Here is how the scam operates: “For 37 years, a consistent pattern has played out in the selection of Kern County’s next superintendent — an elected position — and last week it drew controversy as a new person was appointed to be the next top educator.
Thirty-seven years ago Friday, the Kern County Board of Education approved a resolution allowing its trustees, who are elected, to appoint a new superintendent if the incumbent steps down from the position midway through a term.
Since its adoption on May 12, 1986, stemming from California’s Education Code 1042(e), the resolution has consistently resulted in Kern’s top education leader retiring early, followed by the board’s appointee running during the following election cycle and winning the seat.
That is how the elites and Educrats take the control of education away from the parents and voters. Note that most of the “support” for the new Superintendent came from Leftist non profit groups, WOKE organizations that support grooming of kids and racism in the schools—while promoting socialism. Kern schools are now openly owned and controlled by those that hate freedom.
Critics question KCSOS superintendent appointment process
By ISHANI DESAI, Bakersfield Californian, 5/13/23 https://www.bakersfield.com/news/critics-question-kcsos-superintendent-appointment-process/article_18d8fe0a-f1cf-11ed-b7ec-9bcc8bb77800.html
For 37 years, a consistent pattern has played out in the selection of Kern County’s next superintendent — an elected position — and last week it drew controversy as a new person was appointed to be the next top educator.
Thirty-seven years ago Friday, the Kern County Board of Education approved a resolution allowing its trustees, who are elected, to appoint a new superintendent if the incumbent steps down from the position midway through a term.
Since its adoption on May 12, 1986, stemming from California’s Education Code 1042(e), the resolution has consistently resulted in Kern’s top education leader retiring early, followed by the board’s appointee running during the following election cycle and winning the seat.
The process started over last week as Kern County Superintendent of Schools Mary C. Barlow announced her retirement Tuesday, only six months after her second term began. Trustees voted Thursday to appoint John G. Mendiburu as her successor.
Critics who showed up at Thursday evening’s board meeting say this consistent practice by superintendents effectively erases voters’ voices and confers the power of incumbency onto the appointee, making it difficult for any incoming candidate to draw political capital. The county Elections Division confirmed that superintendents have run unopposed since former Superintendent Larry E. Reider ran in 2002.
It was unclear whether candidates ran unopposed prior to 2002.
Supporters of Thursday’s outcome say nothing is amiss because the law allows appointments, life can be unexpected and the community can be best served when an insider takes control. It allows for continuity, said several superintendents overseeing local school districts across Kern County.
“That was quite a meeting,” Area 1 trustee Ronald Froehlich said Thursday after hearing numerous public comments from both sides. The meeting room was packed with local residents, superintendents of school districts from all over Kern County and representatives from other governmental bodies.
THE ISSUES
It was clear to many present that the new appointee, Mendiburu, boasts a stellar resume that aligns with the job’s requirements.
Mendiburu is an associate superintendent, also known as the second-in-line to the top job. He was hired by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools in 2019 after starting as a teacher and advancing to become superintendent of the Rosedale Union School District.
It was the process by which Mendiburu was appointed that at least eight people took issue with during the public comment section.
“I don’t have anything against you,” Joyce Perrone, a constituent and teacher, said to Mendiburu. “I think you’re probably very qualified. But as a constituent, I did not vote for you.”
Dana Christensen mentioned how Thursday night’s meeting didn’t sit right with a lot of people. His great-grandfather and grandfather taught him to do business with a handshake and to look at that person in the eye. That opportunity wasn’t afforded to him in this case.
“I don’t trust somebody I cannot shake a hand with,” Christensen said, who described himself as a disabled veteran, patriot and resident of Kern County.
Area 7 trustee Lori Cisneros abstained from voting on the appointment, while trustees Froehlich, Joe Marcano, Jose Gonzalez and Paula Bray all voted to appoint Mendiburu. Area 3 trustee Mary Little was absent.
Cisneros explained the nuances of her vote to The Californian on Friday. She didn’t vote for or against Mendiburu, Cisneros noted, and she seeks to keep communication open both with the KCSOS and her constituents.
