No job applications? No interviews? Trustees waived common-sense hiring practices and Board bylaws to create costly admin position.

On Jan. 16, 2025, Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) Trustees Jim Kelly, Rob Shield, Gary Woods, and Scott Eckert approved a motion to waive a Board Policy meant to safeguard transparency in hiring. [See meeting agenda].

This Board Policy, called Board Policy 4111, requires district leadership to take common sense steps in deciding how to fill positions funded through taxpayer money.

Kelly, Shield, Woods, and Eckert waived this policy and removed any transparency from the hiring process.

Minutes later, these same Trustees approved the hiring of their pre-selected individual, named Jerry Hobbs, for a position titled “Director I, Student and Family Engagement, Learning and Innovation.” No other candidates were given an opportunity to apply for this job. No one was interviewed.

Trustees dismiss hiring requirements a second time

On Feb. 7, 2025, the Board held a special meeting, where they voted again to waive Board Policy 4111. The Trustees then moved to hire Hobbs to a newly created administrative position called “Chief of Staff.” Again, no one else was considered.

Board Policy 4111 should not have been treated as optional. Every day, companies follow the same steps outlined in Board Policy 4111 to ensure that they are selecting the best candidates for open positions while promoting equity and transparency during the hiring process.

But Kelly, Shield, Woods, and Eckert weren’t hiring for a role at a typical company. The Trustees were hiring a public servant, someone who would be paid with taxpayer money.

A questionable use of public funds

Due to Board actions, there’s still a lot we don’t know about this Chief of Staff role. We don’t know why this position was created in a hurry, and we don’t know why other candidates weren’t allowed to apply.

Here’s what we do know:

• The district has not had a Chief of Staff until now. The community has been offered no rationale for why former GUHSD employee Jerry Hobbs was the best person to carry out the duty to “evaluate and supervise certificated and classified personnel” across the district.
• The Chief of Staff makes a purported $200,000+ salary, plus benefits. The Board found the funds to fill this new position, despite the district’s supposed budget crisis.
• The Chief of Staff’s job description includes duties that overlap with the GUHSD Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources, job description. This redundancy raises questions regarding whether the Chief of Staff role is necessary.

For these reasons, concerned parents, voters, and taxpayers believe Kelly, Shield, Woods, and Eckert have damaged public trust and fueled concerns over misuse of public funds.

Update: Trustees in the spotlight for unethical hiring decisions

Startling new details have come to light regarding the employment history of Jerry Hobbs, the man the Trustees hired as their Chief of Staff.

We now know:

• The Chief of Staff position came with a minimum salary of $156,508. Including benefits, funding that position alone accounted for over a quarter of the Board’s projected three-year deficit.
• Despite public opposition, Trustees only addressed the Chief of Staff position after Voice of San Diego revealed details of the controversial agreement between Chief of Staff Jerry Hobbs and the district. The Trustees then granted Hobbs a one-year severance of $186,878.75.
• Following Hobbs’ resignation, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the Trustees were aware that a “Statement of Charges” had been brought against Hobbs for misconduct in 2018.
• That Statement of Charges includes details from students and GUHSD staff who witnessed Hobbs’ “immoral conduct,” including his habit of “persistently using racist and sexist slurs” as a former GUHSD special education teacher. [See the statement]
• Hobbs’ is described as using the “n” word on campus and making offensive statements, such us “‘You are a woman, you should wash my dishes’ and ‘Now that Trump is president, I’m going to send you back to Africa.’”

We’ve posted a detailed summary of the Jerry Hobbs misconduct situation here.

You can also read the 2018 Statement of Charges below. This document was obtained by the Union-Tribune via a public record request.

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