It’s not the ideal situation for a new superintendent to get to know his community, but Edward Lee Vargas made his first public appearance in Kent this past week at the Feb. 24 budget workshop at Kent-Meridian High School.
Standing off to the side, Vargas marveled at the turn-out for the workshop, estimated at 800 people.
“This is tremendous,” he said, in between shaking hands with community members and staff eager to meet the next head of the Kent School District.
“People are here because they care and you can see the caring in the hard work going on tonight,” he said.
Vargas said the impressive turnout of the event – which nearly doubled board and district expectations – only reinforced his view of Kent as not only a beautiful community, but an engaged one.
The next evening, the school board made it official and Vargas was unanimously appointed to succeed Barbara Grohe when she retires in June.
Watching parents, students and staff pile into the gym to discuss a potential budget hole of up to $16 million, Vargas said it was wonderful to see a district so engaged and reiterated that the budget issues facing Kent are similar to those facing districts all across the country.
Vargas is taking a back seat in the process because the district is still in Grohe’s hands, but he said he felt it was important for him to be involved in some capacity.
“I’m listening and learning and hitting the ground running,” he said. “Just like our employees do everyday.”
Vargas credited the board with giving the community the opportunity to get involved and said it was important to give the people a chance to speak before the final decision was made regarding what programs to be cut.
“Obviously these are items that are important to the stakeholders,” Vargas said of the items that potentially could be cut. “I’m not sure there’s anything on there anyone likes (to see cut).”
By the end of the evening, Vargas said he was very impressed to see the way the Kent community worked on the issue.
“This is a very difficult thing to do,” he said. “The community’s voice is so important in this process.”
The new super said the district is simply struggling to balance its budget in these difficult times and has to live within its means “just like families have to.”
Vargas, 56, is the 2006 California superintendent of the year from his time at the head of the Hacienda La Puenta School District outside Los Angeles.
He is presently the superintendent in residence/executive advisor of Davis Innovations, Inc. and superintendent in residence of the Stupski Foundation.
According to District General Counsel Charles Lind, the new superintendent’s salary will be $240,000 per year, plus an $833-per-month car stipend to reimburse the superintendent for using his own vehicle during official travel. The stipend is in lieu of a district-provided vehicle. Vargas also will receive full medical and dental, life insurance, the state retirement plan and 30 vacation days.
According to Lind, the total is similar to Grohe’s compensation package, which totals $261,000. Lind said Grohe’s base salary is lower than Vargas’, but the board wanted to be clear about the compensation and opted to include most of the additional financial benefits as a part of salary instead of as additional benefits.
A University of Washington graduate whose wife is originally from Seattle and whose daughter currently attends UW, Vargas said he was excited to move his family to the Pacific Northwest and looked forward to getting started.
“We’re just thrilled to death,” he said.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
