Temporary Grossmont Superintendent
has a lot on his plate this summer

By Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun

     EL CAJON — Temporary Grossmont Union High School Superintendent Donald G. Haught has a lot on his plate as summer time draws to a close and the opening of all eleven GUHSD high schools is looming.
     Opening all of these schools and welcoming all of the students back to their educational careers is a daunting task, but Haught is determined to make this a smooth transaction for administrators, teachers and students alike. Also on Haught’s agenda is dealing with negotiations that are taking place for all the associations as well as the board of trustees’ long to-do list that seems to be continually in the making.
     Haught has the experience to handle these jobs as he has worked in education for the last 32 years, spanning his experience as a former assistant superintendent and deputy superintendent for Poway Unified School District, as well as the superintendent of the Ramona Unified School District, and then as the executive director of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
     Most recently, Haught served as the interim superintendent of human resources for Fullerton Joint Union High School District and San Marcos Unified School District.
     Haught began his work at GUHSD on July 1, of this year as the previous superintendent, Dr. Terry Ryan, retired. He is slated to be on task until mid-September, when the GUHSD board of trustees is to hire a superintendent.
     Haught’s open personality and direct approach, makes him a welcome addition to this district. He has experience in school construction, and building schools seems to be interlaced in his career as he built schools in Poway during his tenure, and added facilities to Ramona.
     When asked about the board meetings, he answered with a smile in his voice, “We’ve only had one board meeting so far, and it was very productive.”
     When school opens, Haught’s main goal is to make the first day of school count. He wants each school to start teaching on the first day that the students arrive back on campus. He says, “There are limited days of school instruction,” and he adds, “We don’t have a day to give away. I want to get school started smoothly so that we can use every minute we have to provide quality instruction to each and every student.”
     He says too, that in working with all of the associations in negotiations, he would like to see labor issues settled before the new superintendent steps into his position. This would make it easier on everyone involved. He intends to work with leadership staff as well to impart any knowledge that he has in regards to accreditation and how to best meet the needs of the students.

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