Mr. Fisher said public funds could not be invested in such a manner as there is also a potential of losing the funds. Valdez had 7 grants written in the last 10 years under this program. There were many misconceptions about the district's hiring practices. The in-building substitutes could be interviewed and some had been hired for permanent positions. When elementary principals review applications, they look on a cart where all qualified applicant files are kept.
Principals have to go through each file to determine if the applicant is someone suited for the job.
Files are not pulled by a computer. Principals have access to all elementary applicant files that are qualified to be in the applicant pool. There was some discussion about the point system used to become a qualified applicant and the fact that applicants did not know their scores or where they fell short in the interview process. Mr. Holt pointed out the district would reveal only that information required by law and would not reveal anything else to applicants. He thought the applicant system was fair and worked very well.