San Diego Education Association Places Executive Director on Administrative Leave

The San Diego Education Association’s board of directors placed executive director Craig Leedham on paid administrative leave. Will Carless of Voice of San Diego has the story. As of today, no one from the union would explain the reasons behind the move. No one is talking on the record. Off the record, people who know Leedham describe him as ”nasty,” “aggressive,” “profane” and “paranoid.” 

Accurate or not, none of those attributes is sufficient to get you booted from a high-ranking position in one of the nation’s largest teacher union locals. Something very specific needs to have happened, and I suspect we’ll learn what it was before long. 

The union confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Leedham had been placed on leave. “San Diego Education Association Executive Director Craig Leedham is on paid administrative leave. It is inappropriate for further comment at this time about what is an internal matter,” President Bill Freeman said in a brief statement.

Leedham held several positions at various levels of the Wisconsin Education Association Council before taking a staff job with SDEA in 2006.