Entire Oakley school board resigns after offensive comments caught on tape
OAKLEY, Calif. (KGO) -- The Oakley Union Elementary School District announced on Friday that its entire school board has submitted their resignations from their positions after offensive comments were caught on tape.
The district says board members Kim Beede, Erica Ippolito, Richie Masadas and Lisa Brizendine resigned.
RELATED: Oakley school board's offensive comments trigger recall effort
Superintendent Greg Hetrick released a statement that read in part:
Dear Oakley Union Elementary School District Family,
I want to inform you that Board Members Kim Beede, Erica Ippolito, Richie Masadas and Lisa Brizendine have submitted their resignations from their position on the OUESD School Board.
The statement continues:
This was a difficult decision, but we hear the community's concerns, and we believe yielding to your request that we step down will allow the District to move forward. Please do not let our failure in judgement cast a shadow on the exceptional work that our teachers, administrators and hard-working employees are doing for the students of this District. They deserve and will need your support as you move forward.
I want you to know that it is a tremendous privilege to serve as the Superintendent of the Oakley Union Elementary School District. Oakley is and has been a special place to me and it is truly a community that loves its children and wants what's best for them. With that responsibility, I am committed to returning the attention to student learning and getting our students back in school. This unfortunate situation will not discourage or detract me from working to build back the trust in our community and return our students safely back to school as soon as possible.
I will be providing you with another update as to our next steps in the coming days. I want to say thank you for all that you do and I truly believe that working together, we do make a difference. Have a great day.
FULL VIDEO: Oakley school board caught making controversial comments about parents
The president of the Oakley Union Elementary School District Board of Trustees resigned earlier Friday.
Lisa Brizendine and other members were caught on video making disparaging comments about parents during an online meeting they thought was private.
Brizendine has since been removed from the district's website. Parents want the entire board to step down or be recalled. The Superintendent issued an apology on Thursday.
