Amid ongoing leadership turmoil, the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education unanimously approved Director of Certificated Human Resources Herb Espiritu as acting superintendent at its March 19 meeting, just two days after the district announced a separation agreement with Acting Superintendent Trent Bahadursingh. Espiritu will hold this position through April 12, or until the board appoints an external interim superintendent. 

Bahadursingh served as Acting Superintendent for 22 days. He was appointed after now-Superintendent Emeritus Don Austin parted ways with the district on Feb. 20. 

In a letter to the community, Dharap wrote that Bahadursingh’s contract entitled him to 12 months of salary if a separation without cause occurred. PAUSD will pay Bahadursingh $337,017. This follows Austin’s agreement with the district to leave and receive $596,802.

Board Vice President Rowena Chiu agreed to an interview only if The Campanile made clear she was not speaking on behalf of the Board of Education; her comments reflect her personal opinion, not an official board position. Chiu was the only board member who voted against appointing Bahadrusingh and said she did so because of his close relationship with Austin.

“They both came over here from Rancho Palos Verdes and worked together on their external consulting company, SimpleWins,” Chiu said. “I felt that the very close ties with our Superintendent Emeritus would make it hard to effect a change in culture.”

Tom Culbertson, president of the Palo Alto Educators Association, the union that represents certificated teachers in the district, said employees are hoping for better working conditions under new leadership.

“(Bahadursingh and Austin) are in business together in their consulting firm, SimpleWins, and (there was a) culmination of a lot of years of frustration for PAEA members,” Culbertson said. “We, as a group, were really clamoring for a significant change in the direction of the district.”

Two weeks before Bahadursingh was appointed Acting Superintendent, Victoria Maya, a former PAUSD administrative assistant, filed a lawsuit against the district a lleging Bahadursingh bullied her on multiple occasions. Her suit alleges the district failed to prevent harassment, discriminated and retaliated against her, violated medical leave laws, wrongfully terminated her and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.

Chiu said she was not aware of the allegations against Bahadursingh at the time of his appointment to acting superintendent.

“I will say that I was concerned about the lawsuit,” Chiu said. “I was concerned that as Vice President of the Board, I only found out about the lawsuit when it was revealed in the press.”

Although he said he is grateful for Bahadursingh and Austin’s commitment to the district, Paly Student Board Representative, senior Dylan Chen, said it is time for a change.

“Although I appreciate their efforts, their work in the district, and the years they put in to make PAUSD a better place, I think at the end of the day, after so much tension, so much controversy, we really do need a cultural refresh,” Chen said.

Chen said this refresh, especially with regard to how people are treated, will be critical for future success.

“I think much of the district’s culture in recent months has been characterized by animosity, conflict, a lack of respect towards each other by all stakeholders, bullying, and … those are not what a healthy district has,” Chen said. “If you can’t have a place where everyone is heard, if you can’t have a place where everyone’s represented, if you can’t have a place where people can speak without being shut down aggressively, then there’s no way a district can function, and nobody is going to be happy.”

And Chiu said whoever becomes the next superintendent needs to improve communication with the community.

“I know it’s a really hard role for the superintendent because you’re caught between these different interests of parents, students, teachers, and they might all have different viewpoints, and they might all disagree,” Chiu said. “If you don’t share information with the community, the parents, the students, the teachers, it’s hard to build an environment of trust.”

In addition, Culbertson said he hopes future leaders will engage in problem-solving with empathy. 

“The previous superintendent and his team created a situation where a lot of our members felt alienated and cynical about working together and solving problems and that their voices were not important, and that they were not being respected,” Culbertson said. “The converse of that is more respect, more collaboration, because that’s what’s best for students, that’s what’s best for school environments.”

Chiu did say, though, changing culture is a challenging task.

“I also am very aware it will not be easy, but I think things that are worth doing are never easy,” Chiu said. “I think together, we can work towards this cultural reset. …(It will be) a lot of work, but I think it’s really worth doing.”

For Culbertson, Espiritu is the right person to meet the current challenge.

“I have a close working relationship with him, and we’ve had many productive conversations where we’ve been able to solve problems together, and that has been a welcome difference from previous folks,” Culbertson said. “I (know) that he (will) bring that same positivity, problem solving, strong communication, clear communication to this interim role.”

Chiu agrees and said Espiritu will provide unity and stability while searching for a permanent superintendent.

“It was a question of choosing somebody who we felt would offer a steady hand during our time of transition, and I think Mr. Espiritu will do a good job with building the community and bringing people together,” Chiu said. “Those were skills that we were looking for because the district has undergone a lot of change recently, and I think it was important to find someone who had a collaborative nature and was willing to work to bring the community together at quite a sensitive time.”

From a student’s perspective, Chen said he hopes the next superintendent will be a good communicator. 

“Students want a superintendent that can communicate effectively so students and community members know what is going on in the district, instead of trying to guess what happens behind the scenes,” Chen said. “We really need a culture of respect, and many students think that has to start from the top.”

Ultimately, Culbertson said despite the many transitions in such a short period of time, he is optimistic about the future of leadership in PAUSD.

“The people who are more experienced understand that this transition can be a little bit rocky, and in general, as a group, we’re feeling positive that change is coming,” Culbertson said. “We’ve been wanting change for quite some time. We’re quite happy to work together with whoever wants to make positive change and open a new chapter in PAUSD.”

Bahadursingh, Board President Shounak Dharap and Espiritu did not respond to interview requests for this story.