Tucsonβs largest school district has an interim superintendent a month after its top administrator resigned.
Gabriel Trujillo, Tucson Unified School Districtβs assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, will be paid a prorated salary of $200,000 to serve as interim superintendent until June 30, unless his contract is extended.
The TUSD board failed to appoint an interim chief twice before, at first because there were too many candidates, and a second time because the top candidate withdrew.
βWe had a difficult six weeks, but Iβm confident that TUSD is headed to a better place,β said Mark Stegeman, a board member. At Tuesdayβs meeting, several board members thanked Trujillo for stepping up.
H.T. Sanchez, superintendent since 2013, resigned on Feb. 28 after a weeks-long effort by some board members to remove him. Rachael Sedgwick, a new board member, initially asked to review his contract at a Feb. 14 board meeting.
After weeks of discussions behind closed doors, Sedgwick, Stegeman and board President Michael Hicks voted to accept Sanchezβs resignation. He walked away with a $200,000 payout.
Trujillo, the new interim, immediately joined the board at the table at Tuesdayβs meeting.
The Governing Board also discussed the upcoming process to search for a permanent superintendent.
Board members disagreed on whether to hire a search firm or a consultant. Members Kristel Foster and Adelita Grijalva wanted to hire a search firm, while Stegeman suggested hiring a local consultant who may already be familiar with the district. He added that wouldnβt necessarily exclude non-local candidates.
βI would like us to have an application, a job description and a very strong process of recruiting the best way that we can for our community,β Foster said.
Stegeman introduced a motion to start the process of looking for a consultant. He, Hicks and Sedgwick banded together again to pass the motion.
Meanwhile, two senior TUSD administrators β Todd Jaeger, general counsel, and Abel Morado, an assistant superintendent overseeing secondary leadership βhave been named finalists for the top job at a neighboring school district, Amphitheater.
