March 24, 2004

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Publication Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Portola Valley board looking for middle school principal, again

The Portola Valley school board plans to discuss the process for hiring a new middle school principal when it meets Wednesday, March 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. in Room 1001 at Corte Madera School.

The issue is a big one in Portola Valley, where on March 15, some 150 people gathered at the Portola Valley Town Center multi-use room, many to protest the departure of the current Corte Madera School principal, Ed Winchester. In his first year as principal, he has submitted his resignation effective June 30.

The school board listened to parents for more than an hour, some of whom said they were "shocked and upset" to hear that Mr. Winchester had been asked to resign.

They pointed out that there have been eight principals of the school in 15 years. "We have two schools (in the district)," said a parent. "One works. One doesn't. Why is that?"

The meeting was facilitated by Jean Holbrook, associate superintendent of the San Mateo County Office of Education in charge of the instructional services division.

Some parents wanted to know why Mr. Winchester was asked to resign, while others pointed out that it would be illegal for the administration to disclose this information under laws regarding confidentiality in personnel matters.

Several parents said they suspected that Superintendent Anne Campbell and the school board were swayed by a "small, vocal, wealthy group of parents."

Ms. Campbell, who is also in her first school year in the district, denied that. "My job is to listen to everybody," said the superintendent, who began her job last August but did not hire Mr. Winchester. "The decision was not made capriciously."

Ms. Campbell and the board did not disclose the reasons for their actions, but she said her job was to "do things that are right to do, and that's not always popular."

Some parents referred to Mr. Winchester as an "authoritative person," with the suggestion that he rubbed some people, including teachers, the wrong way. But others saw this quality as one of taking the lead to assure, among other things, that students showed respect for one another.

Board president Deborah Rappaport told the gathering that listening to parents was "one piece of the puzzle," but another was to listen to evaluations by professionals, "Mrs. Campbell in particular."

"I feel confident we made an absolutely excellent choice in our superintendent," said Ms. Rappaport to general applause.

Ms. Rappaport promised the gathering that the board had heard them and "we will be coming up with a process (to choose the next principal) that will be different than any we used before." She said she was not sure what that would be, but the matter would be on the agenda for the board meeting of March 24.

Also, she said the district had set up a new e-mail address that parents and others can use to send a single e-mail to all members of the board: pvsboard@pvsd.net.

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