PINOLE — A longtime principal ordered to return to a teaching position earlier this year is now under investigation — and on administrative leave — after talking about his removal at Pinole Valley High School’s graduation ceremony, he recently confirmed to the Bay Area News Group.
District officials have not publicly said why PVHS Principal Kibby Kleiman was placed on leave last month, but it came months after the West Contra Costa Unified School District board demoted him to teacher status without explanation, a decision that upset many parents and students.
Kleiman told this news organization he had his keys confiscated, was locked out of his work email and put on leave 90 minutes after his May 31 speech, but he declined to say more. Video of the commencement address shows he struck a defiant tone in front of WCCUSD officials while wishing both himself and the graduating class of 2024 well.
“One question. Will you take me with you?” he asked the Spartan students. “This is the class I am glad to go out with. You guys must be advanced, because it took you four years to move out of here, it took me 11.”
While it remains unclear what prompted the district’s investigation of the former principal, he and PVHS Assistant Principal Ryan Kolb — along with the WCCUSD itself — were accused of mishandling reports of sexual assault in a lawsuit brought by a female student in March 2023 that is expected to be headed toward a settlement agreement.
In the lawsuit, the girl alleged the male student who assaulted her in December 2021 and January 2022 had been earlier accused of the same conduct by other girls, and that district and campus administrators, including Kleiman and Kolb, were aware of those reports.
District officials contacted the Pinole Police Department after the earlier allegations, but the lawsuit claimed the district did not take any measures to protect students from an alleged known abuser or separate the male student from the general student body.
WCCUSD lawyers began settlement talks with the plaintiff and her attorney after U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse upheld several claims against the district, including sex-based discrimination and negligence. Tse, in his March order, dismissed individual claims against Kleiman and Kolb. The judge asked them to notify the court on May 31 if they needed longer to finalize a settlement agreement. The girl’s attorney later requested more time to finalize the deal.
May 31 also marked the same day Kleiman gave his final speech after 11 years as principal of PVHS. Kleiman made references to “elected functionaries” and “bureaucrats,” and told the students he was “not certain right at this moment I want to go, but if I have to go, you are the ones I wanna go with.”
“This class is my spirit animal. I’m ready to leave with you,” he said. “But your job isn’t done, and mine isn’t either. Go out there and speak your truth to power. Register to vote and raise your voice and ballot in November, and use it as a hammer to bust up what’s wrong. Use that same tool to build something much like it, only better.”
WCCSD officials did not respond to requests for comment on the matter, but the district generally does not discuss personnel matters or pending litigation. Officials also have not responded to a request submitted on May 8 by this news organization for records related to Kleiman’s removal from the principal’s office.
Kleiman declined to be interviewed, citing the ongoing investigation. A lawyer for the girl in the Title IX lawsuit did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The announcement of Keiman’s demotion in March left parents and students in shock, many of whom rallied behind Kleiman and have not held back their disdain for the school board’s decision.
Pinole Valley High School Principal Kibby Kleiman signs yearbooks to sophomore students Janiyah Smith, left, Jalyssa Elliott, during a farewell gathering at the Pinole Public Library in Pinole, Calif., on Friday, June 7, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
A May 6 listening session meant to gather community input as to what qualities families would like to see in a new principal grew tense when participants reiterated their demands that Kleiman be reinstated as principal.
“He taught me how to be a mom. He made me want to be a better person,” said Ivy Shen, a parent of a former Pinole Valley High School student, who grew emotional when speaking about Kleiman.
Not all in attendence were sorry to see Kleiman go, though. Gabriela Gonzalez, a parent of a Pinole Valley High School student, described what she sees as a double standard — student athletes and other club participants get substantial support while students with mental, emotional and other needs are left on the sideline, she said. Her hope is for a new principal to strike a better balance.
“If we don’t have stable students, they can’t succeed,” Gonzalez said.
Dr. Camille Johnson, assistant superintendent overseeing human resources, and Summer Sigler, executive director of Secondary Schools Network, routinely told participants the district could not and would not comment on personnel matters.
The district has not yet announced who Kleiman’s replacement will be.
Pinole Valley High School Principal Kibby Kleiman gets a hug from student Reed McLaren after signing a yearbook during a farewell gathering at the Pinole Public Library in Pinole, Calif., on Friday, June 7, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)