Published in the Sept. 30 – Oct. 13, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Karen Fitch
Karen Fitch
In his role as Morgan Hill Unified School District board president, Bob Benevento has created a culture of hostility toward parents and among the board members. His disregard for parent input has isolated him from the people he represents. Under his guidance, the board has become a totalitarian vacuum that condescendingly rationalizes they know best. Benevento does not know what’s best for students.
As the president, Benevento holds the position as leader. But rather than leading, he’s responsible for the dysfunction and disarray that is the board of trustees. Under his direction, the board has fallen into a systemic majority versus minority. The minority asks questions, seeks public input, meanwhile, Benevento and his majority collude, criticize and create an aura of retaliation toward parents that inquire, speak up and question them. Benevento arbitrarily decides to change board policy on his whim; reducing speaker times for some, yet allowing other speakers go past their allocated times.
Benevento now invites a Morgan Hill police officer to the board meetings. He stated: “If you choose to disrupt the meeting, you will be asked to leave the meeting, and if you are forced to leave the meeting you could be subject to misdemeanor…or fine.” This is a threat and intimidation directed at the parents who called the actions of Benevento into question at the Aug. 4 meeting. During “notegate,” a note was generated, passed between the superintendent and several trustees, five of them learning the contents. Parents requested the note become part of the public record. They were ignored. The president is there to run the meeting, to follow parliamentary procedure, and assure there are no Brown Act violations; he’s not there to threaten the audience with arrest.
Part of the board’s mission is “Parents/guardians shall have the opportunity to work with schools in a mutually supportive and respectful partnership and to help their children succeed in school.” (Education Code 51100) Trustees need to listen to the speakers; speakers have a vested interest. Benevento’s own words indicate how he truly feels about parents attending meetings: “The public is much broader than just the 20 or so people attending the school board meetings with their own agenda.” Those 20 people are parents. They do have an agenda, their agenda is their children! Morgan Hill residents are deeply disappointed in the actions of the board of trustees. The frustrations have led them to form a grassroots campaign to recall Benevento from his elected position of board trustee/president. As president, Benevento should be the beacon of appropriate behavior and public service. He’s not. Parents have lost confidence in his ability to lead and act as a public servant. Voters are unsure that Benevento acts on our behalf or represents our best interest. This is our vote of no confidence in MHUSD School Board Trustee/President Bob Benevento.
Karen Fitch is a Morgan Hill resident with a child in the school district. She wrote this column for Morgan Hill Life.
