After uncovering the initial financial debacle placing the SMUHSD $3.5 million in debt last September, Sam Johnson was requested to resign as Superintendent. Board President Marcia Cohn-Lyle responded that the board and Johnson were a Team of Six? and would fix the problem together. Later in the year, the 500-member Teachers Association passed a vote of No Confidence against Johnson and Associate Superintendent Konopka with a stunning 96% of the membership in favor of their removal from office. Once again, Cohn-Lyle responded, We're ignoring it. We don't agree with them,? and allowed Johnson to lead without direction or oversight.

By ignoring the calls to act and allowing Superintendent Sam Johnson to stay in office, SMUHSD Board President Cohn-Lyle helped to facilitate the continuation of the school district's crippling financial disaster. It was subsequently revealed that under Johnson's leadership and the acquiescence of the board, that the original Measure D construction projects had run $73 million over budget and the district had taken out loans against future (and limited) revenues to cover the costs. Furthermore, after the passage of Measure M (in which the district suppressed the $73 million debt from the voters) Johnson attempted to award a $24 million construction management contract to the same individuals who went $73 million over budget on the first project.

It is only because of the diligence of board members Linda Lees-Dwyer and Peter Hanley that the faulty contract with Skanska was pulled from the consent agenda and exposed to the public as fraud. It was further revealed that Superintendent Johnson did not allow the contract to be reviewed by SMUHSD's own construction Attorney Mark Haesloop and new SMUHSD Associate Superintendent Elizabeth McManus. Upon review by Haesloop and McManus, the fraudulent nature of the contract was revealed and Skanska was fired from the job. Mr. Haesloop's strongly criticized both the Superintendent and Skanska, calling the $24 million proposal flat out shocking? and an attempt to take advantage of the power vacuum? at the District office. Johnson has yet to explain why Haesloop had been retained by the SMUHSD as a construction attorney, yet was not allowed to review the construction contracts.

The SMUHSD is now under the constant supervision of the San Mateo County Grand Jury, which is due to produce a SECOND report of their finding against the district in the near future. The environment of the SMUHSD district office is said to have been both dysfunctional and incestuous? in making significant faulty decisions and ostracizing those who challenged the direction of the leadership.

It is time for a fresh start in the SMUHSD. A time for new leadership and a clean financial plan. The district needs to recruit a new Superintendent and allow him/her to hire his own Associate Superintendents to direct the future of the district. Associate Superintendent of Business Elizabeth McManus has proven to a truthful and valuable asset to the district and should be considered for the leadership position. The district should establish a sound financial position by suspending the 7-period day until it can afford for 100% of the students to participate in its benefits. The board should settle the contract disputes with both the Teachers Association and CSEA employees as they have wrongfully suffered due to the fiscal mismanagement of the district. The district should ask the voters to amend Measure M to not only pay off the $80 million in Certificates of Participation debt, but also to change the construction plans to include green energy resources to power the schools and eliminate future energy bills, putting more public money into the classrooms.

Leaving the SMUHSD leadership in place for the entire school year has been (and will be) a multi-million dollar mistake. The public's trust in the board and the district has been destroyed in the process. The board needs to take its attention away from building structures and place it upon building relationships. The district has already built new libraries and now cannot afford librarians and soon it will build new classrooms without teachers. Its time for the SMUHSD board to stop focusing on its legacy and start focusing on the present.

Thank you to Linda Lees-Dwyer, Peter Hanley, Mark Haesloop, and Elizabeth McManus for having the courage to stop the culture of dysfunction that has been driving the SMUHSD.

– Written by JC