![]() I have seen them allow powerful constituents, particularly labor leaders, do the same without having the decency to intervene on their behalf. I’ve witnessed board members serially humiliate the leaders and staff of their school systems, treating them with a level of contempt that is the definition of harassment and toxic work environments. But like all politicians, there are some who abuse their power. The vast majority of school board members are decent, dedicated public servants doing a difficult job for little or no compensation. More commonly, during budget cutting and contract negotiating times, they are the bureaucratic equivalent of a shark attack - hours of boring presentations punctuated by a sudden upheaval of public rage that rips district leaders apart. I once watched each member of a five-person board repeatedly vote for themselves for board president before realizing they were being mocked on social media. But every now and then, they transform into the theater of the absurd. People think school board meetings are dull affairs knee-deep in educational jargon. “You have a sickness,” she said, and I didn’t argue with her. Once, during a getaway to a fancy resort in Ojai, my wife returned from the spa to find me lying on the bed raptly watching the Ojai Unified School Board meeting. Over the past twenty-five years, I’ve attended and watched a lot of school board meetings. Eyes on the Early Years Newsletter Archive.Local Control Funding Formula Explained.California’s Homeless Students: Undercounted, Underfunded And Growing.Full Circle: California Schools Work To Transform Discipline.Tainted Taps: Lead puts California Students at Risk.Education during Covid: California families struggle to learn.College And Covid: Freshman Year Disrupted.California’s Community Colleges: At a Crossroads.Adjuncts’ gig economy at CA community colleges.
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