East San Jose school district scrambles to hire interim superintendent

After hiring and firing a second superintendent within one year, Alum Rock Union School District chose a new interim leader.

In an unanimous vote during a special board of trustees meeting on Saturday, the district appointed, effective Aug. 12, Sandra Garcia, assistant superintendent of instructional services as its acting superintendent. Garcia had already assumed major administrative responsibilities for the district. She previously served as a school district principal, teacher, resource teacher and instructional coach and was a founding member of Adelante Dual Language Academy. She was named Principal of the Year in 2013 by the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and District 5 Hero by District 5 United. The district abruptly fired Superintendent German Cerda on Thursday, after hiring him last fall.

“The Board unanimously supported Ms. Garcia for this position during this critical transitional period,” said ARUSD Board President Linda Chavez in a statement. “Ms. Garcia is a highly respected career educator and her relationships and knowledge of the community we serve will give her and the district a positive advantage moving forward. I am confident that her energy and focus will be a great asset to the district, and I believe the board has made the right decision.”

Former district Trustee Andrea Flores Shelton said the board’s firing of Superintendent Cerda after firing Superintendent Hilaria Bauer in March 2024 felt like a nightmare Groundhog’s Day. This is about a majority of the board needing to understand their role, she told San José Spotlight.

“What I’m trying to understand is the why?” she told the board. “There’s always been emotion on this board because we are concerned about our children and about the future of this district. These types of decisions do not provide logic and clarity for us on a path forward. We were told the last time it was about moving forward. How does this not set us back?”

The board unanimously voted to appoint Cerda last September to fill the role of superintendent. Following the abrupt firing of Superintendent Hilaria Bauer in March 2024, Imee Almazan and Emmanuel “Manny” Barbara stepped in as interim superintendents while the district sought a permanent replacement.

Parent Veronica Amador is “deeply distressed” by the board firing Cerda.

“Our community is already facing incredible challenges in the current political climate,” she said, “and now this actually threatens the stability of one place families should feel safe and secure: our schools. We need transparency and accountability. Parents, students and educators deserve to be informed and included because this decision directly impacts our children’s education, emotional well-being and future. Our voices matter and our kid’s future.”

The East San Jose school district has been struggling financially. Last year trustees voted unanimously to close six schools for the 2025-26 school year, with plans to reopen one of them the following year, while closing two more in 2026-27. Three schools will be consolidated and three redesigned.

The move comes on the heels of multiple factors, including a $20 million budget deficit and the loss of temporary COVID relief funds, leaving the district in the red. It’s been compounded by a districtwide drop in enrollment from more than 10,000 students in 2015-16 to a projected 7,270 students in 2024-25.

Councilmember Peter Ortiz acknowledged the many challenges facing the school district, including school closures, a budget crisis and now the termination of another superintendent. 

Ortiz is calling for an in-person meeting of the Alum Rock School District, San Jose City Council, Santa Clara County Board of Education and the California Department of Education regarding the current state of the school district.

“I have great concerns and many of my constituents have been reaching out to me who are nervous,” Ortiz told San Jose Spotlight. “School’s about to start and residents of East Side San Jose, especially, parents of students, deserve continuity. They deserve transparency. I understand that sometimes school boards can’t share everything, but community input is extremely important. At the end of the day, this is not about politics, it’s about our kids.”

SOMOS Mayfair Co-Executive Director Victor Vasquez urged the board to include the Alum Rock community in its choice of a future superintendent and consider someone who values collaboration, cares about academics and will be there long term.

“The community wants to see this board create stability … and put the students first,” he told San José Spotlight. “We hope in that process we’re able to bring a good leader, a good communicator, someone that understands the academics, the challenges and opportunities in the community. On the interim, I think Sandra can do that. We’re here to work with the superintendents to get through this moment and set a long-term vision.”

Parent Della Navarro said barring a lawsuit or arrest, the community didn’t understand why the superintendent was let go.

“We are lost right now,” she said. “Schools (are) closing, other schools potentially closing, and there’s no leadership. We’re going to lose students, not because of the schools, but because of the leadership at the district office. This is going to cost us lots of money – already two buyouts.”

Voicing his frustration, Gerardo Ixteyo Loera called on the community to take a stand against the board. 

“This is about us,” he said. “They can hire and fire as they see fit, and we too, as a community have that very same right to take trustees off of this board. Enough is enough.”

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at [email protected].