By Anna Pier
Sonoma Valley Unified School Board of Trustees announce their third closed session meeting in two weeks, for Monday, June 2 at 2 p.m., apparently to name an Interim Superintendent. The meeting will be held in the Board Room at the District office, 17850 Railroad Avenue, Sonoma. The public has opportunity to comment in person or on Zoom at 2 p.m. before the closed session, https://sonomaschools-org.zoom.us/j/92660902993.
Fraught by the unexpected resignation of Superintendent Jeanette Rodriguez-Chien in the midst of teacher layoffs and school closure decisions, the Board also met on May 20 and May 27 to discuss next steps. The Agenda for the June 2 meeting is available HERE.
Board President Catarina Landry explained previously that “people have pleaded with us to not wait until the June 5 or June 17 regular Board meetings” to take steps to name an interim superintendent. Landry stated in her May 20 letter of clarity, “I look forward to receiving input from you and the rest of our community and the Board will continue to provide updates as we move through the process.” Despite this assurance, the next meeting was announced with only 30 hours’ notice, and the notice of the June 2 meeting had no accompanying explanation.
The following statements are excerpted from a Letter sent on May 20 by President Landry:
“The Board is committed to securing a superintendent with the expertise, experience, and strong interpersonal skills necessary to build on the many strengths of our district, and guide us through the challenges we continue to face.
The Board remains steadfast in its commitment to strong leadership and consistency—values we believe are essential to supporting our students, staff, and families, particularly during challenging times. We recognize that stable, visionary leadership is critical to guiding our schools through complex issues and continued recovery efforts.
As we move forward, we want to reassure our community that our priorities have not changed. We are committed to ensuring continuity and stability as we work to identify the best path ahead for our district.”
I struggle to think of any body of elected officials who are as feckless and incompetent as the SVUSD board of trustees. What a terrible disservice to the students of Sonoma Valley…
Please run the editorial “The Government Echo Chamber” in the on line edition. I read it in the print edition and it clearly spells out the issue we have with local government, including this school board of shutting out the public and not caring what the community they supposedly serve thinks.