A California School Board is in Hot Water After Mocking Parents for Wanting Kids in Class (Update: School Board President Resigns)
“School board member Richie Masadas insinuates on the call that parents are frustrated with distance learning because they aren’t able to smoke marijuana as much.”
The Oakley, CA, school board found themselves in a lot of trouble after a video emerged of them mocking parents who want their children back in the classroom.
“It’s really unfortunate that they want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back,” whined Lisa Brizendine, the Oakley Union Elementary School Board president.
Yeah, the board members thought it was a private meeting.
It was open to the public.
Oakley is one area that does not have in-person teaching, which has caused tensions between teachers and parents.
Vaccines? The CDC said vaccinations are not a prerequisite for a teacher to get back in the classroom. Guidelines? I don’t know about Oakley, but other places agreed to have health screenings, require masks and social distancing, and have constant cleaning going on during the day.
Brizendine is not the only one who badmouthed the parents. (By the way, it took eight minutes for Brizendine and the others to realize that they were not alone.) From Politico:
In another exchange about social media criticism the schools board has faced, Oakley Union trustee Kim Beede goes on a profanity-laced rant about an unidentified critic after asking her fellow board members, “Are we alone?”
“Bitch, if you’re going to call me out, I’m gonna f— you up,” Beede said, laughing with other members. “Sorry, that’s just me.”
The video was captured on a cell phone, whose time shows the discussion occurred about 10 minutes before Wednesday’s scheduled 4 p.m. open session. Board members also discussed the organizational structure for the meeting.
School board member Richie Masadas insinuates on the call that parents are frustrated with distance learning because they aren’t able to smoke marijuana as much. Masadas says he knows a medical marijuana deliveryman, “and the clientele were parents with their kids in school.” His comments are received with hearty laughter, as Masadas says parents are frustrated they can no longer “smoke up” without in-person instruction as an option.
Masadas also says of the school board’s critics that “it’s easy to hide behind their screens” and “when you’re face-to-face with people, it’s a whole different ballgame.”
Beede is notified that the meeting is being recorded live, then says, “Uh-oh.” The board members then scramble to turn off their videos, as Brizendine says “Nuh-uh.”
“Great,” another says.
Oakley Union Superintendent Greg Hetrick was on the call but rarely jumped in.
He provided an apology:
“Last night at the Oakley Union Elementary School District Regular Board Meeting there were unfortunate and truly inappropriate comments made that were heard by many. These comments are not typical and more importantly they are not what the community should expect from our school district. We all take pride in the Vision of the Oakley Union Elementary School District in that we are “A diverse learning community committed to educating and empowering today’s learners and tomorrow’s leaders in a safe and inclusive environment.” The comments made were not in alignment with our Vision and are definitely not what any of us stand for as leaders. I know that we lost trust with the community. I will not make excuses for what happened or why it happened. I am the superintendent. I am responsible and accountable and I am truly sorry for what took place. I have been and continue to be committed to working together for the betterment of the Oakley Union Elementary School District students, staff and entire school community. I know that our students deserve better from us. 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.”
I didn’t go to college for four years to be a teacher. (Yes, I used to teach 9th grade English).
Those four years include one semester of observation and spending your senior year student teaching. I had to take a class on special education for a semester. You get assigned to observe a special needs student inside and outside the classroom.
Having that degree and training is not enough. You then have to take tests to get a license to teach in the state.
In other words, it takes a lot to be a teacher.
Kids are having mental health problems. Suicides have gone up. Study after study has also shown that kids losing a year in education will affect their future salary-wise. How about kids who do not have access to the internet or computers?
These teachers work at an elementary school. Do you know what is crucial in elementary school? Being social, especially in the younger years. Preschool, pre-kindergarten, and even kindergarten are essential to a child’s ability to practice simple, but significant, social behaviors: sharing, politeness, how to act in front of people, etc.
The social aspect is important throughout school, but especially at the elementary level.
