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The Pleasanton school board did not take any formal action Tuesday night on the appointments of interim replacements for Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi and assistant superintendent of Human Resources Bill Faraghan.
Trustees discussed possible candidates for the position and directed legal counsel to prepare and negotiate contracts. An announcement will be made and contracts will be considered for approval at an upcoming board meeting.
Ahmadi will leave July 1 to become the new superintendent of the Castro Valley Unified School District and Faraghan will retire this month.
In addition to Tuesday’s closed session agenda, the school board appointed Denise Parnell as the coordinator for Special Projects/Program Improvement.
During community comment on non-agenda items, 15 people — mostly students — addressed the school board about Foothill High’s search for its next head wrestling coach, who will succeed Bennie Lafever, who has coached the team the past eight seasons.
The reason for Lafever’s departure is unclear. Foothill principal Jason Krolikowski said in a follow-up interview that he could not discuss why Lafever is no longer with the school, citing personnel rules.
Many students Tuesday spoke in favor of having assistant coach Ken Coburn as the new head coach, although Krolikowski is considering Hart Middle School wrestling coach Dale Hazen for the position.
“Please do not consider taking this decision of approving Dale lightly,” said a parent of a wrestler, Sean Ghoddoucy.
The student speakers echoed one another and said the decision should mainly be up to those involved in wrestling, with Foothill wrestler Dustin Duklete presenting a petition with 45 signatures in support of Coburn.
Other parents and students also came forward expressing their trust in Krolikowski’s decision and to “trust the process.”
The consideration of approving Hazen will be presented at an upcoming school board meeting.
Also during community comment, Pleasanton parent and district employee Susana Lopez-Krulevitch, Foothill graduate Arely Labra and former trustee Jeff Bowser recognized and thanked Ahmadi for her service to the Pleasanton school district.
Labra said the Latino community in Pleasanton never felt a part of the community until Ahmadi arrived.
Association of Pleasanton Teachers president Janice Clark and California School Employees Association representative Bonnie Kasson also extended their appreciation to Ahmadi.
In addition, Clark announced Patty Bowser as APT’s newly-elected vice-president.
In other business:
* District staff provided a first reading of the 2015-16 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) draft, which is a required action under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).
According to staff reports, PUSD’s LCAP is aligned with state and district priorities to ensure that supplemental funds provided to the school district to support targeted students are expended in a manner to facilitate their academic success. Targeted students include socio-economically disadvantaged, English learners and foster/kinship youth.
Some of the new areas for supplemental funding include: a Mandarin-speaking district parent liaison, College & Career Readiness Action Plan incentives, a Spanish-speaking social worker, internet-connected Chromebooks, reading/EL support paraprofessionals for K-5, among other areas.
The LCAP will be presented to trustees at an upcoming board meeting, prior to the adoption of the district budget.
* Staff presented the FY 15/16 proposed budget, highlighting areas such as: an increase in the district’s Local Control Funding Formula, the rate for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and workers’ compensation.
In addition, PUSD transferred $75,000 from the Pleasanton Schools Education Enrichment Gift Fund to the General Fund to cover the cost of the elementary school band/strings teacher. Staff reports said the balance of the PSEE Gift Fund is $461,000, a decrease of $263,000 from the original balance of $724,000 in FY11/12.
The board will revisit the budget at the next meeting June 23 for consideration of approval.
* Board members heard an update about the Pleasanton Parent Teachers Association Council, which included an increase in membership and two new PTAs (Foothill High and Pleasanton Middle) within the school district.
The report also highlighted the council’s Reflection Arts Program that recognizes student artists and its annual Excellence in Education award recipients.
According to staff, PTA Council volunteers donated over 82,000 hours of their time – equivalent to 57 full-time employees.
* Trustees unanimously approved the Capital Maintenance Five-Year Plan, which includes: repairing/replacing paving at various sites, replacing flooring at Mohr Elementary and Hart Middle multipurpose rooms and Foothill High’s small gym, replacing/repairing HVAC units at Foothill and Amador Valley, and conducting annual safety inspections and repairs for all bleachers and stadium seating.
