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Local school boards do not have sufficient regulations to guard against improperly hiring or promoting family members and those involved in intimate relationships, according to a recent grand jury report.
The report, filed June 24 by the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury, concluded that many county school districts, including those in Mountain View, ought to draft policies to prevent “the appearance of bias or favoritism in the recruitment and job assignment process.”
The Grand Jury report, titled, “Looking at Policies our Schools use to Find and Place Employees,” explains that the countywide assessment stemmed from an investigation into the alleged preferential hiring of a superintendent’s relative within one of the county’s 32 school districts. “In the course of investigating this issue,” the report stated, “the grand jury determined that an inquiry into countywide district hiring and family member supervision practices was warranted.”
That inquiry found that some districts in Santa Clara County, including the Mountain View Whisman School District, do not have a policy prohibiting family members or spouses from entering into a supervisory relationship. The grand jury also found that Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District, along with many other county districts, have such a prohibition but allow the superintendent to override the decision without the consent or knowledge of the school board.
The grand jury issued a recommendation that school boards should keep a list of related employees, adopt rules that disallow family members and spouses from supervising each other, and require that the school boards get involved any time a superintendent wishes to override such prohibitions.
The report did not name the superintendent whose alleged actions sparked the investigation and Angie Cardoza, foreperson for the grand jury, said confidentiality clauses prohibited her from revealing the individual’s identity.
Cardoza said the investigation was not initiated because of the controversy that surrounded Mountain View Whisman school district superintendent Maurice Ghysels last fall. On October 26, the Voice published Ghysels’ account of his extra-marital affair with Carmen Mizell, a principal in his school district. Mountain View residents accused Ghysels of preferentially reassigning Mizell, the former principal of Castro School, to the higher-performing Edith Landels Elementary School.
Ghysels denied the allegations and said that once he and Mizell became romantically involved, he transferred his supervisory role of Mizell to Mary Larion, the district’s associate superintendent.
Whether or not the unidentified superintendent or Ghysels acted improperly, Cardoza said nepotism “is occurring” in Santa Clara County schools.
“We need to be vigilant,” she said, adding that the report was an opportunity for the jury to give the community a “heads-up.”
Steve Hope is associate superintendent of personnel and technology for Mountain View Los Altos high school district. He said he has served under four superintendents and none of them have ever made an exception allowing spouses or relatives to enter into a supervisory relationship. He said he couldn’t speak for the board and was not sure if they would adopt any of the grand jury’s recommendations.
Hope said he didn’t see the value in creating a list of all family members and spouses within the district.
However, the report suggests that, “because some districts do not compile familial relationship data, they cannot be certain that they are in compliance with their own policies regarding the employment of relatives.”
Cardoza echoed this sentiment. Without documenting employees’ relationships it is more difficult to ensure that favoritism and nepotism do not infiltrate the hiring and promotion process, she said.
The report also looked into other hiring practices in place throughout county school districts. It concluded that internal applicants were given precedent over external candidates who may be better suited for the position.
A representative from the Mountain View Whisman school district could not be reached for comment.
Nepotism in public schools
Nepotism in public schools
Nepotism in public schools
“A representative from the Mountain View Whisman school district could
not be reached for comment.”
Because it’s hard to answer the phone when you are hiding under your desk.
It’s high time the public woke up and demanded more integrity from public servants in public schools.
The joke’s on you Mountain View! Ha!
Elaine,
MAYBE, just maybe, they are actually WORKING – did you ever think of that.
This is just one more example of how Maurice Ghysels is demon spawn who has ruined Mountain View and California and destroyed our children’s futures & lined his coffers with YOUR MONEY and then he slept with that lady plus everybody is corrupt and WAKE UP AMERICA BEFORE bla bla bla bla bla.
What was I talking about?
Yes, I suppose no one is responsible for anything or the state of affairs or of the economy. Civic values, morality, virtue and self control have nothing to do with any thing. I wonder what those guys who stormed Normandy Beach in 1945 or who took Iwo Jima were thinking…
It’s public knowledge that Maurice Ghysels hired Carmen Mizell away from her previous position with another district. It is also public knowledge that Maurice Ghysels refused to say how long they had been in a “relationship.” So maybe there IS something to allegations of nepotism, maybe there is NOT, who knows? But it sure makes sense for any employer to have a policy in place BEFORE it happens instead of struggling to figure out what to do AFTER it happens. And that is what the Grand Jury is suggesting.
Ghysels also picked up his new job given that he plays in a band with a board member of the SCCOE. So them ol’boy network is just too entrenched. Nevermind that has absolutely no experience with working with special education or alternative studnets.
@Joe: His new job description is: “The branch Ghysels will head runs multiple alternative schools and provides services for 9,000 students on 160 sites, including programs for the disabled, the county’s juvenile halls and children in Head Start preschool, and services for the children of migrant workers, said Larry Slonaker, the public information officer for the county office. The branch also oversees charter schools.” Kinda sounds like a Superintendent’s experience, with the exception of juvenile halls. It doesn’t say he’s ONLY working with special ed or alternative students, just that they are part of the mix. Like in any school district.
hmm, so maybe he will start by cutting the hours of the Special Education classroom aides who work one-to-one with autistic students because they really don’t need that many hours with the students, like he did at MVWSD?
then he’ll try to charge the low income Spanish speaking parents to use classroom space for their English classes, like he tried to do at Castro.
to my knowledge, I’d have to agree with other posters that he has no previous experience with alternative schools, juvenile halls, or children of migrant workers. and to my knowledge, despite ardent claims to the contrary, he really doesn’t give a rat’s ass about children. it’s all about his ego. and now we all know it’s all about the old boys network with his pal Weiss, another sterling example of integrity.
And we wonder why education is in the toilet in CA. Nothing Ghysels, he will no doubt try to get some payback against MV working from the county. I called it here.
Anyone employed at Mountain View Whisman school District can attest to the favoritism and corruption evident in their HR department. I am not surprised there is no policy regarding how they conduct their affairs. Self righteous Stephanie Totter has been making up policy as she goes along. Long past time for this hack to retire.