By Jeff Ursino, Trustee Pajaro Valley Unified School District
A few weeks before Spring Break, leaders at PVUSD received two resignations; Murry Schekman, Assistant Superintendent of secondary education, and Brett McFadden, Chief Business Officer. Both individuals are senior leaders in the district, and have years of experience serving local students.
Murry has been with the district for nine years and in education for over 40 years. He was the principal at over six schools with Watsonville High being his last assignment before taking on his current role. In his time with the District he has rolled out innovative programs such as the “On Track” program, which helps to identify students prone to dropping out early and working to keep them in school.
He is also currently in the process of revamping the Agriculture Department at Watsonville High to better prepare our students to work with and for our local agricultural industry. Murry is retiring from the District and moving on to new challenges over the hill in San Jose.
Brett McFadden has more than 20 years of experience in school finance and has been with the District for 5 years. He has helped the District navigate through difficult financial waters, was instrumental in the effort to get Measure L passed – the largest bond in Santa Cruz County history – and was involved in negotiations with the different stakeholders of the District last year. Finally, he introduced and implemented a more fiscally sound health plan for the District’s 2200 employees. His work with the District’s health care benefit package has saved the District over $5 million in the last 2 years. Brett will be moving to the private sector in early May.
On a personal note, I have always been impressed with both men’s commitment to the students they serve. Murry knows many students by name and regularly attends sporting events at our local high schools. He has also, on more then one occasion, told me that he is excited for the future because the students of today are going to be great citizens tomorrow. Brett has also impressed me with his focus on equality across the District and he is one of the drivers for the improvements in technology access at Aptos schools.
The search for both positions is already underway with the District utilizing search firms, advertisements and word of mouth all driving in candidates. The right people will need to not only continue the work of both Mr. Schekman and Mr. McFadden, but will also need to deal with continued financial challenges, the roll out of money from the Measure L bond and ever increasing focus on academics at our local schools.
While the search for candidates is in process an interim CBO will be hired to continue the work of the District.
In any change comes opportunity; the opportunity for a fresh set of eyes to look at the issues at hand and formulate alternative solutions to very difficult issues. In the coming weeks, hiring managers from across the District will work with the Trustees to identify, interview and select the best candidates for the job. Pajaro Valley Unified School District is a better place because of Murry and Brett’s contributions. Now it is time to look forward and find new individuals to fill their roles and move the District forward.