least distraction for students.”
Jack Bachofer, chief business official for the Hollister School District, believes Foley has done just that.
“Tim was very good for San Benito County and all schools financially,” Bachofer said. “He was a steadying force in a lot of changes – a strong leader and a good guy. He was fair, reasoned and able to provide proper support and direction for us to keep the focus on student achievement while being financially responsible.”
The district is weathering the storm, Foley said. He pointed out that he and his team were able to bring the Aromas/ San Juan district, “back from the brink,” by helping to restructure its business and personal departments, “while helping them devise a plan of fiscal restructuring to keep them solvent into the future.
“It was very rewarding to keep a district from state takeover,” Foley said.
“Tim was extremely attentive to us during our troubles and he acted appropriately assigning us a financial advisor, said Jackie Muñoz, superintendent for the Aromas-San Juan District.
“Tim has worked closely and well with the financial advisor, Ron Wheelehan, and myself to cut $1.2 million in order for us to move in a direction we needed to go to remain financially solvent,” Muñoz said.
The timing of his retirement, said Foley, is not so much due to health concerns as it is due to being relieved to have come through some health issues successfully.
“I had a couple of health scares in the last year. All my physicians say I am in good shape, that I responded well to treatments for prostate cancer and a heart condition and I am cleared to go ahead an enjoy new things.”
Being on the board of directors at the YMCA, as well as the Resource Conservation District will keep the retiree busy in the coming years. Foley will also spend time serving on the committee for Hollister’s general plan and presiding as the President of the U.S. Lipizzan Society.
Then there is the operation of his Quicksilver Farm northeast of Hollister, where Foley said the first order of business will be to put in a field of lavender, and take care of twin baby lambs, born New Year’s Day.
“The office is on a good trajectory and Sanchez is fully part of the plan for that. He knows where education is going and has a team that is supporting him.
Foley called Sanchez, “a good and inspiring leader who carries a strong clear message and will be a very strong leader for the community, the kids and schools.
“I love the man, and on a personal level I don’t know anyone whose ideas on kids are as close to my own – how kids should be treated and taught and what we need to do for them.
We have worked together for 18 years and I am very happy to turn over to my successor a growing and successful program that is stable and well managed and ready to go on. Mike will have the vision and energy to do just that.”
As Foley hands over the reins, he said that it is the people he has worked with he will miss the most.
“The quality of people locally have made it possible for us to make the schools a part of the community progress. Schools have been very active working toward planning how youth fit into the community, and I have been proud to be part of that.”
