ESCONDIDO —In the third of eight 2021 Escondido Legend biographies, meet Guilford “Bud” Quade. The Escondido History Center will present a $1,000 honorarium, in Quade’s name, to an outstanding senior from a high school in Escondido.
“Bud” Quade was born in 1921. He graduated from San Diego State University, served in WW II and later took a position at Escondido High School as a coach and business teacher. He is best known for his tenure as Escondido High School District’s Superintendent from 1955 through 1978. According to many former board members, community members, staff and former students, he was the most effective and most popular superintendent in the district’s long history.
Quade was instrumental in supporting the School Bond measure that provided funding for the new campus of Escondido High School on North Broadway. Previously, Escondido High School was on the hill at Fourth Avenue and Hickory.
The former campus had been deemed unsafe by the state of California, no longer meeting California state earthquake standards and needed to be demolished. He gained the necessary support for the bond measure that funded the new campus.
He guided the district through the negotiations of three school areas breaking off to form their own unified school districts, and guided a growing district through the construction of three more traditional high schools.
He oversaw the development and construction of the new Escondido High School and Orange Glen High School, which opened in 1962, along with San Marcos and Poway High Schools both of which formed their own school districts. He also played an early role in the planning of San Pasqual High School which opened in July 1980.
Quade was a strong believer and supporter of community access to our high school facilities. In the late 1950s, he partnered with the city of Escondido Parks and Recreation Director, Jack Powell, to develop the first joint facilities agreement between the Escondido High School District and the City of Escondido.
Quade was also very involved in the San Diego Section of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), and participated in negotiations regarding the placement of Escondido High School teams in the various athletic leagues.
He retired in 1978 and passed away in 1996. In the early 2000s, the city and Escondido High School District, named and dedicated the entry road to the southern part of the Escondido High School Campus “Bud Quade Way” to honor the former, popular district superintendent.
