New associate superintendent position approved for San Dieguito school district

The San Dieguito Union School District board approved a new position — associate superintendent of administrative services — to help handle an increased workload in the educational services department. Jason Viloria, executive director of educational services, has been promoted to the new position effective July 1 and his old position will be eliminated.

The board voted 3-2, with trustees Mo Muir and John Salazar against it.

“My concern with it is that it seems like another layer of bureaucracy, and I don’t see the need for it,” Salazar said

Muir said she believed having four associate superintendents is a lot compared with what she has seen at neighboring school districts. Superintendent Rick Schmitt disagreed on that point and said that San Dieguito has the lowest administration ratio in the county.

“We are lean and we’re proud of that,” he said.

Schmitt said the position change is part of the reorganization of the educational services department, which became necessary as the district’s work quadrupled because of the “unprecedented scope and scale” of new education standards.

The position change is cost-neutral, as the reorganization means one less staff member and $90,000 less in the budget. Viloria’s salary will increase from $144,772 to $162,265 as he moves to the new position.

Schmitt said Viloria would give Associate Superintendent Mike Grove the time to focus on curriculum and instruction and assessment needs. Viloria would provide leadership in areas like enrollment, special education, program shifts, bell schedules, athletics, summer programs, technology plans and the Local Control Accountability Plan and other state programs.

“Dr. Viloria is a tremendous asset, as Dr. Grove’s workload is huge and growing,” trustee Joyce Dalessandro said.

Like Salazar, Muir felt that the district had not shown the need for another administrative position. She said that educators will always be asked to do something additional, and she would rather see the budget spent on things like bringing more counselors on campuses.

“Education is always changing and there’s always going to be challenges. That’s how it works, and we are spending taxpayer dollars,” Muir said.

Schmitt said he appreciated the trustees’ feedback, as always, but said that the new position was cost-neutral and would not affect the general fund.