Gonzales Unified School District starts process to hire new superintendent

Some Central Coast teachers are hoping to keep their jobs, as leadership is changing in one local district.

The Gonzales Unified School District Board voted to fire superintendent Liz Modena last week.

The board said Monday they plan to appoint an interim superintendent. The teachers who lost their jobs under the last superintendent are hoping for another shot.

The board fired Modena last week, a move hundreds of parents, teachers and students pushed for. Now the board is talking about who they want to replace her.

“We want somebody new with experience that can be [trusted] by the community by the students, by the parents,” said parent Claudia Villamizar.

“I do hope it is somebody from the outside, new blood,” said teacher Vanessa Robinson.

The school board says they’ll soon hire an interim superintendent who will fill the role, for 15 months.

“We want to make sure we develop a process which includes community members and allows us to involve as many of the stakeholders as possible in getting an outstanding candidate,” said board clerk Wendy Franscioni.

“I think 15 months is too far, I was really hoping that they could get someone, an interim for the end of the year and really take the community’s opinion,” said teacher Monse Garcia.

Teachers like Garcia, Matt Guitierrez and Vanessa Robinson are also hoping to keep their jobs.

They were each told that this school year would be their last, they say because they fell out of favor with the former superintendent.

Now, they hope the board will take another look.

“I do have faith in this board. I do have hope that they will see that it is worth the opportunity to just reevaluate those teachers who are just asking for a reevaluation,” Robinson said.

Also on Monday, after some heated moments over filling an open seat on the school board, they finally agreed on Araceli Flores.

We’ll continue to follow this story as the board looks for a new superintendent.