Concerned South County residents and dignitaries filled the Chula Vista council chamber Wednesday to share their ideas on how to improve leadership at the Sweetwater Union High School District.
Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox said at her second community conversation — an effort to help solve some of Sweetwater’s problems — that the school district is taking the right steps to improve with the appointment of interim Superintendent Dr. Tim Glover.
“We’re all feeling pretty good about the direction that the Sweetwater Union High School District is going to take,” she said.
Glover was briefly in attendance to make the opening remarks in which he stated his vision for the district.
He said his two goals are to celebrate the good work that’s happening at the district and to elevate the students and staff to get better results.
He also said he will be an honest superintendent.
“I’m a person that if I don’t know the answer, I will tell you I don’t know,” he said. “What I can guarantee you is that I won’t make something up either. I’ll just say, ‘I don’t know we’ll go look for those answers.’”
Cox provided a brief overview of the guiding principles and feedback from her first community conversation so those in attendance who were absent the first time around where able to get up to speed.
Cox also tossed around the idea of hosting a community-driven candidate forum to help educate the voters about who the candidates are.
She said the upcoming general election will be the time for voters in the South Bay to elect the right board members.
“Let me remind you that we have a clean slate starting in November,” she said.
The last topic of the night revolved around the search for a permanent superintendent.
One idea she shared was to involve locally elected members of feeder school districts, which incorporates elected officials from each city that a Sweetwater district school is located in.
Hilltop High School teacher Bob Freeles said the community conversation served as a great platform for the community to express their thoughts and concerns.
“I think that it’s a great opportunity for the community to have a voice, to get involved and to look at some next steps,” he said.
Parent Jill Galvez said she is glad the mayor is putting her foot forward in trying to reshape the district.
“I think it was completely appropriate that she step up and help collect the feelings of district residents,” Galvez said.
