Alum Rock school board boots volatile president
Tran, known for brusque behavior during his nine-month tenure, ousted
SAN JOSE » In a highly unusual move, the Alum Rock Union School District board has ousted volatile trustee Khanh Tran as board president and employed a procedural sleight- of-hand to select one of his allies, longtime trustee Esau Ruiz Herrera, to replace him.
In doing so the board bypassed its vice president, dissident trustee Andres Quintero, who was absent from Wednesday night’s meeting.
Board members then dashed out before a stunned and dismayed a room full of its critics could collect itself.
“This will require legal action,” said parent Raymond Mueller, who only minutes earlier had praised Tran for putting his tenure as president of the five-member board to a vote. Tran lost — with Herrera and trustees Dolores Marquez-Frausto and Karen Martinez voting him out as president. He will remain on the board. The elation in the room, where a good portion remained of the 160 people who had packed the meeting earlier, was short-lived.
Herrera argued that because Tran didn’t resign but was voted out, leadership didn’t automatically pass to the board’s second-in-command. Nor, he said, was the board bound to follow Robert’s Rules of Order. Tran joined Herrera and Marquez-Frausto in voting for Herrera; Martinez dissented.
Tran, who has been president for nearly nine months, has riled
people with his sometimes brusque treatment from the dais, combative comments to critics, directives to staff, and outbursts on Twitter.
After the meeting, Tran said he was surprised that he lost the board vote. But he also confirmed that he deliberately chose not to resign, to allow the board to choose a new leader.
He is satisfied with the choice of Herrera.
“Andres is too emotional, Dolores is too emotional, Karen is a charter (schools) person,” he said, explaining his reservations about other colleagues.
“I navigated this district through a really hard time,” Tran said, referring to his leadership during a scathing state audit, an ongoing Santa Clara County District Attorney’s investigation, and a community backlash against the defensive board majority. He called the vote a “win-win”: His job in cybersecurity keeps him too busy to offer guidance to the superintendent, he said. “It’s time to have a fresh start.”
But teachers union President Jocelyn Merz noted that “if the purpose was to start anew, at least the board would have listened to the community and would have offered trustee Quintero a chance to be part of” the vote.
Quintero, who was working, had advised earlier that he could not make Wednesday night’s special board meeting.
On Thursday, he called the power play “political trickery.” Of Herrera taking the reins, Quintero said, “His intent and obsession with becoming board president are based on his desire to make sure there isn’t any cooperation with the investigation into Del Terra” Real Estate, the manager of Alum Rock’s bond financed construction work and a target of criticism by state auditors.
The astonishing coup unfolded in a matter of minutes, with Marquez-Frausto pushing for quick votes before any public comment.
Despite its speedy maneuver, the board appears not to have violated openmeetings law, said Terry Francke of Californians Aware, which promotes open government. State law prohibits board members from agreeing on votes beforehand or communicating about agenda items.
The power play eclipsed an evening that saw a remarkable and heartfelt outpouring of support for embattled Superintendent Hilaria Bauer.
Rumors that the board intended — again — to oust her or to sideline her by hiring a deputy chief who would report directly
“Andres is too emotional, Dolores is too emotional, Karen is a charter (schools) person.” — Khanh Tran, former Alum Rock board president, on his other colleagues
to trustees prompted parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders to jam the board room, spill into the hallway and fill another meeting room. More than 25 speakers, some representing dozens of other people, declared their support for Bauer — who sat mostly impassively on the dais — and warned the board against trying to weaken or fire her.
“We have watched with increasing concern the actions of board of trustees,” Principal Sandra PuertaSarmiento read from a letter signed by 100 percent of the district’s principals and vice-principals. “We can no longer remain silent.”
Maria Elena Ruiz, a teacher at Ocala STEAM Academy, said, “I’m here because, for first time in 11 years, I’ve felt my leader cares about my students, and felt that someone represents me and cares about me and does not use my students as a stepping stone for some political agenda.”
Both San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Dave Cortese sent letters praising Bauer’s leadership and partnership to bring services to Alum Rock children and families.
Several speakers called on the board to stop micromanaging Bauer.
“If you let the superintendent do her job, you don’t need a deputy superintendent,” former trustee Frank Chavez said.
Others referred to Alum Rock’s tumultuous political past and habit of booting out leaders. Starting her fourth year at the helm, Bauer is among Alum Rock’s longer-tenured recent superintendents.
“Use common sense. Don’t lay off a person who has been working very hard for our students and who has advocated for our parents,” parent Bertha Razo said.
Herrera is not seen as a strong backer of Bauer. But he has been a staunch supporter of Del Terra Real Estate, the manager of the district’s bond-financed construction.
In the end, the board did not announce any action on Bauer’s contract or status. It also postponed its vote on the deputy job — ensuring that uncertainty and worry in the district will persist.