As of writing this article, almost 3,500 people have signed a petition demanding the board members resign or be recalled:
Parents were tuned in to learn if we will be sending our kids back to school soon and if not, why. There has been a lack of communication from the board and this was the first communication we heard.
A recall would cost the district money that should be going to the kids. I am asking that the board members to resign immediately due to their egregious behavior. They should no longer represent the parents, teachers, and children in this school district.
“I was shocked to hear the district is representing our children this way,” Jennifer Cardinale told ABC 7.
Cardinale described Beede’s comments about f*cking up parents as “appalling.”
Ashley Stalf “thought the board members” had her child’s “best interests at heart” and they “were also advocates” for her.
Update: Brizendine resigns
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1362815021844029450?s=20
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Comments
Teachers or Babysitters… regardless of what you think you are you are getting a yearly salary to do a nine month job that you are NOT doing.
(and no, I don’t want to hear about how hard they work. So do many others in the rest of the employed world)
The point is, if you are not doing your job, and cashing all the checks, I’ll call you thieves. If you have a problem with that, the solution is simple. Stop taking the money!
“These comments are not typical’
Nuh-uh. Those comments were CANDID and PRECISELY typical.
Wonder why we are Trump fans?
Guy never said one thing to your face and another behind your back.
In other words, the total opposite of swamp hacks like this.
Yup.
Caught with their pants down Ha! Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch..(sarc)
This is what happens with unfettered arrogance. You get an over inflated view of your own importance while minimalizing the needs of others. In other words, Leftist behavior. Next they will tell us this has been a mostly educational school year.
It appears that the school board does not understand that the pays for children to be educated. If they are just doing distance teaching, their pay should be cut in half, with that money credited back to taxpayers. The same applies to other school expenses. Right now, schools are socking taxpayers money away, or maybe even squandering it stuff which they could not afford before.
the public pays
40 years ago, many teacher’s attitudes toward parents was contemptuous and not concealed. I suppose in the richer districts where parents are lawyers this may not be true. But it certainly was my experience with them, tho I had a PhD.
Also incompetent, many of them. I *saw* it in several classroom visits. Helpless teachers in an out of control class. Also ignoring students attempt to clarify an issue about a test they were taking (followed by an armpit fart rebellion. and shrieking Who did that? Who did that?). How to show them all you’re a helpless idiot. She was so stupid even I was on the side of the rebellion. I saw who did it and stayed quiet about it. Would have done it myself if I’d known how 🙂
Strikes for higher pay nearly every September for years.
Underpaid? Hardly. Teacher pay for special ed teacher was over $50K in 1989. Per inflation calculator, inflation of 111% since then, $50K then is worth $105,476 in 2021 $$.
To be fair, there were at least two really wonderful ones.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of my professional life is the realization that so many teachers are usually ignorant of the subject they teach.
Most of us do become pretty jaded about parents.
That changed long ago when “methodology” became more important than subject knowledge. There is fascinating research regarding how we learn and it is important to know. BUT knowledge of the subject matter being taught is critical. When I finished my undergrad degree I swore I would never take an “education” class again. My post grad degrees are in the subject I taught.
This rejection of subject knowledge has gotten much worse. The condescension that is demonstrated in this story is the result.
Amen. I got hooked teaching other students in college and just loved it. Still do, just in high school. It blew my mind the secondary science ed majors didnt have to take anything beyond 200 level.
I think basic learning theory is important, but it is also really simple and can be taught completely in about 2 hours.
early in my homeschooling journey with my kids, someone asked how I would replace “that special teacher who just touches a kid’s life.” I thought about it and replied:
in my 13 years at a public school, I had around 40-50 teachers. Of those 40ish, THREE are teachers I would send thank you cards to if I could find an address, as they taught me life skills beyond the subject, things I still use today. another 10 were good enough TEACHERS I remember them fondly. One, I rejoiced when I heard he was dead (about 6 years after I was in his 2nd grade classroom), as he could no longer destroy children’s lives as a teacher. another half-dozen were killing time, and should NOT have been in a classroom. The rest, were teaching but not inspiring of either greatness or disgust.
