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Three weeks after placing the Ravenswood City School District’s controversial superintendent on paid administrative leave, the Board of Education quietly — and unanimously — accepted her resignation in a special closed-session meeting on Tuesday night.
Board President Tamara Sobomehin confirmed Wednesday that the board approved a separation agreement with Superintendent Gloria Hernandez-Goff. Her employment will be terminated effective March 31.
District staff were notified via email on Tuesday night.
Under the agreement, the district will pay Hernandez-Goff $160,873 — the equivalent of 10 month’s pay, or the remainder of this year — and any unused vacation time. The agreement appears to be a termination by mutual consent, which is one termination option provided for in her contract.
The agreement prevents Hernandez-Goff from being rehired by the district at any time in the future and from suing the district, its trustees or its employees in connection with her employment.
The document also states that Hernandez-Goff has seven days to revoke the agreement after she executes it. It was presented to her on March 12, and she and her attorney signed it on March 15. Hernandez-Goff also agreed not to seek monetary damages of any kind.
Hired in 2013, Hernandez-Goff will be leaving before the end of her current two-year contract, which the board renewed amidst community protest last April. She could not be immediately reached for comment.
Hernandez-Goff was a divisive figure in the K-8 district, with staunch allies who defended her efforts to turn around the district and fervent critics who accused her of financial mismanagement, nepotism and retaliation.
The board’s decision to place her on paid leave reflected that division. The board’s newest trustees, Sobomehin and Vice President Stephanie Fitch, along with Marielena Gaona-Mendoza, voted in support, while Ana Pulido and Sharifa Wilson cast the “no” votes.
Gina Sudaria, the district’s director of student services and a longtime employee, has been serving as acting superintendent in Hernandez-Goff’s absence.
Listen to or watch the March 1 episode of “Behind the Headlines,” in which Weekly journalists discuss the leadership battle at the Ravenswood school district, available on our YouTube page and new podcast page.
In regards to the resignation of the Ravenswood Superintendent, it is fascinating to see “The district did not immediately make the separation agreement available.” And this comment, “Sobomehin declined to answer any further questions about the nature of the settlement agreement.” And why? Are there legal reasons to not reveal the nature of the settlement? This is about public schools, public salaries and public money.
They cannot make public settlement agreements when they contain confidential employee information. She is still a worker of the state and entitled to privacy. With the said, good riddance. She was corrupt, uneven handed and destroyed the careers or pushed out teachers with a lot of dedication and ethics. She never made the district better, just chaotic. Wilson should be the next to step down. To bad there is no investigation of school board members. Bravo to Sobomehin for standing up the old guard and to real change. This is why we voted for you!!!
Yes! She is out, and cannot do anymore damage to our district. I am guessing she is not leaving empty handed thanks to Pulido who renewed her contract when she does not deserve it. Hopefully the new board makes better decisions. Puled sure messed up when she renew it. How could she be so naive?
In regards to the first poster:
In regards to the resignation of the Ravenswood Superintendent, it is fascinating to see “The district did not immediately make the separation agreement available.” And this comment, “Sobomehin declined to answer any further questions about the nature of the settlement agreement.” And why? Are there legal reasons to not reveal the nature of the settlement? This is about public schools, public salaries and public money.
At least she is gone, and for that I am thankful. Hopefully there will be no more corrupting by removing the most corrupted employee. Perhaps the rest of the employees will stop the corruption. There needs to be a clean house starting from top administrators.
I really feel sorry for the next school district Gloria will be working at. They have no idea what they will get into. First Gloria will pretend to care for the poor by putting laundry machines in all schools (hope this time she gets the appropriate permits), will set take away present food distribution program or bring a new one, will spent money on laundry machines instead of using that money to educate the students, will hire former Ravenswood employees who covered for her (this will be good thing for Ravenswood, then she will hire her family members (son, granddaughter, husband etc). Once she is established and gains the trust of the board, parents and community, she will mismanage funds, then she will retaliate against anybody who might point or notice what she is doing. But perhaps there will be one or two people who will not be afraid of her retaliation and will put their job on the line to bring out the truth, they will get fired or demoted, but the truth will eventually come out and the vicious cycle will start over. Sad, but at least she is out and this is a reason to celebrate big times.
