Trailblazer is leaving Grant Union

Superintendent Larry Buchanan is stepping down as the head of the Grant Joint Union High School District after eight years during which he steered the district into financial stability, oversaw massive campus modernization projects and outfitted schools with $50 million in advanced technology.

His job as superintendent will end Sept. 1, but Buchanan said he plans to stay with the school district in another position until the end of June.

"It's time to let the district get focused on the future when I'm not going to be the superintendent," Buchanan said. "I can serve in another capacity, but someone else will be guiding the district."

At a meeting tonight, the school board is scheduled to discuss who will take over the job of superintendent.

Grant and three of its feeder elementary districts are gearing up for a Nov. 6 election. Measure B will ask voters if they want to merge the Grant, Del Paso Heights, North Sacramento and Rio Linda districts into a single K-12 school system. It's a plan all four districts support.

Community leaders said Buchanan's departure will probably be good for the Measure B campaign.

"It's no secret that for whatever reason, rightly or wrongly, he is a lightning rod," said Grantland Johnson, who is leading the campaign in favor of Measure B.

He said some people oppose the plan to reorganize the school districts because they see it as Grant -- and by extension, Buchanan -- "swallowing up" the smaller K-6 school districts.

"This will diffuse that concern," Johnson said.

The Grant teachers union supports Measure B but has had an adversarial relationship with Buchanan, said union President John Ennis.

"You need a great communicator, and that's just not him," Ennis said.

"He has a hard time reaching out to people. He's great with numbers, great with technology. But to get this thing passed, you really need people skills."

Opponents of Measure B also said Buchanan's resignation would make the idea of merging school districts more appealing to voters.

"His interaction with community members has not been good," said Wess Larson, a Rio Linda school board member who opposes Measure B.

"He's had many opportunities to sit down with community folks, and he's basically just blown us off over the years. ... There were many times in community meetings that he chose to send us his surrogates instead of coming himself."

Buchanan said the criticism comes as little surprise. He said his focus as superintendent has been to improve what had been a very troubled school district.

"When you make tough decisions, not everyone likes them," he said. "So I'm sure there can be some of that (criticism) out there."

Buchanan said he's improved curriculum in Grant schools with new staff development programs and software that helps teachers manage their lessons.

He also has made many tangible improvements. With money from two bond measures passed during Buchanan's tenure, Grant has modernized its campuses and begun building new ones. He's boosted student access to technology with $50 million in federal grants that have supplied computers, projectors and sound amplification systems.

"That is his legacy -- new modernization of the schools, new football stadiums, a new aquatic center at Rio Linda High School, and technology -- absolutely," said Ennis, the teachers union president. "There's no doubt that when he came the district was in economic straits and he turned it around."

David Gordon, superintendent of schools for Sacramento County, said Buchanan has served Grant well.

"People have to realize where that district started," said Gordon, who's responsible for monitoring the financial status of the county's districts.

"When he came in there, it was a shambles. They'd had weak leadership and a lot of strife on the board. He's brought tremendous stability and shored up the management of the whole district. I give him a lot of credit," Gordon said.

"He leaves a lot of good accomplishments in his wake."

About the writer:

• The Bee's Laurel Rosenhall can be reached at (916) 321-1083 or lrosenhall@sacbee.com.