Despite scandals, Rialto Unified’s interim leader wants to keep top job

July 27--Rialto -- In 2012, Mohammad Z. Islam left a high-powered job at San Bernardino City Unified after 13 years in the district for the chance to one day become superintendent of a public school district.

He took a job as Rialto Unified School District's associate superintendent of business services. One year later, in September 2013, he was at the district's helm as the district was battered by scandal.

"Despite everything else, our focus is on educating our children," Islam said last week. "That's what we're here for."

He became acting superintendent after his predecessor, former superintendent Harold Cebrun, was placed on administrative leave, in the wake of the arrest of accountant Judith Oakes, who was accused of embezzling millions under the noses of her superiors, including Islam. In March, after the board and Cebrun agreed the superintendent should retire at the end of March, Islam was appointed the district's interim superintendent.

Since then, the board has appeared to be in no particular hurry to fill Cebrun's shoes: Board President Joanne Gilbert said on May 3 that they had "too many issues to be worked on right now."

But by the end of that weekend, they had a much bigger issue on their hands as news broke two days later that the district had assigned its roughly 2,000 eighth-graders an in-class essay assignment arguing whether or not the Holocaust occurred. The district's initial response, defending the assignment as a critical thinking exercise, drew widespread condemnation, prompting the district to switch course, apologize and promise the assignment would never be repeated.

At the time, district officials insisted that, of the essays they'd reviewed so far, no students had denied the Holocaust occurred.

But an inspection of the essays, obtained under the California Public Records Act, told a different story: Dozens of students had, in fact, denied the Holocaust occurred, sometimes along with attacks on Israel.

'Dysfunctional things'

For the most part, Islam's public responses have been limited. The district has primarily issued statements through its public information officer and filtered requests for documents through middle managers, consultants, and most recently, the school board's attorney.

At the board's only scheduled regular meeting this month, July 16, board members got an earful from outraged community members and Jewish leaders. The following afternoon, the board called a special meeting for July 18 with one item on the agenda: a closed-session discussion of Islam's performance as interim superintendent.

After an hour behind closed doors, the board emerged after taking no reportable action, according to board president Joanne Gilbert.

Although Islam has led Rialto Unified through the scandals of the past year, the district's troubles go back much further.

According to a private investigator hired by the district, Oakes, who was arrested on suspicion of embezzling $1.8 million over an eight-year period, may have actually stolen more than $3.1 million over 14 years.

Her alleged crimes only occurred partly on Islam's watch as the head of business services: Oakes resigned on Aug. 8, 2013, the day after she was first arrested, after working 25 years in the district. Islam started at the district in September 2012.

The following year, in the summer of 2013, he was told of discrepancies in Nutrition Services' day-to-day operations, Islam said.

"As a leader of the division, I took steps and began an investigation," he said. "I discovered some of the dysfunctional things, for example, like the (surveillance) camera not functioning" in Oakes' office, which he said he ordered repaired.

"I (found) there's some weaknesses in the review process, some pre-existing conditions that needed to be fixed."

Following Oakes' arrest, Islam said, the district had additional checks and balances put in place, with financial responsibilities divided up between more people, making it harder for any one person to cook the books to cover up problems or wrongdoing.

"No system can prevent 100 percent of embezzlements," Islam said. "But I can assure you, the kind of event Judy Oakes (allegedly) did, that cannot happen. That would get caught that day or the next day."

In February, the school board fired its auditing firm.

In the meantime, the district has been hard-pressed to find some documents connected to Oakes' employment. Responding to requests made under the California Public Records Act, district representatives claim there were no communications among district staffers or administrators about Oakes following her arrest -- not one single email.

In September 2013, district officials dismissed rumors that former superintendent Cebrun had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Oakes. After this news organization obtained and published photos of Cebrun and Oakes, a lawyer representing the district sent additional photos of the pair together at public events to this organization, apparently plucked from district emails, some of them years old. In late March, weeks after the district negotiated Cebrun's retirement, Islam said he had never seen the photographs, though he was listed as a recipient of the correspondence.

Sherryl Avitabile, a business services consultant for the district who was at one point responsible for responding to public requests for documents, said the district had already released all the documents it had, but noted some documents may have been destroyed.

"There has been significant turnover in senior management positions at RUSD over the past several years," she wrote in February. "It is possible, however unlikely, that records were destroyed or otherwise disposed of during these transitions."

In March, Avitabile identified four supervisors -- one of whom was Islam -- who oversaw the district's business services department from June 2010 to September 2012.

"Various files were purged from this office during these years and no additional information has come forward to support any claims of fraud investigations that may or may not have occurred during this time," Avitabile wrote in March.

Last week, Islam said the records were purged by a former manager in the district's risk management department, according to a district employee witness. The district has since contracted with a records retention firm to prevent legally required documents from being destroyed in the future, he said.

'Before my time'

In addition to the Oakes and Holocaust essay scandals, the district in January was sharply criticized in two audits by the state's Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team.

--A Jan. 6 FCMAT review of the district's contract and purchasing processes found "the highest level of administration" did not follow proper purchasing procedures and contracts were sometimes approved by Cebrun or his office without proper oversight.

--A Jan. 14, FCMAT's review of the district's special education programs found "a systematic lack of focus on instruction and lack of guidance from the highest level of leadership," along with more than $1 million in unnecessary expenses.