“I did not want to participate in this type of a vote where it is unconstitutional,” she added.
Cisneros said she learned of Barlow’s retirement at Tuesday’s meeting and the board’s intention to appoint Mendiburu then. But she questioned why Froehlich, president of the education board, decided to convene a special meeting Thursday even though weeks remain before Barlow retires.
Attempts to reach Froehlich were not successful. Barlow’s last day on the job will be June 30. Mendiburu will take over July 1.
Cisneros wondered whether there were more options other than rushing forward with a special meeting the same week. There is a need for a leader to guide the KCSOS, but Cisneros questioned if it was possible to have an interim superintendent or a way for potential appointees to be interviewed by board members.
“I just feel like we didn’t do this right,” Cisneros said. “I feel like we should have given the public an opportunity to come forward if there was anyone that qualifies and wants to run for that position.”
Noelle Button, who spoke at the meeting and is a home-schooling mother, also opined about the timeline of Barlow announcing her retirement.
Next
There were 50 letters submitted to the board in support of appointing Mendiburu, included from people not directly involved in education. Letters came from Brynn Carrigan, director of Kern County Public Health Services; Stacy Kuwahara, director of Kern County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services; former Bakersfield Police Chief Lyle Martin; T.R. Merickel, head of the county Probation Department; Stephen Pelz, director of the Kern County Housing Authority; Dick Taylor, president of Patriots of Kern; and Beckie Diltz, president of marketing and print company Proforma Solutions.
It’s unclear whether all 50 letters arrived within two days of Barlow announcing her retirement. Button’s implication was that that’s a lot letters to receive from people and bureaucratic agencies in such a short period of time.
The public became aware of Barlow’s retirement after Tuesday’s meeting and when Thursday’s agenda was posted at 1:53 p.m. Wednesday, according to KCSOS spokesman Rob Meszaros.
The Brown Act, which guides public access to government functions, mandates that agendas for special meetings be posted 24 hours in advance.
DEFENSE
Barlow said her decision to retire wasn’t planned when she won outright in the June primary last year.
However, her husband, Steve, told her he was ready to retire at the end of May and “had an opportunity” to do so, she said. He asked Barlow to join him, she said, and she agreed. She noted there were changes in their personal life that prompted her to take stock of what’s right for her family and Kern’s children.
“It’s imperfect,” Barlow said of her early retirement.
Still, she said she knew the office was in great hands and that the KCSOS has a phenomenal team to lead the way through.
Barlow defended the appointment process by laying out the some of the numerous functions the KCSOS performs. There’s a $3 billion insurance system for school districts and employees, legal services offered to schools and a fiscal crisis management assistance team that audits local districts. The superintendent also oversees transportation across vast portions of Kern, numerous programs for students and internal programs helping school districts, she said.
“We can’t just have somebody who has an administrative credential come in and operate this office,” Barlow said.
It takes someone who’s been in all these divisions and understands each of them, and she said Mendiburu has done this during his four years with the KCSOS, studying each program carefully. There’s one associate superintendent, or No. 2 in the office.
Mendiburu said he plans to seek election during the next gubernatorial election cycle, which comes up in 2026.
Barlow noted the appointment process is not typical in other government offices. But this was the right thing to do, and it has served well with regard to past superintendents, she said.
It is possible for someone to unseat an incumbent, Barlow added: It’s happened with board members who occupied a seat on the Kern County Board of Education.
Asked if he would fulfill his term rather than retire barring any life-altering emergency situations, Mendiburu noted life takes a person in different directions and it’s not possible to know what’s going to happen in the future.
He said he plans on taking his term day-by-day and keeping his focus on students.
LOOKING AHEAD
Cisneros said she’s open to discussing alternatives to the education code allowing the board to appoint a new superintendent.
She noted her fellow trustees have served for decades and perhaps are comfortable with the old system. She asserted the position is being treated as if it were hired rather than elected.
Cisneros noted constituents voted in Barlow expecting her to fulfill her term, and instead it will be governed by a different person.
“It’s an injustice to them,” Cisneros said, referring to constituents.
“Leaving the public out of that is just wrong,” she added. “It’s just wrong.”
