A San Joaquin County civil grand jury has found the Stockton Unified School District Board of Trustees have failed as district leaders and will likely continue to do so.
A
scathing 33-page report released by the 2020-21 grand jury says Stockton
Unified trustees are the direct reason for what's been called the
district's "revolving door" of superintendents.
Stockton
Unified has had 14 interim and permanent superintendents in just over 30
years, several of which in recent years have left before fulfilling their
contracts.
The
report shows that nearly all assumed the superintendent role from
2005 to 2021, with only six having been permanent and average tenure
lasting about 19 months. The district has changed leadership three times in the
past year alone.
"The
grand jury found that there is widespread concern about the short tenure of
SUSD superintendents, especially in the last 15 years," the report
says. "This turnover rate, which is as high as anywhere in
California, is a foremost indication that the trustees have failed, and will
continue to fail, to effectively lead the district."
Trustee
behavior and actions have negatively impacted SUSD and made it "difficult,
if not impossible," for any lasting, positive changes to take hold, the
report says. Trustees have also been found to have contributed to declining
trust and morale of employees and the community.
The
grand jury found other issues of serious concern, including a
"disregard of policies and procedures, especially regarding hiring;
trustee behavior, especially during meetings; trustee disregard of their
appropriate roles, inappropriate complaints, especially by trustees against
other trustees; and deficient transparency, making it difficult for the
public to understand what is taking place."
Stockton
Unified officials confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the district had received
the grand jury's report. In a statement provided by district spokeswoman
Melinda Meza, Board President Cecilia Mendez was quoted on behalf of the
trustees, saying the board is "carefully reviewing" the report and
the district is "working diligently" on a formal response to be
publicly released at its meeting next week.
Mendez
said in the statement she is confident the district "will make great
strides" under the leadership of Superintendent John Ramirez Jr., who was
hired by the board earlier this year.
"Mr.
Ramirez Jr. is bilingual, bicultural, Harvard educated and has a proven track
record for student achievement. He led a former district out of state receivership
to becoming one of the highest Title 1 performing districts in the state,"
Mendez said. "We have a goal to graduate every student college,
career and community ready."
Ramirez
said students are the district's top priority and he is committed to serving
those in SUSD.
"For
decades SUSD has been underachieving, therefore SUSD needs to make significant
improvement so our students can be college, career, and community ready,"
Ramirez said in a statement. "I am committed to making SUSD one of the top
performing districts in the state."
Grand
jury:San Joaquin County’s COVID response
was not effective
The
grand jury opened its investigation into Stockton Unified last year
following numerous complaints regarding the "dysfunction" of the
district's Board of Trustees. It involved 37 interviews that included
complainants, the San Joaquin County Office of Education and current and
former district staff, the grand jury said. The report also cites media reports
describing conflicts within the district, especially those among trustees.
Neither
the district nor members of the board addressed the grand jury's findings
directly.
Findings
The
issue of high superintendent turnover was consistently cited as a major
problem for the district. It was often described by employees as
having to start a whole new job every few months, as new visions and
priorities began with each new superintendent.
Among
the other findings of the grand jury:
- Trustees ignored
norms of civil behavior, including stifling input from members
in the minority; disregard of the
district’s governance norms; the absence of a student
representative on the board; and censuring other board members on the
basis of personal disagreements;
- Trustees were found
to be directing staff, bypassing the superintendent, causing
confusion and contributing to low morale; trustees were found to be
directing superintendents and other administrators to terminate
specific administrative employees, which could violate
normal employment law and procedures; and a misunderstanding or
disregard of the Brown Act led to violations of the statute and
reduced governance transparency;
- More
than 17 complaints from trustees against each other were incorrectly
filed with the Constituent Services Department, wasting district time and
money; and the frivolous complaints make it difficult for there to be
cohesiveness among the board; and
- Board
meetings lack transparency and accessibility; board minutes are incomplete
or unpublished; disbanding board subcommittees reduced public
engagement and transparency and public comments are not easily
accessible.
Recommendations
include additional training for trustees
The
grand jury listed seven recommendations for the Board of Trustees, including
abiding by governance norms adopted by the board and publicly agreeing to
adhere to the California School Board Association Professional Governance
Standards.
"In
addition, the grand jury recommends that the district no longer accept or
investigate complaints initiated by trustees against other trustees because the
district is not the appropriate, nor the legal venue for these complaints,"
the report said.
The
grand jury also recommends the district live stream all board meetings (even
after returning in person), improve the timeliness of their documentation of
board meetings and address the entire grand jury report during a public board
meeting.
Jurors
recommended that the board:
- complete
additional governance training by a qualified external organization,
- affirm
its commitment to agreed-upon processes for hiring future superintendents
and future legal services,
- complete
additional and intensive Brown Act training provided by a qualified,
external organization,
- publicly
review and commit to the California School Board Association Professional
Governance Standard,
- seat
a student representative,
- agree
to abide by their adopted governance norms,
- stop
censuring trustees, unless there is a violation of law or policy, and stop
limiting discussion for any trustee speaking on agenda items,
- evaluate
reinstating former subcommittees, and
- discuss
the grand jury report at a public meeting.
Stockton Record.net
By Cassie Dickman/Cameryn Oakes
July 1, 2021
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