It may not look any different, but change is happening inside the San Benito County Office of Education.
The retirement of Larry Elrod, the long time Assistant Superintendent of Business for the COE, has prompted a reorganization of existing positions within the county office.

“We took this as an opportunity to look at our administrative set up, and decided to downsize,” said Dr. Susan Villa, Associate Superintendent of Education/Personnel Services. “We combined several positions and filled them with existing personnel.”

Ron Wheelehan, formerly the county’s Director of Technology, had a background in business administration, and COE officials opted to capitalize on that fact. Wheelehan is now the Assistant Superintendent of Business and Technology services, and Helen Swanson has been named Director of Business Services.

“Ron is a very intelligent man and he’s doing very well,” Villa said. “We paired him up with Larry during his last six months here, and so he had a chance to watch and learn. He is also attending CASBO (business training provided by the state). And, as the Director of Business Services, Helen has taken on some new responsibilities and is working hand in hand with Ron.”

One reason for combining the positions Wheelehan now holds is the difficulty school districts have in attracting business professionals to the educational field, Villa said.

“Finding people with business backgrounds at this level is very difficult,” she said. “They just aren’t around, and if they are, they are very expensive. They tend to look for jobs in the private sector. So, we had to become very proactive. We were very lucky to be able to grow our own.”

There have been other changes to staffing at the COE in addition to Wheelehan and Swanson. A full-time technician, Miguel Guerro, has been hired to handle the day-to-day technical support work that Wheelehan used to do, assisting local school districts with technology needs and making on-site visits.

Also, Villa has taken on additional responsibilities, and is now the Associate Superintendent of Education and Personnel Services.

“Before, the associate superintendent of education was equal to the assistant superintendent of business, but now I am considered his supervisor,” Villa said. “I monitor and supervise Ron, and I act in absence of the county superintendent when he is not here.”
Villa says so far, the transitions have gone smoothly, and she does not anticipate any problems.

“We haven’t lost any time with these changes,” she said. “Everything is working out very well.”

There is more than one new face in the San Benito High School administration office.

Linda Row, former SBHS English and Language Arts teacher, is the new Assistant Principal at the high school, replacing Santiago Echaore, who left the high school after 30 years.

A teacher at the high school since 2001, Row has also served as Yearbook advisor and English Language Arts Division Chair. Row began her administrative duties on Aug. 1, and was introduced to the staff on Aug. 14.

“Student Services will be in good hands with Ms. Row’s expertise in curriculum, assessment, and teaching strategies,” said Cindy Cordova, Director of Educational Services, of Row’s selection. “She brings strength to the administrative team in these areas, along with her compassion and sincere interest in young adults.”
Row completed her undergraduate work at the University of San Francisco, and has since earned a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and a Preliminary Administrative Services credential at San Jose State University. She has two children of her own - Liam, 7, and Dylan, 3. Her husband works in graphic design and print production.

Principal Debbie Padilla said she approves of Row’s selection, adding, “Row has stepped forward as a leader … she is a true professional and a great asset to our staff.”

Row joins Superintendent Stanley Rose as the high school’s newest administrators. After a months long search, SBHS trustees formally hired Rose, who replaced outgoing Superintendent, Jean Burns Slater.

Rose was introduced as the new superintendent during an August board of trustees meeting, along with his wife, who is also an educator. Prior to arriving at SBHS, Rose served as the assistant superintendent of human resources for the Morgan Hill Unified School District.

San Benito High School students weren’t the only ones who had to worry about the beginning of a new school year this August.
After a months long search, SBHS trustees at the beginning of August formally hired Stanley Rose as the new district superintendent. Rose replaced Jean Burns Slater, whose last day was officially September 1.

Rose was introduced as the new superintendent during an August board of trustees meeting, along with his wife, also an educator. Prior to arriving at SBHS, Rose served as the assistant superintendent of human resources for the Morgan Hill Unified School District. He has been in education for 30 years, beginning his career as an English and history teacher in both public and private elementary and high schools.

His administrative duties have included dean, vice principal, principal, director and assistant superintendent.

Rose earned his B.A in social studies and business from the University of Portland, his teaching credential from Lewis and Clark College, and recently earned his Masters of Public Administration. He is working on his doctorate in educational leadership at the University of California at Berkeley, which he hopes to finish in 2007.

Rose has several challenges facing him as he takes the reins from Burns-Slater. One is the recent staff turnover of eight administrative positions at SBHS, three have seen new people hired in the past two years, and one position, director of human resources, remains vacant.
Other important challenges are bringing the budget back into the black, raising the district’s API scores (a ranking implemented by the state to track school achievement), improving overall test scores, maintaining and improving current campus facilities, and providing new ones as necessary. The campus is already large, spanning several city blocks, and crowding and parking are continually issues for the district and its neighbors.

Rose has compared his first day at SBHS as that of a sponge, as he has spent his first few weeks absorbing as much about the district as he could. He visited several classrooms to introduce himself to students, met with teachers and his staff, toured the transportation and maintenance facilities, and even visited the pool and the theater.

Rose says he plans to spend the next several weeks meeting with various groups, including law enforcement, union representatives, the school site council, and superintendent’s cabinet as a way of acquainting himself with any issues impacting the district.