I have probably taught around 600 kids. I have probably helped a couple dozen learn to better think and see the world clearly. There are 2 for whom I think I have made any real difference in their lives.
When I wanted someone special to touch the lives of my kids, I married her before having them.
The article headline is overly optimistic. None of these board members are in “hot water”. The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento is maybe 50 miles north of the district) has had zero articles on this. In reality, the board members only said in public what many teachers, unions and districts have been saying privately.
4-6 years from now, all board members will still be board members.
School Boards members are elected officials, correct? And as such aren’t they supposed to represent the interests of the voters / parents?
These hacks sound as if they’re hostile towards the parents and kids, and instead looking out for the interests of the teachers union.
California is broken.
The bigger and older an organization is, the more likely it is they will put what they see as their interests ahead of their core mission. This happens with all types of bureaucracies, corporate, nonprofit, government, and churches.
Especially egregious, are when children are damaged or short changed by schools and church. Public schools are not teaching well, especially with special needs and gifted children. I place most of the blame for that on administrators.
While my children were in school, and after removing my children, I killed four mileages, from a bit under 10 million to over 40 million. In those cases they were as sure as Hillary that they would win. After killing those mileages, I rubbed their snotty noses in it.
Public schools depend on passing mileages in low turnout elections. That works well for them, at least until they have active opposition. Even one person can kill an election, just a dozen or so people virtually ensures defeat.
I offer this because that is a very effective way of dealing with CRT bullshit.
Education was much better back in the days when teaching was a job, rather than a Profession, when it was more important to them to do the job than to be honored for it.
Also, when we were allowed to teach our subject. We are pretty far into the cycle of pushing out teachers who want to teach and replacing them with sucky people.
Too little, too late. Mr. Netrick, you allowed the statements to be made without comment. Your silence was tacit approval of the comments. The only “apology” I would accept is your resignation, along with the resignation of the rest of the Oakley Union school board.This kind of nonsense should not be tolerated at all.
Just read over at Twitchy that the president, Brizendine, has resigned. That’s a start, I suppose. Hopefully the rest will follow her example…
I don’t think the superintendent understands the words he uses: “I am responsible and accountable . . . ” If he were accountable, wouldn’t he resign–or at least forfeit a significant amount of his salary? Liberals seem to think that declaring themselves accountable is the end of the process–not the beginning.
If he were “responsible” and “accountable” he wouldn’t have allowed those individuals to make those comments in the first place. That he remained silent indicates tacit approval of what was said. The only way to restore “trust” in the school board would be for the Superintendent and those that made the comments to resign and be replaced by others.
was fortunate to have been raised in an era when “educating” kids was a team sport–the ADULTS ran/managed the process–was made clear by ALL the adults that you were a kid and the ADULTS were running the show–your parents/family members/neighbors saw to your character/foundations and your teachers saw to the development of your mind/skills
was crystal clear that you were expected to behave and to apply yourself–teachers/staff/adults, right or wrong, were to be respected and obeyed–insubordination(except in extreme cases)was simply not an option
seemed to work for everyone–parents/students
I own apartment buildings. Our tenants are working class people. If they’re not working, they’re smoking dope and drinking all day long. And having nervous breakdowns — screaming, cussing and fighting with random people. A delivery driver makes a racket and wakes you up at 9 or 10 AM and there will be a serious confrontation. And there are suicides. And lack of hygiene. PPE and dog waste everywhere.
Covid 19 has been an exceptionally unpleasant experience. The demand for services is way up. The crazies are actively destroying their apartments. And a solid 10% of the population believes it’s “immoral” to pay rent. (Expect rents to jump after the crisis.) Covid 19 has been terrible. If people are not working and their kids are not in school, they behave like garbage.
I had a rental like that. Started out with really respectable small families. Then the quality went down, and down, and down, until the last derp got drunk, smoked in bed, and burned the place down. The insurance company asked me about my plans to rebuild. I said give me the check.
