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Update: On Friday morning the district released the settlement agreements. Click here for the updated story.
Mountain View Whisman’s board announced Thursday evening that the school district will pay $350,000 each to two women who allege they were sexually harassed and discriminated against by former Superintendent Ayindé Rudolph.
The board members voted unanimously in closed session to approve the settlements, which President Charles DiFazio announced when the board reconvened into open session.
DiFazio identified the two women as Megan Pohlman, who is currently principal at Stevenson Elementary School, and Heidi Galassi, who was Graham Middle School’s principal from 2021 until her resignation in 2024.
“Every person who works here deserves to be treated with respect and professionalism and to feel safe raising concerns when something’s not right,” DiFazio said at the Oct. 22 meeting.
Rudolph resigned as superintendent in November 2024 after leading the district for almost a decade. His departure followed a multi-week leave of absence and came as the district faced controversies on multiple fronts. At the time, Rudolph was receiving intense public criticism for six-figure contracts that the school board approved to pay for executive leadership coaching, meditation sessions for district leaders and work from an external public relations firm.
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The sexual harassment allegations against Rudolph weren’t publicly known until DiFazio’s announcement Thursday. The closed session item was listed on the agenda as being about “anticipated litigation” involving two cases, but did not include further details.
In his statement, DiFazio said that Pohlman and Galassi both brought their complaints in “fall 2024.” It’s unknown whether this occurred before or after Rudolph resigned.
In addition to the $700,000 payment, the district also agreed to restructure its employee complaint process so that administrators don’t have to report harassment or discrimination to the alleged perpetrator or someone who directly reports to that person, DiFazio said.
The district did not immediately release a copy of the settlement agreements on Thursday, but Superintendent Jeff Baier told the Voice that the documents would be available Friday.
DiFazio’s statement did not include specifics about Pohlman and Galassi’s complaints, including the nature of the reported harassment and discrimination.
Asked for comment, Rudolph wrote that it “must be election time again!” and cited two Bible passages.
“This story reminds me of the story of Joseph in the Bible. Genesis 39:17–20,” Rudolph wrote. “Since I was not a part of this investigation, all I can say is ‘It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.’ Proverbs 20:3.”
At the time Rudolph left the district, the school board approved a resignation agreement that paid him roughly $100,000 and included language meant to prevent him from suing the district – or the district from suing him.
Neither Pohlman nor Galassi immediately responded to requests for comment Thursday evening.
VOTE NO on any more money MVWSD asks for! Another example of wasting money. Don’t forget the 10million dollars wasted a few years ago on a new SW Database that never worked. And the meditation guru’s!
The board members that voted in favor of renewing Ayinde Rudolph’s contract over half a year early for an 4 year cycle are running for reelection this cycle. Also worth nothing they supported every other questionable expense he stuck the district with.
It’s better for the community to support replacing all of his board and elect the new candidates.
Devon Conley – the enabler of Rudolph is one. Who are the others?
Devon Conley is the primary one.
Bill Lambert is the other one. IMO he staddles the line but ultimately attempts not to differ from board consensus. It doesn’t help when the public is voicing reasonable concern and the board culture dictates treating the public as a procedural nuisance to ignore. Hence why current board members need to be outed.
To the person worried about whether taxpayer dollars are going to this: the district is insured against these sorts of claims. The $700K is coming from insurance, not from taxpayer funds.
Those premiums aren’t paid for with pixie dust and unicorn farts.
Yea, such a clueless response.
Absolutely so true.
The OP to whom I was responding claimed this restitution was a waste of taxpayer dollars. As a candidate for school board, are you saying that our insurance premiums are a waste of taxpayer dollars? Is it your position that our district shouldn’t have insurance for this kind of thing?
Isn’t running for office fun.
No, I did not say that. No, that is not my position.
I believe the payment for this will be funded by South Bay Area Schools Insurance Authority, a joint powers authority comprised of ten districts. It is a combination of self insurance as well as additional insurance for larger liabilities.
