School District Refutes Tattler Story

School District Fights Back:

 Superintendent They Say,
Only Wasted About $79,000

The Emery Unified School District, in a notice sent to Emery school teachers, has expressed their displeasure regarding a February 12th Tattler story that disclosed the Superintendent of the Schools John Rubio, wasted about $100,000 by hiring a disgraced former elementary school principal and they want Emeryville parents and residents to know the amount the District wasted by the ill fated hire was really closer to $79,000.  Put another way, the District saved taxpayers some $21,000 with the disclosure.
The difference is the amount the District had to pay to fight off a possible lawsuit from the former principal Russom Mesfun; the Tattler reported up to $31,000 was spent on that but the actual amount turned out to be about $13,000.  That amount plus the salary and benefits (about $66,000) paid to Mr Mesfun, who never actually worked as a principal for Emery, totaled about $79,000.
Until the Tattler story of February 12th, Emery refused to publicly say how much by way of salary and benefits they paid to Mr Mesfun let alone how much of an allotted $31,000 for District legal bills was earmarked to fight Mr Mesfun.

Board Member
Christian Patz
After an internet search,
voted NO on hiring Mesfun.
He warned his colleagues 
against the hire.

Mr Mesfun was put on paid administrative leave before the first day of school last August reportedly after teachers complained of being harassed by the new principal.  The District hired Mr Mesfun by a vote of the School Board after Superintendent Rubio gave him the thumbs up.  The Tattler reported on the controversial pick by Mr Rubio after a Google search revealed a sordid history of chaos and firings by previous school districts that employed him including one district that was successfully sued by its teachers for harassment by Mr Mesfun.
Superintendent Rubio has told Emeryville residents and property owners, those who have had to pay for the misguided hiring of the former principal, he is ultimately responsible for the hiring of Mr Musfun, however it should be noted every Emery School Board member available to vote except Mr Christian Patz voted YES on Russom Mesfun last summer.
Board member Patz, the lone holdout among his colleagues against Mr Mesfun, told the Tattler, "In late July of last year, some parents came to me with concerns about the new principal selected for Anna Yates [Elementary School].  They told me to do an internet search for him and referred me to the Emeryville Tattler.  What I saw online gave me pause.  In talking with Mr Mesfun directly, I did not feel he was the right person to lead our flagship school.  I could not vote to approve the hiring".  The other Board members all voted to hire Mr Mesfun except Board president John Affeldt who was out of town for the vote.  Mr Affeldt did express his approval of Mr Mesfun at the time sources tell the Tattler.

Board Member
Joy Ashe
Voted YES on hiring Mesfun.

Board President
John Affeldt
Was out of town for the 
Mesfun vote but expressed 
approval for the hire.

Board Member
Melodi Dice
Voted YES on hiring Mesfun,

School District Demurs on Mesfun Explanation

Thursday comes and goes:

Still No Answer on School Principal

The Emery Unified School District announced today they will not offer citizens and parents an explanation as to the status of newly hired Anna Yates Elementary School Principal Russum Mesfun as had been promised earlier in the week.  Principal Mesfun continues to be absent at the school and the Superintendent of Emery Schools, John Rubio, himself responsible for hiring Mr Mesfun, will serve as both Superintendent of the District and Principal of Anna Yates indefinitely.
On the first day of the new school year, Monday, Mr Rubio announced the District would offer something by way of an explanation for the missing principal on Thursday but today Mr Rubio begged off, telling the Tattler "I have to check with legal" and that "I'm not done with internal processes [that would enable an answer]."   Superintendent Rubio now refuses to give a timeline for citizens and parents as to explaining what's happened with Mr Mesfun.

Superintendent Rubio hired the controversial Mr Mesfun and has offered that he himself would be responsible for any negative eventuality as a result.

Look to the Tattler to stay on this story as we will make sure the people get an answer to this.

Breaking News: New Elementary School Principal 'No Show' on First Day of School

Missing School Principal

Today, the first day of the new year for the Emery Unified School District is marked by a dramatic no show from the newly hired but controversial Anna Yates Elementary School Principal, Russom Mesfun, an event likely initiated by District Superintendent John Rubio the Tattler has learned.  Mr Rubio, who was responsible for the hiring of Mr Mesfun, announced more information would be made public on Thursday regarding the missing school principal.
Asked directly, Superintendant Rubio was cagey but he hinted that if intractable problems arose between a new Principal and staff at the school, he would support the staff.  He indicated he would be filling in personally for the absent Principal, at least temporarily.  The District has also recently hired a new Assistant Principal for Anna Yates, Barry LaBasse.  The assistant principal is a newly created position for the school.
Superintendent Rubio said the District would reveal all that could legally be revealed regarding the sudden shake up at Anna Yates, starting Thursday.

The hiring of Principal Mesfun caused a stir within the pages of the Tattler recently.  Several teachers from another school district that claimed prior negative interaction with Mr Mesfun made alarming comments regarding Emery hiring him.  Those stories and comments can be accessed HERE and HERE.

The Tattler will closely follow this breaking story and report as events unfold.

