Parents, staff united to protest controversial Atascadero superintendent pick. And it worked
Parents and school staff criticized the Atascadero school board’s process for selecting a superintendent Tuesday night, even after trustees announced they would not hire their controversial first pick.
The board had previously considered E.J. Rossi, the district’s assistant superintendent of education services, as the top candidate for the job.
Concern for the board’s choice swirled among parents and district employees in recent weeks, however, with some teachers expressing widespread disapproval for Rossi’s hire in a survey and at a March 4 school board meeting.
The concerns were in part due to past allegations Rossi misappropriated public funds while working as a superintendent and principal in the San Ardo Union School District. According to a grand jury report that investigated his promotion within the Atascadero district in 2009, he paid over $30,000 to San Ardo as part of a settlement agreement.
Rossi has previously denied any criminal wrongdoing.
While the board ultimately decided against Rossi’s hiring Tuesday, parents and staff still had choice words for trustees.
What did parents, staff have to say?
Though board member Denise McGrew-Kane announced at the start of the meeting that the district would not move forward with Rossi’s hire, trustees still allowed public comment on the decision.
“At the end of the day, we want to ensure that the board and the community support the next leader of our school district, and we are committed to a process that will work toward building trust,” McGrew-Kane said at the start of the meeting to applause.
Soon after, one person could be heard yelling from the packed audience: “Democracy works!”
Parents and teachers alike spoke to their frustrations with the district’s process Tuesday night.
Parent Stephanie Drexler told the board she was at the meeting with a group of other parents who intended on reading letters written anonymously by teachers who feared retaliation for speaking out publicly against Rossi’s potential hire.
Drexler added she felt there was a “lack of transparency” surrounding the superintendent search.
“We are here to support our teachers and staff, and we hope that going forward, the process is better,” she said. “So, please do better.”
Another parent said he felt the board went too far by announcing that Rossi was the pick if they weren’t going to move forward with the decision.
“His life now will be upside down because you rescinded an offer — good, bad or indifferent,” he said.
District staff also spoke to how the search for a new administrator impacts students.
Atascadero Middle School teacher Jehan Mirzaei told the board that the controversial superintendent search did ultimately affect kids.
With teachers worried about the future of their jobs and the viability of the district in recent weeks, he said, they weren’t able to devote their full attention to their students.
“You have students and teachers who rely on you and you need to take your job seriously, because your decisions trickle down to us,” Mirzaei said. “And if we have to spend our time worrying about you, we can’t worry about our kids.”
And Lee Perkins, a parent of past Atascadero students, told trustees she hopes the board will give more weight to the opinions of teachers moving forward.
“The teachers are the ones — they are the backbone of the school district,” she said. “They are the ones who make a difference every day for our students.”
After Tuesday’s decision, the district will continue its search for a replacement for current superintendent Tom Butler, who plans to retire at the end of this academic year.
More information on the search will be announced soon, McGrew-Kane told the audience Tuesday night.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 3:29 PM.
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