There’s a lot of pressure on Tom Guajardo.
The Santa Barbara School District recently hired him as the special-education executive director, at a critical time for the department. It has been under scrutiny for years, and a recent consultant report made 153 recommendations for improvement.
Guajardo has been working in education for 30 years and is the first of many administrators hired to turn the program around. “The cavalry’s coming,” he said.
Interviews for director and program-specialist positions are under way, and a stakeholder group is meeting to look over the recommendations, prioritize and offer suggestions.
“There’s so much work to do, as you know,” Guajardo said. “The good news is that I have gotten around and talked to a lot of people, started some school visitations — and we’ve got tremendous resources in the community.”
He has experience in many different levels of education, from years as a teacher to district superintendent, and often was hired for positions to get change rolling.
He worked previously in Monterey and Santa Clara counties as a teacher and coach, director of special education, principal and superintendent. He most recently worked for the San Jose Unified School District as a director of equity and magnets, where he was in charge of ensuring that the district provided resources equitably to all schools to close the achievement gap.
He worked at the Santa Rita Union School District for 10 years and for the North County Joint Union School District in Hollister for two years. In 2004, he became superintendent of the Greenfield Union School District.
The Santa Barbara School District’s special-education program has as many students as some of the smaller schools and districts for which Guajardo previously worked.
He has long been eyeing Santa Barbara as a place to live and work, and both of his children attended college here. His daughter went to UCSB, and his son is enrolled at SBCC.
“Santa Barbara has always been on the radar,” he said. “It feels like I’m coming home.”
His position has seen high turnover in the past, with two candidates accepting the job then withdrawing in July.
“I knew what the challenges were, and knew — and know now — that they’re doable,” he said.
His experience in special education started decades ago, when he was a student in the program. His family came to Gilroy from across the border and he spoke only Spanish. Though he spent only a few years in the program, his teachers left an indelible mark.
He never thought he would be an administrator in the education system, though. As a history teacher and coach, he was “drafted” to an administrative position for the school, he said.
When one of his 16-year-old history students asked him where he saw himself in five or 10 years, he said he thought he would be a coach and teacher for the rest of his life. But he accepted the administrative job because he saw the influence he had on a class level and wanted to take his experience to a schoolwide and later districtwide scale, he said.
Furthering his career as a district administrator, Guajardo said he’s grateful for the many resources he has discovered within the district and community.
He’s working closely with interim special-education administrator Caryl Miller. “She is one of the gurus in the state for special education,” he said. “Sacramento turns to her for suggestions.”
His top priority is student achievement, which he hopes to increase by fostering more outreach and communication between all stakeholders. “I really appreciate being able to support students, staff and parents whenever we can,” he said.
Guajardo was hired with a three-year contract, dependent on a positive evaluation after the first year. His salary will be $133,398, which is the top end of the salary range listed on advertisements for the position.
The two director positions, which remain vacant, were briefly filled this summer before both Jacob Jensen and Barbara Parkhurst withdrew from the positions. The salary range for those positions was $108,040 to $120,183.
Guajardo said he plans to be here for a while, he said.
“I don’t take this lightly,” he said. “I know what the district’s been through. I know what has to be done. I know it needs consistency. On a personal level, I’m not going to move my family on a whim.”
Growing up, his family moved a lot and he attended many different schools. There were never fewer than 20 people in the one-bathroom house, he said.
He didn’t want to move his children once they were established in their middle and high schools, which explains the long stay in the Hollister area, he said.
His Santa Barbara home will be significantly less crowded — with his wife, mother-in-law and son — but he expects a lot of visitors.
The commitment to the district is reinforced by the powers at home, he said.
“I sort of inherited my mother-in-law, and she really wants to be here. I do not want to get her mad,” he said with a laugh.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com.
