Cheers erupted at the Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) board meeting on March 18 after Board Clerk Denise McGrew-Kane announced the district was no longer considering current Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services E.J. Rossi for superintendent.
“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 towards building trust,” McGrew-Kane said.
At a previous meeting on March 4, parents, teachers, and residents spoke against hiring Rossi, accusing the district of lacking proper vetting, stakeholder input, and due diligence.
The search came after current Superintendent Tom Butler announced his retirement in September 2024. In October the AUSD board awarded a $25,000 contract to a recruiting firm to help gather a wide scope of qualified candidates, which was eventually narrowed down locally to Rossi.
Concerns about Rossi’s potential hire stemmed from accusations about him misappropriating $56,000 of San Ardo Union School District funds as a district superintendent and principal from 2003 to 2007, according to a 2010 San Luis Obispo County grand jury report.
After Rossi resigned from the San Ardo district in 2007 and became Atascadero High School’s assistant principal, the report said that nearly $56,000 had been found to be misappropriated due to improper financial actions. According to the grand jury, these included Rossi overriding financial controls, which lead to duplicate and undocumented payments; approving his own payroll and stipends that resulted in overpayment of $16,000; and raising his own district credit cards’ limits by at least $40,000 without authorization and using the cards for personal purchases.
Eventually, Rossi agreed to pay $32,000 after the district’s findings.
At the March 4 meeting, sixth grade teacher Jehan Mirzaei told the board about the middle school’s strict rules for district purchases, even for milk cartons or rolls of paper. He said these rules are in place to ensure accountability.
“If this is the candidate you are considering, it’s pretty odd. In all my experience being a teacher here, I’m having to jump through hoops to get district supplies,” he said. “But now we are considering hiring a candidate who, based on the evidence I’m seeing, has not been accountable with his school’s money in the past.”
Multiple speakers accused the board of a lack of transparency when it came to the process of hiring a superintendent.
Eighth grade science teacher Alex Wilcox told the board he was ecstatic when he had heard it was spending $25,000 to find the best candidate. But he hadn’t heard any updates or communication since the announcement.
“Why have you not talked with the people that care the most about this issue?” he asked. “Come! I am 100 meters that way. Come see me. Help me!”
The public outcry prompted the board to announce at its March 18 meeting that it would consider other applications for superintendent, prompting cheers from attendees, who outnumbered available seats.
Newly elected board member Jodi Taylor said, “It’s been a long journey, and we are working on getting there for you guys.”
Board member Corinne Kuhnle followed up.
“Atascadero, we are a classy district,” she said “We are going to move on, but thank you for voicing your concerns.”
New Times contacted each member of the AUSD school board for comment and received a statement from Clerk McGrew-Kane that said the board did not take the decision lightly.
“The selection of the superintendent of the Atascadero Unified School District is a serious and important decision, and the board takes its responsibility to make the right choice very seriously. We know how critical this choice is for the community, and we know it is important that we get this right,” McGrew-Kane stated.
The statement reiterated that the board can’t share applications with the public and adhered to all transparency requirements as per best industry practices and board policy.
Superintendent candidate and current Assistant Superintendent Rossi told New Times he was disappointed by the outcome and said he felt the time was finally right to publicly deny the accusations against him.
“After starting [in Atascadero], the new superintendent in San Ardo started making false accusations regarding alleged overpayment. It was not misused funds with misallocations. He was just claiming that I was overpaid. And so, for the next two and a half years, I successfully refuted those false allegations of overpayment,” he said. “There were never any charges filed against me, there was never any action, never any evidence to move forward.”
After years of back-and-forth allegations between Rossi and the district, he said when the opportunity for settlement arose, his lawyer advised him to take it.
“It was not a restitution agreement; it was not a reimbursement of funds. It was just a mutual agreement, or no admission of guilt,” he said.
The 2010 grand jury report said Rossi was promoted from assistant principal to principal of Atascadero High School in 2009 amid the investigation and that AUSD had not properly vetted his past.
“At the time Mr. Rossi was hired for the assistant principal position, AUSD conducted six reference checks, as per stated district practice. One of those references was a member of the San Ardo school board,” the report read. “Overall, the reference was positive. However, in the telephone reference check, the school board member specifically told AUSD of Mr. Rossi’s weakness with ‘financial matters’ and because of this, a business officer was hired to assist him. AUSD failed to include this information in documenting the reference.”
Rossi told New Times this was false and that AUSD had refuted some of the grand jury’s findings in a 2010 response letter.
In that letter, AUSD countered allegations made by the grand jury, stating the term “restitution” was never used regarding the settlement and that no criminal vetting was required for Rossi as he has not been charged with a crime.
Rossi told New Times he was excited about the potential opportunity for superintendent but understood the board’s decision.
“So, I’ll support the board and continue to support our district as we move forward,” he said. “I’m eager to continue to serve our district and community.” Δ
Reach Staff Writer Libbey Hanson at lhanson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 6, 2025.
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