CLANDESTINE SELECTION OF NEW GUHSD SUPERINTENDENT LACKS TRANSPARENCY

By Alexander J Schorr

Photo,left: GUHSD's new Superintendent, Dr.Kirsten VitalBrulte

June 2, 2025  (El Cajon) -- Following Mike Fowler’s departure from the GUHSD governing board due to cancer, and with Sandra Huezo taking the role of Acting Superintendent, the board selected a candidate finalist for the role of board Superintendent behind closed doors, with no public comment allowed and press barred from the room.

Governing Board President Gary Woods announced Dr. Kirsten Vital Brulte as the Superintendent Finalist for GUHSD. She recently served for eight years as Superintendent of Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD), the largest district in Orange County, serving more than 44,000 students. The official approval is expected on June 10: read the full description and announcement details here.

Dr. Brulte was removed from her position as CUSD Superintendent at the end of December of 2024 following a special board meeting Wednesday night on December 22, where board trustees voted 4-3 to end her contract. She was hired by the Capistrano Union in 2014, with her tenure overseeing its share of controversy in the South Orange County District, including more recently anti-mask protests and debates over the content in sexual health lessons and library books.

According to the GUHSD website, during her tenure at CUSD, the district earned back-to-back Golden Bell Awards, tripled enrollment in Career Technical Education programs, modernized facilities, and launched robust math and literacy initiatives that helped mitigate COVID-era learning loss.

 

Brown Act Violation

The GUHSD Governing Board may have created a potential Brown Act Violation on May 28, 2025 at its Special Board Meeting at the Grossmont Union High District Office.

They kept media from the East County Magazine from entering and recording in real time for the business of selecting and appointing a new superintendent. Open public session began at 1:00 p.m. , according to the agenda, where public comment was supposed to be permitted using speaker cards; this reporter was barred from witnessing the meeting to report on the event by the Administrative Assistant, who explained that the special board meeting was only a “special closed session.”

Viewers can see for themselves that this misinformation contradicts the governing board meeting docs and screenshow below. In truth, Public Comment was permitted, where the governing board was then allowed to “adjourn to Closed Session, which [was] closed to the public.” Due to this, East County Magazine was unable to acquire quotes and images from the meeting.