This Californian school board had to resign after broadcasting itself insulting parents
The perils of remote meetings have been very much in the news, of late, with the Handforth Parish Council drama making a celebrity of Jackie Weaver, and a Texan lawyer feeling the need to explain that he wasn’t a cat.
In a similar vein, the board members of the Oakley Union Elementary School – and the District Superintendent – all stepped down after it became clear that what they thought was a private meeting, in which they ripped into the parents of the school’s pupils, had been broadcast to the public.
NBC reporter, Bigad Shaban, tweeted some choice snippets.
He began with the penny-drop moment they realised they were live.
1) When officials at the Oakley Union Elem. School district thought they were meeting privately, they used profanity to insult & threaten parents upset by the district's prolonged school closures.
Here's when they realized their mtg was being broadcast to the public.
"Uh, oh." pic.twitter.com/OXbHWq9FMy
— Bigad Shaban (@BigadShaban) February 18, 2021
He then filled in some cringeworthy details.
2) Before she realized the public was listening in, School Board President Lisa Brizendine criticized parents who continue to be frustrated by the district's Covid-related school closures:
"They want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back."@nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/Z0jaRQWKn9
— Bigad Shaban (@BigadShaban) February 18, 2021
3) School Board Trustee Richie Masadas then appeared to link parents' frustration over close closures to drug use.
"My brother had a delivery service for medical marijuana and his clientele were parents of kids at school."@nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/vgAhY90lmG
— Bigad Shaban (@BigadShaban) February 18, 2021
4) What school board officials thought was a private chat, also included Superintendent Greg Hetrick trying to sell the board on new technology that aims to limit public comment by cutting off parents "mid-sentence."
"It just cuts them off mid-sentence and it's done," he said. pic.twitter.com/6hK3huf3Hb
— Bigad Shaban (@BigadShaban) February 18, 2021
5) Notice how quickly the video feed shuts off after school officials realize their profanity & insults were broadcast to the very same parents they were disparaging.
Makes you wonder if the board still plans to adopt that "new technology" to limit public comment.@nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/szqd3TpWUb
— Bigad Shaban (@BigadShaban) February 19, 2021
Bigad Shaban shared a link to a petition to have the board removed, which was at 2,300 signatures, but is currently at more than 7,500 and rising – despite an update explaining that they stepped down.
6) There's now a call for the entire school board to resign. More than 2,300 signatures (and counting).@nbcbayarea https://t.co/xUAKYeuI1J
— Bigad Shaban (@BigadShaban) February 19, 2021
A key resignation featured in another update.
7) UPDATE: Pres. of Oakley Union Elementary School district Lisa Brizendine has resigned after caught on camera criticizing parents, saying the reason they want schools reopened is "because they want their babysitters back."
She thought mtg w/ the board was private. It wasn't. pic.twitter.com/z41YoUKXOu
— Bigad Shaban (@BigadShaban) February 19, 2021
One member had gone a bit NSFW.
8) While pres. of the school board resigned, Kim Beede, who used profanity to threaten parents, remains on the board.
Here's what she said about parents who criticize her online:
"Bit*h, if you're going to call me out, I'm going to f*ck you up."@nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/fGdKC0nQwQ
— Bigad Shaban (@BigadShaban) February 19, 2021
It’s no Handforth Parish Council.
You won’t be surprised to learn that some people were firmly on the side of the board.
The kids maybe suffering with distance learning other parents have been caught complaining about the fact that they have to deal with their kids all day they want them back in school so they're out of their hair. These people just got caught telling the truth
— starreynyte (@starreynyte) February 19, 2021
I completely agree… with the teachers. They were there to raise other peoples children for 6-7 hours, Mon – Fri. And all of it was absolutely free! Now the parents are fed up, because now they can see what a delight (🙄) their little kids actually are.
— Pritesh Govindji (@PriteshGovindji) February 23, 2021
Not everyone, though …
I guess they don't teach empathy at the University of Phoenix. So many people forget what it was like to be a parent, let alone, have never parented during a pandemic. We need compassionate, common sense, leadership during crisis, not this. https://t.co/tCWyUjruak
— Jason Buzzell (@buzzilinear) February 22, 2021
We know that what was caught on video was just the tip of the iceberg. You do not need a hot mic Zoom video to know what these people think of you. Their actions scream from the rooftops.
I don't care that they hate me as I am worried that they hate my child. https://t.co/KOxztfgSO5— Rising serpent 🇺🇸 (@rising_serpent) February 21, 2021
I think school boards/unions/etc are composed some of the most demonically entitled, martyr-complexed people on the face of the Earth. https://t.co/E78TUzHOHs
— Alexander (@SloshuaReynolds) February 22, 2021
If ever a group of people must have wished they’d been hidden behind a cat filter.
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Source BBC News Image Screengrab