Redding, California School District superintendent Kempley plans to resign

Redding School District Superintendent Diane Kempley, whose district has been shaken by turmoil, announced Friday that she plans to retire.

Kempley told her district office staff and the principals of the eight district schools that she plans to retire, said Denise Yergenson, president of the district board of trustees.
Kempley said Friday night that she plans to retire June 30, unless the board hires a new superintendent before then.
“It’s been an honor to serve the Redding School District,” Kempley said.
Yergenson said Kempley’s decision to retire had nothing to do with the controversy that erupted in the district after the arrest in August of Wanell Stolz, the wife of former board president Rein Stolz.
“It was her decision. She’s done an excellent job,” Yergenson said.
The Redding School District has hired a Sacramento law firm to investigate alleged conflicts of interest and hiring improprieties surrounding the Stolzes.
Wanell Stolz was arrested in August and charged with grand theft and embezzlement. She is accused of stealing about $13,500
from the Sycamore Elementary School Parent Faculty Club and stealing Sycamore school property.
Stolz has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
After her arrest, district employees said the Sycamore Elementary School librarian received preferential treatment because her husband was president of the school board.
“We’re in the middle of an investigation there, and I’m totally committed that we did the right thing,” Kempley said Friday night. “I think it’ll be settled long before I settle my chapter” when she leaves the district in June.
Kempley, who has worked for the Redding School District for the past 40 years, has been superintendent since July 2005.
After working 18 years as an elementary teacher in the district, Kempley was a principal at Bonny View Elementary School for 11½ years and principal at Sequoia Middle School from 2001 to 2005.
Kempley, too, said the Stolz controversy did not play a role in her decision to retire.
She noted her 40 years with the district and chief business officer RoseAnn Adams’ recent announcement that she is retiring at the end of June. Kempley said she wants to give a new superintendent the chance to hire a new chief business officer for the district.
Kathy Kuhn, the district’s human resources director, resigned last summer.
Kempley said that the board will hold a special meeting Dec. 3. The board then can begin the process of finding a new superintendent, she said.