WCCUSD has hired a new special education director, following a turbulent year of criticism of the department and its leadership.
The school board on Wednesday voted 4-1 in closed session to appoint Rachel Chang as the Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) director, with Trustee Cinthia Hernandez dissenting.
She succeeds Guthrie Fleischman, who announced his resignation in January, a month after the four-day teachers strike and a vote of no confidence by the United Teachers of Richmond, which represents nearly 1,400 teachers.
“I’m honored to join West Contra Costa Unified and look forward to working alongside this diverse and vibrant community,” Chang told Richmondside in a statement. “I’m committed to listening, building strong partnerships, and ensuring that every student has access to the supports they need to be successful.”
Chang is the assistant director of student services for Mt. Diablo Unified School District in eastern Contra Costa County. Before that, she was the SELPA director for nearly nine years at Vallejo City Unified School District. She holds a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric and communications, a master’s in educational administration and a doctorate in education social impact leadership from Santa Clara University.
WCCUSD’s SELPA director oversees programs and services for special education at the district level, develops and manages budgets, ensures compliance with state and federal laws, and works to ensure the district’s more than 4,000 students with disabilities receive appropriate and equitable services.
Some school districts combine their SELPA with neighboring districts but because WCCUSD is so large it has its own local plan area and director.
Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said she is excited to welcome Chang to the team.
“She brings extensive knowledge and experience in special education leadership, IEP and Section 504 compliance, and social-emotional learning, along with a proven commitment to inclusive practices and equity,” Cotton told Richmondside via email. “We look forward to the expertise and collaborative spirit she brings to our students and community.”
Hernandez told Richmondside she voted against the appointment because she wanted more time to review it before making her decision. Though the district held a panel interview for finalists, board members were only presented with one candidate the day of the vote.
“I want to be clear that I respect the superintendent’s authority to select her cabinet and build a team that aligns with her vision for the district,” Hernandez wrote in an email. “At the same time, I believe that certain positions brought before the Board, particularly those that have significant impact on our most vulnerable student populations, warrant additional time, transparency, and thoughtful deliberation to ensure we are selecting the right leader for our district.”
Special education has been a priority for Hernandez. When she was running unopposed for the school board in 2023, she told Richmondside she withdrew her child from the district because there weren’t appropriate accommodations made for him, motivating her to make changes.
“These decisions carry long-term implications for students, families, and staff, and I believe it is our responsibility to move forward with both urgency and care,” Hernandez continued. “My vote reflected the need for that due diligence.”
Trustee Demetrio Gonzalez said Chang’s experience, specifically as a former SELPA director, was a plus.
“We need someone with a vision in our district to support our programs, decrease our reliance on contractors and support the needs of our kids,” he said.
Chang is assuming her role at a time when trust remains fractured between families, staff and the district.
WCCUSD has more than doubled its spending on outside special education contractors in the past five years, according to budget data cited by a union-commission report. Yet families say services have become less frequent and lower in quality — an irony the union attributed to chronic understaffing, poor communication and destabilizing policy decisions under Fleischman’s leadership.
In an email sent in January to the school community, Fleischman discussed his decision to step down at the end of the 2025-26 school year, ending his three-year stint in the position after more than 24 years at the district.
“My time in the Special Education department, like my entire career in WCCUSD, has been filled with constant learning, collaboration with wonderful educators, and most of all inspired by the students we serve every day,” Fleischman wrote in the Jan. 26 email. “I make this decision with gratitude in my heart for the opportunity to lead and to work alongside such a dedicated group of educators and excitement for opportunities to serve that lie ahead.”
The union had also issued a “vote of no confidence” against Associate Superintendent of Business Services and Chief Business Officer Kim Moses in late December. She announced her retirement a week after, on Dec. 18.
Parent special ed group is cautious about new leader, saying they were left out of hiring process
Angela Silver-Lima, chair of the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education (CAC), said she is cautiously optimistic about the new SELPA director. While she thinks a change in leadership will be beneficial, she worries the parent committee’s concerns may remain unheard.
“I’m excited and looking forward to working with her with the CAC, and hopefully we can be more proactive in including the CAC and families of students with disabilities prior to decisions being made,” Silver-Lima told Richmondside. “She brings a lot of experience. I know that she’s worked in special ed for a while and has experience working in a district similar to ours.”
The CAC is comprised of parents of special education students — a mandated advisory group that is advocates for the unique requirements of the students. They are meant to help shape the development of the SELPA and meet with the director monthly — which has rarely happened, Silver-Lima said.
The district assembled a panel of stakeholders in March to interview the finalists for the position, but no one from the CAC was informed, Silver-Lima told Richmondside. In fact, when the parent committee asked for an update about the search at its April 6 meeting, they were shocked that the panel interviews took place without their knowledge.
“The district generally has a track record of including our voices after decisions are made and not during the decision-making process,” Silver-Lima said, noting she hopes Chang can change that trajectory.
She said the special ed parent group at WCCUSD is particularly active and will have about 20 members next school year.
“We have two more CAC meetings before the end of the year, and I think it would be a great opportunity for parents to get to know the new SELPA (leader) ahead in the school year,” Silver-Lima continued. “Parents are really excited to have a new SELPA (director), and I know everyone is anxious to learn more about who she is.”
District makes other administrative hires and principal assignments
In addition to hiring a new SELPA director, the board approved extending Jeff Carter’s contract from acting to interim associate superintendent of business services.
Elizabeth Sanders is returning to WCCUSD as the assistant superintendent of communications and community engagement — a new role that combines two existing positions to lead the district’s communications with families, community and media. She worked as the director of communications at the district for a year in 2022 before becoming the chief communications and engagement officer at the California Department of Education.
William Allums, the vice principal at Grant Elementary, will be the principal of San Pablo’s Lake Elementary next school year.
And Erica Ehmann, the vice principal at Montalvin K-8, will be the principal of Madera Elementary in El Cerrito.
