School tensions in California are overflowing

SACRAMENTO – Residents of a Bay Area community are demanding that several school board members resign after officials were caught on video denigrating parents in an outspoken and profane manner as tensions mount over prolonged school closures campus.

“It’s such a shame that they want to come after us because they want their babysitters to come back,” said Lisa Brizendine, school board chairwoman for Oakley Union Elementary School, in a recording of a board meeting posted Wednesday on YouTube. Brizendine and other administrators in the small district about 50 miles east of San Francisco are shown lamenting parental frustrations throughout the eight-minute clip, apparently not realizing until too late that their chat was being broadcast. live.

The situation reflects unprecedented levels of tension within California school communities after most classes were closed for nearly a year. Parents are forming “Open Schools Now” organizations and mobilizing like never before, voicing their grievances on social media and testifying at board meetings. Teacher unions and district administrators face increasing pressure to reopen campuses in a state that is now one of the last to bring back students.

In another exchange about the social media criticism the school board has faced, Oakley Union board member Kim Beede launches a crass rant about an unidentified critic after asking colleagues board members: “Are we alone?

“Bitch, if you wanna call me, I’m gonna hurt you,” Beede said laughing with the other members. “Sorry, it’s just me.”

The video was captured on a cell phone, the time of which shows the discussion to have taken place approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled public session on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Board members also discussed the organizational structure of the meeting.

School board member Richie Masadas insinuates the call that parents are frustrated with distance learning because they can’t smoke so much marijuana. Masadas says he knows of a medical marijuana delivery man, “and the customers were parents with their kids at school.” His comments are received with a warm laugh, as Masadas says parents are frustrated that they can no longer “smoke” without in-person instruction as an option.

Masadas also told critics from the school board that “it’s easy to hide behind their screens” and “when you’re face to face with people it’s a whole different ball game.”

Beede is informed that the meeting is being recorded live, then says, “Oh-oh.” Council members then scramble to turn off their videos, as Brizendine “Nuh-uh” puts it.

“Awesome,” said another.

Oakley Union Superintendent Greg Hetrick is also on call, but not much of the conversation. Hetrick and school board members did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, a petition calling on the involved school board members to resign had collected more than 1,000 signatures. The Oakley Union Elementary School District has around 5,000 students and has not reopened to students despite a push by Governor Gavin Newsom to reopen elementary schools.

Newsom and the Biden administration have stepped up efforts to ensure that reopening schools can happen with masks and social distancing, especially among young people, but most districts in California have not made much headway because teachers’ unions are demanding more stringent safety precautions, including access to vaccines. A school official told POLITICO on Thursday that OUESD was considering a return date in April.

“Parents have been listening to whether we will be sending our children back to school soon and if not, why. There was a lack of communication on the part of the council and this is the first communication we have heard, ”the petition, released by Oakley, says Rebecca Mackowiak.

“A recall would cost the district money that should go to the children,” the petition adds. “I ask the board members to resign immediately because of their egregious behavior. They should no longer represent the parents, teachers and children of this school district.”