Today, the Press-Telegram‘s Kevin Butler asks the question that has been plaguing the Long Beach Unified School District for six weeks: Where Is Michael Ellis?
The school district boardmember hasn’t attended a meeting since early May, and missed last week’s meeting that tackled major budget issues that will affect the LBUSD for years to come. Attempts by the LBUSD and Press-Telegram to reach Ellis by phone or in person have yet to bear fruit – even visits to his listed residence have been unsuccessful. It’s the latest news in the bizarre and controversial two years since Ellis became a boardmember.
He fought hard to keep his seat when the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce launched a recall campaign, and even some of his colleagues on the board publicly stated that he should step down. Those efforts were based on Ellis’ driving-related troubles with the law and several missed meetings, even then. Making it even more odd that he would go missing without notice, after fighting an uphill battle to avoid losing his position.
Butler points out that boardmembers receive health coverage and monthly stipends for attending meetings, writing also:
“Absent board members can request to be paid for missed meetings under special circumstances, such as when a member is sick or on other district business, Eftychiou said. The district has no recollection of Ellis making a request, he added.
“Under California law, elected officials’ positions can be vacated upon the official “ceasing to discharge the duties of his or her office for the period of three consecutive months,” except when prevented by sickness or granted legal permission.”
Ellis has apparently had no contact with anyone from the LBUSD since attending that May 5 meeting. So, now, we all sit and wait while the Long Beach Unified School District, its students and its teachers, prepare to tackle its most daunting challenge in history.
Disclosure: lbpost.com co-founder Shaun Lumachi is a government affairs advisor to the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.