Another Pleasanton school principal has taken a leave of absence this year, with district officials confirming that Vintage Hills Elementary School principal Ann Jayne is out indefinitely because of a family emergency.
The Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees last week formally appointed vice principal Leslie Navarrette as interim principal to lead Vintage Hills during this time.
Jayne has actually been away from the office since last month, "out for a family emergency," PUSD spokesman Patrick Gannon said this week. District officials sent a note to the school community Monday alerting people to Navarrette's appointment, though she had been leading Vintage Hills as acting principal since early March.
"Leslie had been filling in for Ann in her VP role as acting principal prior to her appointment (April 16)," Gannon told the Weekly. "They just made her appointment retroactive to when she began as acting principal. The 'effective immediately' in the message was intended to affirm her leadership moving forward."
It is not known when Jayne will return to Vintage Hills, the school she has led as principal since the 2015-16 school year.
An inclusion specialist already familiar with the school, Navarrette has served this year as vice principal at Vintage Hills, as well as at Walnut Grove Elementary School and Harvest Park preschool.
Vintage Hills is the second PUSD school to see a principal go on an extended leave of absence this year, joining Amador Valley High with outgoing principal Alberto Solorzano. Pleasanton Middle School principal Jill Butler has also announced her retirement, effective in June.
Solorzano, who was the third principal at Amador in four years, has been on personal leave since Feb. 20 for unspecified reasons and will officially resign effective June 30.
The Weekly received a copy of Solorzano's resignation letter for the first time last week, following a California Public Records Act request.
The five-line letter from Solorzano offered no additional insight into why the first-year principal abruptly left Amador, but it provided new information on the timeline of his departure.
PUSD officials publicly reported Feb. 20 that Solorzano had been granted a leave of absence for personal reasons, and the school board later approved his resignation request on March 26. But PUSD records revealed that Solorzano's resignation letter was dated Feb. 20.
"Mr. Solorzano did request personal leave prior to filing the resignation letter. Mr. Solorzano submitted his resignation letter effective June 30, 2019," Gannon said when asked to clarify the timeline.
"The letter was part of his personnel file and not public until it was taken to the board. In the interest of both Mr. Solorzano and Amador hiring a new leader, it was decided to bring the resignation to the Board prior to his resignation date on June 30, 2019," Gannon added.
In his resignation letter, addressed to assistant superintendent of human resources Julio Hernandez, Solorzano offered a brief statement thanking everyone "for the opportunity to work in a district that is dedicated to its students and families."
"I have genuinely enjoyed supporting the students and staff and I will take what I have learned to new endeavors," Solorzano said.
Solorzano, who has not responded to multiple requests for comment, did not elaborate in the letter about the reasons for his resignation some seven months into his first year at Amador.
As part of the records request, Gannon confirmed there were no complaints filed against Solorzano between Sept. 1 and this month. Gannon added, "The district did receive an email that identified a concern, which we have previously discussed in person" -- a reference to the high school transcript probe that unfolded during the fall and winter.
A PUSD legal consultant determined in January that administrators -- whose names were not released -- intentionally removed a completed course from a high school student's transcript and record in violation of state law. Solorzano's exit came several weeks after the transcript investigation was completed, and one week before Amador was due for a routine accreditation visit.
The recent records request also yielded Butler's retirement application, a one-page form with no personal statement for district human resources about her decision. Butler did offer a comment to the Weekly last month, saying in part, that "being part of such a wonderful learning community has truly enriched my life, and for that I will be forever grateful."
In addition to looking for a new principal at Pleasanton Middle School, the district is also searching for the next permanent principal at Amador and recently held several forums seeking feedback from students, faculty and parents about what type of leader they would like at the high school. Gannon said the district plans to continue their efforts and that "our goal is to have someone identified before the end of the year" as the new Amador principal.
