BUSD Fires Grant, But Transparency Still Lacking

The firing of Superintendent Merrill Grant was long overdue and the Brentwood Union School District Boards unwillingness to be transparent continued Wednesday night as the 4-1 vote cast in secret.

This was a slam dunk 5-0 vote that turned into a 4-1 vote for whatever reason. I would like to think that the one person who voted to keep Grant could and should defend their vote in a public settling. You know, explain themselves even if it was just a “support” vote for Grant.

Furthermore, the fact they are willing to pay Merrill Grants salary and benefits through June 2014 is flat out unacceptable at a cost of $300,000. This is not right and I hope voters in Brentwood remember this and keep the pressure on for a full explanation and look into the thought process here.

While dropping Grant was the right thing to do, the issue of Dina Holder, Lauri James, and Margaret Kruse remain. The District still will not heal as long as the real culprits of the incident remain working for the District.

The irony here is while Grant was ultimately in charge, he wouldn’t know about the incident unless its properly moved up the food chain–that didn’t happen.  He was made the scapegoat here and he was the least of our worries in this situation.

Now we have a situation where the Superintendent is fired because he is in charge but the teacher (Dina Holder) who actually “kicked” a special needs child still has a job. You also have the principal (Lauri James) who washed her hands of the incident still remaining with the District.

How is that for perspective?

It’s time for parents to move their focus to Dina Holder, Lauri James, and Margaret Kruse for the community to actually move forward.  The reality is, there is still three more pink slips to be issued before this can be deemed over!

Paula King of the Contra Costa Times is reporting that former long-time Brentwood schools superintendent Doug Adams will return as the interim superintendent while the district begins an immediate search for a permanent replacement. That is a nice stop gap, but you are now paying for two Superintendents until June of 2014 which is not financially prudent.

It will be interesting to see what Mr. Adams will cost the BUSD for his temporary services.

While the outcome last night was appropriate, the reality is, there is still much more to be done in improving transparency and this board being more open with the public of what changes have been made since the incident.

Looking back, this fiasco has cost now the BUSD $3.1 million plus any legal fees and a lot of wasted time. You can also throw in a second Superintendents salary to the mix.  More importantly, it cast a black eye on school districts and the city of Brentwood.

The Board still doesn’t get it as of last night; it’s the lack of transparency that is always worse than the actual incident. It’s time to step up and have real conversations with the public, not lip service.