SIMON IGNORES BOARD POLICIES IN HIRING AND REORGANIZING ADMINISTRATORS
October 15, 2021
Consistent with Dr. Simon’s default position to willfully ignore rules that she finds inconvenient, she has also routinely ignored District and Board policy, particularly with regard to hiring administrative staff. Publicly available information indicates:
1.) Simon continues to circumvent the Board by hiring district administrative positions using old job descriptions for positions that she wanted, but were not approved.
The Board did not approve a position for Supervisor II Budget, so the Superintendent posted for a Director of Budget — an older job description.
The Board did not approve a position for Director of Networking and Technical Services in the Operations Department, but two different employees were hired as Director of Technology and Information Services, authorized under the Curriculum Department, to fill this role.
The Board approved a position for Manager, Special Projects in the Evaluation, Accountability, Data Analytics Department. But Simon is using this job description for Manager, Special Projects in the Transportation Department. The currently posted job description has absolutely nothing to do with transportation. This is another example of using job descriptions approved for one department to fill a completely different function in another department.
2.) Administrative personnel have been offered salaries not consistent with the Board-approved salary schedules and procedures. The District uses a salary system based on the job description (Grade) and employee experience in that role (Step). Steps range from Step 0 (zero experience) to Step 28 (equivalent to ~28 years experience). For new administrative hires, the policies state that employees “will be placed on the appropriate pay grade at the entry pay level [Step 0] with consideration of comparable experience credit for higher placement on the schedule.” Here are some unexplained hires:
Taylor Gilfillan was hired from outside the district as Director of Evaluation, Accountability, and Analytics and placed at Step 28 (the highest step available) with a salary of $104,610 with only 3 years comparable administrative experience. The placement should have been Step 2 with a salary of $80,764.
Glen Molander was promoted to Director of Technology and Information Services and placed at Step 21 with a salary of $97,572, with zero (0) years of comparable experience. The placement should have been at Step 5 with a salary of $83,211.
Nathan Foote was promoted to Director of Technology and Information Services and placed at Step 8 with a salary of $85,732 with zero (0) years of comparable experience. The placement should have been at Step 0 with a salary of $79,171.
3.) The Executive Director of ESE/Student Services was hired without posting the position, in violation of District policy.
4.) The Supervisor II Health Services was hired without meeting the minimum qualifications (having a BSN degree). When this was reported to HR, her assignment was amended to interim.
5.) The Superintendent’s reassignment of administrators is another concern. The entire administrative team at Gainesville High School is new following the former principal’s reassignment to the district office, the promotion of an assistant principal to Principal of eSchool and the reassignment of another assistant principal due to disciplinary action. Without continuity of leadership, the current GHS administration lacks an understanding of the school culture, knowledge of the programs, and relationships with staff, students, and families.
So why would Dr. Simon push these boundaries? Simon was hired with an extended contract through June 2023, with the Board directive to begin a comprehensive rezoning effort. Rather than rezoning, Simon got busy with reorganizing and reimagining. On June 2, 2021, she unveiled her complex administration reorganization plan, which included new or revised job descriptions for literally one-third of the entire administration. Most of this plan was not approved by the Board, but as they say, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” It seems that many of Simon’s ongoing hiring actions are aimed at work-around measures to achieve her plan, without the Board’s approval.
Take Action
The Alliance for Responsible Government encourages you to voice your opinions with the Board Members of Alachua County Public Schools.
- All five Board Members, boardmembers@gm.sbac.edu
- Dr. Leanetta McNealy (Chair), mcnealy@gm.sbac.edu
- Mrs. Tina Certain (Vice Chair), certain@gm.sbac.edu
- Dr. Gunnar Paulson, paulson@gm.sbac.edu
- Mr. Robert Hyatt, rob.hyatt@gm.sbac.edu
- Mrs. Mildred Russell, russellmc@gm.sbac.edu
- Phone: (352) 955-7546
- Mail: 620 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32601
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