PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) met for their regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 9. The board moved agenda item J.3. Resolution #21-18 Approving Board’s Response to the Grand Jury Report to the front of the agenda.
Trustees
Chris Bausch and Dorian Baker both raised concern that there are errors within
the report, both grammatical and other.
For
over an hour, trustees discussed their final response to the Grand Jury Report:
Paso Robles Schools: A Cautionary Tale. There was apparent tension in the air
during the discussion.
When
trustees came to the fifth finding, there was much discussion on why SLOCOE
(San Luis Obispo County Office of Education) didn’t intervene with severance
negotiations for Chris Williams.
F5:
The superintendent was not eligible for a severance package when he resigned.
However, the board extended a negotiated settlement without obligation to do
so.
Trustee
Bausch repeatedly asked, “Why didn’t SLOCOE stop it?”
The
first negotiation came during a special meeting, back in December 2018, which
was intended to be a routine evaluation of then-Superintendent Chris Williams.
Williams announced his resignation during that meeting, and trustees went
directly into negotiating his severance package at $226,000.
San
Luis Obispo County Office of Education (SLOCOEDU) Superintendent James Brescia
attended the Feb. 9 board meeting in person and spoke up.
Brescia
gave his input on the departure and negotiations of William’s severance
package, which after a second negotiation with SLOCOEDU involved, ended up
being $113,409.
“The
agenda for that hastily called meeting was titled ‘Superintendent Evaluation.’
It was not about a contract. It was not about anything else. The fiscal advisor
was excluded from that because we were told there were no fiscal matters being
discussed. It was the evaluation of the superintendent. Once that came to my
attention, you are correct, I started proceedings which, both Mr. Bausch and
Mr. Gearhart know, with the state, to overturn the district’s decision that had
never been done in this county before,” Brescia stated.
Trustee
Bausch responded by saying the board knew a resignation and negotiation of
severance pay would be in the meeting Brescia refers to. Bausch commented that
then-board president Joan Summers had a contract made and ready for the
meeting, insinuating she knew what was about to happen.
Brescia
responded with, “All seven of you erred in not picking up the telephone and
phoning us that we should be involved in that meeting.”
In
the end, the motion to approve Resolution #21-18 with its corrections passed
with a 5-2 vote, with Bausch and Baker voting no.
When
Bausch cast his vote, he said, “Due to incorrect interpretations of the amended
response, I cannot approve this resolution. There are too many errors in this
document.”
The
Paso Robles Press
By Camille DeVaul
February 10, 2021
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