ANTIOCH – The Antioch Unified School District supervisor accused of using a forklift to put an underling’s desk on a roof and other instances of bullying and harassment has been placed on administrative leave, officials confirmed to this news organization.
The decision to place Kenneth Turnage II on leave comes as AUSD opens two independent investigations into the district’s alleged mishandling of complaints that first publicly surfaced last fall.
Some employees who filed complaints against Turnage have accused Superintendent Stephanie Anello of turning a blind eye to the alleged misconduct because Turnage is friends with her husband, former Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando, who is now assistant general manager for the town of Discovery Bay.
Anello, who went out on sick leave last week but has returned, has removed herself from the investigations. But some are now questioning her performance — and how she’s received pay increases despite not being evaluated by the school board in recent years, as her contract requires.
“I think there’s a need for immediate change, immediate action to do right by our employees,” AUSD school board President Antonio Hernandez said.
Turnage II, the head of AUSD’s facilities, maintenance and operations, did not respond to a request for comment sent Thursday.
Robert Martinez, associate superintendent and chief of human resources, said in a statement that two independent investigations have been initiated “to look into concerns raised publicly by an individual board member.” One will review “the overall situation” and the other will “address the two recent complaints that have been filed against an employee,” he said. Martinez said he will oversee the probes.
Multiple employees have filed written complaints alleging that Turnage has intimidated, bullied and harassed employees, including using a forklift to raise one man’s desk up on a school roof.
Hernandez, the school board president, has questioned the district’s handling of the employee complaints and has called for Anello’s resignation over her failure to act. Twice, Hernandez tried to hold special board meetings on the matter, including a closed session on April 25 about the superintendent’s evaluation and potential discipline or dismissal. But only Hernandez and Trustee Jag Lathan attended, so the meeting did not happen because there was no quorum.
Hernandez said he will include the same items — Anello’s evaluation and discussion of possible discipline — at the upcoming May 8 regular board session.
“I think my colleagues have made it very clear that they’re not going to show up to a special meeting,” he said.
Despite the lack of a quorum on April 25, Hernandez and Lathan stayed for an hour and listened to a room full of employees and community members who spoke out about workplace bullying and other district issues. Lathan said she was disappointed that a majority of the board was absent.
“As elected representatives, it is imperative that we fulfill our duty to our community by actively engaging in decision-making processes, especially on matters as serious as those brought to our attention,” she said. “The decision of three board members not to attend is concerning and deserves scrutiny.”
She called Anello’s handling of the hostile workplace complaints “troubling.”
“Transparency, accountability and leadership are paramount in addressing these issues effectively,” Lathan said. “The experiences shared by our employees, families and students underscore the urgency of the situation and the need for immediate action.”
After first hearing of the complaints during a school board meeting last fall and again in late January, Hernandez said he was assured the matter was handled appropriately.
“I talked to the superintendent to ensure that something was being done about it, and I was told that all the proper procedural steps were being followed,” he said.
Hernandez said he has not heard from the three trustees – Gary Hack, Clyde Lewis and Mary Rocha – who did not attend the special meeting last week. Only Rocha responded to this news organization’s questions.
Rocha said she was not consulted about the special meeting and had a funeral to attend that day and tickets for an evening event. She said any investigation or evaluation of the superintendent should be discussed during a regularly scheduled school board meeting.
Anello has not had an evaluation since 2020. Rocha said it hasn’t been done because the board couldn’t first agree on setting goals. According to Hernandez, other board members have stood in the way of doing the required annual evaluation and it “has constantly been punted.”
Records show Anello earns a base salary of $353,045, and has received raises despite not being officially evaluated.
As for Turnage, Rocha said he is under contract with the California School Employees Association, a classified employees union, which has rules about handling complaints and undergoing an investigation before any action can be taken.
Though the superintendent has been accused of nepotism, Rocha also pointed out that AUSD is one of the few districts that uses a personnel commission whose business office does all the hiring, with candidates ranked by numbers, not names.
“At the end of the day, this has really come down to the decision-making of the superintendent — beyond just who was hired there — but in the handling of the district environment for our employees and our students,” Hernandez said.
The district has said it investigated the complaints, but four of the 10 employees who complained said officials said they found nothing wrong and Turnage remained in his role. Two weeks ago, district officials said he would not directly supervise employees and instead focus on overseeing a $195 million bond measure to fix schools.
Kim Atkinson, an AUSD purchasing technician who recently returned to her job following a stress-related medical leave, said she tried to complain through proper channels for months to no avail. She spoke before the school board in late January after a formal complaint got nowhere and there was no response to her written appeal.
Atkinson included 24 bullet points of complaints against Turnage, which included other witnesses and an incident where he allegedly told her she could put her printer on the roof when she asked where to place it.
“The reason that it’s been so long before it became public, is that we trusted the district to do the right thing,” Atkinson said this week. “We all did exactly what we were told to do. I went to two board meetings…when I stood up there shaking, begging for somebody to help us and nothing was done.”
AUSD is set to meet at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, in the district offices at 510 G St. Agendas can be found at https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/ausd/Board.nsf/Public.
Source: www.mercurynews.com