Comments
Vintage Hills Elementary School
on Apr 24, 2019 at 5:54 pm
on Apr 24, 2019 at 5:54 pm
Do you mean the Vintage Hills mold issues and leaking roofs will be fixed, there will be no more racially segregated coffees with the principal (and thus no more TV spots on NBC Los Angeles) Web Link and Mountain Dew will no longer be the school's creative cheap fix for kids with behavioral and attention deficit issues?
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Apr 24, 2019 at 8:00 pm
on Apr 24, 2019 at 8:00 pm
It is pretty clear that the VH principal wasn't wanted back by the community and her only way out in a graceful way is to use this family emergency as a way out. Parents have been asking for a while now what was going on at their child's school and we would just get a runaround answer. Our site leaders are left with no support from the district offices. I think it is time our employees at the district office remember they are employed by us. We have too many that push concerns and complaints back to school sites. Our schools are impacted and our children are just numbers on a score sheet. PUSD you should be ashamed for how you treat our teachers, aides and specialists. Our children deserve better than this. So many parents talk about striking to make change. Maybe it is time.
Vintage Hills
on Apr 24, 2019 at 8:10 pm
on Apr 24, 2019 at 8:10 pm
After all the negative comments about the lack of leadership at VH in the past few months, I am not sure it would be wise to bring her back.
There is no respect or honesty given by this principal. She has taken a school that once was fun and bright to a school that is without life or fun. School should be fun. The teachers are so over this "leader" as much as the parents are. Our teachers are not heard. There have been complaints filed by them and yet the principal remained.
If this principal comes back I am pulling my children from the school. We will homeschool or go to private. My children deserve better.
Vintage Hills
on Apr 24, 2019 at 11:09 pm
on Apr 24, 2019 at 11:09 pm
I moved my child mid-year to another elementary school in the district because I was so fed up with Dr. Jayne. Uprooting my child mid-year was the last thing I wanted. I invested a lot of time in the school, helping, supporting and building relationships. I brought my concerns to the districts attention on multiple occasions only to be redirected back to Dr. Jayne to discuss my concerns. I still don’t understand how the district gets away with punting complaints about the sites back to the sites. If she was adept at addressing issues I wouldn’t have gone to the district. I suppose they don’t think we understand the chain of command. I’m incredibly sad about the damage the district allowed her to cause...
Vintage Hills
on Apr 25, 2019 at 3:25 am
on Apr 25, 2019 at 3:25 am
n recent years, so many Pleasanton principals have left the district for vague, unspecified reasons. It seemed to start during the tenure of Superintendent Ahmadi. But she left some time ago and yet still principals are jumping ship very quickly and even mid-year. Is this not a clear indication that there is a major problem within the district? A problem that needs to be thoroughly investigated, by education officials from beyond district level. And soon.
Registered user
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Apr 25, 2019 at 6:37 am
Registered user
on Apr 25, 2019 at 6:37 am
So many of us feel lied to and let down by this district. Special Education spends more money in lawyer fees than we do in making sure children are given fair and equal education. We have hungry students and we have students who need more than PBIS. This district needs a revamp and needs one now. Our fear now is who will be replacing this mess up at VH. We will be asked to attend a town hall about what we as parents want in a principal but really they do not care what we say or the teachers. They just want their distinguished flag and blue ribbon status. Those meetings abiut our wish in principals are never heard unless it's what Haglund wants to hear. These are not district officials working for our kids. They are being paid a lot of money to shift the problems back to school sites. We have a superintendent who posts on social media a lot but that's about it.Who mentioned strike? I'm with you on that. Kids and teachers deserve more.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Apr 25, 2019 at 8:42 am
on Apr 25, 2019 at 8:42 am
The article states that the public was told apparently by the Superintendent that the principal at Amador was on "leave" when in reality he had put in a resignation letter and had officially resigned. I don't know whether Haglund did this intentionally or whether he is so busy with his Twitter feed and Social Media posts that he doesn't bother to communicate the truth to the press and public or the school board for that matter.
