January 22, 2025 UPDATE: On behalf of fellow Board members and AUSD, Board Vice President Ryan LaLonde spoke to the Alameda Post to clarify the December 16 Board Clerk election process.
At its meeting on Tuesday, December 10, the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Education welcomed newly elected and reelected Board members and discussed family engagement and budgeting.
The Board also held its annual organizational meeting on Monday, December 16, to elect new officers—a process that new Trustee Meleah Hall believes broke Board bylaws.
Newly elected and reelected Board members celebrated
With the certification of the November 5 General Election, incumbents Jennifer Williams and Heather Little were returned to office. Meleah Hall was elected to take over for Margie Sherratt following her departure from the Board.
The meeting began with each of the three Board members taking an oath of office and being sworn in by Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi to applause and celebration from the audience. Following the proceedings, Hall thanked Alameda students and families for their support and reflected on her journey to the dais.
“[Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.] wrote a speech called ‘Blueprint for Life,’ and he asks everyone, ‘What is your blueprint for life?’ Well, my blueprint has been to be in education, to be a voice, to be an advocate, to add power, and to add resources behind the voices of our community,” said Hall, who hopes to build and leverage community support to “address what is going to come in the next four years.”
Several members of the public congratulated Hall on her electoral victory, including Austin T. “You bring us hope and light, and you bring perspective that is too important to ignore, and a compassion and voice for the marginalized and those with no voice,” he said.
Hall alleges election of officers violated bylaws
Each year in December, the Board elects a full slate of officers to serve during the next calendar year. Board Bylaw 9100 outlines a process through which Board members annually rotate through roles, such that “a member who serves as Clerk shall serve the following year as Vice President. A member who serves as Vice President shall serve the following year as President.”
In accordance with this rotation, Board Vice President Gary Lym and Clerk Ryan LaLonde became Board President and Vice President, respectively, on December 16. Lym previously rotated through all three officer roles from 2015 through 2017.
When it came time for the election of the clerk, LaLonde nominated Trustee Heather Little, who served previously as President in 2023 and Vice President in 2022.
In suggesting herself for the role, Hall opposed Little’s nomination and referred to Board Bylaw 9100, which states that the Clerk “shall be [a Board member] who previously has not held Board office, unless all Board members have previously held Board office or all members who have not previously held Board office decline their nominations.” Electing Little, therefore, would be “going against the bylaws,” according to Hall.
In the last 10 years, many newly elected or appointed Board members have been immediately elected to serve as Clerk the following year, including Lym for 2015, Gray Harris for 2016, Ardella Dailey for 2017, and Megan Sweet for 2021. There have been some exceptions in cases, which the bylaws allow when zero or multiple new Board members are elected or appointed. Upon her election to the Board at the time, Mia Bonta was elected Board President for 2019 instead of Ardella Dailey rotating into the role, a move that drew criticism from community members.
Most recently, Lym was elected to serve as Clerk in 2023 instead of LaLonde following his 2022 election—an incident LaLonde himself alluded to as having to “wait one turn” for the Clerk position, during his nomination of Little. Despite Hall’s objections, Little was elected Clerk in a 4-to-1 vote.
“Our bylaws are our constitution, and to promote equity and transparency it is important that we abide by what the board has voted into policy,” wrote Hall, as part of a statement to the Alameda Post.
“There was a situation where I believe the bylaws may not have been followed, and I have raised my concerns with the board to address this matter in a constructive and professional manner,” she continued. “It’s essential that our actions as board members reflect the trust placed in us by the community. I remain focused on serving the students, families, and staff of our district and working to resolve this situation in a way that reinforces that trust.”
Strengthening community ties through LCAP
Later in the December 10 meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Kirsten Zazo presented an update on the district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), the three-year plan intended to support positive student outcomes. The evening’s presentation focused on LCAP Goal 2, which aims to “build relationships between families, students, and staff to ensure schools are supportive, inclusive, and safe.”
Zazo highlighted several district-wide events designed to meet the outlined actions under Goal 2, which emphasizes “culturally responsive” engagement and partnership with families. Since the beginning of the school year, the district has organized family information sessions on mental health, math support, and hate speech. More sessions on school safety, LGBTQ support, and social media will be held next year.
Staff from both Franklin Elementary and Bay Farm schools joined to highlight key Goal 2 initiatives specific to their school sites.
“Family engagement is so much a part of the culture at Franklin that it is in our mission and vision statement,” explained Principal Lynette Chirrick, as she and other Franklin community members described how strategies like listening attentively to families and encouraging students to volunteer and step up on campus have led to feelings of closeness and camaraderie among staff and families.
Athena Breuer, a third-grade teacher at Bay Farm School, spoke fondly of the school’s “Hour of Play” as a “wonderful,” exciting effort that enhances school culture. During each “Hour,” students engage in campus-wide free play with friends and siblings to visit stations and activities led by staff and middle-school students. To earn the privilege, students must collectively display exemplary qualities.
Zazo reminded the Board that the LCAP is meant to be a “living” document where approaches can be adjusted if they are not working. Refinement of the LCAP happens through a cyclical process, with budget packets and enrollment projections completed in December—further discussions will take place in the new year.
Other notable items
- The Board unanimously approved the First Interim Budget report, which reflects the district’s financial position as of October 2024 and highlights expected attendance, spending patterns, and multiyear projections. This approval finalizes and revises figures first discussed in September 2024.
- Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Timothy Erwin “sunshined” the district’s contract articles that it intends to negotiate with the Alameda Education Association (AEA) during the upcoming negotiations. AEA sunshined its own articles immediately afterwards.
Ken Der is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Ken-Der.