Fire all the teachers, hire a new lot drawn only from a pool that excludes members of any union and/or those with any “Education” degree.
This should shock exactly no one. When you adopt a “money is no object” attitude about spending on education, when you outsource your children’s education to people with impressive-sounding credentials, when you grant god-like powers to the education establishment, then eventually it will be run by those with the greed and arrogance to match.
The obvious solution would be for parents to take back control of their children’s education (homeschooling or private education). Even though the ballot box has been severely compromised in the Biden* Era, fighting tooth-and-nail against the educates at every opportunity would still be a good strategy. Unfortunately, too many parents still buy into the idea that totalitarianism can be benevolent, and that giving the educrats MORE power and MORE money is the solution.
People are brainwashed by the media, and I believe what are commie-tinted Catholic schools. “Teachers are underpaid” repeated endlessly in a whiny voice. “They have to buy their own supplies!” “It’s a hard job!” (Yes, if you can’t control your class)
I’ve heard it and heard it. Dispute it every time, but nothing gets past the earplugs.
I’d jump on private education in a minute. But the government prices its education predatorily at $0 (or, for taxpayers, “what we are already extorting from you anyway”), artificially depressing the opportunity for any new private schools to gain a critical mass of students. We have one private school within reasonable distance, it’s faith-based, and not our faith. Family-based homeschooling is impossible for two-worker families and flouts economy of scale. Government doesn’t belong in the education business, any more than they belong in the grocery business.
It’s like the social and intellectual development of your typical leftist ended at 13 years old. They’ll forever be the trash-talking schoolyard bully. They’re just a sad, vile, hopeless lot.
Makes me extremely thankful for being raised with conservative values with a combination of home and private schooling, and then military service.
I can’t imagine living my life harboring such hatred and contempt as these leftists have in their hearts for their fellow Americans.
The public school system is well past its “use by” date. Time to go away.
Yes, but government is seeping in the other direction. Instead of government privatizing education, they publicized healthcare. They won’t relinquish either without much bloodshed.
The real question is why do parents what to entrust their children to the care of these horrible people?
“Masadas says he knows a medical marijuana deliveryman, “and the clientele were parents with their kids in school.””
Is this a violation of HIPAA for the medical deliveryman to gossip to his friend on the school board (or to anyone) about patients?
If speaking in generalities, where you can’t ID a specific person, it’s not a violation from what I understand.
EMT experience…firefighters have the best stories. They also know which parents are heroin addicts from calls. Gets interesting when your kids go to school with their kids.
I would think so, but my knowledge of HIPAA statutes are cursory at best. One thing is for sure, if it involves leftists breaking the law, chances are, nothing will happen. The leftist elite and the majority of their ancillary followers all benefit from an ideological get out of jail free card.
Why hasn’t the Mensa candidate Beede resigned? What she said was worse than the babysitter comment, which was bad enough.
I spent a bit more than 30 years sitting on a Civil Service Commission for non teaching employees of a large California school district. We’d occasionally have joint meetings with the District’s Board of Education. The most dangerous place in the world is to be between one of those board members and a microphone. They are politicians first and foremost. Usually there was a Board member or two (out of a five person board) who was also a school teacher and a union member. And the non teachers were more concerned with the teachers union than anything else. That’s the way it goes.
Oakley Elementary School District had 5 positions on the Board; One of them was vacant when this hoo hah started. One of them–the President–has now resigned. So that leaves 3 turkeys on the Board.
Why didn’t the Superintendent speak out more forcefully? Well for one thing he’s an employee of the Board–they can fire him. The Superintendent’s position in any school district is very political. In California a school superintendent lasts–on average–three years before he or she is fired. The Superintendent has to keep the Board happy, the teachers happy, the parents happy, and the students happy—in just that order. If either of the first two groups gets unhappy, he’s gone. If the parents are unhappy–maybe he’s gone. If the students are unhappy and getting a rotten education–tough noogies.
