We the parents, students, and staff of Portola Elementary School demand the San Bruno School District Board of Trustees:

PLACE SUPERINTENDENT MATHEW DUFFY ON LEAVE and investigate the superintendent's harassment of Dr. Krotz and interference with her duties to provide a safe, inclusive, and top-notch education for the students of Portola Elementary School. 

 

 

 

 

On December 14, 2023, our principal, Dr. Krotz (pic above), was escorted out of Portola Elementary School at the direction of Supt. Duffy and then placed on indefinite leave.  This comes a day after a San Bruno School District Board of Trustees meeting where Dr. Krotz publicly raised her concerns about the lack of support from the district to keep students safe, in addition to the harassment she has been experiencing at the direction of Supt. Duffy. 

 

 

 

 

As parents, students, and staff of Portola we cannot let this happen.  

During the last board meeting we learned first hand about the increased 

• Student trauma, anxiety and worry due to this incident
• School staff fear in speaking up due to retaliation by Superintendent Duffy.  

We cannot allow bullies like Supt. Duffy to stay in place.  His behavior of placing Dr. Krotz on leave the day after her speech is a powerful example for our children, and we as parents and staff need to teach them that speaking up for the right things is good, will not be silenced, and that Pandas always stick together!

WHY PLACE DUFFY ON LEAVE?

Pattern of bad behavior and mismanagement. 

• Supt. Duffy has a history of retaliating against principals. He is named in a lawsuit (click here) by one of his former principals while at West Contra Costa Unified (WCCU) for racial discrimination and retaliation.  
• Supt. Duffy illegally directed his staff person, Jennifer Long, to retrieve Dr. Krotz private medical files as a means to discredit her. This is illegal and in violation of the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (click here). 
• Supt. has a poor track record!  His former employer almost fired him for mismanaging district finances (click here). He was given the lowest possible performance score as WWCU superintendent (click here). Other parents petitioned to remove Duffy as superintendent at WWCU (click here) but he ultimately decided to not seek another term (click here).

TAKE ACTION NOW

Sign this petition and share this with other parents, staff, and community members. Write an email to the Board of Trustees to express your displeasure of Superintendent Duffy. 

• Jennifer Blanco: jblanco@sbpsd.k12.ca.us
• Alvin Tang: atang@sbpsd.k12.ca.us
• Amanda Blanchette: ablanchette@sbpsd.k12.ca.us
• Adriana Shea: ashea@sbpsd.k12.ca.us
• Ray Giusti: rgiusti@sbpsd.k12.ca.us  

IF you are a parent, join the Portola Advocacy WhatsApp group and sign our other petition to bring Dr. Krotz back to Portola immediately!