Emery Schools Superintendent Defends Choice in New Principal

New Superintendent Stakes Reputation on Mesfun Hiring

Emeryville parents have joined the ranks of concerned Anna Yates Elementary School teachers after it was revealed last week Emery Unified School District had recently hired school principal, Dr Russom Mesfun a school administrator with a history of teacher complaints against him, including a successful lawsuit from his previous job at another school district, however District Supervisor John Rubio told the Tattler he is standing by his choice in Mr Mesfun.   In an interview in his office, Mr Rubbio downplayed the complaints recently even as he acknowledged the apparent severity of the allegations from teachers and parents at four different school districts Mr Mesfun worked for before he came to Emery.  Superintendent Rubio was adamant; Mr Mesfun he said "...will be a great improvement for Anna Yates Elementary School"adding he emerged "by far the strongest candidate after two separate interview processes".

Emery Superintendent
of the Schools John Rubio
Mesfun choice represents 
a bold and risky move.

Superintendent Rubio is himself only recently hired as a replacement for the embattled and deposed former Superintendent Debbra Lindo, widely seen as contributing to the anti-teacher reputation the District has.  He takes a large risk with the hiring of Principal Mesfun, a point he acknowledged, noting if his choice in Mr Mesfun doesn't work out it will be his credibility and reputation damaged.
Mr Rubio also acknowledged the recent bad blood between the District and its teachers, "It was important for me to find someone who would build relations with teachers as well as establish systems for communicating, school safety and parent involvement" he said, adding it was also important to find someone who is "a strong instructional leader with experience."  He expressed confidence teachers at Anna Yates will come to respect and support Principal Mesfun after they get to know him.

With the still emerging story of Mr Mesfun's checkered past threatening to overtake the Superintendent as he prepares the district for the beginning of a new school year later in the month, he questioned the value of Mr Mesfun's employment record as revealed by the internet , "I don't believe everything I read on the internet including information from the Lodi [School District] lawsuit and the interactions I have had with him so far have been very positive."  He noted superintendents from other school districts Mr Mesfun has worked for have also been positive, "Every Superintendent going back has told us he's a strong instructional leader".

Mr Rubio noted that Mr Mesfun's positive impressions at the first Emery interview panel contained a majority of teachers and District staff (as opposed to District administrators) a point that would tend to show even greater support of the Mesfun choice at Emery.  However one of the teachers on the panel told the Tattler that Mr Mesfun's past problems at the other districts was not revealed to the panel by the District, a fact that might have netted a different judgement regarding the hiring of Mr Mesfun.  Superintendent Rubio concurred, stating "We didn't know about his past at that point".

Readers may peruse some of the alegations against Mr Mesfun:

Fillmore Unified School District  HERE & HERE

Lodi Unified School District HERE

Oakland Unified School District HERE & HERE

Controversial New Principal Hired by School District

Teachers Cry Foul:

Anti-Teacher Record Follows New Principal

Summer vacation, normally a quiescent time at the Emery Unified School District is turning out to be a time of great consternation after the Superintendent of the Schools certified the hire of a controversial new school principal last week.
Anna Yates Elementary School teachers are railing against the hiring of the new employee, Dr Russom Mesfun after it was revealed that Mr Mefun was named as a defendant in a successful 2008 lawsuit brought by teachers at his former place of employment, Lodi Unified School District.  The charges brought against Mr Mesfun at San Joaquin Superior Court show a administrator hostile to teachers that includes violations of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act for unlawful retaliation and discrimination and also defamation, wrongful termination with negligent hiring supervision and retention among others.  Lodi Unified ultimately settled the suit for $750,000.
Mr Mesfun had been Principal at the Central Valley town of Lodi's Christa McAuliffe Middle School before he resigned in the wake of the lawsuit.

Dr Russom Mesfun

The selection of Mr Mesfun at Emery was initiated by two panels consisting of district administrators, three teachers and a School Board member but the School Board as a whole has the final say in the matter.

  In a July 17th letter drafted to all the elementary school teachers at Emery after the selection of Mr Mesfun, new Superintendent Dr John Rubio, a champion of Mr Mesfun, said it was important that a "strong leader" be chosen for principle at the school and that there were "no other candidates that came anywhere close to Mr Mesfun in terms of experience and leadership ability."

However, teachers at Anna Yates expressed dismay at the prospect that Emery would hire a new principal with such a polarizing anti-teacher record, pointing to the baleful and divisive tenure of the recently deposed Superintendent of the schools Dr Debbra Lindo.   Ms Lindo's anti-teacher tactics brought on a response known as the Teacher's Resolution; a litany of abuses against Emery's teachers at the hand of Ms Lindo.

Teachers at Anna Yates who expressed desire for anonymity told the Tattler they hoped the selection of Mr Mesfun would not mean the start of a new season of anti-teacher culture and action directed at them by Emery Unified.  "It doesn't inspire a lot of confidence" one such teacher said after noting the retirement of Ms Lindo had brought hopes of a reset of teacher relations for the administration at Emery.

The San Joaquin County Superior Court complaint against Mr Mesfun may be read HERE.