Jenny White urges Mt. Diablo Unified to address repeated principal turnover at Money Gardens

Jenny White, a public commenter, told the Mt. Diablo Unified School District board that the departure of Money Gardens principal Mr. Bennett left staff, families and students with a "profound sense of loss." She credited Mr. Bennett with rebuilding trust and called his swift departure "unwarranted."

In a five-minute public comment, White said Money Gardens has had multiple principal transitions and urged the board and superintendent to examine why turnover has become a persistent pattern across the district. "If community voices are invited into the conversation, they must matter before decisions are made, not after," she said, adding, "If transparency is promised, it must be practiced."

White described Mr. Bennett's leadership as visible and approachable and said his work "meaningfully built relationships with staff, students, and families" in the months he served. She said the community measures the cost of turnover not by staffing charts but "in the experiences of students, the morale of teachers, and the trust of families."

Her remarks asked the board to consider systemic causes of principal turnover and to protect leadership stability, noting that Money Gardens has seen three principals in three years. There was no board response recorded in the public comment record; the public comment period concluded after chair time limits were enforced.

Next steps were not announced publicly; the board moved to closed session after the public comment period.