It still smells even years later...

Posted by Hmmmmm..., a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, 5 hours ago

Maurice is probably pacing in front of the District Office, on his phone, trying to reach his good friend, Larry Aceves (yes, the same Larry Aceves who unsuccessfully ran for California Superintendent of Public Instruction) to find out what high-paying districts are “searching” for a new superintendent.

A Recap of Events… (or, Watch Where the Money Flows...)

1. Larry and Maurice are friends who played together in a band.

2. In November 2009, the Mountain View School Board announced that Maurice would be leaving the district after his unethical behavior in the district.

3. In May 2010, Maurice’s friend, Dr. Charles Weis, then-Superintendent of the Santa Clara County Office of Education appointed Maurice the Chief Academic Officer for the Santa Clara County Office of Education (yes, the same Dr. Weiss who was sued in December 2012 by his former employer, the Santa Clara County Office of Education for an unpaid 1M condo loan).

4. In 2010, leading up to the election, Maurice contributed significant sums of money to Larry’s campaign for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

5. In June 2010, Larry Aceves’ wife, Linda, who worked at the Santa Clara COE, was promoted to the Chief Academic Officer position that was vacated by Maurice at the COE.

6. Larry is a recruiter for the firm, Leadership Associates, that “finds” school administrators for school districts.

7. In February 2011, the MPCSD Board approved a $21,000. contract with Leadership Associates to conduct a “nationwide search” for a superintendent.

8. Larry instructed the Board to NOT include parents, community or staff members in the interview process for superintendent. The Board agreed with this recommendation, making it the first time that Menlo Park parents, community and staff members were not involved in the superintendent interview process.

9. During a “superintendent input” meeting with Menlo Park staff, someone asked Larry if his firm was the same one that recruited Howard Cohen, the previous superintendent in South San Francisco Unified School District. After a year on the job in SSFUSD, Cohen resigned in December 2010 due to questionable hiring practices and accusations of mismanaging finances in his previous school district. Larry denied that Leadership Associates was the firm that recruited Cohen, in spite of the fact that the Leadership Associates website stated that they had recruited Cohen for the South City superintendency.

10. In May 2011, the Menlo Park Board selected Maurice for superintendent, stating that they knew his background and the controversy he had created in Mountain View.

11. In January 2012, when Menlo Park needed to fill 2 principal positions, Maurice recommended, and the Board approved, a $10,000. contract with Leadership Associates to conduct a “nationwide search” for the best principals. At the end of the “nationwide search,” one of Maurice’s former principals in Mountain View was selected for Encinal, and a principal that he knew from Santa Clara County was selected for Hillview.

12. Maurice has stated that Menlo Park is going to contract with a recruiting firm to conduct a “nationwide search” to fill the Student Services Director position. I wonder what recruitment firm he has in mind?

A shining illustration of bureaucratic beauty!

Corruption is the norm now...