* The School Facility Fee Justification Report, which supports increasing statutory development fees imposed on new residential and commercial/industrial development projects, was approved 5-0 during Tuesday’s meeting.
* Trustees recognized participants from California’s National History Day competition, which included teachers and students from Amador Valley and Foothill high schools and Pleasanton and Hart middle schools.
Man watch out for this Coburn guy. Granada had to get rid of him. Also he was responsible for getting the previous Foothill coach fired. He was a good man.
Students and teachers at Starbucks this morning told me the district wifi/internet is out again, impacting final exams for students online this morning.
Awfully fishy situation about the wresting coach; the team and parents are against Mr. K on this? What’s not being said here?
Why did management get up and walk out of boarder ting last night?
Don’t you think it’s interesting that Arkin and Hintzke have run off the second superintendent and members of the cabinet. Do you want to bet that they’ll hire and run off the next superintendent who is not their puppet, like Miller? When will they be satisfied? Unlike most school districts they are choosing to keep the superintendent hiring process a secret. What are they afraid of? What backroom deals are they making? Arkin and Hintzke stop playing politics with our kids.
I wanted to comment regarding the wrestling coach discussion. The article states :
“many students spoke in favor of having Ken Coburn as the new head coach”
Of the “many students”, only 3 were current Foothill wrestlers. Others were either from other competing schools or former students.
Should just include all candidates to be interviewed by the community whose kids are going to be in the coach’s hands. common inclusive process . points and preference given to pleasanton residency. we need someone who lives, breathes, and is here. Enough of popularity drama.
being a member of the Pleasanton community. I am highly offended by Arley Labras Comments.
Labra said the Latino community in Pleasanton never felt a part of the community until Ahmadi arrived.
I Do not believe you speak for the latino community. Maybe You speak for yourself. So what is it you did or did not do that lead to your perception that the Pleasanton community is not as accepting of you as you would like?
To answer the question that “parent” was asking… The Deputy Superintendent organized a walk-out while trustees Hintzke and Arkin were speaking. This included her supporters, which – not surprisingly – were union leadership, her administrative assistant, and a former trustee who Hintzke did not endorse in the previous election cycle.
I would have to disagree with the comments by “Interesting”, and I think it’s important to remember how the structure of a school district is set up. We – as the members of this community – elect our school board trustees to oversee the district, which mainly boils down to overseeing the cabinet and holding them accountable to do their jobs well (among many other things).
Every time that these trustees asked the tough questions of the cabinet, they are all of the sudden “running them out of town”? I couldn’t disagree more. In fact, I don’t think they ask enough tough questions of what is going on behind the scenes, especially when it comes to staff management, and dealing with difficult situations that involve the unions (which I would normally support… but tend to be frustrated by here in Pleasanton).
Finally, I was appalled and embarrassed at the behavior of the Deputy Superintendent last night, as she openly organized a walkout to disrespect those board members. Whether you agree with them or not, they are – in fact – your bosses. Can you imagine if a CFO organized a walk-out while someone on a corporate board was speaking in a public setting? I understand that this is an apples to oranges comparison, as our district shouldn’t be run exactly like a corporation. But still – where has the respect gone? And where do we expect the accountability of the cabinet to come from?
I am glad that all 5 trustees are taking their time with these decisions, as I know for a fact that they were caught off guard by this resignation. It is imperative that they make solid choices for both the short-term (interim Supt) and long-term (full search for Supt). Similar to “Interesting” though, I wish we could hear more information about where they are at now, and what their next steps are. I can hear the lawyer fees racking up, and am confused why we need lawyers to negotiate our contracts for us.
@ Accountability is Key. Thank you for the explanation. I appreciate your thoughts and insight.
Coburn would be a fantastic coach. He is very in tune with each child’s individual needs and abilities. I have not seen such strong support for the other candidate. If you have examples of student support for him, please let us know.
A nice long walkout to another job for some of these follks is what is needed. Imagine what would happen to students is they staged a walkout . I hope the board hires some actual adults for these cabinet spots. These childish antics displayed by public employees does nothing more than again damage the reputation of a once respectable organization.
Can’t wait until the Deputy Superintendent is fired or leaves. She has been a problem for a long time and she controlled Parvin because Parvin did not want to understand the finances so let Luz do whatever she wanted.
