|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Mountain View Whisman School District Superintendent Ayindé Rudolph is on a short-term leave of absence, the district announced on Monday, Oct. 7.
Chief Academic Officer Cathy Baur will be filling in for Rudolph while he is out, Chief Human Relations Officer Tara Vikjord wrote in an email to the community.
The Monday evening message did not provide the reason for the leave, its expected length or who decided the superintendent would take the leave, and said additional information could not be provided. School board President Devon Conley did not immediately answer a list of emailed questions.
The school board met in closed session earlier on Monday evening to discuss “public employee discipline/dismissal/release,” according to the meeting agenda. The employee involved wasn’t identified, and Conley announced afterwards that no action was taken.
Rudolph has led the district for nearly a decade. First hired in 2015 to replace interim superintendent Kevin Skelly, Rudolph’s current contract runs through June 30, 2028.
In recent months, the district has been the subject of multiple controversies, including over district spending on contracts for executive leadership coaching, an external public relations firm and meditation for district administrators; fraught negotiations with the city of Mountain View over splitting money from a special tax district; and an ultimately abandoned plan to reduce middle school elective periods.
Recently, Santa Clara County’s superintendent of schools submitted a referral to a state agency for it to conduct an “extraordinary audit” of Mountain View Whisman. It’s a type of review meant to investigate possible fraud, misappropriation of funds or other illegal fiscal practices. As of Friday, Oct. 4, the state agency hadn’t decided whether it would conduct the audit.
Some district parents and community members have sharply criticized Rudolph’s leadership in recent months, including speaking at board meetings, contacting media outlets and starting a petition to remove him.
At a recent board meeting on Oct. 3, while addressing the audit referral, Rudolph spoke about the public criticism he and the district have received. Rudolph described “constant insinuations that there is something nefarious or illegal taking place,” which he said had been impacting many people.
“Look, I can take exception to what people say, it’s not really going to make a difference,” Rudolph said.
Ultimately, he said that he and the county superintendent agreed an extraordinary audit was the right choice, and that he didn’t see another course of action, given the continued allegations coming from parents.
Rudolph did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent after the district announced his leave on Monday night.
The school board held a special meeting at 5 p.m. on Monday, during which the board met in a closed session to discuss the “discipline/dismissal/release” of an unnamed employee.
The closed session lasted roughly an hour and included the four school board members, as well as Baur and Vikjord. Rudolph did not appear in the board room in person before trustees went into closed session. When the board reconvened into open session, Conley said that no action was taken during the closed session.
This article will be updated if more information becomes available.
I feel sad that the grift ultimately impacts the kids education. They need to keep digging, there’s a lot of stuff they will uncover
Glad to see this is on the radar of the Voice! Keep up the good work and let the info flow!
I am enjoying clicking on all the candidate ads to juice the Voice’s revenues.
Short term leave is not enough. Needs to be a complete departure to get my support on ballot measures. Enough is enough.
If you agree Dr. Rudolph needs to go, please sign the petition:
https://www.change.org/p/remove-dr-ayinde-rudolph-as-mvwsd-superintendent
As a teacher in the district I need to make it clear that the parcel tax measure on the ballot has already been tied to RAISING TEACHER SALARIES. The district DOES NOT get to use that money for whatever they want, it is tied into our most recent MVEA contract. Please do not go and not vote for the parcel tax because of bad mismanagement on the part of a few people- not voting for this parcel tax is going to hurt TEACHERS in the district.
There is language in the contract that states, “If the November 2024 parcel tax is not approved by the voters. then the District may elect to reopen sections 5.1 1 and 5.1 2 to explore, discuss and negotiate adjustments, amendments and options relative to total compensation.”
Until the leadership is permanently replaced I will NOT support the parcel tax. Back in the day, I canvassed neighborhoods to help bring about the first and subsequent parcel taxes. A short term LOA only to come back after the election will not make change happen. Now, if the Superintendent quits before the election, I will support the parcel tax. It’s that easy.