I hope they did not give her so much money to get her out. The new board members seemed smart.
Settlement agreements are almost always made public, same as original employment contracts. McGee’s was made public the day after his resignation from Palo Alto was announced.
Ravenswood has a lot of work to do, but moving on from a leader who has lost the confidence of the team and trust of the board is a necessary first step.
It’s not the board president’s job to answer reporters’ questions. Calm down. The board just has to report out action taken during meetings, which they did. The district is required to make public information public, which it is and has been. The reporter, like any other member of the public, just has to follow the official process and make a public records request through the district to get the information she is entitled to. This is exactly how all districts and school boards conduct business.
Don’t harass the board president with nonsense, reporters! She is working hard. If you want information, go get it the same way that everyone else does. Reporters are relentless. My advice to all board members is to do your job working for our kids and ignore reporters. They don’t care about students. They only want to make money off stories about our children and community that will help make them famous.
Actually, it kind of is the Board President’s job to answer reasonable questions. Under RCSD Board Bylaw 9121a, the president’s duties include “representing the district as governance spokesperson, in conjunction with the superintendent.” The press is very helpful in keeping the community informed and making sure the Board and staff follow the rules (which most community members often don’t know).
That said, I’m sure they will release the settlement agreement shortly.
Where is Bonilla on all this. Doesn’t he gets paid to with the media or reporters? He shall be already saying “It is a political Stunt” what happened to that?
Has his contract been terminated too. It if has been terminated, I really admire the new majority of the board members. What about the other corrupted administrator who earns a lot of money: Lorena, Eichman, Tony Stone? they are all part of Gloria’s Gang, and they shall be out ASAP along with her son John Denos and Lucy Barron who got a position just to spy on the rest of the employees.
Palo Alto residents have no say in this decision and their opinions should be taken with a grain of salt.
This is an EPA issue. Focus on your own PAUSD problems.
Good riddance! Take out the rest of the Twin Rivers trash as well as her relatives and minions! When Gloria’s contract was renewed, it had to be provided to the public. She might be entitled to up to 12 months pay depending on what the contract contained.
Is Pulido, Lopez, Wilson and Knight going to be responsible financially for renewing the contract? I am most certain that she is going to leave with a fat check. The only one here who is not at fault is Trustee Gaona, who did vote no to renewing her contract.
What an embarrassment for the majority of the board who voted yes.
I bet Gloria is thinking on finding her next district (victim) that she will suck their blood out. Unfortunately it will be a poor district with naive board members who will hire her. I bet she would not be admitted around these school districts, nor Sacramento. I wonder where she will heading to. Hope she decides to retire, and that way she will not take other district’s funds. Please Gloria stay away from school district go find a job at the Second Harvest Food Bank or Homeless Shelter (sorry unfortunate people), or work on managing those mobil laundry machines for the less fortunate.
Sorry to all the people she retaliated against and that she fire, put on leave or laid off with no valid reason, only because they spoke up, too many to name here, but you know who you are, now you can have some closure.
Stepping Down, Getting Fired or Forced to resign?
One thing I do not like is when top administrators messed up, and then they are giving big sums of $$ to keep things quiet. As long as we do that, top administrators will continue to fail our kids because they know that they are untouchable, and that in order to get rid of them, they will have to pay them a lot of money. These practice has to change around the country. In a way they want these to happened so they can get pay without having to work.
Hope they really exposed the truth. If the district did nothing wrong why do not they make the information public or are they hiding something bid?
Amen, the Toad is going away.
> Palo Alto residents have no say in this decision and their opinions should be taken with a grain of salt.
True…but Palo Alto does not incur the same social, educational & city-wide problems as EPA which is why our input can be of some value to East Palo Altans striving towards a better community.
We are municipal neighbors and some Palo Altans would like to see East Palo Alto become a viable part of Silicon Valley.
