Dr. Rob's Deep Dive
School Board Mutiny
April 9, 2009: Superintendent Allan Gordon announces he is retiring. Trustees indicate they were leaning toward replacing him with assistant superintendent Robert Haley. Choosing Haley, they argued, would save the district the approximately $30,000 it would cost for an executive search. Ken Alfaro, who later become a leader in the recall effort, (of Haley) urged the board to utilize a wider search saying, "It doesn’t appear that you have spent much time considering this. I think you need to listen to the parents." The trustees went into a closed session that night. When they emerged, they announced they were offering the job to Robert Haley.
Listening to parents...Hmmm...Closed sessions... Remember friends.. this was written in 2010!
The St. Helena School Board was recalled in part because they failed to curtail Superintendent Robert Haley's spending for legal services.
According to community members the district went from spending about $50,000/year in legal fees to about $700,000/year in Haley's short tenure there. $500.00 per student per year!
In 2010 a mere six years after his last HASTY DEPARTURE, Robert Haley was a senior administrator for the St. Helena Unified School District which faced a board recall, California (2010) This is a small school district that has slightly fewer than 1,400 students. The town made national news because of the irregularities with the school board. FOUR OF THE FIVE BOARD MEMBERS WERE RECALLED. Like a Shakespearean tragedy..Dr. Robert Haley seized opportunity in crisis. Click to link
Parents and residents upset about the hiring of Haley express their views in a meeting in Sebastapol Pop. 7,768
May 11, 2009: Trustee Jim Haslip resigns from the board in protest of the board's decision to hire Haley. In reference to the board's decision, he said, "the deal has been pre-cooked."
Mr. Haslip we share your astute and prescient frustration, it's not like there wasn't a PATTERN of unusual circumstances with our Dear Dr. Haley WAY BACK THEN!
"Curbing the current excessive administrative spending in our district could free up hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be allocated to programs that develop all levels of education for all the students in our community. Cutting back on unnecessary administrative positions, excessive administrative salaries would allow our district to fund the valuable programs.
Keep in mind Dr. Haley makes JUST over $270,000 per year in SDUHSD.. Read how he got the raise in a closed session THE WEEK SCHOOLS WERE CLOSED HERE.