If I was on the board during that walkout, I would have said “I accept your resignations!”
It would be nice if the deputy superintendent could keep her emotions under control and behavior in a professional manner. Making a public spectacle in the mist of the turmoil of our district is childish. Our students deserve role models not out of control adults. I feel sorry for the students who were there last night. So when their principal is speaking and should they just get up and walk out. Her desire was to make a scene. Ok… you have made a scene. Show some maturity at least for our students.
Accountability – I could not agree more with your comments bar one -“I understand that this is an apples to oranges comparison”. These people are in the ‘business’ of educating children, providing strategic direction for an ‘organization’ of professionals. There may not be an income statement or balance sheet to grade their performance as happens in the public sector but they are still assessed against standards, their day-in, day-out efforts, and overall progress, both measureable and subjective in improving the educational environment in Pleasanton. They are also very well compensated for their efforts. As Accountability commented, an act like this in the public sector would lead to immediate termination. Ms. Cezares is employed by contract which may or may not be renewed. Her stunt was, at a minimum, a further reflection of her gross lack of professionalism, and at worst, an insult to the Board, the teachers she, as Deputy Superintendent, should be leading as well as the community at large. To members of the Board, please stand firm in your convictions and approach to the governing of the district and the search process for a new Superintendent.
The school should look to hire anyone but Dale or Ken.
There are better candidates for the job in Ptown and the tri valley.
I watched the school board meeting last night and was appalled that students stood up and talked about who they wanted as a wrestling coach. Since when do the kids get a vote as to who their coach should be? The trustees have much bigger issues than to listen to a small group of disgruntled parents. It was embarrassing that this issue is being brought to the Board. The trustees need to dismiss this issue and let the principal hire who he/she feels is the right candidate for his/her school. Parents, teach your children that they won’t always get what they want, it’s called LIFE and let’s show the surrounding communities that we aren’t raising a bunch of spoiled, privileged kids!
A special board meeting has been scheduled for June 12, 2015, Special Board Meeting, 7:30 a.m.
Special Board Meeting
Pleasanton USD
June 12, 2015 7:30AM
District Board Room 4664 Bernal Avenue Pleasanton, CA 94566
1. OPENING CEREMONY – 7:30 a.m.
Quick Summary / Abstract:
School Board Meeting Procedures At Special Board meetings, comments may be taken for only those items appearing on the posted agenda. No action or discussion shall be undertaken, except that members of a legislative body or its staff may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising their public testimony rights under Government Code 54954.3. In addition, on their own initiative, or in response to questions posed by the public, a member of a legislative body or its staff may ask a question for clarification, make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on his or her own activities. Furthermore, a member of a legislative body, or the body itself, subject to rules or procedures of the legislative body, may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, request staff to report back to the body at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter, or take action to direct staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda. This meeting will not be recorded or televised.
1.1. Call to Order
1.2. Public Comment on Closed Session Items
2. CLOSED SESSION – 7:30 a.m.
2.1. Personnel Actions (Government Code 54957) – Limited to consideration of the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline/release, or dismissal of a public employee.
2.1.1. Public Employment: Title: Interim Superintendent
2.1.2. Public Employment: Title: Interim Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources
3. ACTION ON CLOSED SESSION
3.1. Report on Action Taken in Closed Session
4. Adjournment
https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=106&MeetingID=9672&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False
Responding to “The Source”: The fact that some believe Coburn would be a good coach is irrelevant. My experience is the opposite. Coburn is responsible for creating a very divisive team at Foothill which was once family-like. Read the first post about what he did at Livermore. And I could go on & on however none of this is relevant. What is relevant is the Principal of Foothill HS went through a robust interview process and hired a candidate. It is HIS responsibility to hire the best, most qualified candidate. Because of the sensitivity of this role, the Principal went out of his way to include an outside panelist to be part of the interview process. Coburn interviewed for the job and he was not selected. MOVE ON ! Coach Hazen went through the same interview process and was hired. Coach Hazen is an excellent coach and will do a fantastic job at Foothill. Its time to support Mr. Krolikowski and CONGRATULATE COACH HAZEN !