To achieve this requires a collective consciousness on the part of all East Palo Alto residents.
Editor – why is the nasty comment by EPA On The Move allowed to remain when Taquisha’s comment was deleted? The unwelcome arrogance, elitism & ethnocentrism of their comment is disgusting.
^^^ Probably because Taquisha referred to the former superintendent a ‘Toad’ whereas Move is simply extending the best for EPA as a whole.
Some Palo Altans do care about our neighbors to the east.
> The unwelcome arrogance, elitism & ethnocentrism of their comment is disgusting.
That’s taking things a bit too personally.
Of course we take it personally – it’s dripping with classism and racism. There’s nothing caring about it in the least.
Curious. East Palo Alto is as old as Palo Alto. Its history goes back to the 1850s (not counting the Native California Indian period).
From Cooley’s Landing to Ravenswood to the current East Palo Alto, the city has been around for a long time.
Like other local cities, why hasn’t EPA emerged as a major munipality of importance in today’s modern Silicon Valley? Cupertino was once unincorporated as well, a former agricultural community & now home to Apple & other high-tech corporations.
EPA somehow got left by the wayside though it was once a training ground for WW1 maneuvers and a vibrant agricultural region before the internment of the Japanese during WW2.
It’s current cultural roots are still primarily African-American & our teachers once said EPA changed its name to Nairobi in reference & respect to the heritage of many of its residents…and then it reverted back to East Palo Alto.
Why was that? A neighbor in Crescent Park once mentioned that though many of its residents wished to acknowledge their African heritage, very few were actually acquainted with the customs except for dress & so the city went back to East Palo Alto as a general name reference.
With its available square mileage, there seems to be unlimited potential for EPA to join the other cities as a major player in Silicon Valley.
Will it take further development to achieve this?
Palo Alto & East Palo Alto are within close proximities but the difference between the two cities is vast.
@Greene Student…are you doing a social studies project on East Palo Alto? I will chime in (although some may disagree with me).
> Like other local cities, why hasn’t EPA emerged as a major munipality of importance in today’s modern Silicon Valley?
> Will it take further development to achieve this?
Based on the demographics of a community (i.e. its ethnicities, highest level of education, personal wealth factors etc.) it is oftentimes difficult to raise the standard of living which can directly lead to progressive measures in terms of civic & community improvements.
Reference other California cities/areas such as Richmond, Compton, East San Jose Seaside, Emeryville et al. All are crime-ridden & education often below state mandated levels. This in turn has a self-limiting factor which imprisons people to the existing conditions and as a result, these areas are highly gang-ridden which increases the crime factor. Indoctrination into gangs often stems from a sense of hoplessness & a desire to be part of something meaningful to one’s existence.
Parental encouragement to improve one’s lot in life via higher education and job training is also an important consideration which is often associated with absentee parents who have abandoned their respective families. Again, another common factor in these neighborhoods.
Redevelopment can rejuvenate a problematic community but businesses won’t want to situate there if the conditions aren’t conducive to a safe environment & reasonable promise of economic return on investment.
As a result, some regions remain ghettos.
Correction on Title.
> A neighbor in Crescent Park once mentioned that though many of its residents wished to acknowledge their African heritage, very few were actually acquainted with the customs except for dress & so the city went back to East Palo Alto as a general name reference.
This was primarily due to the popularity of the TV movie ‘Roots’. African-Americans in EPA wanted to acknowledge their ‘roots’ but being so far removed in time (150+ years), this cultural acknowledgement was very difficult to achieve on a practical level as most African-Americans are pretty much ‘Americanized’.
Add to the fact that very few African-Americans spoke Swahili, the native tongue of Nairobi. So in essence, while many dressed as Nairobians most spoke English as their everyday language (incorporating street vernacular like ‘bro’ which is not used in Nairobi). It was essentially a colorful fashion statement of the times symbolizing ethnic pride. Some might even remember the massive Afro hairstyle which are not very common today.
