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Editorials
New administrator is new, but not so new
When it became known that relative newcomer Trudy McCulloch was planning to re-assign popular assistant principal Craig Heimbichner last spring, many in the community protested that the principal and other administrators--all new to Los Gatos High School--just didn't understand our unique community.
One would have thought being a well-trained school administrator was only a small portion of what it takes to ensure doing a good job at LGHS. An administrator also had to be steeped in the local culture, the argument went.
The school board stood behind McCulloch's authority to make her own administrative decisions, as was appropriate. Now she's gone and hired another newcomer.
Only this newcomer is steeped in the local mores. Donald Hand has been with the Milpitas Union School District for 30 years, but he's lived all that time in Los Gatos.
What's more, Hand comes to his new job with the advantage of a parent's perspective, his two sons having graduated from LGHS.
Heimbichner will now be working at the district office as assistant principal of safety and alternative programs, a new job intended to ensure that students don't fall through the cracks. With this program under way and a highly experienced new assistant principal on the high school campus--one who knows the community well--the stage is set for a peaceful and productive new school year.
Delay will help
There's no question that state Sen. Tom Hayden's "no-kill bill" was well-intentioned. Every pet owner's worst nightmare is losing a pet and not being able to find it before it's picked up and taken to the pound, only to be euthanized before owner and pet can be reunited.
In Santa Clara County, however, lack of facilities to properly implement the new law would have made the situation even worse.
Now Assemblywoman Elaine Alquist's bill delaying implementation of the law for a year has been approved, and the city of San Jose is leading the way to the creation of a modern new animal shelter.
This is good news for local residents. When the Humane Society announced in December that it was changing its focus and would be getting out of the animal shelter business, it left small communities like Los Gatos and Monte Sereno, which were contracting for these services with the Humane Society, in a desperate situation.
Now these smaller municipalities will have an opportunity to participate in a joint powers authority that will build and operate the new shelter.
With the needed breathing room provided by Alquist's bill, the "no-kill bill" will have a much better chance of accomplishing its goals in Santa Clara County.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
