Demoted Marin principal wins settlement

“The district has denied that it violated any laws in regard to the decision to reassign Mr. Rodriguez.” Superintendent Jim Hogeboom

A demoted San Rafael principal won a $725,000 settlement two years after filing a lawsuit against the school district alleging discrimination and retaliation over his support of Latino students.

The sum is not insignificant, equal to more than 1% of the budget for the San Rafael City District, which serves 4,200 elementary and middle school students.

Former Venetia Valley School Principal Juan Rodriguez filed the lawsuit in September 2020, six months after his demotion. His lawyers announced the settlement Monday.

Rodriguez alleged that the district discriminated against him “based on his race and national origin, and because of his vocal advocacy on behalf of Latino students and his efforts to achieve racial equity,” according to his attorneys.

San Rafael Superintendent Jim Hogeboom said insurance will cover all but $181,250 of the settlement, limiting the financial impact on students, and that the district admits no fault.

“Throughout this litigation, the district has denied that it violated any laws in regard to the decision to reassign Mr. Rodriguez,” Hogeboom said in a statement to The Chronicle. “The (school) board believes this settlement was in the best interest of the district to avoid the costs of continued litigation and the impact of the litigation on administrative resources.”

Rodriguez had been principal of the school since 2012, leading the previously lowperforming school, which is nearly 90% Latino/Hispanic and 80% low income, to a California Gold Ribbon School, a state Department of Education award given for “exemplary achievement.”

He noted in his lawsuit that 100% of the K-8 school’s eighth-grade graduates in 2015 were admitted to a university four years later. He was named Marin Educator of the Year in 2012.

Many parents and community members supported him, with the school’s PTA creating a petition urging the district to keep him on as principal, which more than 1,500 people signed.

Yet teachers and union representatives complained publicly about his management style, saying he bullied and berated staff.

“His bullying should not be allowed to continue in our district,” Mary Kate Kenney, president of the San Rafael Teachers Association, said during a March 9, 2020, school board meeting.

The school board that evening voted to remove him from the post and reassign him to a teaching position. Rodriguez left the district after his demotion. He had worked for the district for 19 years.

“I realize that the decision to reassign Principal Rodriguez may have come as a surprise and that it was not communicated in the way we would have liked,” said Hogeboom in a statement following the reassignment. “However, I would like you to know that a decision of this nature is only made after serious thought and reflection. It would only be made if there were compelling reasons and a conclusion drawn that such action was in the best interests of the Venetia Valley community.”

Rodriguez acknowledged in the suit that he fought against the status quo.

“Mr. Rodriguez has repeatedly raised issues of racial bias by parents, objected to programmatic changes that he reasonably believed were motivated by racial bias, raised questions about the segregation of the schools and advocated for practices intended to minimize or eliminate racial and ethnic bias in the school system.”

Rodriguez said this week that he hopes the lawsuit and settlement will encourage change in the district.

“I brought this lawsuit on the grounds that (the district) was engaging in discriminatory practices against socio-economically disadvantaged Latino students and because my advocacy on their behalf resulted in ongoing retaliation that included my removal from the role of principal,” he said in a statement Monday. “My hope is that as a result of this lawsuit, (the district) will take meaningful steps to address systemic racism, and create an atmosphere that supports and provides equal resources for students of color.”