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Hello, La Mesa!
You won’t be surprised to learn the latest Grossmont Union High School District meeting exploded into accusations, interruptions and arguments. In the daily Times of San Diego newsletter, my boss described it as “another tumultuous board meeting at the county’s most tumultuous body.”
Most journalists in the audience (and there were several), had their eyes on Jim Kelly, the board’s longest-serving member as he fended off a former ally ‘s attempt to censure him over allegedly sharing sensitive information and attempting to manipulate the superintendent.
But the audience itself had just as much frustration with Kelly as with another longtime trustee, Gary Woods. Specifically, they had a few things to say about Woods’ fashion choices on the campaign trail.
Woods showed up to the meeting in a doctor’s white coat. In a clip of a tv interview shown to the audience, he wore the same white coat while touring Grossmont Hospital to tout a healthcare training program for district students.
The problem? Woods has an Ed.D. in educational technology, not anything medical related.
Traditionally, those collared white coats are worn by medical doctors and signify their authority. If someone collapsed in public, it wouldn’t be remiss to first look to the person in a white coat for emergency medical help. However, good luck if the white coat- wearing person is Woods.
Public commenters described making the coat his uniform on the campaign trail as dishonest, a misleading costume, and worst of all, tacky.
In my opinion, the board has significantly worse problems than whether Woods is committing the medical version of stolen valor. But I think to his critics, the education leader donning a symbol of medical expertise is indicative of larger integrity issues on the board.
Drew Sitton
La Mesa Courier newsletter host
La Mesa story spotlight
More strife for Grossmont school board – conservative bloc fractures over misconduct allegations
By Drew Sitton • Times of San Diego
The meeting, in a way, summed up years of district drama as a trustee avoided being censured while suppressing discussion of allegations against him.
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