As far as the District's obsession with Twitter, parents just roll their eyes. Just how ridiculous that Ann Jayne's official PUSD Twitter account was retweeting quotes from the Dalai Lama, showing kids in her classrooms doing yoga (how that relates to language arts, math and science is a mystery) and other absurd postings -Web Link
Perhaps next time they should hire someone who has actually taught in an official capacity as a teacher and not one of these instructional coaches with a degree in Restaurant, Hotel and Hospitality Management. How someone gets to be promoted to a Vice Principal from an Instructional Coach position is beyond me. If they have some self-promotional Facebook page Web Link or a thesis about identity politics and "whiteness," their resume should probably be put in the recycle bin.
The Twitter brigade at both the sites and district office need to go. Obviously, they aren't doing their actual jobs and are far too focused on mindless PR activities that add no actual value to the PUSD environment or the education the kids are ideally supposed to be getting.
Registered user
Vintage Hills
on Apr 25, 2019 at 3:10 pm
Registered user
on Apr 25, 2019 at 3:10 pm
The district needs a leadership overhaul from the top down. Let's be honest, if the district was run like a private corporation most people downtown at the district office would be out of a job. There has been too much turnover downtown, not enough leadership, and people who just collect paychecks without doing their jobs. How is PUSD supposed to hire and keep good administrators/principals when they have no leadership or support?
In the case of Dr. Jayne, she was never qualified to lead Vintage Hills. Regardless of the leadership downfalls at the district office, she had no business being in charge of my children's school. The last 4 years under her leadership have been a nightmare. Time and time again parents and teachers have spoken up about the issues at Vintage Hills but the district chose to ignore our concerns.
Additionally, there has been no transparency about the situation at Vintage Hills over the last 6 weeks. Dr. Jayne has been out since the beginning of March and FINALLY this week we were given an announcement from the district office about the interim principal who has been in charge for weeks. The lack of communication and transparency from the district is what frustrates parents and makes us question the PUSD leadership.
Given the state of Vintage Hills and the fact we may or may not have a permanent principal for the next school year, I don't feel confident sending my children to school there in the fall. I'm sure I'm not the only parent with this concern.
Vintage Hills Elementary School
on Apr 25, 2019 at 4:21 pm
on Apr 25, 2019 at 4:21 pm
Kudos to the Pleasanton Weekly for obtaining documents proving the deceit of top officials at PUSD. Haglund needs to be removed for being dishonest with the public regarding the AVHS principal and claiming it was a leave when it was a resignation.
It is disappointing that the District Office would lie to AVHS teachers and staff and claim the principal was taking a leave of absence when in fact he resigned. I find it disturbing that when contacted by the student newspaper at Amador, Haglund apparently lied to the student reporters as well. In fact, in the story published February 21st, after the resignation letter was dated, the newspaper specifically quotes Haglund as well:
Web Link
' “Initially it [the request for leave] was for 2 weeks. But with any leave [you can extend it], and all employees have a right to do that. But if there’s additional information that comes to us, and it’s something that we can share, we’ll definitely keep the school informed,” said PUSD Superintendent Dr. David Haglund.'
As you can see from the quote above, it seems that Haglund never had any intention of telling the truth. Just how can any student respect a superintendent that lies to them?
Can the Pleasanton Weekly contact the School Board president to determine whether the school board was in on the lies and campaign of misinformation as well or was the School Board president lied to by Haglund as well?
Birdland
on Apr 25, 2019 at 5:04 pm
on Apr 25, 2019 at 5:04 pm
The community can fix many of the problems stated by the concerned posters above by ELECTING NEW BOARD MEMBERS. With the exception of Steve Maher, who has served as teacher and principal at multiple sites in the district, the other board members have no experience in the classroom. We need to elect board members who have actually been in the classrooms who actually understand the grind that teachers and students go through every day. Many of the current board members care about money and maintaining their own image above truth and welfare of the district employees and students. The board members need to go.
Vintage Hills
on Apr 25, 2019 at 6:48 pm
on Apr 25, 2019 at 6:48 pm
The community could elect new board members if they didn’t run UNOPPOSED!