> Reference other California cities/areas such as Richmond, Compton, East San Jose, Seaside, Emeryville et al. All are crime-ridden & education often below state mandated levels.
It is oftentimes difficult to raise the level or bar of a community in these areas when the residents themselves acquiece to the pervasive conditions. As a result, it becomes a perpetuating ecosystem of a ghetto.
> Like other local cities, why hasn’t EPA emerged as a major munipality of importance in today’s modern Silicon Valley?
Because many East Palo Altans seem to prefer an autonomy of their own as referenced by an earlier quote in this thread…
> Palo Alto residents have no say in this decision and their opinions should be taken with a grain of salt.
It is very difficult to assist others when they are inherently stubborn & resentful towards outside constructive input on how to improve matters.
On the other hand, a quote from the same individual…
> Wealthy & meddling Palo Alto ‘do-gooders’ who are always commenting about how to best improve East Palo Alto should be the first ones to contribute & create various fundraisers for such an effort.
To complain about other people’s opinions but to also ask them for money is a questionable strategy…it hasn’t worked for decades as proven by countless government entitlement programs.
New Honorable Board Members Please do not forget to look into the food program. Gloria had many employees who covered for her or collaborated with them to lie about the district: some of them are Lucy Barron, Antoni (custodian) Roberto (I think another Custodian, Laura (I think an African American Bus Driver), Alberto, Primitivo, juan and so on.
Here is Lucy Barron Lying saying that she is a parent, but she forgot to say that she is also a parent. Lucy is a good actor look the sad face she puts a sad face when the reporter says that
Another video here showing Roberto Cuellar who also helped with bringing this parent to wash not even load or chalets just to make it to the news so Gloria could look like a person who cares and not one who mismanaged districts funds.
In return she gave let them work overtime under the table at least Pulido, Chavez and Knight were not aware of it. Maybe Pulido and Sharifa did. She paid a lot of money to these people to work every weekend either at Caetano or Willow. Please do something about this do not keep waisting our children’s funds. We parents pay tax and do not want the money to be used on this. The money she has been paying for overtime to all of this people during the last 4 years, should had been used to pay one or two special education aides, a custodians to clean our schools or yard duties to supervise students during recess and such time so they can be safe. For most parents our students safety is our priority we can find other places to get food donations such as the Ecumenical Hunger Program, Saint Francis Church, Pentecostal church, but we cannot find a way to get the mentioned needed employees to help our kids and keep the school clean. People do not have to go hungry in EPA, there are plenty places where people can get free food. Why does the school district has to take the burden of paying employers to feed people not just from EPA, but Redwood City, Palo Alto, MT. Mountain Vie and so on? Use the money on our students so they can get better education.
Also, Gloria never allowed other employees to work at the food bank, only her favorites. This is why they were willing to lie an example of these are the Cuellar brothers who collaborated with Gloria saying that someone wrote a fake letter saying that they were undocumented. This was only so Pulido could look good and voters would like her. I said this because nobody else was on the news only Pulido. Bonilla also collaborated on this fake story that was fabricated by Gloria. She needed Polio’s votes and was willing to do anything so she could will the elections, this way she would have her vote on any crazy recommendations she made. We the community are so happy about it. I heard that there have been celebrations here and there after they heard she was on leave and now there will be more after it became effective that she would no longer work for Ravenswood, even thought she took us into a financial crisis and is taking so much money
with her.
“…our teachers once said EPA changed its name to Nairobi in reference & respect to the heritage of many of its residents…and then it reverted back to East Palo Alto.”
Was this also because if a USPS zip code was omitted on the mailing address, the letter or parcel might have inadvertently be sent to Kenya?
Nairobi/EPA must have been very colorful back in the day with its African-themed boutiques & restaurants.
> It’s current cultural roots are still primarily African-American & our teachers once said EPA changed its name to Nairobi in reference & respect to the heritage of many of its residents…and then it reverted back to East Palo Alto.
I believe EPA is now primarily Hispanic…maybe 40%+.
Nairobi as a city name might have proven confusing to US Postal Service if the zip code had been omitted from a letter or parcel…in which case the mail could easily be routed to Kenya.
