A San Francisco Bay Area school district has reportedly shelled out $315,000 on an energy and chakra clearer, sparking backlash from parents and teachers who are frustrated that the money isn’t being spent in classrooms.
A parent group recently discovered Mountain View Whisman School District has been paying “Master Energy Healer & Intuitive Guide” Alycia Diggs-Chavis to conduct 160 guided meditation sessions for district leadership officials, the SF Chronicle reported.
“We assumed the board was doing their job,” a parent, who wished to remain anonymous, told the outlet.
Diggs-Chavis, who is the founder of Blue Violet Energy Healing, had raked in $315,000 over the course of her three-year contract, according to the report.
“I help facilitate their spiritual development and awakening and equip them with self-care and mindfulness tools so that they can manage these things for themselves,” Diggs-Chavis wrote on her website, which advertises her “life coaching” and “group healing sessions.”
The discovery shocked district parents, who thought the school’s budget was being put toward programs for their children.
When middle school classes were threatened with cuts, parents investigated the budget themselves — and stumbled on the contract for the chakra clearer’s services.
The school district, run by Superintendent Ayindé Rudolph, has also splurged on leadership coaching, paying a public relations firm and executive coach alongside Diggs-Chavis to guide staff, according to the report.
The district also hired an in-house public information officer, whose 2022 salary was more than $264,000, according to state data.
Rudolph, in response to allegations of misuse of budget money, told the outlet that the use of a life executive coach, chakra healer, and in-house public information officer were “backed by scientific research.”
“I’m saying we spend a lot of money to make sure our employees stay well,” Rudolph said, also alleging that the executive coach he hired, Peter Gorman, was made available to teachers in the district.
“I think the wellness of our employees is worth every dollar,” he said.
Meanwhile, former teachers say they feel cheated over the district’s spending — claiming they had to act as custodians for their own classrooms, cleaning up cockroach infestations while school administrators attended the funded programs.
They allege that teachers had to step in as substitutes when the district wouldn’t pay for teaching coverage.
The superintendent said that concerns about spending would be addressed Thursday night at a board of trustees meeting.
He also announced that the district will effectively pause or reduce sessions with Chavis-Diggs and Gorman, citing “shifting economic conditions.”
