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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.
This is a developing story and the Voice will continue reporting as more information becomes available.
