East Side Union High School District Superintendent Chris Funk Forced to Resign

East Side Teachers Association - August 10, 2020 1333 Piedmont Rd. Suite 106 San Jose, CA 95132

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Contact: East Side Teachers Association President Jack Hamner (408) 272-0601

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE East Side Union High School District Superintendent Chris Funk Forced to Resign; Tries to Blame Teachers

San Jose – East Side Teachers Association (ESTA) members are shocked that East Side Union High School District Superintendent Chris Funk is trying to blame them for the school board terminating his contract.

“It’s sad that Chris Funk has taken his political-posturing-antics to the press, but we will not stand by and allow him to denigrate so many hard working educators who strive for the betterment of our students,” said ESTA President Jack Hamner. “His continued trashing of ESTA only further demonstrates that he is incapable of being civil with those who disagree with him. And, if he truly had the best interests of our students in mind, he would have collaborated with us to work in the best interests of our students. That never happened.”

The 1,200 member East Side Teachers Association (ESTA) shared a list of grievances regarding Superintendent Chris Funk along with a call for him to resign last April with school board members after the district manager refused to reply. That kickstarted an investigation into the superintendent’s conduct, said Jack Hamner. “The board has since determined that the actions of the superintendent are not in line with the values of the ESUHSD and trustees decided to terminate Funk’s contract one year early.”

“Now, he is trashing ESTA in public. It’s outrageous. Our students and teachers deserve better,” he said. In addition to demonstrating disrespect for teachers and issues regarding student resources and safety, the district manager had threatened layoffs during bargaining, saying the district was going broke. “ESTA has always done our homework and we interpreted our district’s financials based on facts. Students are the center of everything we do and we will always put resources into student learning and opportunities,” Hamner said. “At the end of the day, our interpretation of the district’s financials proved to be more in line with reality than the managers’ projections.”

“ESTA looks forward to participating in the process to ensure the new leader not only values our student population, but the over 1,200 ESTA members who work tirelessly for our students,” he added. East Side Teachers Association is a chapter of the California Teachers Association, which is affiliated with the 3 million-member National Education Association.