PAUSD has spent the better part of the last couple of decades lurching from one leadership crisis to the next. Former superintendent Don Austin’s tenure was defined by top-down decision making and a persistent disconnect from the community he was hired to serve. Trent Bahadursingh’s brief, turbulent stint offered little correction before it, too, collapsed. The revolving door at the top of this district is destabilizing, and students are the ones paying the price.
The Board of Education now has an opportunity to change the way they’ve done things and select a superintendent that truly values community input. Whether they squander it the way they have before is up to them.
PAUSD is not a broken district. Its teachers are dedicated, its academic achievement is real and the community’s investment is genuine. That foundation is worth protecting — which is exactly why the leadership failures of the past few years are so frustrating. Poor communication, a lack of transparency and fiscal decisions that never seemed to prioritize students have eroded the trust this district depends on. Students struggling with their mental health have watched resources fall short year after year. Transparency has been a back-of-mind issue. And through it all, student voice has been treated as an afterthought rather than a starting point.
The Board must do better. Here is what should be prioritized.
The next superintendent must actually understand this district — not from a briefing document, but from showing up. Austin’s failure was, at its core, a lack of connection. PAUSD has a specific culture, a specific set of pressures and a community that can immediately tell when its leader is present versus performing. The next superintendent needs to be someone who listens and stays close to students, teachers and families. Not someone who manages from a distance.
They must also treat transparency as a baseline, not a concession. Where is the money going? Why? Those are not unreasonable questions, and this community has been waiting too long for answers. Fiscal accountability and honest communication through regular budget updates are not, and should not be, extras.
Mental health resources must be a genuine priority, backed by real funding. This is not a new problem, and the incoming superintendent should arrive with a concrete plan. The pressure students face in this district is serious. The institutional response has to match it.
Finally, students need to be heard. Not through a student advisory committee that meets a couple of times a year and changes nothing, but gathering input that gets built into how decisions are made. Our next superintendent should be willing to immerse themselves in the Palo Alto community, visit our schools and gather student-focused data that informs their decisions.
You have hired for credentials before, Board. You have hired for impressiveness. You have seen where that leads. This time, hire someone who has taught, who understands this community’s culture and who sees the students of PAUSD not as metrics to manage but as people to serve.
We are asking for accountability, connection and leadership that is actually here.
—Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the staff (assenting: 17; dissenting: 0; abstaining: 0).
