Parents, teachers urge Petaluma board to reconsider Grant Elementary principal hire; board adjourns to closed session

Petaluma — Community members urged the Petaluma City Elementary board on Monday night to reconsider certifying the superintendent’s recommended hire for principal of Grant Elementary, citing strong local support for interim principal Amy Hale and concerns about the district’s hiring process.

The comments, made during public comment before the board moved into closed session, said the district had not adequately vetted the external candidate or listened to community input. ‘‘She has literally been a breath of fresh air,’’ said Kim Baumann, a teacher at Grant Elementary, describing Hale’s seven-month tenure as interim principal. Baumann said staff and families want stability: ‘‘We feel discounted. We feel disregarded. We don't feel trust that our students and our families are the priority.’’

Why it matters: The principal decision matters to parents, staff and students at Grant Elementary because speakers said it affects classroom stability, staff morale and community trust in district decision-making. Several speakers asked the board to pause or reconsider the hiring recommendation and to increase board presence on campus if the candidate is certified.

Speakers at the meeting described issues they said undermined trust in the process, including miscommunication about administrative leaves and problems reaching board members. Ray Ford, a community member, said elected officials must listen to constituents: ‘‘Your job as elected officials is to listen to the community, parents, teachers, voters, citizens, and make the right decision.’’

Multiple speakers contrasted Hale’s experience leading Grant in the past seven months with what they said was limited experience at the external candidate’s prior schools. Baumann said the recommended candidate came from ‘‘a small charter school with a staff of 6 teachers, multi age classrooms, and around a 100 students’’ and that those schools had ‘‘declining enrollment and declining test scores.’’ Another commenter at the meeting said a prior grade at the candidate’s former school had only six students.

Speakers asked the board to review the interview process and to verify references and supervisory contacts from the candidate’s prior schools. Marquita, who identified herself as a Petaluma resident and grandparent and as a member of the hiring committee, cited guidance from the California School Boards Association on board responsiveness and urged the board to ‘‘pause, listen, and then respond to our community.’’ She told the board members that Grant staff estimate ‘‘a total of 440 years of experience’’ among employees and urged that experience be considered.

The meeting facilitator read the district’s public-comment rules, citing Government Code section 54954.3(a) and board policy 1312.1 regarding complaints against employees. After public comment, the board adjourned to closed session; the meeting facilitator said the board would return at 6:00 p.m. and that ‘‘we will have the decision at that time.’’

No formal board vote or certification was announced before the adjournment to closed session. The public record at the meeting therefore shows community comment, questions about process and a pending board decision to be made following the closed session.

For context, several commenters said related issues had been raised about the district’s handling of leadership transitions in the prior year and described town halls and petitions that they said went unheeded. Speakers repeatedly requested greater board engagement with Grant Elementary families and frequent in-person visits if the external hire is certified.