Redwood High School science teacher Todd Samet read a letter signed by 64 of the 79 tenured teachers at Redwood during a January 28th meeting of the Tamalpais Union High School District’s (TUHSD’s) board of trustees, that in the wake of TUHSD Superintendent Laurie Kimbrel’s January 12 resignation called for “a transparent and inclusive selection process, one that includes real input from parents, students, teachers and the community at large” as a new superintendent is selected.

The letter focused on the necessity of selecting a new superintendent as a means of increasing the quality of the learning and working environments in TUHSD schools.

“Over the past six years, we have become increasingly concerned with the direction of our school district,” the letter read. “We believe the current system is having a negative effect on the overall quality of instruction and student learning. The prevailing climate is one where professional experience is not valued, dissenting opinions are not tolerated, and staff morale is at an all time low. In particular, the district’s unwillingness to accept constructive feedback from staff has resulted in a series of program changes that are poorly conceived and unevenly implemented….The selection of the next superintendent will determine whether those problems are perpetuated or addressed successfully.”

The 64 tenured teachers who signed the letter constitute an 81 percent majority of Redwood’s 79 total tenured teachers. According to Samet, nontenured teachers were not included so their jobs would not be put at risk.

Kimbrel alerted students and teachers of her resignation via email on January 12. More coverage of Superintendent Kimbrel’s departure is available here.

In another email sent to students, parents and teachers throughout the district, board of trustees president Cindy McCauley wrote that the board will utilize a professional firm in its search for a new candidate for superintendent.

“After considerable public comment, the Board decided that hiring a professional search firm will help us to identify the best candidates,” McCauley wrote. “The Board authorized the issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP) to six firms that specialize in searches of this kind.”