Conservative Placentia-Yorba Linda trustees safeguard superintendent after elections

A majority of Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District trustees voted to shield top-level administrators, including Supt. Alex Cherniss, from any possible headwinds following local elections.

As voters appear poised to flip conservative control of the board, current trustees approved changes to Cherniss’ contract during Tuesday’s school board meeting that would make it more difficult for him to be fired.

Trustees can now only terminate his employment, with or without cause, by way of a supermajority vote of the five-member board, a threshold that sunsets at the end of 2026.

The contract change, which was also approved for two assistant superintendents and one deputy superintendent, drew much protest during the packed school board meeting.

Tricia Quintero, a teacher and past PTA president, spoke in opposition of the changes. She is set to be elected to the school board by a commanding margin in winning the Area 1 seat Trustee Shawn Youngblood is vacating.

“These changes are being proposed with the guise of bettering school community,” Quintero said. “Unfortunately, the impression I have of these changes is not what is best for the community but, instead, is best for a select few.”

Board President Leandra Blades framed the contract changes as legal and not a departure from past contracts with supermajority vote clauses.

“The problem that we have here is what appears to be some retaliatory acts from our teachers’ union,” she said. “Is that because we have people on our executive cabinet, our superintendent holding people accountable for these things?”

Since 2020, the school board has become a stalwart in right-wing culture war issues.

The board became the first in Orange County to pass a ban on critical race theory instruction in 2022. The following year, a conservative majority voted to hire Cherniss as superintendent, and he has been seen as closely aligned with them since.

At his request, trustees also passed a parental notification policy by a 3-2 vote that sidestepped terms like “gender identity” and “transgender” but raised concerns that it was purposefully vague to target LGBTQ+ students.

A vote by conservative trustees to require a supermajority to terminate Supt. Alex Cherniss led to a packed school board meeting.

(Screenshot by Gabriel San Roman)

Before Tuesday’s meeting, the California Teachers Assn. addressed a cease and desist letter to Blades and Cherniss on behalf of the Assn. of Placentia-Linda Educators. The union’s staff attorney argued the proposed contract changes would violate education law and invite lawsuits.

“This is a naked attempt to shield the outgoing board’s preferred administrators from termination once the newly elected board is installed,” the letter read. “The proposed amendments conflict with the law and therefore would not be enforceable.”

Trustee Marilyn Anderson questioned Blades’ favorable interpretation of the legal opinion offered by the district’s counsel.

She wanted to make the legal opinion public, a move that did not find majority support.

“My opinion and President Blades’ opinions of this opinion do not match up,” Anderson said. “It’s a really poor comparison to compare the two contracts of prior superintendents because they had a simple majority for cause to get fired. It just breeds corruption.”

On Tuesday, a judge denied Placentia resident David Radlauer’s filing to enjoin the school board from making the contractual changes, which argued that the amendments “are specifically designed to target only the incoming board, as they expire automatically approximately 30 days after the next election.”

Youngblood framed the previous school board meeting as one where teachers openly displayed a clamor for Cherniss’ termination — a move that he would readily safeguard against in his remaining time on the board.

“This is about the kids and their education,” Youngblood said. “If I, myself, want to insulate Dr. Cherniss and this amazing staff that he’s got around him then I will do so.”

Trustee Todd Frazier, who rounds out the board’s conservative majority alongside Blades and Youngblood, claimed he would have no problem voting to change directions with top-level administrators should the need arise.

But Trustee Carrie Buck countered that the change to Cherniss’ contract would effectively tie the hands of board members against that.

“By making decisions now, you’re actually legislating for the future board, which is against the law,” she said.

The current board voted 3-2 to add the supermajority clauses. A new board will be seated on Dec. 17.