Entire school board resigns after hot mic comments
- par Laura Grandis
- dans Médecine
- — Fév 21, 2021
The entire board of trustees for a Northern California school district resigned after they made inappropriate remarks about parents during a Zoom call that was unknowingly being broadcast to the public.
San Diego - Former San Diego Mayor and California's leading Republican gubernatorial candidate, Kevin Faulconer, issued the following statement in reaction to video that surfaced last night of the Oakley, Calif. school board insulting parents who wanted their schools to reopen.
In the call, part of which was posted to Twitter by NBC News Bay Area reporter Bigad Shabad, trustee Kim Beede could be heard saying, "Are we alone?" before adding, "B-- if you're going to call me out, I'm going to f-- you up".
The board members apparently thought Wednesday's meeting wasn't yet open to the public at the time they started talking about social media criticism from parents.
A third member, Richie Masadas, agreed, saying his brother owned a delivery service for medical marijuana and "clientele were parents with their kids in school".
When Beede is told the meeting is being recorded live, she says, "Uh-oh" and board members scramble to turn off their videos.
The Oakley Union school district is located east of San Francisco and serves around 5,000 students.
"We were having a private conversation because we were really struggling at that moment with all the Board comments coming in because we want what's best for the kids so badly", she said.
The district's superintendent, Greg Hetrick, announced the resignation in a letter Friday and said that Contra Costa County education board members will replace them in an interim capacity, the Mercury News reported.
In his letter, Hetrick also shared a joint statement from Beede, Ippolito and Masadas, saying they "deeply regret" and apologize for the comments made in the meeting. "Sorry, that's just me".
Parents took umbrage with the comments as students in the school district, which is located in Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay area, have been learning remote for nearly a year amid the coronavirus pandemic. They want their babysitters back, ' she stated. "There has been a lack of communication from the board and this was the first communication we heard". These comments are not typical and more importantly they are not what the community should expect from our school district.
'A recall would cost the district money that should be going to the kids.
"I think we all need to take this step back and realize how shocking it is that there's been no real progress forward to get back to in-person learning because we see it around. As governor I will do everything in my power to make sure our children and teachers safely return to the classroom". I am responsible and accountable and I am truly sorry for what took place.
"I only wish for our local public school to be run by better people", the person wrote. "I am asking that the board members to resign immediately due to their egregious behavior", the petition read. I pledge to work collaboratively with stakeholders and community members to begin doing the important work that is needed to rebuild community trust in our district'.