FCMAT helps public school districts with their finances. The school board requested both reviews in the summer of 2013, prior to Oakes' initial arrest in August.

Islam has taken the results of the reviews seriously, he said, going beyond the team's recommendations in an effort to bring the district back in line:

"There are pre-existing conditions that happened before my time," he said. "Going forward, I'm closely monitoring everything that goes on. We have a better system, a better process. We're going to hold people accountable."

Islam has also weathered his own issues. Former secretary Heather Pauling alleged he tolerated a hostile work environment in the Business Services department, created by another employee but allegedly tolerated by Islam. In January, an administrative law judge agreed, awarding unemployment insurance to the ex-employee. (Rialto Unified denied her claim after she resigned in Oct. 2013.)

"I've never been in any (work) environment that I'd call hostile," Islam said. "Do I tolerate it? Absolutely not."

Pauling's problems in the district amounted to "culture shock," he said.

"We have great people in our district," he said. "They would not give up 35 years of their life if it was a bad place to work. Of course, out of 3,000 employees, you're going to find some discrepancies. ... But I can assure you, the majority of them are happy."

In her Jan. 29 decision, Judge Nora Ann Quinn expressed doubt about Islam's credibility during his testimony.

"At the hearing, the claimant appeared credible," she wrote.

On the other hand, Islam "denied knowing that the co-worker had used profanity in the workplace or had been disruptive," the decision continues. "He admitted that other employees had come to him about the co-worker's demonstration of 'frustration.' "

Back in the district, there's been a recent flight of top-level managers, which Islam referred to as "escaping."

"Maybe some of them are part of the problem, or know what's coming," he said. "If they stay here, they'll be held accountable. Everybody should be held accountable for their own actions."

Their departures leave the district more unified and in better shape, he said.

"The majority of the people staying believe we're moving in the right direction. We're moving the district on the right path."

The Holocaust assignment

As for the now-infamous Holocaust assignment, Islam said he only heard about it after the Los Angeles News Group began inquiring about it, four days before the story was published online:

"It was a Friday, late afternoon. I lost my sleep over the weekend, I could not sleep. It was like a pain in my chest. I was shocked," he said. "I said 'who can do this?' It was the first time I came to know this. Nobody on the staff told me they were going to give this writing prompt. It was a travesty. I don't care what faith you believe in: This is a human tragedy."

Islam said he called the "key players" in the district office in Friday afternoon, demanding an explanation.

"This was entirely (within) the Educational Services division. No superintendent ever gets involved in individual assignments," he said. "Now, I claim it. I own it."

Islam is one of the 20 members of the district's new Cultural Diversity Committee, which includes rabbis from Redlands, Riverside and the Museum of Tolerance. The committee will hold its first meeting on Thursday and work on undoing the damage done by teaching 2,000 eighth-graders that the reality of the Holocaust is a matter of opinion.

"These eighth-graders will be ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th (graders), going through our system. We need to educate them all the way through high school."

In addition to the committee's work, the district has created new guidelines for future writing prompts, he said, sent 2,000 students to the Museum of Tolerance and had sensitivity training at the district's recent management retreat.

"We're doing everything -- everything -- in my power to handle this matter effectively," he said.

The district's recent problems haven't diminished Islam's desire to head up Rialto Unified, which served 26,468 students in the 2013-14 school year.

"It's given me more reason to be superintendent," he said. "I'm not looking for money or prestige or power: I want to make a difference for a child."

California Education Code 35028 requires superintendents, as well as deputy, associate and assistant superintendents, have both a teaching credential and a school administration certificate. Islam has obtained the administration certificate from the Association of California School Administrators -- and he's gone through ACSA academies for personnel administrators and superintendents, he said -- but doesn't have a teaching certificate, which he said many of the state's largest school districts have waived.

The Bangladesh-born Islam originally moved to the United States as a student, earning a bachelor's degree and MBA from Burbank'sWoodbury University. After a brief time in private industry, he switched to public service, wanting to improve the lives of children, he said.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be Rialto; wherever God places me, I'm there."

So far, the school board has not initiated a formal search for Cebrun's permanent successor as superintendent.

"I expect my board will begin the search as soon as they're ready. It's their call, not my call."

They may be ready soon:

"It's no secret that RUSD has had to deal with some very heavy issues," board member Joe Ayala wrote in a text message. "During this time, Mohammad Islam was willing to guide us through these tough transitional times. The time has come, however, to start looking for a permanent superintendent and it is the intention of our board to find the very best fit for our community."

Board member Joe Martinez declined to comment for this story, but has previously stated his opposition to having someone without a teaching credential leading the district.

"Mohammad stepped up and did a wonderful job in a very tumultuous situation," board President Joanne Gilbert said. "I appreciate the effort he has put forth to carry the district thus far."

"The future of the district requires a steady and experienced hand at the helm," board member Edgar Montes wrote in an email. "I continue to support Mr. Islam and thank him for his hard work with our district. However, in my experience as a business owner, I need to have the best person available to perform the job I need. As a board member for RUSD, I demand we have the best leader possible. Therefore, I will diligently work to create the necessary change this district needs and our kids deserve."

Board member Nancy O'Kelley did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this story.

"This is my dream and desire," Islam said. "I've been in education 28 years. I want to make a difference in the life of a child. At the end of my journey, I want to leave something behind me, that I can turn around and (say) 'I've changed the life of a child.'"

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