To: All NMUSD Employees
From: John R. Caldecott, Former Executive Director, Human Resources
Re: A Proper Farewell-but Not Goodbye
Date: February 3, 2015
Because of the circumstances, this is the most difficult email of my 10 years at NMUSD and my 34+ years in school district Human Resources.
Through this letter I would like to officially say farewell to all of my NMUSD friends and colleagues who I have had the opportunity to serve with over the past ten years. In my role as the Director, Classified Personnel and then as the Executive Director, Human Resources there have been many positive opportunities to support you in your efforts to make this a phenomenal place for students and a family of employees.
No one can take away the incredibly positive experiences I have had providing services to the District. There is no doubt in my mind that the certificated and classified employees in this District are the most dedicated and motivated workforce in the State. I have been able to brag about you where ever I go--and I won’t stop now. Employees are the greatest asset this District has, the many accomplishments with students and families are a result of all of your hard work.
Please carry on with the great work you are doing to improve student learning opportunities and to support the business/school operations of the District. Keep caring and focusing on the things that matter and maintain your principles of ethical conduct.
I wish you all the best at NMUSD!!!!
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You deserve to have some background on my situation:
As you know, the Board terminated my contract without cause based on the recommendation of the Superintendent, Fred Navarro. I am still in disbelief about the callous action taken by the Superintendent, but as a member of the Public I intend to get all the answers to the questions I sought as an employee. My notice of the Superintendent’s recommendation for my termination to the Board came abruptly in a text instructing me to check my email. The email came four hours after the Writ of Mandate was filed by my attorney with the Court. The Writ will compel the District to release records under the California Public Records Act pertaining to my formal complaint to the Board about the Superintendent’s conduct. To date access to all records has been denied.
I believe we all know--when an employee raises legitimate questions about the administration, you can’t just fire them and have all the questions and concerns go away. My efforts to hold the Superintendent and Board accountable will not be stopped by my termination as an employee. I am now a member of the Public and these issues have my full-time attention.
In my capacity as the Executive Director, Human Resources, I was responsible for ensuring that District practices were consistent with policy, practice and legal requirements. Over the course of the past several months, I began to question some of the decisions made and/or condoned by the Superintendent.
When my positive, creative problem solving failed with the Superintendent, I chose to maintain my ethics and integrity and to speak up about unanswered questions and unresolved concerns. I made good faith reports about the Superintendent’s actions and about my questions regarding improper District actions to the Board under the complaint procedure hoping for resolution. As far as I know, the Board gave their unconditional support to the Superintendent with no action whatsoever except to terminate the messenger. However, I can’t be completely certain the Board was fully informed by the Superintendent on some facts.
Loyalty is not demonstrated by following the leadership when your conscience tells you something is wrong. I have been loyal to the principle that every employee deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. I have also demonstrated my loyalty to the principles of fairness with employees I have advocated for during my entire career. If it takes my termination to stand up for core principles of integrity, then I accept the consequences but will not give up on accountability.
Finally, I call on the District to be fully transparent on all requests for Public Records.
California Public Information Act: If you are interested, you can request information from the NMUSD Public Information Office and you will receive all the records released by the Court related to the complaint against the Superintendent. There is a clear record of the good faith reports contained in the Public Records requested from the District.
The records to request are:
1. A copy of the Board’s response to Caldecott dated December 10, 2014 titled: “Response to Superintendent Complaint Filed by Employee (John Caldecott)”
2. Email from Caldecott to all Board members dated December 11, 2014 including all attachments (A-D). The subject of the email is: “Board’s December 10, 2014 Response to Complaint about the Superintendent”
The District has denied access to all records so far.
