By Dianne Anderson

How and why the next-in-line logical choice – the district’s lead Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Rhea Gibbs – was circumvented with the recent appointment of Ed D’Souza as Rialto Unified School District’s Acting Superintendent, has local advocates baffled.

Alton Garrett, president of the Westside Action Group, said Dr. Gibbs checks all the boxes, and would provide the continuity the district needs, particularly with her history of service.

That, along with her background as deputy superintendent, also means she doesn’t have to navigate a learning curve.

“Dr. Rhea Gibbs was the lead agent and she was [prepared for] assistant superintendent already. Why are you bringing in someone else when she’s going to have to explain to this person about what’s going on?” he said.

At RUSD Board of Education May 14 Special Session, the Board announced action to place Superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila on non-disciplinary paid leave, and that D’Souza had agreed to serve as acting superintendent.

Garrett said he attended that meeting, and the Board was in closed session for nearly the entire meeting, which ended with the announcement that Dr. D’Souza would assume Avila’s seat. He also attended the May 8 meeting when the Board announced that an employee was placed on leave, without naming Avila or stating why.

For 50 years, Garrett said WAG has fought community battles, staying on top of whatever goes on countywide that could negatively impact the Black community. He said that many groups request WAG attend or speak out at public meetings, or to just observe and show their presence.

“I think there’s a lot of people that want to push for her [Dr. Gibbs], but they are afraid of losing their job because they work for RUSD. They have to be careful of what they say,” he said.

WAG members are concerned about this latest choice. In showing solidarity, he said the goal is to ensure community members aren’t run over roughshod.

“My question is why not Dr. Rhea Gibbs? She was the lead agent and deputy superintendent. Why didn’t she move into the position?” he said. “The obvious is the obvious – they didn’t want a Black person to do the job.”

Garrett, a WAG member for decades, also worked with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, and said that he understands why some people are reluctant to speak up, but he and other WAG members are retired, and not under those same constraints.

“WAG can make noise and do things that others can’t do because they’re afraid of losing their jobs and positions,” he said. “We aren’t worried about people taking anything from us because they didn’t give it to us in the first place.”

The Board voted 3-0 for D’Souza, with Joseph Martinez, RUSD Board President, withholding a vote. The only African American Board member was not present. Stephanie Lewis was out of town and unable to vote.

Martinez did not respond to email requests by press time for comment regarding why Dr. D’Souza was appointed over Dr. Gibbs.

Mike Davis, also a long-time WAG member, served in education at the administrative level in Northern California for many years.

He said Dr. Gibbs is a well-recognized asset to the district with many awards, but bypassing her as deputy superintendent for D’Souza is hard to explain. He said her position as deputy superintendent seemed to indicate she was the person to take charge if the Superintendent’s post was vacant and extended.

“For the casual observer it would seem odd,” he said.  “You’d think that she’d be the natural person that serves as interim.  It doesn’t seem logical that she wouldn’t be the person that is interim.”

At this point, he said the Board has given its report out of closed session, which is legally required.

However, they are not required to give details, only actions and the vote, of which it appears they will move forward with a search for a permanent superintendent.

“The public needs to have input on that search including asking those questions, why is the interim superintendent not the person that you appointed to be temporary at the prior board meeting?” Davis said.

At the Special Meeting, Devona Robertson, parent organizer with COPE, Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement, addressed the Board to remember their commitment to the Ebony Triangle of Fontana, San Bernardino and City of Rialto concerning African American students.

In those districts, COPE engages with superintendents to support Black students and families. She said whoever is interim superintendent, or new superintendent, the main focus is to maintain the partnership toward the Black education agenda.

She stressed that recent updates from the district also discussed where improvements can be made to support Black students, along with the importance of equitable and respectful treatment of Black employees.

“Like someone else has already said, we are unsure of what the reason is for this action, but regardless of that we want to encourage you all to maintain moving forward with the partnership with the community,” she said. “Again, specifically around the Ebony triangle partnership, the Black education agenda as well as some of the concerning things we have heard about African-American staff in the Rialto School District.”

Earlier this year, Dr. Gibbs was honored with the Outstanding Leadership in Education Award at the California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA) annual conference.

On the RUSD Facebook page, the district applauded the award presented by CAAASA and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) to honor Dr. Gibbs, a graduate of RUSD, with over three decades in her career serving the district’s students.

“From her beginnings as a teacher to her roles as Program Specialist, Assistant Principal, Principal, Lead Personnel Agent, and Lead Strategic Agent, Dr. Gibbs has consistently demonstrated her commitment to excellence. This award is a testament to her exceptional leadership and her positive impact on our education community. Join us in congratulating Dr. Gibbs on this well-deserved recognition!” RUSD wrote on March 19.

To see the Special Rialto USD Board of Education Meeting – May 14, 2024