EXCLUSIVE: ‘Draining the swamp,’ Superintendent Dr. Esparza reflects on year of district changes
Athena Jreij
THERMAL, Calif. (KESQ) — Faced with a more than $50 million budget deficit, mass layoffs and less than favorable public sentiment, to say Dr. Frances Esparza was dealt a poor deck of cards as CVUSD’s new superintendent, would be an understatement.
For the past year, Esparza has made tough decisions while weighing the fate of the district, including laying off 300 teachers and classified employees apart of the district’s deficit.
“The district is overstaffed. We’d love to keep all these employees, but simply we can’t afford to,” she said.
Just recently, the Coachella Valley Education Foundation was cleared by the Department of Justice after an investigation into the misuse of nearly $3 million in donations from Goldenvoice.
That investigation was launched after previous district leaders spent an unauthorized $12,000 on last year’s state of the district, and pulled it from the foundation.
Dr. Esparza says the CV Ed Foundation currently holds $2.8 million dedicated to art and music education, but that money has been sitting in the district’s account because the foundation was out of compliance. In past years, the district has failed to meet tax compliant standards.
But it’s something she says she was hired to get in order. After the investigation revealed no wrongdoing, they’re ready to use that money.
“What we’re going to do is hire an elementary and secondary coordinator for music and arts programs.”
She also says they plan to develop a rotating arts curriculum special to each school.
The district has been in headlines this year, many of which News Channel 3 reported on first including West Shores High School campus fights and a Desert Mirage High School staff member that was exposed to drugs. But Dr. Esparza says the part of CVUSD that goes most unnoticed are the accomplishments of the students.
“We’re going to highlight our students who won the science and engineering program for the county. We’re going to highlight our spelling bee champions from the county. We’re going to highlight our students who won National and World for Kids in Science Programs,” Esparza said.
Reflecting on a year of work, she tells News Channel 3 that next year she wants to bring the attention back to students.
“We have our students who are scholars, I call them our champions, and we’re going to continue to create champions. We have students right now who have been identified to go to some of our Ivy League schools in the nation, some who are taking on trade, some who are going to our awesome COD and wanting to transfer,” Esparza said.