In a recording of the meeting posted anonymously to YouTube, the superintendent and board members are heard discussing the agenda for the meeting, before then board member Kim Beede says, “Are we alone?” Beede then tells other board members, apparently in reference to a social media post from a parent, “B * tch, if you’re going to call me, I’m going to fuck you. Sorry! Only me.”
Then board chairman Lisa Brizendine agreed, saying, ‘parents forget there are real people on the other side of the letters they write’. She added, “It’s a shame they want to pick 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.
“We deeply regret the comments made at the Board of Education meeting earlier this week,” their statement said. “As administrators, we recognize that it is our responsibility to model the behaviors we expect from our students and staff, and it is our duty to build confidence in the leadership of the district; our comments have you in the and we sincerely apologize for this. “
The wave of shock and disappointment led community members to create a petition on Change.org demanding the board’s resignation. Oakley Mayor Sue Higgins had in her own statement on Friday urged the board to resign.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” says Parent
The member of the audience who posted the recording to YouTube on Thursday wrote in the video description that the meeting was announced on the board’s website, which also included the credentials.
“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 and noted that their sole purpose in posting the clip was “to make our local public school run by better people.”
Katie Patterson, a member of the OUESD Parent Teacher Association, told KPIX that it was Brizendine’s suggestion that parents only want “babysitters” who angered her.
“I don’t need a babysitter, I’m a stay-at-home mom,” said Patterson, who has two children in the school district.
“Raising a 10-year-old with special needs and having him at home during this pandemic, while also having two jobs supporting my family, was a tremendous stress,” her statement said in part.
“I suffer with many of the same things that parents go through … my comment was harsh and inappropriate and I’m really sorry,” she said.
As of Sunday, there were five vacant spots on the website of the OUESD’s Board of Trustees.
In the meantime, Annette Lewis, Chair of the Contra Costa Education Board, has appointed herself and her fellow Contra Costa County board member Mike Maxwell to the board of the OUESD. Hetrick’s letter cited part of the state education code, which allows the provincial education council to appoint members to a district council until new ones can be selected.
“I look forward to working with the OUESD community to determine the best way to fill these seats with people who represent the interests of students, families, teachers and school staff,” Lewis said in a statement Friday.