Entire northern California school board quit after criticizing parents in public virtual meeting

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Oakley Union Elementary School District (OUESD) board members apparently believed they were speaking privately in the moments leading up to the meeting’s start, CNN affiliate KPIX reported, when in fact, community members had already logged in to watch.

In a recording of the meeting posted anonymously to YouTube, the director and board members are heard discussing the meeting’s agenda before then-board member Kim Beede said, “Sums we alone? ” Beede then goes on to tell the other board members, apparently in reference to a parent’s social media post, “Damn if you call me I’m gonna fuck you. Sorry! just me.”

Then-board chair Lisa Brizendine stepped in, saying parents “forget there are real people on the other side of the letters they write.” She added: “It’s very unfortunate that they want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back.”

During the video conference, Board member Richie Masadas suggested that some parents wanted their children to go back to school so they could smoke marijuana at home.

Superintendent Greg Hetrick announced the resignations Friday in a letter sent to families in the district, which included a statement from the newly resigned council members, saying they were stepping down to “help facilitate the healing process.”

“We deeply regret the comments that were made at the Education Council meeting earlier this week,” their statement said. “As administrators, we realize that it is our responsibility to model the conduct we expect from our students and staff, and it is our duty to build trust in district leaders; our comments failed you in both respects, and for that we apologize. “

The wave of shock and disappointment led community members to create a Change.org petition demanding the council’s resignation. Oakley Mayor Sue Higgins had also urged council to step down in her own statement on Friday.

The district – which serves around 5,000 students, according to its website – has been conducting distance learning since last March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Hetrick’s letter on Friday said he was “determined to return the focus to student learning and bring our students back to school.”

“ I don’t need a babysitter, ” says parent

The audience member who posted the recording to YouTube on Thursday wrote in the description of the video that the meeting was advertised on the board’s website, which also provided login details.

“I logged into the meeting a few minutes before I started recording,” the poster said.

The poster said they did not want to conduct interviews, noting that their only goal in posting the clip was “to have our local public school run by better people.”

Katie Patterson, a member of the OUESD Parents and Teachers Association, told KPIX that it was Brizendine’s suggestion that parents only wanted “babysitters” that made her angry.

“I don’t need a babysitter, I’m a stay-at-home mom,” said Patterson, who has two children in the school district.

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In a statement to The Mercury News, Brizendine apologized for what she described as a “flippant” comment.

“Raising a 10-year-old child with special needs and bringing him home during this pandemic, while keeping two jobs to support my family, has been a huge stress,” his statement said in part.

“I am suffering with many of the same things that parents go through … my remark was ruthless and unwarranted and for that I am very sorry,” she said.

On Sunday, there were five vacancies listed on the OUESD Board of Directors website.

In the meantime, Contra Costa County Board of Education chairwoman Annette Lewis has appointed herself and her fellow Contra Costa County Council member Mike Maxwell to the OUESD board. Hetrick’s letter cited part of the state’s education code, which allows the county board of education to appoint members to a district board until new ones can be selected.

“I look forward to working with the OUESD community to determine the best course of action to fill these seats with people who will represent the best interests of students, families, teachers and school staff,” Lewis said in a statement. Friday.

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