Two weeks ago today, either late at night or early in the morning, LBUSD Boardmember Michael Ellis submitted notes of resignation to Superintendent Chris Steinhauser and several other boardmembers, and also left a note on his own office door asking that his things not be removed until Ellis himself had the chance to come in and clean it. Two weeks ago, Michael Ellis resigned.
Right?
Ellis hasn’t been seen or heard from by anyone in the LBUSD, his office hasn’t been touched, and there really isn’t any way that the District can prove the resignation is really even from Ellis himself. It’s just the latest bizarre twist on the long rollercoaster ride that is Michael Shane Ellis’ tenure on the LBUSD board.
“It has been one of the more unusual episodes in school district history,” says LBUSD spokesperson Chris Eftychiou.
All boardmembers have keys to the LBUSD offices, so Ellis could have entered late at night or early in the morning and delivered the resignation notes. But without hearing from him in the two weeks since, and considering the strange circumstances that have surrounded Ellis for the better part of the last two years, who knows what really happened? Ellis hasn’t officially made contact with the LBUSD since he promised to attend a July board meeting, and didn’t. Plus, there’s that pesky matter of the warrant out for his arrest in LA County. Would it be so weird to think that he wasn’t the one to submit those resignation letters?
“We don’t really have any reason to believe it wasn’t him,” Eftychiou says. “He hasn’t come out and stated anything to the contrary. So we’re proceeding as if the letters are from him.”
Of course, it may not make much of a difference, anyway. Ellis hasn’t attended a board meeting since early May, which means he’s missed three consecutive months – the minimum needed for a school board to forcibly remove a member. The district is in the process of replacing Ellis, and although it hasn’t been announced officially, that likely means a special open election.
Did he write the letters? Who knows. It can’t be proven either way at the moment, until the Ghost of School Board District 3 Past decides to clear the air himself.
For now, Eftychiou and the rest of the LBUSD would prefer you focus on the positive news surrounding the district: like the upcoming Broad Prize for Urban Education, which Long Beach has been nominated for a record fifth time, and stands to collect up to $1,000,000 if they’re declared the winner in Washington D.C. on September 16. That money could go a long way for the cash-strapped district, which is also set to place a $92 per year parcel tax on this November’s ballot.
So there’s plenty to focus on in the LBUSD right now. But seriously, did Michael Ellis actually resign?
Correction: This article originally stated incorrectly that the proposed parcel tax would cost $92 per month. It will cost $92 per year. We apologize for the mistake.