Some cities have characteristic names for their ethnic communities & neighborhoods (i.e. Little Tokyo, Japan Town, Chinatown, Little Saigon etc.). Perhaps East Palo Alto could have incorporated a designated area of the city ‘Little Nairobi’ with specialty African import shops, Kenyan-themed restaurants and where people could dress in their colorful native attire sporting Afros.
Ravenswood would be an appropriate name for EPA as it has a historical reference point & absolves any mistaken connection with Palo Alto.
> Perhaps East Palo Alto could have incorporated a designated area of the city ‘Little Nairobi’ with specialty African import shops, Kenyan-themed restaurants and where people could dress in their colorful native attire sporting Afros.
Like the Danish Village in Solvang?
For it too be both economically feasible & practical, ‘Little Nairobi’ should also have a history center/museum + a theme park based on Alex Haley’s ‘Roots’ whereby visitors could share a vicarious experience as exemplified by Kunta Kinte, Chicken George & the other characters in Haley’s epic historical novel.
It would also provide viable employment opportunities for those of African-American heritage as actors, docents & tour guides.
Why is there so much controversy in EPA?
I recall some earlier PA Weekly articles…(1) something about a city councilmember telling another official, “let’s take it outside”, a perceived implication to a physical confrontation, (2) a verbal confrontation between a school official and her husband (?) at a food bank/distribution center, and (3) now this dismissal amid allegations of certain improprieties & mismanagement.
Will EPA ever get it right? The students are the ones who suffer when the adults are behaving badly.
In A Civilized World, you should pay attention to the problems in your own city. For pity’s sake, you have councilmembers under investigation. And no, none of our councilmembers said that to anyone. You regularly have student suicides & school-based sexual abuse & sexual assault.
Your point is well-taken M&M as all cities have their inherent problems to deal address & resolve.
It just seems that EPA reportages seem to have a coarser edge with perhaps less overall diplomacy extended towards one another.
Palo Altans certainly have their differences but they tend to convey them with a tad more polish (or so it seems).
Yeah, those child sex abuse cases & sexual assaults in the schools sure are civil – again, lead to civil suits. What’s the point of your bias, In A Civilized World?
> What’s the point of your bias, In A Civilized World?
No bias…just a commentary. You cannot compare the acts of minors to those of an adult.
However when adults behave like children, it raises a few eyebrows.
it’s always best to try to be amicable among each other regardless of any differences of opinion.
I just don’t see that going on in EPA but then again, I could be mistaken.
@In A Civilized World… – is that satire (“a tad more polished”)?
In terms of the schools, I would say that Ravenswood and PAUSD have suffered from the same root problem – bad governance (board) and bad management (superintendent & staff). The manifestations are different, based on populations and happenstance. But both a chronic under-performers – PAUSD happens to get high test scores anyway because the kids and families bring so much to the table.
PAUSD two years ago changed its board from do little and defensive to something more open and practical, and now Ravenswood has done the same. PAUSD changed its supe and much of its senior staff and now Ravenswood is doing the same. Hopefully both can get on track to deliver better results, especially for low-income students.
@In A Civilized World… – is that satire (“a tad more polished”)?
No. It was observational as per another PA Weekly thread pertaining to this topic.
Ref: “Ousted superintendent violated harassment policy in comments about employees with children”
Without regurgitating the entire article, it’s clearly obvious that there was a certain lack of politeness, tact, sensitivity & overall respect towards others on the part of the now deposed superintendent of schools. An investigation was held & various indiscretions were exposed.
There have been other EPA-related ‘public service’ related incidents as well (i.e. the food bank ‘domestic’ altercation & the city hall ‘verbal’ altercation).
All I was trying to convey here is that at times there is a certain degree of perceived coarseness on the part of some EPA public officials & others might conclude or assume that it is reflective of the civic nature of the community.
This is all based on local news reportage & sometimes a ‘tad more polish’ & diplomacy on the part of certain public officials goes a lot further than verifiable verbal harassments & catfights occuring within the various departments & town council.
