San Francisco 49ers

Maligned Hayward Superintendent Speaks Out After Being Ousted by School Board

Less than a day after being fired, Stan “Data” Dobbs defended his work as superintendent of the Hayward Unified School District.

“My integrity has never been in question until this school board,” he said.

Overnight, the school board decided to terminate Dobbs. The Board of Trustees voted 3-0, with two members abstaining.

But the man in question believes he behaved in a transparent manner as superintendent, and did right by the district and its students.

The board loves my outcomes and results,” he said. “They just never could adopt the vision that I brought forward because they didn’t understand how to follow a visionary person.”

On Thursday, school board members explained their move by accusing ex-Superintendent Stan Dobbs of having an explosive temper, lying, and bullying others.

Dobbs is "inherently dishonest about his guilt when he makes mistakes," private investigator Steve Hummel said.

Dobbs had been suspended after the completion of a three-month-long investigation, which sifted through apparent wrongdoings committed during his tenure. Along with immoral conduct, trustees said, the investigation also revealed that Dobbs allowed a board member to make personal use of a print shop. It remains unclear who that board member is.

In June, Dobbs came under fire for inviting former San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ray McDonald, who was previously accused of domestic violence and sexual assault, to speak to students at Tennyson High School in Hayward about self-discipline. The students were not made aware of McDonald's criminal history before his motivational speech.

"My personal opinion was all I wanted him to do was break his pattern of blaming others when it came to the Ray McDonald thing," said board President Lisa Brunner. 

The board's decision, however, was not unanimous.

If I had known a vote was going to take place, I would have stayed and voted, and I would have voted, 'No,'" said Annette Walker, the board's vice president.

Dobbs' run of controversial behavior began back in September 2015 when he allegedly got tangled up in a physical confrontation with two school board trustees during a closed-door meeting. During the tirade, the board members also claimed that Dobbs fired a profanity-laden rant toward the other board members during that meeting.

Dobbs, who denies any misconduct, started his stint with Hayward Unified in 2013 before being placed on paid administrative leave in June.

After attending Wednesday's meeting in droves, parents, too, were displeased by the board's decision.

"He treats us fairly and we think this is a big mistake that they have let him go," said parent Jacqui Dixon.

A Change.org petition has grabbed 540 supporters as of late Thursday, and credits Dobbs for increased test scores and higher graduation rates in the district.

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