Mindy Kittay, former director of Altadena Public Library (Photos – Facebook, Altadena Library District).
Altadena Library District settles with its ex-Director, Mindy Kittay. The $550,000 payment to Kittay was approved in closed session of the Library’s Board of Trustees on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019.
By News Desk
The attorney for Altadena Library District’s ex-director, Dale Gronemeier, sent us the following statement:
The Altadena Library District agreed Monday to pay its former Director Mindy Kittay $550,000. The $550,000 payment is on top of a $65,000 payment in 2018 from the Library to Director Kittay to settle her injuries covered by workers compensation. The settlement brings to an end a fractious public dispute between an innovative library leader and former Trustees, with the former Trustees purged from the Board of Trustees, with Kittay paid $615,000 in damages, and with $75.000 of Kittay’s attorneys fees funding grass-roots organizing.
My attorneys and I
repeatedly made it clear
that I wanted to continue
as the…Library Director
rather than being paid
a handsome sum to leaveKittay was the Library’s Director from fall 2014 through mid-January, 2018. During that 3+ year period, Kittay transformed a backward library into a 21st century library that is outward-facing and responsive to the Altadena community. But in January, 2018, her doctor ordered her off work because of stress from what Kittay contended was harassment by former Trustees Ira Bershatsky, John McDonald, and Armando Zambrano. Kittay hired Eagle Rock civil rights attorneys Dale Gronemeier and Skip Hickambottom, who documented nearly a hundred Brown Act Open Meeting Law violations by those three Trustees. Kittay’s attorneys alleged that the Kittay’s harassment was illegally motivated by retaliation for Kittay’s objections to their refusals to follow the Brown Act, by sexist discrimination, and, in the case of Bershatsky, by his pro-Trump bias against Kittay’s support for Hillary Clinton. When Kittay’s doctor authorized her return to work in May, 2018, the Library Board placed her on administrative leave, denied her access to her work site, and refused to renew her contract when it expired at the end of September, 2018.
The $550,000 additional payment to Director Kittay was approved in closed session of the Library’s Board of Trustees Monday evening by a Board that has been purged of its former male majority of McDonald, Zambrano, and Bershatsky. McDonald resigned in March, 2018, on the day after Gronemeier and Hickambottom first publicly presented email evidence of systematic Brown Act violations by the former male Board majority. The November, 2018, elections rid the Board of the other two members of the former male majority – because Zambrano opted not to seek reelection and because Bershatsky sought reelection but was crushed by progressive opponents Katie Clark and Jason Cappell.
As part of the settlement, Gronemeier and Hickambottom agreed to devote $75,000 of their attorneys fees to supporting grass-roots progressive organizing by POP! (Pasadenans Organizing for Progress). $60,000 is funding a 1-year full-time position for Kittay to work as POP’s Director of Organizational Development. The remaining $15,000 will fund quarter-time organizing work by POP! Co-Chair Flo Annang on police reform issues.
Kittay said today that she regretted the settlement despite the substantial sum she is netting. “My attorneys and I repeatedly made it clear that I wanted to continue as the Altadena Library Director rather than being paid a handsome sum to leave. Throughout this ordeal, I was never informed of the reasons the Library Board refused to allow me to return to work. There was never any substantiation of misconduct or fault by me. It is wrong that I am being penalized for objecting to repeated illegality. For a long time, I refused to respond to the Library’s attorneys imploring me to make a monetary buy-out. I authorized settlement negotiations for the monetary settlement only after we were repeatedly told that the Library Board would not consider my continuing employment. While I am excited to work to build POP!, I preferred to return to continue as the Library Director rather than getting a settlement. It is unfortunate that the Library Board would rather spend taxpayer money to pay me to move on rather than returning me to the position of Library Director.”
Kittay cited the transformative work the Library underwent during her tenure:“– The financial health of the District was improved with almost 1 million added to Fixed Assets and the Districts’ Fund Balance.
– Both libraries received much needed upgrades, improvements, renovation and many deferred maintenance items were taken care of.
– Additional and improved programming, events and classes were added much to the delight of the community, and our technology improvements were equal to, if not better than, what most large metropolitan libraries offer their communities.
– The Library Foundation was renewed and invigorated with a full slate of Board Members; its first successful fundraiser, “Taste of ‘Dena,” netted over $14,000.
— At practically no cost to the community because of the use of e-rate, grant. and HUD funding, we renovated the main library, increased programs and events, and improved.
– Community Conversations were held throughout Altadena culminating in a Town Hall and a comprehensive report that is being used by many other organizations in Altadena and has focused the District on addressing the needs and priorities of its community.
– Staff involvement through the creation of a Leadership Team and Implementation Teams increased substantially, as did staff morale. Professional Development Days and other educational and networking opportunities for staff were funded.”
~ Dale Gronemeier
Meanwhile, some former Altadena Library Board members may still face a possible investigation by the Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury for Brown Act and other possible violations.
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