Santa Rosa City Schools Paid Me a $50k Settlement After Violating the Law

As the former Executive Assistant to the SRCS Board & Superintendent, I served as a protected whistleblower. In response, the district shared my personal medical information without my consent.

I am the former Executive Assistant to the Santa Rosa City Schools District (SRCS) Board & Superintendent. I was illegally forced out as a protected whistleblower within the State of California. I sent hundreds of emails to the County of Sonoma, the district, law enforcement and local governing bodies to report potential violations of state and federal laws.

Throughout the COVID-19 ‘pandemic’, the District implemented potentially illegal mandates directed by the County of Sonoma. As the liaison between the Board/Supt. and the community, I filtered an abundant amount of daily complaints from community members and parents questioning local mandates.

I sought answers from my boss, Superintendent Anna Trunnell. She informed me that former Sonoma County Health Officer Sundari Mase was unresponsive to calls/emails. Therefore, I began seeking the answers for the community myself. Once I dove into the weeds of County governance, I realized the lack of responses from the Health Office were intentional. The COVID-19 mandates appeared to be a well coordinated effort of collusion amongst local agencies to embezzle and/or launder taxpayer monies through NGO’s. The fear mongering surrounding local health guidance was solely to enable fraudulent behavior.

Because of the evident lies from those governing our community, I took it upon myself to keep the community informed. I communicated with local government agencies and the media from my personal email throughout my work day because legitimate inquiries went unanswered. I regularly shared my findings to my social media channels throughout the day.

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On Wednesday, December 22, 2021, I sent the following email to Superintendent Trunnell and Mr. Mike Shepherd, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources:

On October 5, 2021, the district emailed several employees regarding mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing. Mandatory testing was only required for staff who were either unvaccinated, or refused to share their vaccination status.

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I attempted for months to seek answers from Health Officer Sundari Mase. Instead, I was sent the following letter from the Department of Health Services on January 11, 2022:

The County provided unredacted phone numbers for Dr. Mase which are public record. I was not aware the contact information provided was for personal use only. I issued the following responses to Assistant County Counsel Debbie Latham:

Assistant County Counsel Latham:

Dear Ms. Flores,

By way of follow-up to our telephone conversation, I have ascertained that the letter from the Health Department Director to you is authentic and was sent for the purpose of asking you to be considerate of the Department staff. I believe the confusion may have arisen over how the letter was described by you. In any event, we absolutely respect your right to free speech but ask that you similarly respect that County employees are performing difficult work, are entitled to courtesy and may not always have answers to your questions.

My Response:

Ms. Latham,

I have been completely civil and courteous in every interaction with your staff. Your staff however, has refused to acknowledge my inquiries continually (for months) and has berated me as a woman of color (primarily the white men). I have never met Dr. Mase personally as she does not even live in this County, nor have I ever spoken to her online or by phone. I previously shared a phone number for Dr. Mase which your staff provided in a public record. Dr. Mase and Mr. Gullixson have refused to respond to any legitimate inquiries from stakeholders which is clearly expressed via the County's social media channels (thousands of negative comments from folks aside from myself). I find it extremely concerning that an alcoholic is responsible for the "health" decisions for the entire County, but again that's just me. Please confirm what I (Adina) have done to date to warrant such a letter. Is there a new law in place within the County I am not aware of which revokes the permission to share public records? Mr. Gullixson was supposed to meet with me weekly to address my inquiries as mentioned in the threatening letter dated from January, 2022. To date, Mr. Gullixson has refused to uphold this stipulation.

Please also confirm where I may find a fully FDA approved vaccine in this County by the end of day, today. Mr. Gullixson felt it was appropriate to state in an email that I am willfully misinformed and a danger to others. To date, Mr. Gullixson cannot answer this extremely simple question. If your staff does not know the answer to this very simple question, please have them confirm this via email. If they refuse to confirm this in an email, it is obvious that the staff does not wish for this information to be disclosed to the general public.

Thank you.

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On June 28, 2022, I was placed on paid administrative leave by the district. Just prior to this date, Superintendent Trunnell took me to dinner to ask why I was fighting so hard against the mandates. I informed her that parents were crying to me on the phone, and it was my duty as a public servant to seek answers. When we returned to the office, she gave me a hug, and told me ‘not to lose my entire career over this’. She began to cry, and I told her that I will always do the right thing, regardless of the circumstances.

In January 2023, I received a recommendation for termination from the district. I sent the district the following letter of resignation on January 21, 2023:

Greetings,

As the largest whistleblower in California, I attempted to report violations of local, state & federal law to the district, County, SCOE, law enforcement and multiple sectors of state government. There is currently an orchestrated pandemic taking place which is considered the largest mass genocide in history. This is exactly how the Holocaust was initiated, and the same wealthy families are perpetrating the current atrocities. Millions of dollars in taxpayer funds are being misappropriated by our elected officials, yet nobody in the district has allowed me to speak up about these matters or been able to answer a single inquiry.

In contrast, I’ve been silenced, censored and degraded. The district endangered my life by willfully and intentionally sharing my personal vaccination status as shown in the attached image. I’ve been targeted by our government for the past year and will not be silent about the maltreatment I’ve experienced. How far is the district willing to go to enforce absolutely illegal policies? As a reminder, segregation and slavery were once legal. I do not wish to work for an employer which does not allow me to stand for my faith and is an abomination in the Lord’s eyes. Your enrollment will continue to decline as more parents become aligned with God’s word and understand the evil upon us.

I need to grab my personal items from my workspace as I’ve not been allowed to retrieve my remaining possessions. I also need my final check including all unused PTO hours to be issued immediately. As a follower of Christ, I must pursue what is righteous and uphold our Constitution. I don’t expect most individuals to understand our world’s current predicament, as you have not endured the abuse I have in my lifetime as a biracial woman. I will never be silent regarding wrongdoings to ensure myself a paycheck, as this contradicts the teachings of Christ. I told the truth when nobody else was willing to do so.

Matthew 5:10-12

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Thank you & God bless.

I compiled a summary of what transpired and reported the district to the Department of Industrial Relations Retaliation Unit. After a long winded battle, the district agreed to pay me a settlement of $50k.

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The district’s legal counsel has refused to provide me with substantiated misconduct records, settlement agreements, etc. for other district staff.

However, on January 31, 2025, they informed me that they have the right to release the aforementioned information from my personnel file unless I seek a court order. They indicated that they will be providing these files to an ‘anonymous user’.

I live my life with full transparency, and therefore I am publishing the requested records myself. I encourage the community to reach out to me directly should they have any questions about the content provided within my file. I am always an open book!

Psalm 112:4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.