Parents of Aromas School students and staff want to be heard
when it comes to educational issues, and they have taken to the
streets.
Parents of Aromas School students and staff want to be heard when it comes to educational issues, and they have taken to the streets.
After the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District Board of Trustees voted not to renew the contract of the school’s principal, the community and school staff began a grass-roots movement to have the principal reinstated and their voices heard.
Through the Aromas School Home and School Club, people joined together to pursue what they can do to get the Board to hear their concerns, said club member and parent Kim Dawes.
“Staff opinions and parent opinions should be valued. They have an interest in planning for the district or for a school. They need to be heard,” Dawes said. “It makes us wonder what other decisions they’re making without us knowing anything.”
This week, people have been picketing in downtown Aromas about the Board’s narrow 3-2 decision not to renew Mary-Ann Tucker’s contract. And they want to get people to attend the April 2 meeting where a portion of public comment will be given before Trustees adjourn to closed session. Also, picketing in front of the district office is planned before the 5:30 p.m. meeting, Dawes said.
Residents are concerned that such an action was made without input from the community, whether or not they support reinstating Tucker, Dawes said.
District Superintendent Jackie Munoz agreed with Dawes that people should be heard.
“I think it’s really important that the community and staff be heard and I believe the Board is doing all it can to listen,” she said.
In closed session March 5, Trustees discussed the “public employee performance evaluation” of Tucker. During open session, the Board voted not to renew Tucker’s contract. Board President John Ferreira and Trustee Jeff Hancock were the dissenting votes.
Tucker has been under contract since 2001 and her contract expires in June, Munoz said. Because the issue is a personnel matter, details can not be discussed in public, as stated in the state government code and the Brown Act. The Board intends to hire a new principal and the position opened to applicants March 6.
Tucker could not be reached for comment.
Board member Sylvia Rios Metcalf understood the need for hearing from the community on issues affecting students and schools.
“The decision was made on evaluations,” Metcalf said. “We followed the normal, district procedures to go about it the way we did. This was not an easy thing for any of us.”
Munoz said administrators and teachers are not under the same type of contracts, and depending on negotiations, administrators can be placed on contracts for one or more years. Tucker had a yearly contract because she was new to the district, Munoz said.
The Board can make a motion to rehire Tucker and rescind its earlier vote if Trustees decide to, Munoz said.
However, Metcalf was undecided if she would support such a motion.
“It was a tough decision to make the first time. It’d be tough to have to do again. I don’t know what will happen,” she said.
On March 6, the day after the Board meeting, the Home and School Club held a meeting and Hancock and Ferreira attended to answer questions about the Board’s decision. Although they could not discuss details, they said Tucker “didn’t fit into the plans of the district,” Dawes said.
“The district (mission) is very general,” she said. “It says it will involve the community and it didn’t.”
Dawes and others said the Board did not have all the information needed to make such a decision.
The club organized a special meeting March 18 “for people to get things off their chest,” Dawes said. Although the community had one day’s notice, more than 130 people attended, she said.
“We had a very balanced representation of the community,” Dawes said. “It’s not just one segment of the community that’s upset.”
Based on personal experiences with Tucker, Dawes has no idea why Tucker’s contract was not renewed, unless the Board knows personnel issues the community does not have privilege to.
“If there’s something horribly bad they know that would cause them to disregard (our input), shouldn’t we know?” Dawes said.
Personally, Dawes is pushing for Tucker to be reinstated.
“She makes people feel appreciated and valued,” she said. “She is very responsive to kids and parents.”
Based on how the Board made its decision, the Tucker issue has opened a can of worms for parents and staff.
“This whole issue has brought up trust issues and who (the Board members) represent,” Dawes said.
Also, some residents are concerned about the school having stability, which does not come from having a new principal every two years, Dawes said.
The home and school club, much like a PTA, helps school organizations by raising money through fund-raisers, and members have have helped the school with its playground, and bought books and computers, Dawes said.
Club members, which is about 500, raise between $10,000 and $20,000 each year, she said, and because of state budget issues, the club recently bought items on teachers’ wish lists that totaled $5,000
The ASJUSD meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. April 2 at Anzar High School. A special public comment period is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. before Trustees go into closed session, Munoz said.
