Entire Oakley school board resigns

Explicit remarks about parents and campus closures before meeting put group in hot water

OAKLEY >> It started with profanity, jokes about parents just wanting a babysitter or to smoke pot in their homes and then came the horrible realization by the elected officials making these remarks that they were on a live video stream being broadcast to the public.

Now, the three-day saga that has garnered national attention and widespread condemnation has resulted in the resignation of the entire Oakley Union Elementary

School District Board, according to a letter Friday from district Superintendent Greg Hetrick. He wrote that county education board members will replace the board in an interim capacity.

“We deeply regret the earlier comments that were made in the meeting of the Board of Education earlier this week,” a joint statement by ex-board members Kim Beede, Erica Ippolito and

Richie Masadas said. “As trustees, we realize it is our responsibility to model the conduct that we expect of our students and staff, and it is our obligation to build confidence in district leadership; our comments failed you in both regards, and for this we offer our sincerest apology.”

Beede, Ippolito and Masadas join board president Lisa Brizendine, who announced her resignation late Thursday.

The shocking Friday evening announcement is the culmination of a controversy that began with a hot microphone moment at the board’s Wednesday evening meeting. Trustees were awaiting the start of the meeting when they began discussing parents’ letters and social media posts about reopening schools.

“It’s easy to hide behind a screen, but when you’re face

to face with people it’s a whole different ballgame,” Masadas said.

Beede then defended herself against a parent who chided her on social media for going to a party during the coronavirus pandemic after declaring it wasn’t safe to return to school.

“I wasn’t doing anything bad — I honestly don’t care about that part — but are we alone?” she asked the other trustees. “B—-, ...If you call me out, I’m going to f— you up. “Sorry, that’s just me.” After some laughter, Brizendine chimed in to commiserate with others about the growing criticism they’ve faced over closed schools, suggesting parents really want schools to reopen so they get their babysitters back.

“They forget that there’s real people behind those letters they are writing,” she said. “We are real community members, we have kids or have known kids who have gone to those schools, so we have a vested interest in this process and they don’t know what goes on behind the scene and it’s unfortunate they want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back.”

Masadas suggested parents wanted their free time for other reasons.

“My brother had a delivery service for medical marijuana. The high clientele were the parents with their kids at school. When you have your kids at home, no more (inaudible),” Masadas said, clasping his hands on his forehead as others chuckled in the background.

The live video of the meeting also captured the moment when trustees realized that their remarks were being broadcast to the public.

The remarks were met with swift, widespread condemnation, calls for the board’s resignation — including from Oakley’s mayor — and coastto-coast coverage. A petition calling for the board to resign quickly garnered thousands of signatures.

Hetrick said in the letter he will update parents in coming days about the “next steps” for the district’s future.

“As a district, we will continue to proceed with the work that we are engaged in to bring our students back to school,” he said. “There will be a lot of details in the coming days about what will be taking place and I will be providing you with a complete update.”

Contra Costa County Board of Education President Annette Lewis appointed herself and fellow county board member Mike Maxwell as interim OUESD trustees, according to a news release by the county education superintendent.

“I look forward to working with the OUESD community to determine the best course of action to fill these seats with people who will represent the best interests of students, families, teachers and school staff,” Lewis said in a written statement released Friday.