BUSD has until May 2nd to formally respond to a 40-page legal demand submitted by a group of Burbank residents and retirees. Under state law, if the board does not respond by the deadline, the school district could be subject to litigation.
The demand letter, filed April 2nd by Jef Vander Borght, a former mayor of Burbank who serves as spokesperson for the group, alleges the district improperly paid at least $9,338.08 — part of a potential $100,000 commitment — in medical benefits to former Superintendent John Paramo without a public vote to authorize a change in his employment status from resignation to retirement.
Background: A Scandal That Set Off a Chain of Events
The scrutiny of BUSD’s leadership did not begin with Paramo’s benefits. It began with a board member.
On June 5th, 2025, Paramo, who had served as superintendent for nearly two years, resigned from his position. At the time, the school district was already engulfed in scandal over board member Charlene Tabet, who was under investigation for allegedly funneling $93,000 to a business she operated under her daughter’s name — a conflict of interest that ultimately led to Tabet’s resignation from the board.
It was that scandal that prompted Vander Borght and his group to start digging.
“There were clearly questions that should have been asked and red flags that should have been waved,” Vander Borght said. “All of this has continued to unfold like an onion.”
Vander Borght said the group began submitting Public Records Act requests to examine how the district was managing public funds and whether proper governance procedures were being followed.
“We found out that there was also a problem with their financial or accounting system of the district,” Vander Borght said. “Most specifically, there were a number of overpayments, an unusual way that they did accounting and invoicing, to the point that they were double-paying for some invoices.”
LACOE Flags BUSD as “Lack of Going Concern”
The district’s fiscal troubles have drawn attention beyond just community members. In January of this year, the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) formally designated BUSD as a district of “Lack of Going Concern,” citing concerns over “fiscal leadership stability” and investigations related to fiscal operations.
As a result of that designation, LACOE assigned a county-funded fiscal monitor to attend board meetings and observe the district’s financial decision-making.
BUSD responded to the designation, assuring the community that the notification does not trigger a county takeover, only adding an additional fiscal oversight.
The Resignation-to-Retirement Switch
At the heart of the current legal demand is what the group alleges was a quiet, unauthorized change to Paramo’s employment record.
Paramo resigned on June 5th, 2025. Months later, according to records obtained through Public Records Act requests, the district’s former HR director sent an email to the then-resigned superintendent indicating she had found a way to reclassify his resignation as a retirement. That reclassification would make Paramo eligible for a district benefit unique to Burbank Unified: medical coverage for qualifying management employees from the time of retirement until age 65.
The reclassification surfaced publicly when the group spotted it buried in the March 5th, 2026 board meeting agenda — listed as a line item in a routine personnel report spanning hundreds of pages.
“These personnel forms, personnel reports, by the way, are documents that the district through this board produces practically on a monthly basis,” Vander Borght said. “Somewhere on page 237 there’s a personnel report — I’m making that number up — and certainly mixed in hundreds and hundreds of pages and documents, there’s a line item that shows his name, and it shows a change from resignation to retirement.”
The February 2026 Warrant Report, which came before the board at its March 26th, 2026 meeting, revealed that BUSD had authorized up to $100,000 and had already paid at least $9,338.08 in medical benefits on behalf of Paramo — without lawful board approval or a properly agendized action as required under the Brown Act.
According to the group’s demand letter, no valid board action exists to authorize either the change in Paramo’s employment status or the expenditure of public funds for his retiree benefits.
“At the end, there are no records of any agenda items, no records of any closed session items or votes,” Vander Borght said. “And it is highly unusual for staff to be changing a resignation to a retirement.”
Vander Borght was blunt about what the reclassification means financially.
“Any employee who has worked under the CalPERS or CalSTRS Retirement System is entitled to retirement,” he said. “Burbank Unified School District is unique in that it also offers people who retire from the district medical benefits until the age of 65. But it’s only available to people who clearly stay with us until they retire. If they quit — he resigned. He basically says, ‘I quit. I’m done. I’m out.'”
What Happens Next?
The group’s April 2nd demand gives the board until May 2nd to take one of two actions: formally ratify the change to Paramo’s employment status through a proper public vote, or reverse it entirely and cease further payments.
At the board’s most recent meeting, members acknowledged receiving the letter and said they were working toward a response.
“They basically have 30 days to do that,” Vander Borght said. “And at the Thursday night meeting — the ninth, just a couple of days ago — they sort of mumbled that, yes, we’re working on this. We’re aware of your letter, and we’re trying to resolve it.”
For Vander Borght, whose wife, sisters, brothers-in-law, niece, and son-in-law have all worked for Burbank Unified and who has two grandchildren currently enrolled in district schools, the stakes could not be more concrete.
“If this board does not start to deal with the continued waste of public funds, this is going to eventually hurt my granddaughter, my grandson, whose classes are going to be impacted,” he said.
His closing message to the board’s leadership is straightforward.
“Be open and discuss items in public and make decisions so we understand why,” Vander Borght said. “Right now that trust is broken. They talk about regaining that — talk about it. But without the community support financially, the district will continue to struggle, if not ultimately fail.”
myBurbank has reached out to the school district for comment and has not heard back.
