Orange Unified fires its superintendent despite community outcry
Parents demonstrate their support for Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
With Orange Unified School District’s superintendent and assistant superintendent reportedly out of the country, the School Board voted 4-3 Thursday night to fire the top administrator and place the second on paid administrative leave pending an audit.
Board members gave Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen a 30-day notice of termination and placed her on paid administrative leave until then. They also placed Cathleen Corella, the district’s assistant superintendent of education, on immediate paid administrative leave pending an academic audit.
Board members then appointed an interim superintendent, Edward Velasquez. They also appointed Craig Abercrombie, Canyon High’s principal, as assistant superintendent.
The board’s split vote followed more than three hours of criticism from parents and teachers who called the board’s action “sneaky,” “slimy politics” that smacked of “political grandstanding.”
Approximately 200 concerned parents and teachers gathered at OUSD for pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An emotional Theresa Nguyen, a parent, encourages the board not to fire superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and assistant superintendent Cathleen Corella, during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Fletcher Elementary teacher Gina Goodbrand, center, raises her fists in support of a fellow teacher during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD parent and Canyon High graduate signs a recall petition following pubic comments about a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD parent Lee Tousignant expresses his outrage at the board during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD board president Rick Ledesma listens during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD board member Andrea Yamasaki listens during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD board member Kris Erickson, right, takes the podium to speak to the board during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD board member Ana Page listens during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD board member Madison Miner listens during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD board vice president John Ortega during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD board member Kris Erickson, right, takes the podium to speak to the board during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Parents demonstrate their support for Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD board clerk Angie Rumsey, left, and board president Rick Ledesma speak before pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OUSD Board President Rick Ledesma shakes the recently adopted civility policy at the crowd during pubic comments following a special meeting at the Orange Unified School Board in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The Orange Unified School Board listens to pubic comments following a special meeting at the in Orange on Thursday, January 5, 2023 to decide the future – and possible firing – of Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Cathleen Corella, assistant superintendent of educational services. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The special meeting caught many off guard, but residents mobilized quickly on social media asking supporters to show up for what they dubbed a “Thursday night massacre.”
With more than 200 community members packing the district’s chamber, and hundreds more watching online, critics complained that Board President Rick Ledesma called the special meeting during winter break, when not only families and educators are on vacation but so are the two administrators whose jobs were suddenly threatened.
“It is disappointing you would not have the guts to look these humans in the eyes,” parent Lee Tousignant told the board. “What you have done is betray the trust of the people that put you in those chairs. There is zero question about the cowardice, underhandedness and frankly crappiness of what you have done here.”
The board’s majority – Ledesma, John Ortega, Angie Rumsey, and newly elected member Madison Miner – voted to give Hansen a 30-day notice of termination, as required by her contract, and place Corella on paid administrative leave, pending the district conduct a curriculum and education audit, Ledesma announced following a closed session. Board members did not give a reason for their actions.
Voting against the termination were board members Kris Erickson, Ana Page and Andrea Yamasaki. Earlier in the meeting, Erickson and Yamasaki both expressed shock and anger over how the subject was raised with only 24 hours’ notice. Saying there was a lack of transparency, they attempted to postpone any decision to a regularly scheduled meeting in the future but were defeated in a 4-3 vote.
Neither Hansen nor Corella could be reached for comment Thursday.
Meanwhile, parents began collecting signatures toward recall elections against school board members who voted for the administrators’ firings.
Parents, teachers and other community members who addressed the board prior to their vote lauded the administrators for their work and said the plan to fire Hansen and Corella would be bad for the district, its staff and its 26,000 students.
“Why would you want to cause the disruption?” Jeanne Matson, a teacher at Prospect Elementary, asked the board.
Sara Pelly, principal at the district’s Fletcher Mandarin & Gate Academy, told the board: “It’s the middle of a school year. I’m deeply concerned.”
Educators and others commended Hansen, superintendent since December 2017, for leading the district during the pandemic and other accomplishments since she took the district’s top job. Board members Erickson and Yamasaki noted that Hansen had received high praise in every annual performance review by the board.
Many also repeatedly questioned the board on the potential cost to the district severance and any potential civil lawsuit filed as a result of the terminations. Hansen’s regular pay was $336,157 in 2021, the last year data is available through Transparent California. Corella’s pay was $203,066 for the same year.
“You’re going to cost this district millions of dollars,” said one speaker, an attorney with a child in the district.
