Teachers at East Palo Alto Academy urge board to pause interim principal appointment over transparency concerns

Several East Palo Alto Academy teachers and staff urged the Sequoia Union High School District board on April 24 to delay or reconsider an interim principal appointment they say bypassed the community-led selection process.

"The strategy is bait and switch," said Orem Ramirez, a member of the EPAA interview panel, describing a process he said lacked transparency and that "undermined our shared decision making." Ramirez urged the board to remove the item from the consent agenda and reconvene the principal-selection committee to review candidates.

Teachers who addressed the board (Marilyn Trappas, Sue Shin, Matias/Matthias Johansson and others) said a finalist selected by the 16-person principal-selection committee was rejected by Superintendent Leach and that an interim principal who was not in the original pool was named instead. Several speakers said the unilateral decision weakened staff trust and could worsen retention of staff of color.

Board action and context: the public speakers asked the board to pull agenda item 13.3 for discussion. The board proceeded to take a roll-call vote on the full consent agenda; the motion passed 5–0. No board member publicly stated during the vote that they were pulling 13.3 for separate consideration.

Why it matters: EPAA speakers tied the appointment process to broader concerns about transparency and equity at the site. Teacher Abby Korman asked the board to schedule a DEI presentation before the end of the school year so that staffing, job descriptions, and restructuring could be explained publicly.

What speakers asked for: reconvening of the principal-selection committee; a public, evidence-based explanation for the superintendent’s decision; and greater transparency on site personnel actions affecting EPAA.

Outcome: the consent agenda — which included the interim appointment item — passed by a 5–0 roll-call vote; no formal direction to reconvene the selection committee was recorded in the meeting minutes.