Registered user
Vintage Hills
on Apr 25, 2019 at 7:42 pm
Registered user
on Apr 25, 2019 at 7:42 pm
Steve Maher is the best!! We need more board members like him to fight for our students and teachers!! Sadly, with the district being such a mess, it's going to be hard to find anyone willing to step up and run for the position.
Pleasanton Meadows
on Apr 25, 2019 at 8:48 pm
on Apr 25, 2019 at 8:48 pm
Sorry, we need board members to fight for students and parents. Teachers have a union. I want a board that serves my interests, and bridges the relationship between private and public sector.
Vintage Hills
on Apr 25, 2019 at 8:59 pm
on Apr 25, 2019 at 8:59 pm
Who is on the hiring committee? I hear people get hired despite not getting votes. I don’t have a clue what the process is but seems like there’s a big breakdown - how do we continue to hire people that aren’t qualified? Between the payouts for fired employees and the lawsuits for failing to uphold the law, it seems like the district is wasting a ton of resources. And that’s just the beginning.... Is achieving the Blue Ribbon worth the cost of being a district no one decent wants to work in?
Amador Valley High School
on Apr 25, 2019 at 10:30 pm
on Apr 25, 2019 at 10:30 pm
Not sure what to make of the black male cardboard cutout with some sort of string/rope put outside the Vintage Hills entrance with the message "Bind, James Bond ...." from the principal with a ticket message. Is the message of "Bind" some sort of really odd joke with the string representing a "Bind" or someone tied up? Web Link
Bizarre.
Also, PUSD looks like it has been unable to actually compose and post a meaningful press release concerning PUSD information for nearly 3 years. The last one was placed on the PUSD website on May 11, 2016.
Web Link
Pleasanton Meadows
on Apr 25, 2019 at 10:33 pm
on Apr 25, 2019 at 10:33 pm
Baffled, really, you cant figure that out? Im baffled
Registered user
Vintage Hills
on Apr 26, 2019 at 9:31 am
Registered user
on Apr 26, 2019 at 9:31 am
The problem with the board members, with a few exceptions depending on the topic, is an inability to ask tough questions, to push for better reporting, and to accept they are the leadership and must hold staff accountable.
Steve Maher is a rare exception being a former teacher/administrator. Valerie Arkin has pushed, often alone, for more accountability. But I agree with PP; the role of a board member is the bridge; they should represent students, parents, and the broader community. That is their first and primary role; the rest is accomplished in their supervision of the superintendent.
Registered user
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Apr 26, 2019 at 1:58 pm
Registered user
on Apr 26, 2019 at 1:58 pm
@pleasanton parent their union rep has and continues to let them down. Ten TEN grievances against principal and nothing. Not even a meeting about it. I am fighting to change things for our kids and our teachers
Maher is amazing and has tried helping us at VH but I think Haglund just does what he wants And does not take in Maher's opinions.
Registered user
Vintage Hills
on Apr 26, 2019 at 3:01 pm
Registered user
on Apr 26, 2019 at 3:01 pm
The board members have to act as a whole (majority of votes—in this case three). One board member cannot direct the superintendent.
Amador Valley High School
on Apr 26, 2019 at 4:57 pm
on Apr 26, 2019 at 4:57 pm
Does this mean that the principal Dr. Jayne was acting alone at Vintage Hills with foisting the Mountain Dew on the Special Education kids as some sort of "cure" or did this come from the District Office and Special Education Director or the Superintendent himself?
Mountain Dew is banned in a number of countries because it contains a harmful flame retardant chemical called BYO as an ingredient that potentially causes all sorts of issues from behavioral and reproductive and nerve disorders to loss of muscle coordination and memory to blindness including schizophrenia.
Any person who has taken a Hospitality course in Food and Beverage Management at any Hotel Administration college knows that Mountain Dew is banned in much of the world including Europe. Since that is what field Ann Jayne apparently majored in during college I would assume she knows that basic fact.
So what exactly was the motivation for foisting the Mountain Dew on the special needs kids?
