Breaking News: Emery School District Board President John Affeldt to Resign

In a letter dated today, long time School Board President John Affeldt announces his resignation from the Board effective in December.  The letter, leaked to the Tattler, was addressed to members of the Emery Unified School District, his colleagues on the Board, the City Council and the City Manager even though friends and neighbors are in his 'to' line.   Below is the opening part of the letter that gives his reasons for his leaving:

Dear Emery Unified School District Community members and Emeryville Friends and Neighbors,

After 4 1/2 years, I will be stepping down from my service on the Emery Unified school board at the December regular board meeting.  This year I celebrated my 25th year as a civil rights attorney working on education equity issues at Public Advocates in San Francisco.  In recognition of that service, my employer is providing me with a six month sabbatical beginning in January 2017.  My family and I will be moving to Spain during that time where I will study Spanish in order to better serve my monolingual Spanish-speaking clients and where I will read, write, and reflect on how to be an even more effective advocate for educational equity in California.  As I am sure you can appreciate, this is a tremendous opportunity for my family, including my son who will be studying Spanish and attending a school as the only American in his class.

....

Sincerely,

John Affeldt

Emery Unified School District Board President