An Oakland school board member claims there's a plan brewing that could leave the district without a superintendent next school year.
Mike Hutchinson, the former board president, claims new board leadership has started an effort to push long-term Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell out of office without reason or prior discussion. The accusation comes after months of conflict on the board.
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WATCH HERE"We have a school board now that doesn’t think they have to follow the rules or the laws or our normal procedures," Hutchinson said. "It just really pushed us to a point where if we lose our superintendent in two months, I don’t know how we can move forward as a district."
Hutchinson said he can't provide specific details but claims the board is attempting to violate the language in the superintendent's contract. That could lead to the district being forced to pay her out.
"The superintendent has made it very clear that if the board goes through with this that we will have to find another superintendent for July 1," Hutchinson said.
The school board president declined to answer questions about Hutchinson’s claims, saying it would violate the Brown Act to discuss anything from a closed session. She went on to say, “there is currently no public discussion about the contract for Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell.”
The school district also confirmed no public contract discussions have happened.
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In an open letter, the Oakland NAACP called on the board to stop any efforts to remove the superintendent. They called the alleged actions "disruptive, unjust, and potentially politically motivated."
"It is the most irresponsible thing that an elected official could possibly do, to remove the popular, long-term superintendent with no plan in place," Hutchinson said.
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SIGN UP If the superintendent were to be forced out, Hutchinson is concerned other senior leaders will leave with her. Hutchinson said Johnson-Trammel has been key in turning the district around and working to get out of state receivership.
"The most frustrating part is our superintendent doesn't want to leave," he said. "She just signed a three-year extension eight months ago. We are at the final stages of this long-term job that we have been engaged in to regain full local control."
Wednesday's board of education meeting starts at 4 p.m. Hutchinson and the NACCP encourage the public to attend and participate in public comment.
