July 22, 2005

Back to the table of Contents Page

Classifieds

Palo Alto Online

Former superintendent has no regrets

by Alexandria Rocha

Although some top leaders in East Palo Alto's school community say LaDawn Law was forced to resign, she isn't pointing any fingers or doing any name calling.

"The board has to make a decision on what's in the best interest of the district. I have to look at my own life and career. It is what it is, and life goes on," said Law, 60, who recently stepped down from her post as Ravenswood City School District's superintendent after only one year on the job. It's been five weeks since Law's mysterious departure. So far no one has come forward with an explanation for why she left or provided details about what will happen next. As more time passes, it is turning into just another confusing chapter in the district's troubled history. In the meantime, the students' academic achievement continues to suffer, and a state takeover looms. When the current Board of Trustees hired Law last year, members hoped she would be a bright light in the dark tunnel. She was the first permanent superintendent the district had since 2002. She spoke Spanish -- a major bonus since it's the first language of many Ravenswood students. Law also carried a stellar background of improving student achievement at under-performing schools. It seemed like the perfect fit. The community was hopeful. However, some of the district's major leaders have said a rift started to form between Law and board members who didn't agree with changes she was making to the district's programs and staff. Although details are limited, some officials said there were disagreements over how the district should operate its Open Court Reading system, a state-mandated program that requires students to read two hours a day. Law, they said, wanted to hire Open Court coaches, but there were quarrels over how to fund them. Others said the board wanted to expand a separate teacher training program in reading that could conflict with Open Court. There were also contentious issues with personnel in regards to evaluations, hires and layoffs, which are tricky to uncover because of confidentiality laws. During the conflicts, the direction of the district became cloudy. The focus seemed to move away from the classroom to turmoil among officials who couldn't agree on who was in charge or how the district's central offices should operate. "A lot of good things were happening. (Law) was making necessary changes," said Trustee Chester Palesoo, who was absent from the June 15 meeting in which Law's resignation was accepted by the board 4-0. "We should not try to force somebody to leave because she is proposing something that the board did not like," he added, but would not give specifics. Palesoo said he saw the situation getting out of hand a few weeks before Law resigned. He proposed a retreat for the superintendent, administrators and board members, of which three are fairly new, to work out the issues and stop the communication breakdown. He called it a "meeting of the minds." "Nobody else on the board wanted that," Palesoo said. "You have a new superintendent, a new majority of the board, you have to know what's happening. You have to develop a better relationship because you end up making personal decisions and they have a negative impact on the district." The board was scheduled to discuss having the retreat at its June 7 meeting. Since Palesoo was away on a family emergency and no one present knew "the reason for the retreat," according to the meeting's minutes, there was no motion on the item. Only two of the other four board members responded to inquiries for this story. Trustee Jacqueline Wallace Greene replied by e-mail, writing that she had "no additional information to add." Members Todd Gaviglio and Adam Mitchell did not return calls from the Weekly. Board President Marcelino Lopez said he could not talk in specifics, but said he hopes the community "trusts us that we're doing our best." "I feel that the community is suppose to know what's going on. Unfortunately for us we're restricted. It doesn't make us look good," Lopez added. "It's not easy if people feel betrayed. Not everybody is going to be happy so we have to deal with that." The current board was originally known as the district's "reform board." When three new members joined board veterans Greene and Palesoo in 2002, they were committed to moving the district away from the troubles it suffered under former superintendent Charlie Mae Knight, who served the district for 17 years. In 2001, Knight was charged with 19 "conflict of interest" counts tied to an allegation that she used district funds to lend money to teachers who owed her rent. The year before, she was accused of using district money to pay for a trip to Miami to attend "Good Times" star Esther Rolle's funeral. Knight was found innocent on all conflict-of-interest charges, but on the reformers' first day in office in December 2002, they put her on paid leave. The board then hired retired San Mateo County superintendent Floyd Gonella as interim superintendent. In spring 2004, after Gonella had served about a year, the district recruited Law from her post as program manager for the Stupski Foundation, a Mill Valley-based organization that helps improve student achievement. Law's resume had gold stars -- she was a former assistant superintendent at both San Francisco Unified and Mountain View-Whisman school districts, and she had experience with struggling low-income students. This stood out considering the district's overall state rating is more than 200 points below the standard. In a sense, Law was to be the district's "reform superintendent." "They hired her because of her background in literacy," said Martha Hanks, president of the Ravenswood Teachers' Association, who also said the board forced Law to resign. Hanks and Palesoo are not the only people who stand by that notion. Long-time East Palo Alto community member Mel Harris, also a former board member who served on the PTA as his children went through the district, said this week he was disappointed with the board. "What about the due process? If you're going to spend all that money hiring someone, there should be a learning curve, an evaluation and then an understanding that if things don't occur in due time there will be measures," he said. Palesoo said there has so far been no effort to begin the search for a new superintendent. For now, the district is operating under a board-appointed interim superintendent -- Maria Meza-De La Vega, who was previously the assistant superintendent. Lopez said this week that Vega had originally applied for the superintendent's post last spring. However, the district's search firm did not notify the board of her application, and she didn't "make it at all into the process," he said.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.