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Tassajara Hills Elementary School is one of the latest in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District to be under new leadership in the 2023-24 academic year, following turnover in principals at a number of schools in the district during the summer months.
With former Tassajara Hills principal Annabel Hurlburt being selected for a district-level position as director of elementary education by the SRVUSD Board of education at their June 6 meeting, the opening left at the helm of the Danville elementary school was filled weeks later on June 23 by the appointment of longtime administrator Margrette Wui effective July 1.
“While I am thrilled about this opportunity to serve all 22 elementary schools in our district, it is with a sense of sadness that I step down from my position as principal of Tassajara Hills,” Hurlburt wrote in an announcement to families on June 6.
“Over the past four years, I have had the privilege of working closely with your children, and it has been an absolute joy to witness their growth and development,” Hurlburt continued. “The Tassajara Hills community is truly special, and I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your unwavering support and trust in our school.”
Wui comes to the position following time as assistant principal at Quail Run Elementary School as well as the continuation high school Del Amigo and the Venture Independent Study program during the past academic year — the latter two of which she served as assistant principal during the 2021-22 school year.
Previously, she was an administrative teacher on special assignment at Montair Elementary School and a teacher at Quail Run, Hidden Hills and Tassajara Hills elementary schools.
“I am confident that she will be an excellent leader,” SRVUSD Superintendent John Malloy said in the June 23 announcement.
Hurlburt added in her announcement to the school on June 6 that she would do her part to ensure a smooth transition in leadership with whoever was appointed to fill her position.
“They are fortunate to be joining such an outstanding and special school community, and I have no doubt that the Tassajara Hills spirit will continue to thrive under their leadership,” Hurlburt said.
The unbelievable turnover rate of SRVUSD administrators is concerning and raises important questions about Dr. Malloy’s leadership and the failure of trustees to hold him accountable. The highest departure of staff ever and enrollment at record lows. How is this “success” “reimagined” or otherwise? No, it’s objective failure. Everyone, students, teachers, administrators, with the means is fleeing SRVUSD. The board of trustees and this publication should both start demanding answers from Dr. Malloy on why no one wants to work with him save political extremists and hacks fired from other districts and why the facts and truth are so often at odds with his public statements.
Supt. Malloy already has an “extended cabinet” of numerous assistant superintendents, executive directors, directors, and assistant directors. The list of such positions and some others (along with salary scales) is posted at https://www.srvexpositor.com/personnel .
Ms. Hurlburt’s appointment as Director of Elementary Education is interesting. Katie Witt, as SRVUSD’s “EXECUTIVE Director for Elementary Education” has been a delegated would-be, go-between fixer, e.g. in failed District attempts to calm parental concern and anger over 2021’s ending of OPT-IN parental-permission requirements for 4th and 5th-grader participation in PRISM (“LGBTQ”) Clubs — and homosexual/transgender-themed read-aloud picture-story books at Country Club Elementary. ).
But Ms. Witt is for some reason no longer listed (at least as I submit this comment) as part of Mr. Malloy’s extended cabinet ( https://www.srvusd.net/About-Us/Superintendents-Office/Extended-Cabinet/index.html ), though she’s still listed elsewhere as part of “Educational Services” ).
Rebecca Ingram’s retirement as principal at Diablo Vista Middle School, with Jeffrey Osborn now in that position, is also of interest: https://www.danvillesanramon.com/news/2023/07/27/district-announces-new-principal-at-diablo-vista-middle-school .
One wonders if Ms. Ingram’s departure is related to SRVUSD’s having moved teacher Nicholas Moseby from SRV High School after inappropriate comments to girls there to Diablo Vista MS, where his alleged offenses became overtly criminal — and SRVUSD was then further culpable in losing SRV High complaint records. See https://www.danvillesanramon.com/news/2022/12/18/san-ramon-valley-teacher-cheer-coach-ordered-to-face-jury-trial and https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/01/28/key-records-in-sex-abuse-case-against-san-ramon-teacher-nicholas-moseby-are-missing .
SRVUSD = schools for scandal, and not in Sheridan’s comedic sense
The management structure within SRVUSD is raising significant concerns, particularly with regard to what some might perceive as an excess of personnel. A key question is whether the Board of Trustees’ apparent lack of active oversight under the leadership of President Rachel Hurd is related to her additional role as Executive Director of Leadership San Ramon Valley (https://leadershipsrv.org/board-of-directors/). In this capacity, SRVUSD frequently “enrolls” new managers, a process that appears to result in SRVUSD making direct payments to Trustee President Rachel Hurd. As a consequence, the more managers that SRVUSD employs, the more she stands to financially benefit. While it is beyond my expertise to judge if this practice is illegal, it does present a possible ethical dilemma, highlighting a potential conflict of interest. At the very least, it raises questions about the alignment of these practices with the best interests of the local community. The community deserves transparency and accountability in these matters to ensure that the intentions and actions of SRVUSD’s leadership align with the broader educational goals and the wellbeing of those they serve.
Also, let’s not forget that current Assistant Superintendent Stella Kemp was run out of town in San Bruno and “retired” before being removed in Santa Clara both for being deceptive and disrespectful to the communities there. https://www.svvoice.com/tempers-flare-at-laurelwood-school-meeting/
Stella Kemp’s odyssey in educational administration illustrates the leapfrog nature of compensation in that field — and why, no matter how much money is thrown at public education, it’s never enough.
In 2012, her total compensation (salary + benefits) as Executive Director, Educational Services in Coachella Valley, was $112,051 (partial year only?). By 2016 and in any case, as Assistant Superintendent for the Franklin-McKinley District, she’d jumped to $235,216 there.
Ms. Kemp was San Bruno Park Elementary District’s superintendent during partial calendar years in 2017 and 2019. I’m not quickly finding compensation data there for 2018. The San Mateo Journal reported Kemp’s departure, amid school-board “dysfunction” and “infighting” in May, 2019 ( https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/san-bruno-park-elementary-school-district-board-dysfunction-fuels-superintendent-s-departure/article_2b336486-828a-11e9-93a5-8bd4aa784fa8.html ).
In calendar 2020 and 2021, now as Santa Clara Unified’s superintendent, Kemp had quantum-leaped to total compensation figures of $369,081 and $385,895.24, respectively. But again, there was turmoil at the top, as “H” indicates, involving Laurelwood Elementary: https://www.svvoice.com/tempers-flare-at-laurelwood-school-meeting ).
Thence, in September 2022, Ms. Kemp came to SRVUSD as Assistant Superintendent for Business Operations, salary alone = $259,765. A general 8.5% SRVUSD increase in January presumably lifted Kemp’s salary to $281,845.
Benefits likely get her presently into the $350,000 total compensation range — for the moment. The current top for her potential salary range alone is $310,734. I’m guessing that a more favorable commute may be involved too.
Present salary schedules for SRVUSD personnel are posted at https://www.srvexpositor.com/personnel . In part, the large compensation figures shown are funding a determined campaign to displace parental authority ( https://www.srvexpositor.com/lgbtq-activism-ii ).
Seconds after Nicholas Moseby, the SRVUSD employee that was allowed to sexually assault girls on campus with impunity and was then granted a transfer to middle school to harass younger girls, is inevitably found GUILTY, the Title IX lawsuits will be flooding SRVUSD and Dr. Malloy will go the way of Rick Schmitt – quickly retire and evaporate to avoid responsibility. But, not before the equally inevitable retroactive raise. Who will be left holding the bag at SRVUSD? If there is bookie out there taking odds on this type of thing, I have a pile of money saying that bag holder is going to be Stella Kemp.