BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Two parents have sued the Palo Alto Unified School District alleging the board president left out details when describing the new superintendent’s contract.
Parents Edith Cohen and Jane Hayes Aishin said board president Shounak Dharap should’ve said that Superintendent Jason Glass will get an annual raise each year, 10 extra work days per year and a reimbursement for his transition from Laguna Beach.
But Dharap only said Glass will get a $396,136 salary plus health benefits, a housing allowance and travel reimbursements, the suit said.
“Had a full oral summary (been provided) that information would have been more readily available to inform the public as to concerns about and objections to those provisions,” Cohen and Aishin said in their lawsuit, filed on Wednesday (Sept. 9) in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Cohen and Aishin also said the board should’ve named the attorney who helped negotiate the contract, and the salary should’ve been discussed in public according to the Brown Act, which requires government boards to make decisions in public.
“There would have been an opportunity to comment and voice concerns,” the suit said.
Cohen and Aishin are asking a judge to void Glass’s contract.
What the district says
District spokeswoman Lynette White said the board’s action on the contract took place at a publicly noticed meeting “after an incredibly transparent and community-involved process.”
The contract was and is available for anyone to review, White said.
“The board takes its obligations under the Brown Act seriously. Beyond that, we’ll let the public record speak for itself and respond to the complaint in the appropriate legal forum,” she said.
Fourth lawsuit
This is Cohen’s fourth lawsuit against the district. She challenged the district’s math placement policies in July 2021 and won $38,311 for attorney fees.
Cohen sued the district again on May 4 for not paying the fees from the math lawsuit.
The case was closed after the fees were paid.
Cohen and Aishin sued the district on April 21 over the board’s handling of its separation agreement with former Superintendent Don Austin. The lawsuit includes similar allegations of Brown Act violations. The first hearing is on Oct. 1.
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