Paso Robles school board trustee resigns suddenly
A Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees member resigned suddenly after serving in the position for about 10 months.
Jim Reed sent his letter of resignation, effective immediately, to the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education on Oct. 24, according to county Superintendent Jim Brescia.
Reed’s resignation was announced at the board’s Tuesday evening board meeting by board President Chris Arend.
“Jim Reed and his wife have had ... a grandchild epiphany and they have informed me that they are moving in the coming little while to be closer to their son and grandson,” Arend said during Tuesday’s meeting. “We wish him the best and I thank him for being willing to step up to the plate and serve on the board — it’s an interesting experience.”
Arend’s announcement was met by loud applause from those in attendance at the board meeting.
Although Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Superintendent Curt Dubost indicated during Tuesday’s meeting that he will recommend the board move forward with appointing a new trustee, that decision is ultimately left up to the board.
At an upcoming board meeting, the trustees will decide whether to appoint a new board member or hold a special election for the vacant seat.
The new trustee, when appointed or elected, will serve until the next regular election in 2022.
Reed was elected to the Paso Robles school board in 2020.
The business owner and longtime Paso Robles resident served on the Paso Robles City Council from 2014 to 2018 and unsuccessfully ran for mayor of the city in 2018 against incumbent Steve Martin.
Reed’s stint on the Paso Robles school board was brief. He often attended board meetings virtually, even when other trustees were there in person.
Reed was a staunch supporter of bringing students back to in-person learning as soon as possible after the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools into a distance learning format for much of the 2020-21 academic year.
He also spoke on occasion about his concerns regarding proposed curriculum brought to the board for approval.
During a board meeting on June 22, Reed said he was worried that students were being taught about the Green New Deal or that “the Earth is going to fall off or it’s going to burn up” due to climate change as the board discussed approving a contract with One Cool Earth to teach elementary school students about gardening and taking care of their environment.
And in a meeting on Aug. 10, Reed commented strongly against the teaching of critical race theory in Paso Robles schools.
“If you actually look at all whites, we are not oppressive,” Reed said after he spoke about several actions, such as the owning of slaves.
“The truth is, not all Americans have been racists and oppressors. Only some have been,” he said during the August meeting. “From the early 1800s, the southern plantation owners were already making more arguments for slavery ... They were Democrats.”
During that meeting, the school board voted to ban teachers from teaching some aspects of critical race theory.
Trustees also decided to only allow teachers to discuss the topic if they focused on the “flaws in critical race theory,” according to a resolution passed during the meeting.
Reed did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
This story was originally published October 27, 2021 at 12:17 PM.
