Hills, Morgan take oath of office

Key points

• December 16, 2024 swearing-in: Hills and Morgan sworn in by Mayor Alex Rounaghi. Same night, board voted 3-2 in closed session (Perry/Hills/Morgan yes; Kelly/Malczewski no) to direct staff to prepare an interim-superintendent contract for Joanne Culverhouse.
• Vickers's outgoing-board "without cause" framing for the 11/21/2024 Viloria termination quoted verbatim: "We have taken action to release him without cause as we believe it is in the best interests of the district, given anticipated changes in the governing board that may influence the direction and priorities of the district moving forward" — first on-record acknowledgment that the outgoing board acted preemptively before the new majority took seats.
• Malczewski's earliest documented procedural critique: "It was supposed to be on the agenda to discuss the process, but we are no longer having a process … We should get more than one candidate, perhaps. We should schedule a closed session for the entire board to interview that person … you might be legal — but it certainly isn't a way to promote good governance."
• Hills's first on-record trustee quote: "Where is this model process? It's not required by law, and it's not required by policy. There's no policy in this district that requires us to have a process that conforms to the one you conceptualize to be the best one."
• Morgan's first on-record defense of the closed-session vote: "We followed governance protocol, we were advised by an attorney, and how it proceeded was within the guidelines of the Brown Act and board governance."
• Officers elected that night: Perry president; Hills clerk. (Perry held the presidency until 12/16/2025 when Morgan was elected president and Hills became clerk.)
• Piece quotes Hills's 2022 Culverhouse LTE — connects his 12/16/2024 vote to a two-year-running public advocacy position.
• Culverhouse ultimately declined the interim role within the month; the 12/16 vote was a contract directive, not an appointment.