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Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comments from former Superintendent Ayindé Rudolph.
Former Mountain View Whisman Superintendent Ayindé Rudolph’s spending on a work credit card and requests for reimbursements have been raising eyebrows among community members – and concerns from the school district – with an array of expensive purchases being billed to the district in recent years.
Records indicate Rudolph spent tens of thousands of dollars at luxury hotels, as well as making four-digit airline purchases and spending money at businesses like Guitar Center and a cigar lounge in Washington, D.C. In a statement to the Voice, Rudolph provided explanations of the purchases and denied wrongdoing.
“I never used the district credit card for personal use or gain,” Rudolph said. “I take issue with that accusation.”
According to Rudolph, the expenses were for district-related purchases and travel. He added that not all staff at the district office have their own work-issued credit cards, and that multiple employees will sometimes use the same card.
Rudolph resigned earlier this month after taking a leave of absence for several weeks. He had led the district since 2015, and Interim Superintendent Kevin Skelly is currently filling in.
Mountain View Whisman has in recent months faced substantial controversy over its spending, including signing six-figure contracts for executive leadership coaching, staff meditation and public relations work. Many of these contracts have now been canceled. The state is planning to conduct an external audit into the district’s finances to determine whether fraud, misappropriation of funds or other illegal fiscal practices may have occurred.
Rudolph’s credit card statements and reimbursement requests became public after the school district released them last week in response to a public records request. The documents include monthly credit card statements dating back to 2022, as well as reimbursement logs from as far back as 2019. The Voice has obtained copies of these records and is continuing to review them.
Among the transactions that have drawn attention are over a dozen charges totalling roughly $23,000 at the JW Marriott Essex House hotel in New York City for stays in February and March of this year. There’s also an over $3,000 charge for the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C., from March 2024.
According to Rudolph, a team of district staff, board members and parents went to New York and New Jersey in February for a trip related to the district’s effort to create a roadmap to improve performance at Castro Elementary School. The charges for all the hotel rooms at the JW Marriott Essex House hotel would have been put on Rudolph’s credit card, he told the Voice. He said that he took a second trip to New York City in March to attend a conference and booked himself at the same hotel because he was familiar with it and the conference was nearby.
As for the charge at the Marriott Marquis in D.C., Rudolph said that he stayed there while meeting with congressional representatives and attending another conference, which was across the street from the hotel.
Other types of purchases that have attracted criticism include more than $2,500 spent at Guitar Center in Santa Clara in November 2022, as well as a $72 purchase at TG Cigars in Washington, DC in March 2024. There are also purchases at “Cigar Bar New York, NY” in the same month.
Asked about these purchases, Rudolph said that the district purchased a speaker and microphone system at Guitar Center after a board member mentioned that the district needed something higher quality. He noted that this system is still being used regularly.
When it came to the cigar-related receipts, he said that he didn’t have copies of his receipts for separate food bills, but that his own bank records show that he separately paid for a drink and cigar each night.
According to Rudolph, no one in the district had reached out to him directly with concerns about his expenses. He added that all employees have to submit receipts as documentation, or an attestation if a receipt is not available. He directed questions about specifics to district staff and school board members.
District spokesperson Shelly Hausman told the Voice that board President Devon Conley and the interim superintendent did not have comment on Rudolph’s statements.
Rudolph also took issue with the continued public focus on him after his departure from the district. More broadly, he raised concerns about the tenor of the criticism he’s received both during and after his tenure, which he described as uncalled for and putting his family at risk.
District raises concerns, says it will investigate
Skelly, the interim superintendent, put out a statement via email on Wednesday, Nov. 20, saying that he knew the school board “shares my deep concern about what appears to be improper credit card charges and requests for reimbursements by the former superintendent.”
“The Board needs to know what happened, how this happened, and if district funds were misused,” Skelly wrote. “Staff will be working with the trustees to get a clear and thorough accounting of these actions, including which district policies may have been violated and which policies and systems need to be strengthened and changed.”
Skelly’s statement came after parents publicized a slideshow highlighting a range of potentially questionable expenses. Parents have sought documents from the district on various occasions over the past year, as they have dug into questions around the district’s spending practices.
Skelly’s email noted that the board will “very likely issue its own statement” after a meeting scheduled for tonight, Nov. 21. The open session of the regularly scheduled school board meeting was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Asked when the district became aware of the purchases and whether it knew about the issue before reaching a resignation agreement with Rudolph earlier this month, Skelly told the Voice that the credit card and reimbursement expenses were “deeply concerning” and that the district was working hard to investigate and address the situation.
He didn’t say when specifically the district learned about the questionable spending. In terms of Rudolph’s resignation agreement, Skelly said he believed the board agreed to it “to allow the district to move on and attempt to refocus energy on the core of our mission – addressing the educational needs of our students.”
The school board ratified a resignation agreement with Rudolph at a Nov. 7 meeting. The deal includes language to prevent lawsuits, calling for both parties to release each other from “any and all claims, demands, causes of action, obligations, damages and liabilities.” It also provides for the district to pay Rudolph roughly $100,000, which is less than the district paid previous Superintendent Craig Goldman when he left a decade ago.
Hopefully the November 7 agreement doesn’t preclude criminal investigations of the superintendent and/or board members. Who is responsible for overseeing and approving the superintendent’s spending or claims for reimbursement? Anybody?
Hold the $100K settlement until all investigations have concluded.
$100k is a done deal it looks like. An agreement is an agreement, enforceable in a nation of law and order. No baksies or oopsies
Move on.
I’m also not sure what criminal argument “Free Speech” has. Spoke like a true Free Speecher where talk is cheap….its free. Fraud requires intent. Haven’t seen any evidence or even yellow flags by Board members of intent to defraud.
There might be CA laws that say how funds have to be spent for example. A superintendent can’t spend tax payer money for personal expenses.
Yes, California state law prohibits public officials, including school superintendents, from using taxpayer money for personal expenses. This would constitute misuse or misappropriation of public funds, which is illegal under several California statutes, including:
California Penal Code Section 424
This law makes it a felony for public officials to misuse public funds. It specifically prohibits the use of public money for any purpose not authorized by law, including personal expenses.
California Government Code Sections 8314 and 1090
Section 8314 prohibits state and local officers, employees, and consultants from using public resources for personal gain or non-governmental purposes.
Whether there is fraud, or not, is surely a matter for an investigation to resolve, before we “move on”. No accusations of criminality, just seeking reassurance that the powers-that-be protect our resources from potential malfeasance.
There are laws. Still don’t see any personal expenses being ACTUALLY expensed.
I’ve lived in this County for over 60 years and the number of school superintendents who are discovered misappropriating funds and misusing work credit cards is astounding, I remember an Alum Rock School District Superintendent who used district credit cards to book cruises and flights for his family and he also was given a “Golden Parachute” resignation and, unbelievably, parents were upset that he was forced out and publically defended him! Nothing surprises me anymore with the public school system and its overpaid administrators, incompetent teachers, and dropping test scores. Its all a money grab and its sad how the system has no credibility because of the bad behavior. Its funny how this ousted superintendent, a public figure, is clutching at his pearl necklace and is complaining of the criticism from his potential victims…
Let’s see where this goes. If you have nothing to hide you hide nothing. He’s saying that his family doesn’t feel safe? Doesn’t like the “tenor of criticism that he has received before, during and after his resignation.” Perhaps folks are a bit “heated” over all of this and how it’s been handled. This probably should’ve been done a long time ago.