My understanding of how it will be paid:
First $10,000 MVWSD deductible
Next $240,000 SBASIA shared insurance pool
$250,000–$5 million PRISM liability coverage
$5 million–$55 million Schools Excess Liability Fund (SELF)
Number and amount of claims contribute to each districts contribution the next cycle. The last payment I see from MVWSD to SBASIA is around 1 million in 2025.
The point I am trying to make: Ultimately, the taxpayer is still footing the bill. Saying “insurance pays for it” is glossing over a lot of nuance.
I hope that helps.
Quintin
I’m saying MVWSD wastes money by allowing this ( payout that increases insurance premiums), by enabling Rudolph in general, by giving him a blank check over the years (He wasted multi millions). So why give MVWSD more money when they want more dollars? To waste even more? Until that board is replaced, NO more new money! Vote No on anything “more”going to this school district. Is that clear enough for u?
Why does none of this surprise me?
Joseph in Genesis 39 was a slave who refused the sexual advances of a powerful woman and was then falsely accused. The text does not teach “every sexual-harassment claim is a lie.” It teaches that power can be abused and that God sees the truth. Using that story to imply an accuser is automatically a Potiphar’s wife is eisegesis and moral cowardice. He then hides behind Proverbs 20:3 while the same book says:
“The one who justifies the wicked and the one who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.” (Proverbs 17:15)
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9)
And the prophets are even clearer:
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people.” (Isaiah 10:1-2)
“Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)
If someone in power sexually harassed another and paid a settlement to make it go away, the biblical response is not “avoid strife, you fools.” It is to expose the sin, protect the weak, and refuse to let the powerful rewrite the story with a selective proof-text. Misusing Joseph and Proverbs to gaslight victims is not “honor.” It is the exact partiality God condemns.
Just hearing about this now?! Devon Conley was a strong supporter of this joker. He certainly took this district for a long expensive ride. I hope folks are seriously thinking about who they choose to vote for to sit on the school board. Eyes wide open here. Wake up.
Devon Conley and Bill Lambert both approved Rudolph’s contract renewals, removed his travel restrictions, and voted FOR Rudolph’s millions of dollars in personal coaching, leadership consulting, chakra healing, fences and locks, and more nonsense. They ignored all the red flags brought up repeatedly by parents and defended Rudolph at every turn.
Add to that, the student achievement gap has gotten progressively worse over 8 years of Conley and Lambert’s tenure.
Please vote for change on November 4. Vote for Sundar Subbarayan and Quintin Riis. Thank you.
Thank you for your advocacy to improve our community by voting Devon Conley out of office.
Sundar seems reasonable perspective. Mr Riis I don’t think represents our community values.
Quintin Riis is a bit rough around the edges, but if our “community values” include spending money wisely, asking tough questions and not just rubber stamping whatever the superintendent puts in front of you, then Quintin represents our values far better than the current members of the MVWSD board.
Considering the majority of this community is softer than water at room temperature, those “community values” are largely a joke. At this juncture we need people willing to ask reasonable fiscally responsible questions instead of find a narrative that goes along with the toxic groupthink that just rubber stamps everything.
I’m sorry you feel that way.
I’m happy to have a dialogue about the issues with you or anyone else. Feel free to reach out.
Quintin
How did it happen that the Board approved a severance agreement that waived all future claims of “any nature whatsoever” by the district against Dr. Rudolph? The severance agreement was executed while a state fraud audit of the school district was pending (based on revelations of huge cash outlays by the superintendent on the energy healer and executive coaching). Plus one of the two harassment victims had already brought her allegations against Dr. Rudolph to the district. Given the superintendent’s pattern of misconduct (instances of concerning conduct date back to 2016 at least), why would the Board give him a forward-looking free pass for both the pending allegations of misconduct and anything that might come to light in the future? The Board members have a lot on their plates. And responsible oversight of the superintendent is difficult–it might require a different skill set than many of the Board members have. But if they are unwilling or unable to exercise their fiduciary duties and manage the district, including overseeing the superintendent, they should resign.
The board should do a 360 degree evaluation of the superintendent where the results don’t go to the superintendent who can see who said what. That didn’t allow for honest responses because employees feared retaliation.