Pleasanton Meadows
on Apr 26, 2019 at 5:21 pm
on Apr 26, 2019 at 5:21 pm
Justamom,
I completely empathize with the parents and staff around the inability of unions to foster meaningful change. They are only a hindrance in the elementary, middle, and high school leveld.
Amador Valley High School
on Apr 26, 2019 at 8:16 pm
on Apr 26, 2019 at 8:16 pm
I can completely understand why the union has filed grievance after grievance and parents are up in arms.
I don't understand how the district school board believes that having a principal with a propensity to repeatedly post angry complaints on Facebook with destructive accusations is a positive attribute. I have never heard at any parent meeting any feedback given to district staff that any member of the community sees someone with repeated angry vocal complaints or someone who enjoys Facebook fights or accusing people as 'sucking' is at all positive when on the one hand they are supposed to conform to the Community of Character and treat community members with kindness.
Why then would the school board hire someone so angry with Allegiant Air and their supposed "disgustingly rude personalities" (words of Ann Maurer Jayne) and quotes on the Allegiant Facebook page like:
Ann Maurer Jayne 'Glenn not sure what you don't understand but the people inside the plane who give you drinks and food are rude, sloppy and ill equipped for working with other humans.'
and
Ann Maurer Jayne 'Ironically the person who was so disgustingly rude was named Michele, but your photo doesn't indicate you are the same person. No one was rude to her. She was flustered and just responded in such a disgusting way. Actually, how you responded here...maybe you are the same person.'
and
Ann Maurer Jayne 'YES.....this airline sucks and their flight attendants suck even worse.'
Why did the school board and superintendent look at these posts and believe that this person would be a good principal and hire her?
Kolb Ranch Estates
on Apr 26, 2019 at 11:05 pm
on Apr 26, 2019 at 11:05 pm
baffled,
It looks like you’re spending a lot of time online digging through old social media and throwing out the randomest things you can find to see if you can stumble upon something that will provoke outrage against Dr. Jayne. I don’t know her at all, but I feel like I’m learning a lot about your character, and you sound like a jilted teen cyberstalking a rival. Bullying is not okay.
Birdland
on Apr 27, 2019 at 7:53 am
on Apr 27, 2019 at 7:53 am
Don’t miss the Special School Board meeting this Tuesday, April 30th. Time to present our cases.
Registered user
Vintage Hills
on Apr 27, 2019 at 9:38 am
Registered user
on Apr 27, 2019 at 9:38 am
Kolby, while the information shared about Dr. Jayne may seem random, it's the truth. They say the true test of one's character is what they do when no one is watching. Dr. Jayne put on a good front for the district office, but behind closed doors her angry outbursts were a common occurrence.
While waiting for my child to be dismissed from school one day, I witnessed her berate an employee in front of me when she thought no one was watching. While I don't work at the school, I can only imagine how her employees were treated. As a parent who had numerous interactions with Dr. Jayne, my interactions were never pleasant and often times her aggressive demeanor left me feeling a bit bullied. No parent or employee should be forced to endure this type of behavior, especially from the leader of the school.
Vintage Hills
on Apr 27, 2019 at 5:42 pm
on Apr 27, 2019 at 5:42 pm
Kolby,
Its preposterous that anyone would find what Baffled did as bullying. What should provoke outrage is the seemingly absent concern by the district. Ann is not employed on an assembly line for Amazon, she is a leader of 600 young children. She isn’t 12, she’s not unaware of the consequences of her posts. The reality is she just doesn’t care. She once told me she has the authority to override the law. Maybe the law is finally catching up to her.
Registered user
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Apr 27, 2019 at 6:56 pm
Registered user
on Apr 27, 2019 at 6:56 pm
@jayne I mean @kolby please let her know that her time is done. She has lied, cheated, misused PTA funds, has lost our district thousands due to being out of compliance and we have students that she isn't even allowed to speak to. Our character is just fine. We aren't the bullies. How a out the young girl who was being bullied and Jayne said to the parents that their daughter needed thicker skin. We have begged for help and this district has ignored us. Many of us have emailed everyone on the board and Dr Haglund and that man has never listened to us or the Board. He left this mess at VH. leaking ceilings, possible mold, parents not welcomed onto campus,fights happening but not told to parents. Lie after Lie. Ann Jayne made her reputation...now she has to live with it. I can't even start Amador. Just happy I have one on the way out. Her classrooms have exposed wiring and water damage. I can see through the bottom of the wall to the outside. Suicide after suicide and Haglund says nothing. I have friends who are firemen who go on calls weekly for children attempting their life. This district is failing our children.
