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September 2023 Spotlight: City Collaboration with Gilroy Unified School District

(and Announcing September 25^th Start of 4^th Train Service to Gilroy!)

Hello Gilroy! 

The 2023-24 school year has started and newly at the helm is Superintendent Dr. Anisha Munshi, Ed.D. Her position at GUSD is the equivalent at the City of Gilroy City Administrator, Jimmy Forbis. Although separate elected bodies with different subject matter jurisdictions, the GUSD Board of Education and the Gilroy City Council work together with our respective staff on issues of mutual interest and overlapping benefit, such as sharing the cost of School Resource Officers (SROs), addressing traffic measures necessary for safety around schools, and Emergency Operations Centers, for example. 

I invite you all to meet Dr. Munshi in person and join us, together with Jimmy Forbis, at the next Conversation and Coffee with the Mayor on Saturday, October 7 at 9:30am in Council Chambers. Learn more about the relationship between the City and GUSD and how we collaborate for solutions that benefit us all. On a different note, at the end of this Spotlight is information on the upcoming additional train service from Caltrain to Gilroy scheduled to begin on 9/25/23. More to come from all of us at the City, Caltrain, and Valley Transportation Authority on how you can join us on 9/25 to celebrate the launch. We’re moving mountains!  

Mayor Marie Blankley, CPA 

Introducing Dr. Anishi Munshi, Ed.D.

Anisha Munshi was appointed as the Superintendent of the Gilroy Unified School District on May 18, 2023 by the Board of Education.  

Dr. Munshi earned her doctorate from San Jose State University. She holds a Master of Arts in Education and a Bachelor of Science degree, both from National University. Prior to her appointment as Superintendent, she was the Associate Superintendent of Professional Learning and Educational Progress Division for the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE). She was also the Assistant Superintendent of the Human Resources Division and the Director of Human Resources for SCCOE.  

Dr. Munshi began her career in education with the Gilroy Unified School District, first as an elementary school teacher, and then as an assistant principal at South Valley Middle School and Ascencion Solorsano Middle School. Before leaving the District for the County Office of Education, she was the principal at South Valley Middle School from 2011-2016. She also served as a Trustee for the GUSD Board of Education from 2018-2020.  

Dr. Munshi resides in Gilroy with her husband, and is the mother of two adult daughters, both of whom are graduates of GUSD schools. 

Dr. Munshi and Administrator Forbis will be joining Mayor Marie Blankley for Conversation and Coffee on Saturday, October 7 at 9:30am in Council Chambers.

City of Gilroy/Gilroy Unified School District Collaboration

The Gilroy Unified School District and the City of Gilroy collaborate on many programs to bring services and resources to our community members. Through it all, we mutually recognize the overriding importance of child safety, physical and mental well-being, and healthy active programs.

• Joint use of the Aquatic Center at Christopher High School. The City of Gilroy runs a summer recreation program allowing the public to use the water slides and pools for swim lessons and playtime during the summer.

• Joint use agreement for playgrounds at two of the District’s elementary schools: Luigi Aprea and El Roble. The playgrounds are used by students during the school day and are open to the public during non-school hours.

• We share facilities the City or District owns, including Caesar Chavez Gym, Christmas Hill Park, and the Gilroy High School Theatre.

• The City keeps the District apprised of new proposed residential developments so that the District can incorporate population impacts in its multi-year planning process for facilities and staffing needs.  

• The City and the District together review traffic safety near schools and jointly fund certain traffic safety measures, such as the rectangular rapid-flashing beacon (RRFB) crosswalk over Tenth Street at Gilroy High School.

• Most recently, the District made the City aware of health and safety dangers posed to children at a school campus from individuals residing at a nearby encampment. The Gilroy City Council enacted an ordinance that requires a minimum of 500 feet between encampments and school campuses within the jurisdictional boundaries of the City of Gilroy.

• Two full-time School Resource Officer (SRO) positions are jointly funded by the District and City. The SROs are Gilroy Police officers with special training in managing emergency situations at schools and strong working relationships with district administration who would take the lead in an emergency. SROs are familiar with how the schools operate and know the school’s safety procedures. They maintain positive relationships with students and school staff and have been trained in Restorative Justice practices.

• The County of Santa Clara Public Safety Agencies have an Active Shooter and Mass Casualty Response Protocol, which includes the District and Gilroy Police Department routinely conducting training scenarios at one of the District’s secondary schools during summer break to prepare officers for steps to take in the event of an intruder or shooter on campus. 

• Joint training in the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to plan for situations when both the District and City can pool resources, including transportation and sheltering. 

• The District and City’s communication departments have collaborated on public awareness campaigns to educate residents about the dangers of fentanyl. Collaborative communication was essential during the Covid-19 pandemic.  

• The Superintendent, Board President, and Board Vice President meet with the City Administrator and Mayor monthly to discuss important issues in the Gilroy community and how best to address them.

Share your time with us on October 7th at 9:30am to discuss and learn more about how the City and the School District interact and collaborate on these and other concerns of mutual relevance throughout Gilroy. We look forward to seeing you.

Caltrain Service to Gilroy Improves Starting September 25!

Some of you may not realize just how BIG this news is. For many, many years Gilroy has had only three, sometimes two, weekday commuter trains as compared to five or more from San Jose northbound. Couple that with only two public bus routes from Gilroy north and it’s not hard to see why public transportation from Gilroy isn’t viable for more commuters. [VTA Express busses also exist but are run in partnership with specific employers who determine bus routes and schedules.] Over the years, many before me and with me have worked tirelessly to represent Gilroy and Morgan Hill’s interests at the transportation tables, arguing for transit service levels that meet the rest of our county and the Bay Area. Gilroy residents continue to pay into tax measures that promised better public transportation services that would reach Gilroy too, yet better hasn’t happened for us…. until now! We couldn’t be happier to finally get from three to four weekday commuter trains! 

Thank you to all who participated in Caltrain’s survey for the implementation of this fourth weekday train. A whopping 1,552 people participated! The top three priorities identified for improvement were, in this order: train frequency, a later AM train, and shorter trip time. Effective Monday, September 25, 2023, the new weekday train schedule to and from Gilroy will be as follows: 

In other good news from Caltrain, Gilroy may not have to wait for High-Speed rail in order to move away from diesel trains. As you may already be aware, electrified train service currently in the works will run from San Jose to San Francisco only, and diesel trains will continue to run to Gilroy and Morgan Hill absent High-Speed rail’s electrification of Union Pacific’s tracks south of the Tamien station in San Jose. On August 17, 2023, CalTrain received State funding approval for a pilot program that would run a battery-equipped electric multiple unit (BEMU) on the portion of the corridor from San Jose to Gilroy. The BEMU will charge while it runs on overhead power in electrified service areas (San Jose and north) and then use battery charge to travel “off wire” on non-electrified tracks (south of San Jose). Although still several years out for testing and certifications from regulatory agencies, this is a great step forward for cleaner train service to Gilroy long before and without dependency on the arrival of High-speed rail. 

Electric train service north of the Tamien station in San Jose is anticipated to begin in September 2024. Diesel trains will continue to run to Gilroy and Morgan Hill until the BEMU receives its certifications and can replace the diesel trains.