Cries to keep Pioneer Valley High School Principal Shanda Herrera on staff echoed during an October school board meeting—continuing efforts to protect the principal who started earlier this year.
“It’s spiteful and vindictive that we are back here again, and we need to stand up for people who work so incredibly hard for students in this community,” Pioneer Valley special education teacher Amber Barnard told the school board during its Oct. 8 meeting. “She’s just created a culture that is beyond reproach; her megawatt smile is felt beyond the campus. I’ve never felt so supported in my life as I have with Shanda.”
Santa Maria Joint Union Public Information Officer Kenny Klein told the Sun in an email that Herrera was placed on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation.
“Given this involves a confidential employee matter, I cannot provide any further details,” Klein said. “The decision to be placed on administrative leave does not reflect any determination about the merits of the allegations. The allegations will be promptly investigated by a third-party investigator to ensure that the process is fair, thorough, and as prompt as possible and that the process respects the rights of all involved.”
While Herrera is on leave, Paul Robinson, the district’s director of career technical education, is Pioneer Valley’s acting principal. Herrera could not be reached for comment before the Sun’s deadline.
In June, Herrera told the Sun that she received a warning letter that she would be terminated after 45 days, but she did not disclose a reason why. The termination’s notice sparked a flurry of action by Pioneer Valley students and staff, with several coming to a June 12 special board meeting to advocate that the district keep Herrera on staff.
The 45-day notice, which KEYT published in early September, claims that Herrera sent an email to district staff to not accept certain groups of students to return for a fifth year of high school—including English language learners and students with individualized education programs—so there wasn’t an impact on the 2024 graduation rate, according to the notice, which cited an April email from Herrera.
As a result of the district releasing the notice to KSBY, KEYT, and the Santa Maria Times, Herrera sued the district for privacy rights violations.
“In making the determination to disclose her personnel file documents, [the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District] advised Herrera that she ‘has impacted the confidentiality of such records by providing staff and community members with selected and misinformation about the contents of the 45-day notice,’” according to the complaint. “This is both false and irrelevant and does not remove or waive Herrera’s right to privacy in her personnel records.”
California provides a right to privacy, which extends to documents contained in personnel files “similarly to the right to privacy over your medical records,” Kristi Rothschild, Herrera’s attorney, told the Sun in an email.
The complaint states that not every claim of misconduct contained in a personnel file is substantial or well-founded and shouldn’t be disclosed. The lawsuit was resolved in August, with the court and both parties agreeing to release “certain redacted documents” in response to California Public Records Act requests, Rothschild said.
Pioneer Valley High School Activities Director Lisa Walters spoke during the Oct. 8 meeting in defense of Herrera and called for changes at a district level to better support its sites.
“I’m tired of seeing great people who’ve given their lives to this district being pushed into retirement, be demoted, or put on administrative leave because they have the courage to speak out against how this district is being run,” Walters said. “It’s clear you are the bosses of this district; it’s your leadership that should keep this district strong. You’re the ones to blame for this toxicity.”
This article appears in Oct 17-27, 2024.