Did the Roseland Charter Board Appoint Trustee Esparza to Create Her Own Paid Position Within the District for a 278% Pay Increase?
Trustee Yadira Esparza appeared to resign from the Charter Board after only four months to eventually take a new paid position with Roseland Public Schools
Roseland, Santa Rosa, CA is the home to a large Latino population. As some parents work multiple jobs and have little involvement in their child’s education, are they aware of the decisions being made on their behalf by the Charter School Board? Do Trustees truly serve the best interests of their stakeholders, or are they driven by monetary agendas?
On February 16, 2021, the Roseland Public Schools Charter Board appointed Ms. Yadira Esparza as their new Trustee.
Following the June 22, 2021 Roseland Charter School Board Meeting, Ms. Esparza’s name was no longer reflected in Charter Board Meeting minutes. It was unclear as to if she resigned because she did not appear to file a leaving office statement of economic interest with the FPPC, but solely an assuming office statement. Why would she quit her position on the Board after only four months?
As of August 17, 2021, Ms. Esparza was replaced by Trustee Juanita Tenorio Ruiz.
According to Transparent California, Ms. Esparza was employed as Social Worker & School Based Therapist Trainee at Santa Rosa Schools for the 2021 school year. Her total pay & benefits were $32,817.92. As of 2022, she was hired with Roseland Public Schools as a School Based Therapist with the total pay & benefits of $125,383.23. This was essentially a 278.788% increase in pay.
The School Based Therapist position did not appear to exist with Roseland Public Schools whatsoever until 2022, the time in which Ms. Esparza was hired.
The only salary schedule I could find for the position was approved by the Roseland Board of Trustees on August 17, 2022. No prior salary schedules or board approved job descriptions appeared to exist.
The district posted the initial recruitment for the position on 6/28/2021, a few days after Ms. Esparza appeared to resign from the Board. This was a Permanent Track position with an assignment at Roseland Accelerated Middle School, Roseland Collegiate Prep, and Roseland University Prep.
The personnel transactions approved by the Board on August 18, 2021 indicated that Ms. Esparza was hired on August 2, 2021 as the School Based Translator alongside Ms. Jennifer Del Rosario, Coordinator of Community Relations. Typically, recruitments for management positions are conducted several months before the date of hire. One would presume that Ms. Esparza applied for the position while serving on the Charter Board, or shortly after.
Oddly, Ms. Del Rosario’s LinkedIn indicates that she has served as the district’s Community Relations Coordinator since 2011.
Per a 2015 article published in The Press Democrat, Ms. Jennifer Del Rosario has held the title of Community Relations Coordinator at the Roseland Unified School District for nearly a decade.
The 2015 position title contradicts the data stored in Transparent California which has Ms. Del Rosario listed as a 'Teacher'.
Ms. Del Rosario does not appear to be listed within the district’s staff directory.
The Community Relations Director position did not appear to be included in the 2021-2022 salary schedule whatsoever. How was this position funded? Being that Ms. Del Rosario held oversight of all district scholarships, did any of these monies end up in her pocket?
A few months later, in October 2021, Keystone Training & Therapy Services was founded by Ms. Erica Bosque.
Per Transparent California, Ms. Bosque appeared to have been employed with the Roseland Public Schools district as a Counselor through 2023.
Oddly, Ms. Esparza appeared to be an employed as both a School Based Therapist for the district and therapist/counselor for Keystone simultaneously.
District meeting archives indicate that Keystone originally received contract approvals from the Roseland Charter Board in 2023. On September 13, 2023, the Board approved a contract for a Community Outreach Specialist Agreement with Keystone Training and Therapy Services presented by Ms. Haley Piazza. The total contract amount was for $109,300 (limit) to service all of the Roseland Charter Schools (RAMS, RCP, RUP).
It is not clear whether the district filled the School Based Therapist position for the 2023 school year. It appears that the district supplemented mental health services by utilizing Keystone.
Ms. Esparza’s resignation was approved by the Roseland School Board under the consent calendar on November 29, 2023 per the personnel transactions. The contracts with Keystone were approved prior to her resignation.
Ms. Esparza appears to currently be employed as a Mental Health Counseling Specialist for the Sonoma County Office of Education.
Keystone Therapy and Training Services is currently partnered with the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE), to hire Certified Wellness Coaches.
At the August 14, 2024 School Board Meeting, the Roseland Charter Board claimed that the board/staff have acted with full transparency regarding their contract with Keystone. Despite this statement, staff confirmed that there were supposedly zero competitive bids submitted in addition to Keystone during the request for proposal process. Are Charter trustees blindly ignorant or perhaps involved with nefarious district contracts?
Proverbs 10:9 - “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.”