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Board member accuses leadership of limiting community voice, urges alternatives to staff cuts
Summary
A board member accused leadership of allowing personal attacks and restricting public comment, warned of continued budget cuts, and suggested reducing administrative pay or offering early retirement as alternatives to cutting classroom positions.
Speaker 7, speaking during board member reports, raised procedural and budgetary concerns and criticized how the board handles public input. "This has got to stop. It's absolutely unacceptable," Speaker 7 said, alleging that the chair has allowed personal attacks against some board members but not others and that the district has limited community voice by removing three-minute pre-agenda public comments and requiring written comments submitted by 4 p.m. the Wednesday before the agenda is published.
Speaker 7 described ongoing budget cuts, saying the district "has been cutting our budget every year" and warning that more reductions are likely. As alternatives to cutting positions, Speaker 7 proposed considering percentage reductions in administrative pay and offering early retirement to some higher-cost, senior principals. "Maybe we should consider it here," Speaker 7 said, referring to percentage pay reductions and early retirement as options.
Speaker 7 also claimed the high school's AB schedule costs "about $800,000 more to administer than a regular schedule," characterizing that figure as an item for further review. The meeting transcript records that figure as a claim by Speaker 7; the board did not provide supporting documentation in the session.
Other members responded with brief comments about decorum and celebrations. Earlier, Speaker 3 had told another member that "yelling out at the chair of this board ... is very inappropriate," addressing a separate conduct concern.
No formal disciplinary actions, votes, or policy changes on public comment rules or administrative compensation were made during the meeting. The board moved on to other reports, and the meeting concluded after a motion to adjourn.
