The Paso Robles School Board met at the PRJUSD Office Tuesday night, but only staff was allowed to attend. The new board took the oath of office, including newly elected members- Dorian Baker, Jim Reed and Nathan Williams. Trustee Chris Bausch was also reelected in the recent General Election.
The new board nominated two candidates for President of the School Board, Chris Arend and Chris Bausch. During discussion of the two nominees, it was pointed out that Chris Arend said there was no malfeasance during the Chris Williams administration, which is the same position espoused by the previous board and current administration. The recent Grand Jury Report, however, illuminated profound mismanagement and fiscal irresponsibility during the tenure of Superintendent Chris Williams. Regardless, the board voted 4-3 to elect Chris Arend as president. Three newly elected board members voted for Chris Bausch. With the exception of Chris Bausch, the incumbents voted for Chris Arend. Newly elected trustee Nathan Williams cast the decisive vote.
The trustees took an hour long break to go into closed session. When they returned, Damien Capalare reported on activities at Butler Elementary School. He talked about the teachers reaching out with distance learning and the various staff people involved in supporting the students. Several people commented including one parent who described the difficulty of implementing distance learning. He said it takes him 30-60 minutes each night to download his child’s educational material. Peter Byrne called in to blast distance learning. He said kids need to be in the classroom, and that the schools should reopen. Two letters came in to criticize Chris Arend and his published denial of “systemic racism” in our society. One letter writer stated that she was disappointed Chris Arend was named president because of his stand denouncing systemic racism.
The board also agreed to hire a transitional executive secretary secretary for the school district to replace Theresa. The pay will be $40-65,000, which according to Jennifer Gaviola, is substantially less than San Miguel, San Luis Coastal and Lucia Mar School Districts. In San Miguel School District, the executive secretary makes at least $15,000 more than in Paso Robles. She said that in San Luis and Lucia Mar School Districts, the executive secretaries make six figures.
Unfortunately, the audio was so bad that many of the trustees were unintelligible. It was easy to understand Superintendent Chris Williams, Trustee Tim Gearhart, Trustee Nathan Williams, Trustee Jim Reed and Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Gaviola, but many of the other trustees were unintelligible.
The meeting is available on YouTube.