Tuesday is a community forum with our District....the more that come the better. You will leave stunned by the lies and what others are dealing with in this district will shock you.
Vintage Hills Elementary School
on Apr 27, 2019 at 7:12 pm
on Apr 27, 2019 at 7:12 pm
The principal at Vintage Hills continuously uses her official PUSD Twitter account to bully, disrespect, intimidate, humiliate and enrage teachers and staff members employed by the District. She has done this repeatedly to the point that staff relations and morale at the site are at an all time low.
Why use a public forum consistently to denigrate staff and the district? If she has issues, she should take it up in private with the Human Resources department or the Board? Why use social media to attack her employer and employees like Web Link ?
The examples are numerous where she channels her temper and uses social media to harm and belittle the teachers on site. For example, what purpose other than to anger the teachers would she post on Twitter to all of the parents and staff and children that she was reading a book called "How to Deal with Teachers that are ANGRY, TROUBLED, EXHAUSTED or just PLAIN CONFUSED." Another book she posted she was reading is an office survival guide to deal with working in a sexist workplace (implication is of course is that she has labeled the PUSD as a sexist workplace). The principal has no filter and lacks any ability to lead the school.
Registered user
Pleasanton Meadows
on Apr 27, 2019 at 9:05 pm
Registered user
on Apr 27, 2019 at 9:05 pm
Anonymous posters have no credibility!
Vintage Hills
on Apr 27, 2019 at 10:54 pm
on Apr 27, 2019 at 10:54 pm
@Michael Austin - Thanks for the tip. I’ll use my real name from now on.
Vintage Hills
on Apr 27, 2019 at 11:06 pm
on Apr 27, 2019 at 11:06 pm
It’s not everyday that one earns the name Trump of Pleasanton.
Registered user
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Apr 27, 2019 at 11:46 pm
Registered user
on Apr 27, 2019 at 11:46 pm
My name is Jenny Smith. Some might know me from my friend requests to a community page for VH families.
Pleasanton Meadows
on Apr 28, 2019 at 7:00 am
on Apr 28, 2019 at 7:00 am
Posters failing to provide their address, phone number, social security number, and tax returns have no credibility.....give me a break Michael....if in fact that is your real name.
Sounds like this woman isnt the type of person we want leading our children or an Amazon fulfillment center people leader.....but focus on the school related items. I agree the other things in her personal life are indicators, but you have enough with the school centric items to make your case. When you start introducing the other things it looks like a personal vendetta vs a focused problem
Pleasanton Meadows
on Apr 28, 2019 at 6:07 pm
on Apr 28, 2019 at 6:07 pm
Pleasanton Parent:
Your rant - "Posters failing to provide their address, phone number, social security number, and tax returns" further explains why Pleasanton Parent has no credibility.
I simply stated "anonymous posters have no credibility".
Pleasanton Meadows
on Apr 28, 2019 at 8:55 pm
on Apr 28, 2019 at 8:55 pm
Michael Austin (if that is your real name):
Your rant - "anonymous posters have no credibility". further explains why michael austin has no credibility.
I simply stated "Posters failing to provide their address, phone number, social security number, and tax returns have no credibility" for all we know your michael austins neighbor....maybe you dont like him very much. Clearly we need to validate your identity to have any credibility beyond that of any other poster
Registered user
Vintage Hills
on Apr 28, 2019 at 10:36 pm
Registered user
on Apr 28, 2019 at 10:36 pm
Michael is Michael.
I think some have reason to be anonymous; others use it to cross the lines of civility without accountability.