Householder calls another special meeting for possible “discipline/dismissal/release” of Antioch schools superintendent Tuesday
Superintendent Stephanie Anello (by AUSD) and Board President Ellie Householder’s announcement for the Tues., Sept. 21, 2021 Special Board Meeting posted on her official Facebook page.
One day before she faces another vote to remove her as board president; issues public statement on reasons; Board VP Lewis unable to attend
By Allen Payton
Antioch School Board president Ellie Householder has called for another special board meeting, her second one, this month. It will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. This time it’s to discuss in closed session, Public Employee: Discipline/Dismissal/Release. (See agenda) It was scheduled, today, after Wednesday’s board meeting agenda was issued which includes another vote for Householder’s removal as board president. (See related article)
Householder posted an announcement of the special meeting on her official Facebook page and wrote, “I am calling a special closed session meeting of the Board of Education on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. to take action that will impact the future direction of the Antioch Unified School District,” with a link to the statement about her reasons for calling the meeting on her blog.
Householder and the other board members were asked who the employee is and if it’s Superintendent Stephanie Anello via email, Monday morning. However, the school board only has one employee and cannot discipline any other district employee.
In response, Householder provided the following statement: Householder Statement on 9-21-21 Special Board Mtg
“ANTIOCH SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT ELLIE HOUSEHOLDER STATEMENT REGARDING THE SPECIAL EDUCATION MEETING ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021
On Monday, September 20, 2021, after consulting with Vice President Dr. Clyde Lewis, I am calling a special closed session meeting of the Board of Education on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. to take action that will impact the future direction of the Antioch Unified School District.
From the moment that I took my oath of office, I have made it my singular focus to create an environment that provides ALL of our students with a nurturing and supportive environment to ensure that they have the foundational skills to have long-term success.
However, the sad reality is that the students of the Antioch Unified School District are performing well below average, as compared to the rest of the state, especially Black and Latino students. Under the current superintendent, student performance has worsened.
As a board, we have the fiduciary responsibility to serve our students. In our opinion, the current set of facts at the district have made it so that a change must occur now as far as the leadership of the Antioch Unified School District.
To those who attack me for taking this position, you make my point, as anyone with an objective mindset could easily see that the scores continue moving in a downward trajectory. Regardless of the attacks, I will continue to fight for our students.
If we truly love Antioch, we must do everything in our power to protect our students, as our city’s future hinges on their success. This is no longer about old Antioch vs new Antioch. This fight is about whether Antioch will even exist as our school district’s track record continues to crush the hopes and dreams of our students, and in the process, our city.
Antioch Unified School District Fact Sheet (CAASP 2018-2019)
Reading and Writing
- 45% of white students do not meet state standards for reading and writing
- 67% of Black students do not meet state standards for reading and writing
- 60% of Latino/Hispanic students do not meet state standards for reading and writing
Math
- 46% of white students do not meet state standards for mathematics
- 79% of Black students do not meet state standards for mathematics
- 71% of Latino/Hispanic students do not meet state standards for mathematics
Suspensions (at least once…)
- 9% of white students
- 2% of Black students
- 2% of Latino/Hispanic students”
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Householder was also asked if the special meeting was called in response to Anello’s comments on the KPIX CBS5 TV news report about the board’s Sept. 8th meeting in which the board president unilaterally removed the agenda item for a vote to remove her as board president. Householder posted the video of the report on her official Facebook page. In that report, Anello was quoted as saying, “In all my years of public service, I have never witnessed such a blatant misuse of power. It is a huge disservice to the citizens of Antioch.”
Screen shot of Superintendent Anello’s comments in KPIX CBS5 news report on Sept. 9, 2021.
In that same report, Householder said about Anello, “That’s all just noise. That’s all just a distraction. She’s playing petty politics.”
Householder was also asked, “aren’t you by issuing that statement before the closed session meeting, publicly discussing your reasons for disciplining, dismissing or removing the superintendent?”
She did not respond before publication time.
Lewis Confirms Meeting is about Anello, But Can’t Attend
Lewis was asked to confirm what Householder wrote about him in her statement and for any additional comments on the matter.
“The conversation Ellie and I had was, she thinks it’s time to move forward with removing the superintendent. But no date was determined for a special board meeting,” Lewis said. “Tuesday, I’m not available. I have to work. I can’t make that meeting. I have a work meeting at that time.”
Asked further about the superintendent and if the possible action is in response to her comment reported by KPIX CBS5, Lewis responded. “I’m a process-oriented person. I wasn’t elected to get involved in personal disputes. I was elected to govern.”
Asked what the board is doing to improve the education of the district’s students, he said, “We need to have more conversations around how we’re going to improve the education of our kiddos.”
Please check back later for any updates to this report.
Meeting Information
According to the staff report on the one-item agenda, “Location: This meeting is being held pursuant to Executive orders N-29-20 (https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/3.17.20-N-29-20-EO.pdf) and N-08-21 (https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/6.11.21-EO-N-08-21-signed.pdf) issued by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Any or all Board members may attend the meeting by videoconference.
Closed Session: 5:30 p.m.
The meeting will be livestreamed and can be viewed at https://youtu.be/TY04POBHgYA. Persons wishing to make a public comment on items on the agenda can submit their comments until 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
Comments can be submitted via an online form at https://tinyurl.com/CommentSpecialMeeting or by email to kelliecavallaro@antiochschools.net. Comments received by 4:00 p.m. will be read to the public during the meeting.
PLEASE NOTE: This link – https://tinyurl.com/CommentSpecialMeeting, is for the Special meeting only. If you wish to submit a comment for the Regular Meeting on Wednesday, September 22nd, please go to https://tinyurl.com/ausd-public-comment-card.
Pursuant to the Americans with Disability Act, persons with a disability who require a disability-related modification or accommodation in order to participate in a meeting, including auxiliary aides or services, may request such modification or accommodation from the Superintendent’s Office at 925-779-7500 ext. 51000 or FAX 925-779-7509. A notification of 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the district staff to make reasonable arrangements to assure accessibility to the meeting.
the attachments to this post:
SAnello AUSD & Householder FB post re 9-21-21 Special Board Mtg
Householder Statement on 9-21-21 Special Board Mtg
Anello’s comments KPIX CBS5 screenshot 9-13-21
