Letter to the Editor: Resident Wants City Council to Follow Same Rules as School Board Member Wants Followed

I’m writing in regard to an upcoming item for City Council on August 26^th, “Consideration of the Board of Library Trustees Recommendation to Excuse the Absences of Board Member” Emily Weisberg.

I understand that the Board of Library Trustees (BOLT) has asked the City Council to excuse the absences of BOLT Member Emily Weisberg. In a letter from the Chair of the Board of Library Trustees it is stated that “Board Member Weisberg had (recently) fallen out of compliance with the required 75% attendance rate over a twelve-month period.” Also noted, “Board Member Weisberg expressed her regrets for missing the Board meetings due to work commitments and BUSD Board of Education meeting or event conflicts.” Dr. Weisberg also serves on the Burbank Unified School Board, where she has explained many times that she works full time as a middle school teacher at the Sierra Canyon private school in Chatsworth and, in addition to her job and round-trip commute, spends more than an additional 50 hours per week on her responsibilities to the Burbank Board of Education. It comes as no surprise that fulfilling her commitment to the Burbank Library Board of Trustees has been impossible to manage on top of her other commitments.

The BUSD Board of Education has been fraught with scandal and fiscal mismanagement over the past several months, including misappropriation of District funds, an absence of meeting minutes for a year and half (a Board responsibility that Dr. Weisberg was directly accountable for), the resignation of the superintendent, and the failure of the Board to fulfill their responsibilities to Burbank taxpayers for the voter approved ABC Bond. Any one of these mistakes could make Dr. Weisberg ineligible to serve on the BOLT, taken together, I sincerely hope Council will vote “NO” on forgiving her absences for the Library Board. Just this past week, Dr. Weisberg discussed declaring her fellow BUSD Trustee Tabet’s seat vacant for failing to attend three consecutive months of meetings. She is very familiar with the rules of Board service and should not be forgiven for her failure to perform her duty to the Library Board. The citizens of Burbank deserve Library Board members who can fulfill their duties wholly, with integrity, and without excuses, and certainly not less than 25% of the time, while juggling scandals in the School District.

Alexandra Helfrich
Burbank Library Card holder, homeowner, and parent