The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved the contract for a new Chief Business Officer.
Gerardo Castillo will make $229,000 annually, along with a yearly $5,806 stipend for his Certified Public Accountant certification.
In addition, he will get a 2.5% longevity stipend after 5 years, and an additional 2.5% after 10 years.
Castillo will receive dental and vision benefits, but he told the board he is opting out of the medical plan because he is covered under his wife’s policy.
But that—and the section of the contract that states that the district will also provide medical benefits at its own expense—did not sit well with Trustee Joy Flynn, who questioned why the contract is different than what was being presented during the meeting.
“This isn’t worded right for me,” she said. “It’s not saying what I was told, and what I trusted would be here.”
Flynn said that Castillo’s announcement, and the district’s concurrence, was not a suitable agreement.
“What matters to me is what’s signed and what’s on paper,” she said.
The board then agreed to remove that wording from the contract, and voted 5-0 in favor of his position. Trustee Gabe Medina could not attend because he is teaching a filmmaking class at Cabrillo. Trustee Daniel Dodge was absent.
Superintendent Heather Contreras cited Castillo’s “deep experience” in his field.
“It was also clear through the interview process that he has a very deep heart for students, a very extensive background that relates and pertains directly to our community, and we feel that this is really going to be a good match.”
Castillo said after the vote that he feels a kinship with the Watsonville community, having come to the U.S. as a 17-year-old to work the fields.
The new CBO comes from Robla School District in Sacramento, where he has worked since April 2020. Before that, he was with Ryland Strategic Business Consulting from March 2019–March 2020, providing consulting services for several school districts. He served as Director of Fiscal Services for Sacramento City Unified School District from September 2007–August 2018.
The district’s former CBO, Jenny Im, resigned in June.
Castillo comes just as the district faces a storm of financial uncertainty, including funding cuts from the federal government and budget reductions due to declining enrollment.
