An explosive Santa Barbara Teachers Association survey of teachers and certificated staff shows that there is widespread dissatisfaction with the performance of Santa Barbara Unified School District Superintendent Hilda Maldonado.

The SBTA sent the “Superintendent and District Perception Survey” last week to about 700 employees, said Joyce Adriansen, president of the association. 

About 316 people responded to both multiple choice and open-ended questions about district leadership and employee concerns. 

The Board of Education hired Maldonado in mid-2020, several months into the COVID-19 pandemic, to replace former superintendent Cary Matsuoka. 

About 60% of teachers and certificated staff who responded to the survey strongly disagree that Maldonado builds quality relationships with staff, parents and community members, and another 22% of respondents said they disagree.

In another question, 57% of respondents said they strongly disagree with the statement that Maldonado demonstrates empathy, genuine listening, and is able to manage conflict. 

Maldonado, who previously worked in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and has never served as a superintendent before, said the information from the survey is helpful.

“I appreciate the feedback offered by some teachers, and will use that information to build better relationships going forward,” Maldonado told Noozhawk.

“As a former teacher, I feel the weight on their shoulders as they have been asked to pivot in so many ways both during remote teaching and to in person teaching. The information will be used to inform us about areas in our school district where we can make their jobs easier.”

The survey consisted of statements with the ability to answer from a 1-5 scale, with 1 being agree and 5 being strongly disagree. 

Respondents indicated they do not think Maldonado is visible and present at schools and with staff, is not able to work collaboratively with colleagues, and has not earned people’s respect.

However, the open-ended responses written directly by teachers, counselors, speech therapists and other certificated staff were the most striking. 

“I believe that our superintendent has not listened to our needs as educators,” according to one of the responses. “I have never seen her at my school, yet she makes decisions that affect the lives of teachers and our students. I believe that if she wants to make effective change, she should really meet with us, and really hear about the things we need as teachers.

“We not only want to feel heard, but we also want to see action in regards to our grievances. The requests that we make do not just benefit us, but will benefit our students as well.”

Some of the criticisms were related to the COVID-19 vaccination requirements for staff, which have been mandated by the state and the district. 

“Testing unvaccinated employees has worked so far, and is a great accommodation to keep hard-working, dedicated, compassionate staff that will be impossible to replace, and will surely be missed by many coworkers, parents, and especially students they have positively impacted,” one person wrote. 

Board president Kate Ford said the survey reflects the frustration of teachers during the pandemic.

“When every human being feels that way, they have to find some reason for it, and the reason at this point is the superintendent, the board and the district leadership,” Ford said.

She also said that the teachers association was trying to get the information to the Board of Education prior to Tuesday night’s agenda item that included Maldonado’s evaluation. The item, however, was only about timeline for doing the evaluation, and not the actual evaluation date. 

Ford said she feels a responsibility to help Maldonado do her job so that the district and the teachers can do their jobs better. 

“We have been hearing for weeks that many teachers are tired, burnt out, overwhelmed, and deeply disappointed with how the beginning of the year has progressed, and, as the superintendent, Hilda became the natural target,” Ford said.

“We now know that we did not respond or change course in a timely enough fashion. Every board member has talked with teachers herself, even before the survey, and we also received numerous emails this past week from teachers sharing very personal stories and perspectives.

“The board shares the burden with Hilda and the leadership team to find immediate, tangible, and meaningful solutions to truly show support and respond to the challenges that teachers are facing and how unhappy many feel.”

Adriansen, the SBTA president, said she regrets that the survey was released to Noohawk because it was only intended for the board and Maldonado as “constructive criticism.” Copies were also sent to the Board of Education on Monday.  

“I had planned to take out some of the cruel comments before she saw it,” Adriansen said, referring to Maldonado. “Some of the comments were cruel and not at all constructive.”

One person wrote: “Go back to Los Angeles.”

Adriansen said she has worked well with Maldonado, and that she has demonstrated a willingness to improve. 

“My hope is that we can move forward in a constructive manner,” Adriansen said. “I believe we can work together to have better working conditions for the the Santa Barbara Unified School District.”

SBTA members responding to the survey also said they are concerned about class sizes, staffing shortages, and unpaid planning time. 

— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.