The sound was really crappy starting at 5:12 just prior to Beede’s profane comment, but it sounded to me like she was quoting something that somebody sent HER over social media. Can anybody else clear this up?
As a Christian I’m leaning towards legalizing prostitution. PLS hear me out.
“’I was shocked to hear the district is representing our children this way,’ Jennifer Cardinale told ABC 7.
Cardinale described Beede’s comments about f*cking up parents as ‘appalling.’
Ashley Stalf ‘thought the board members’ had her child’s ‘best interests at heart’ and they ‘were also advocates’ for her.”
Jordan Peterson wrote “12 Rules For Life.”
https://www.amazon.com/12-Rules-Life-Antidote-Chaos/dp/0345816021
I’m thinking of riffing off that and writing “12 Year Olds For Life” (right after I add to the body of work about the history of WWII, “Black Cats and Green Dragons: A Story Of The Solomon Islands”).
Can you believe this s***? Women with daddy issues vote. And when I’m say women with daddy issues vote I mean it in the I guess the current pansexual definition of women. Back in the ’90s at a televised town hall a woman with daddy issues who happened to be hippy dude prefaced a question directed at presidential candidate Bill Clinton, “Theoretically, you’re our dad…”
I’m still looking for the bar where I left my jaw on the floor.
The women quoted above are “appalled” that the school board members they voted for don’t love their kids more than they do. After all, those leftists pols TOLD THEM (stranger danger) that no one could love them and their kids more than they do.
Not their spouse, not their family, not their clergy man, not even their dog. And they believed them. And now they are disappointed in their lovers they voted for. They just found out they were lied to by on-the-take leftist pols who really only viewed them as stepping stones with a bank account.
Know what they’re going to do now? Vote for the next batch of leftist pols who will lie to them about how much they love and cherish them and their kids but have enough sense not to do it in a Zoom meeting.
As a Christian I know I can’t outlaw sin. But since these people have a huge gaping need and they think they can vote for a government that promises to fill that hole, I’m thinking we should provide them with an outlet.
If they want to be taken advantage of by the likes of Kamala Harris or John Kerry who will tell them whatever they want to hear then give them the opportunity to do it on their own dime and their own time.
“but have enough sense not to do it in a Zoom meeting.”
“It,” of course being mouthing off for the needy, emotionally damaged people who slavishly vote for them.
Legalizing prostitution? What these people need is legalized indentured servitude.
I have on occasion mourned its passing. On numerous occasions, I had been confronted by an individual who was obviously cut out for that life and no other. He wanted to be taken care of. He was willing to trade ALL his rights for whatever security anyone else would provide for him. Worse yet, he wanted to force everyone else to accept that same deal.
For example, take Peter Kallander, a resident of Southboro, who, in arguing against the planned expansion of his neighbor’s private airstrip, told the Board of Selectmen quite seriously that “I’d like to create a climate where neighbors control what I do.” And he meant every word of it.
The passage of the Thirteenth Amendment practically destroyed the only ecological niches for which such people are suited, by their own admissions. I say “practically” because it is still possible to obtain such an arrangement, provided one is willing to settle for the government as his only legally permissible master.
I say, let’s re-privatize indentured servitude by mutual agreement between master and servant. Give those who only want to be powerless dependents the ability to choose their own masters on the free market and obtain whatever security and nurturing they choose. Those who accept this deal will retain the rights of human beings (unlike slaves) but will surrender the rights of citizens (foremost among them, the right to vote). This will go a long way towards helping to reverse the “Gresham’s Law” drain that these people are currently imposing on everybody else’s liberties.
My tongue is only HALF in my cheek.
Local school boards are the most basic level of democracy, and where your vote can make a big difference. Find and run good conservative candidates to replace the current slate of liberals. Make the incumbents actually work to retain their seats.
If conservatives ever get control of a local school board, don’t rubber-stamp every decision of the superintendent because he is a “professional educator.” If he/she/it gets too much pushback, they might quit in a temper tantrum, presenting the opportunity to find someone who is truly competent.