No surprise that Ahmadis last meeting featured political stunts. I guess Mrs. Jeff Bowser will represent him while Mr. Bowser plans his return. Interesting to see him once again get his facts wrong intentionally or otherwise. Do any of these hacks realize the purpose of a school district is to serve our children and not them? And for those who say “serve all students” that means ALL students, including our high achievers not just your special interests.
Grant was right when he talked about the need for one team. He shouldn’t have said this to the wrestlers but to his friends at APT and the unseated trustee.
I, for one, am very glad that Ahmadhi is leaving! Unfortunately, for my family, it is after my youngest graduates. Fremont school district was a mess, which is why we left,and she turned Pleasanton into the same mess! Lets get back to the core Pleasanton Values! A well-rounded eduction focused on ALL subjects and extra-curricular activities. Under Ahmadhi’s reign, we have seen everything that is not math and science suffer, and suffer dearly. I surely hope that the new superintend will bring back the core values that make Pleasanton a wonderful place to live, and go to school. Lets ensure that all of our programs are properly funded and not cater to only math and science.
A bit confused, Deputy Superintendent Luz Cazres got up and walked out of a board meeting. Isn’t one of Ms. Cazares well compensated duties to attend and provide leadership to district school board meetings? Under her leadership she organized district employees and staff to walk out of a school board meeting? Guess Ms Cazres feels very comfortable that she will not be held accountable for her actions by her boss Ms. Ahmadi. Something is very wrong with the Pleasanton USD leadership.
Did the assist supt actually get up and walk out or did people in the audience walk out? If the assist supt got up and walked out isn’t that insubordination which is a serious performance issue. Just asking as I wasn’t there
The main issue is that it is the decision of the Principal who to hire for his staff. Period. The children who spoke in favor of Coburn (only three of whom were current FHS students)stated that this is their program so they should make the hiring decision. Incorrect. Children do not get to decide who is hired to be their teachers and coaches, adults do. And Mr. K. is the most qualified adult to make this decision. Period. Further Mr. K completed a thorough process and District HR agreed and advanced the recommendation to hire Dale. Period. The rest is all noise and these parents and Coburn should teach these children an important life lesson – you are not entitled to always get your way. That will take you further in life than winning any wrestling tournament.
Coaches for School Sports and Club Sports should be TOTALLY Separated and so should the programs for public schools. Foothill wrestling tried to integrate the two and it was a disaster. After winning 2 EBAL championships in a row the 3rd year the Club Coach was trying to take over the School Head Coach position and turned the families divided and the team “family” feel went away and then no more Championship for Foothill. It takes a unified team not a divided team. As past Coach and Principal Jason K knows it is important for ALL School kids to be included in the High School Athletic program so I trust his coaching hire decision will be great. Thanks Mr K.
remove all athletic programs from the public schools let the citizens develop the athletic clubs. Teach the kids to read and write. perhaps another English class or American History. Let also teach them that when they dont get their way its not okay to walk out.
I love what The Main Issue and PWNFYA said…. now if only the parents followed this behavior…CCSS, Calendar, etc.
‘School was nice 40 years ago’ because parents believed the quote below also applied to them. No wonder you are seeing this in kids now…apple—>tree. Hmmmmm…..
“Children do not get to decide who is hired to be their teachers and coaches, adults do. And Mr. K. is the most qualified adult to make this decision. Period. Further Mr. K completed a thorough process and District HR agreed and advanced the recommendation to hire Dale. Period. The rest is all noise and these parents and Coburn should teach these children an important life lesson – you are not entitled to always get your way. That will take you further in life than winning any wrestling tournament.”
Wait till you see what these very parents will do to your schools! Oh wait, you can…..just read the blogs.
Quote: I have not seen such strong support for the other candidate (Dale Hazen). If you have examples of student support for him, please let us know.
Coach Hazen coached Amador Valley HS for 8 seasons and he also won 18 consecutive middle school championships while coaching at Harvest Park middle school.
I’m happy that Hazen has put his name in the ring and accepted the Foothill job. His past experience is a good indicator that he’ll surely get the Foothill program back to where it was under Bennie’s watch. That ere was a machine and Hazen, his son and his grandson were a large part of that success.