BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Palo Alto’s new school superintendent wants to get rid of administrative positions and bring back an in-house attorney to the Palo Alto Unified School District.
At his first board meeting on Tuesday, Jason Glass will present a new organizational chart that’s expected to save the district $748,282 on administrative salaries and $579,973 on legal expenses. Glass is planning to eliminate the position of deputy superintendent and spread the responsibilities between Chief Business Officer Charen Yu, Assistant Superintendent Herb Espiritu and Assistant Superintendent Jeong Choe.
The deputy position had been held by Trent Bahadursingh, who was former Superintendent Don Austin’s right-hand man. Austin was paid $596,802 to resign on Feb. 20, and Bahadursingh was promoted to acting superintendent.
But Bahadursingh lasted only 22 days in the role until he received his own $346,673 payout. Bahadursingh’s assistant Victoria Maya alleged that he called her “the ‘P’ word” because she went on medical leave, according to a lawsuit filed on Feb. 9. The district has denied Maya’s allegations.
Glass has also eliminated positions for an operations support administrator and an associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction. “No school site positions were affected,” he said in a report for the board. The district’s general counsel position has been unfilled since August 2022, when the board dismissed Komey Vishakan without cause.
Under Vishakan, the district was sued for violating the California Public Records Act. Parents said she delayed and closed requests, beyond what the law allows.
Vishakan was hired as the district’s lawyer in 2018 for $188,634 a year.
She was promoted from her job as legal specialist and became the district’s first in-house lawyer, providing legal expertise to the board and ensuring the district follows education laws.
The board never officially eliminated the position but has relied on different contracted lawyers, depending on the legal matter.
Hiring an in-house attorney is expected to cost $420,027, but the district will end up saving money on legal bills, Glass said.
The board will discuss the general counsel on Tuesday and consider filling the position in September.
Be the first to comment