A California school superintendent has been fired after failing to discipline a mid-level boss who allegedly bullied her employees with impunity.
Superintendent Stephanie Anello’s contract was terminated by the Antioch Unified School District without cause on Wednesday following a year-long harassment scandal.
Anello allegedly refused to hold maintenance director Ken Turnage accountable because he is friends with Anello and her husband, former Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando said.
At least 10 school district employees complained about Turnage following an incident in January 2023 when he ordered two people to use heavy equipment to move employee Jim Kesser’s desk onto a roof, the district reported. NBC Bay Area.
“It literally exploded in my direction… It went from zero to 60 in five seconds,” Kesser told the local news station.
Antioch Unified School District Superintendent Stephanie Anello (pictured) was fired for failing to discipline a mid-level boss who allegedly bullied employees.
At least 10 school district employees complained after an incident in January 2023 when employee Jim Kesser’s desk was moved to the roof of a building.
Kesser said Turnage had his desk moved to the ceiling in retaliation for correcting him about his job responsibilities.
“At first I thought he was intimidating me for speaking up in a conversation we had a few months earlier where he asked me to do a work task and I said ‘I’m open to doing whatever you ask me to do, but I just want you to know because you’re new, I’m not a mechanic or an electrician,'” Kesser said.
Photos of the bizarre “prank” show the desk on the roof of the school district’s maintenance yard building beneath an orange tent with a sign next to a staircase that read “Kesser’s office.”
“The next weekend I was literally in the emergency room. My wife told me I was having panic attacks… I thought I was having a heart attack,” Kesser said.
Other employees recounted similar experiences of harassment and intimidation by Turnage.
District employees alleged that maintenance director Ken Turnage (pictured) intimidated workers.
Many workers felt Turnage (right) got away with it because of his relationship with the superintendent (left) and her husband (center).
Bruce Courtemanche said Turnage’s behavior led to his early retirement.
“I said to (Turnage), ‘I honestly feel like you’re disrespecting me’… (Turnage) stood up behind his desk, clenched his fist and said, ‘I don’t respect you. I don’t respect you at all,'” Courtemanche said.
“(Turnage) lunged at me… I thought he was going to physically assault me,” said Antioch Unified School District carpenter Steve Hessler.
“I asked (Turnage) where I could put my printer and she said I could put it on the ceiling. (It made me feel) small, violated,” said Antioch Unified School District purchasing technician Kim Atkinson.
The school district investigated the desk incident and determined it was a prank and not harassment, but many workers felt Turnage got away with it because of his relationship with the superintendent and her husband.
“I’ve seen them on the golf course. I play golf. I literally watched him play with Cantando and Stephanie Anello,” Kesser said.
“They’re going to play golf together every weekend,” Atkinson said.
Kesser (pictured) said Turnage had his desk moved to the ceiling as an act of retaliation for correcting him about his job responsibilities.
Turnage was placed on administrative leave in April and Anello took medical leave in May.
The school voted Wednesday to terminate her contract and she will receive nine months of her $353,000 annual salary.
“The board took action in a closed session to terminate the superintendent’s employment contract effective immediately and without cause,” board President Antonio Hernandez said.
Several of the employees who filed complaints were at the meeting and thanked the board for taking action.
“I can’t thank you enough. If I could just sit here for three minutes and say thank you over and over again, I would. You’ve heard us,” Atkinson said.
