Tustin Schools Chief Resigns Amid Dispute After 12 Years

Maurice A. Ross, controversial superintendent of the Tustin Unified School District, resigned from his $83,000-a-year job this week as the school board reportedly was considering whether to renew his contract.

Citing “a difference of philosophy” with a new board, Ross, 57, superintendent for the past 12 years, submitted his resignation Tuesday. He made the resignation effective when his current two-year contract expires next June.

Ross presided over a district that was rocked by school closures and by financial and labor problems during his tenure. In June, he was the target of a no-confidence vote by teachers, who accused him of ignoring needed improvements in curriculum and learning conditions. Members of the Tustin Educators Assn. gave Ross a rating of 1.8 on a 0-10 competence score. Although the competence grading was not publicized, teachers said it was shown to Ross and various school officials.

A district source who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the five-member school board was in the process of evaluating Ross and had until the end of December to let him know whether his contract would be renewed. The source said the board was weighing such factors as the teachers’ no-confidence vote.

“(That) evaluation might have prompted his resignation,” the source said.

Ross on Wednesday declined to elaborate on the reasons for his departure.

“I guess I’ll leave it to somebody else to talk about the controversy,” Ross said, adding, “This (resignation) is not something on the spur of the moment.”

In his resignation letter to Board President Jane Bauer, Ross said he had worked with the board through “many difficult and challenging times.”

“For this I am thankful and proud,” the letter said. “However, these current board members deserve a chief administrator who shares their ideology. Therefore, I tender my resignation.”

Leaders of the Tustin Educators Assn. likewise chose not to dwell on the negative.

“We are very encouraged by the fact that the district and the board is giving a higher priority to the needs of teachers and students,” said Joyce Rohrbaugh, president

of the teachers union. “We wish them success in hiring a superintendent that has the vision and administrative skills that are necessary to lead the district forward.”

Longtime board member Barbara Benton, who was board president when Ross was hired, blamed union pressure for the resignation.

“I think that certainly they have made his life unpleasant for a number of years,” Benson said. “Personally, I’m very sad that he is leaving. I think we have been extremely fortunate to have someone of his caliber in Tustin and I don’t expect us to equal that again, even with a considerably higher salary.”

The newer board members with whom Ross said he had philosophical differences could not be reached for comment Wednesday. They include Bauer, Gloria F. Tuchman and Merlin L. Henry Jr. They have been elected since 1986 and, Benson said, were backed by the teachers union. Benson and board Vice-President Joyce Hanson are the only members left of the pre-1986 board, which was highly supportive of Ross.

Ross was hired in 1977 after having served as superintendent of the Norwalk-La Mirada school district and as an administrator in the Orange district.

In the mid-1980s, as Tustin’s enrollment decreased from 15,000 students to just under 10,000, Ross oversaw the closure of nine of the district’s 24 schools. The declining enrollment, Ross said, also meant less money for teachers. That, he said, contributed heavily to a walkout by the district’s 400 teachers in October, 1985.

Ross said he was powerless to help the teachers more.

“They would like more money, and we have given them everything we can,” he said.

Benson, a Tustin school board member for 22 years, agreed.

“If you have a limited amount of money, it can only go so many places,” Benson said.

But the teachers union, in 1985, said that better management by Ross would have avoided the friction over money.

The teachers also have complained that Ross offered little leadership in maintaining the quality of the curriculum and in addressing special problems such as increased numbers of non-English-speaking students. Rohrbaugh, the teachers union president, said the current board agrees with teachers that those areas need more attention.

In 1986, when the board renewed Ross’ contract for two more years, some teachers and residents launched a recall effort against Benson and two other board members who voted for the extension. Although the recall proponents were unable to collect enough signatures to put the matter on the ballot, Benson said they put their energy into a 1986 election campaign that resulted in Bauer and Tuchman being elected to the board.

Ross, who has lived in Tustin for 27 years with his wife, Gloria, said he does not know yet what he will do. A father of three grown children, he said he may consider joining another area school district.

“We’ve had some good times (in the Tustin district), but there is a difference of opinion on some things, and I think I could contribute more elsewhere,” Ross said.