So yes. In some ways believe Palo Alto is a more civil community than EPA in many instances. This is not an indictment of East Palo Alto just a general observation based on news reportage.
“It just seems that EPA reportages seem to have a coarser edge with perhaps less overall diplomacy extended towards one another.”
Maybe it’s because we speak our minds & don’t play pseudo-diplomacy games like some of the more ‘polished’ citizens of other communities.
‘Get to the point & if someone’s feathers get ruffled along the way’, so be it…is our mantra. And who cares?
Being civil is counterproductive if one is getting the run-around.
Palo Altans tend to take the Nancy Pelosi approach (aka song & dance).
EPA is oftentimes best exemplified by the Jerry Springer format.
In A Civilized World – you don’t even see your bias. It’s implicit in your focus on my town without seeming to be aware of serious problems in your own city. Maybe you should take your blinders off and pay attention to what’s under your nose. Hints: The college admissions scandal. Liz Kniss. Title IX violations. But in your eyes, coarseness is the problem.
> It’s implicit in your focus on my town without seeming to be aware of serious problems in your own city…Hints: The college admissions scandal. Liz Kniss. Title IX violations. But in your eyes, coarseness is the problem.
All valid points M&M as every city has its own issues & problems to address & resolve…that goes without saying.
But all things considered, perhaps Winifred’s earlier post says it best when conveying the ‘EPA Way’…
“Get to the point & if someone’s feathers get ruffled along the way’, so be it…is our mantra. And who cares?”
“Being civil is counterproductive if one is getting the run-around.”
“Palo Altans tend to take the Nancy Pelosi approach (aka song & dance).”
“EPA is oftentimes best exemplified by the Jerry Springer format.”
I have to concur in many respects. Sometimes being a bit on the coarser side gets the message across.
Palo Altans could probably learn a thing or two from their eastern neighbors.
In A Civilized World – you’re never going to learn anything. Your ethnocentrism & Sili Valley bigotry are sadly on full display. It’s shameful, because you clearly know little about E Palo Alto. I recognized you because I’ve lived and worked in Palo Alto, in tech, and around too many of your ilk. We don’t want to be like you, or like Palo Alto or Menlo Park. Good luck dealing with all your city’s problems.
>>…our teachers once said EPA changed its name to Nairobi in reference & respect to the heritage of many of its residents…and then it reverted back to East Palo Alto.
>> A neighbor in Crescent Park once mentioned that though many of its residents wished to acknowledge their African heritage, very few were actually acquainted with the customs except for dress & so the city went back to East Palo Alto as a general name reference.
Yes. The 1970s were a period of social awareness & cultural re-identification. Many of the younger African-American residents chose to acknowledge their native African roots by wearing colorful Kenyan clothing & sporting Afros.
The only issue was that very few of them knew how to speak Swahili (the native language of Kenya) & so it became more of a fashion statement rather than a cultural awakening.
Also mail addressed to Nairobi got confused with the city & country so to keep postal deliveries on target, the city reverted back to East Palo Alto.
Over time, the fashions also changed as well.
We are finally Gloria Hernandez Free as of April First. She can no longer mismanage or disappear students funds, nor takes us into deeper into financial crisis. She was so close to shut down Belle Haven, but thanks God, there were new board members, and this time Pulido and Wilson are the minority and could let Hernandez do as she wished. If we had the same majority of board members Belle H. would be history by now just like the Child Development Center is. I cannot believe that Gloria and Wilson let her get away with violate harassment policies and mismanage students’ funds. Hope that the new board members can fix Ravenswood Middle School which is a mess, due to staffing and lack of supervision and as a result thee are many violent fights. There are too many students in one school with not enough supervision. Things are going to get worst next school year if something is not done about it. I am sure Wilson will be out next elections. No one in hr right mind will vote for her, now that the truth has been exposed and everyone knows that they cover for Hernandez, and even voted NO on putting her on leave. Like someone else said, they are too ignorant or plain stupid.