Only three board members attended the Plumas County Office of Education/Plumas Unified School District special board meeting May 12. The District 5 trustee, Leslie Edlund, resigned in March. Board member Joleen Cline was absent. The remaining members, JoDee Johnson (formerly Read), Chelsea Harrison and Cindy Crim, were there to interview two candidates for the vacant District 5 board seat, which represents East Quincy, Graeagle and Whitehawk. The new board member will serve the remainder of Edlund’s term, which would have ended December 2026.
May 12 vote favors Barnett
Two candidates applied for the position. Keith Barnett, a general building contractor, a C-54 licensed tile and stone contractor, and has lived in Quincy on and off since he was 14. He is married and has a son, a freshman at Quincy Jr. Sr. High School. Barnett is a trained volunteer firefighter.
Matthew De La Montanya, a California Highway Patrol officer who moved to Quincy 16 years ago, is married. He has a son who is a Quincy High sophomore and a daughter who graduated from the school in 2021.
The school board meeting opened with public comments. Julie Tanaka, who is married to Barnett, read letters of support from school transportation employees. Five other attendees also spoke in support of Barnett. Emily Patterson described the candidate as “patient, consistent and he listens.” Bridget Gallegos, a school employee, called Barnett “no nonsense” and said, “He does not sugar coat and tells it like it is.” The three board members present asked each candidate a set of seven questions, beginning with their motivation for serving.
Barnett said that serving on the school board is about accountability. In his line of work, he said, he must be accountable: “If I make a mess, I clean it up.” In further questions, Barnett spoke of the importance of doing “the right thing,” good communication, analyzing data, working together and reaching common ground.
De La Montanya said that some teachers had asked him to apply for the appointment. “What can we do to move this forward? It’s a whole new ball game with the state taking over,” he said. His comments focused on making decisions and being a voice for students and staff. It is vital that the board “be engaged right now,” he said. The board must “show we are prepared” and demonstrate honest communication.
Both applicants emphasized their willingness to help, and their shared goals. The board went into a closed session to discuss the applicants. When they returned, the trustees said they were pleased with both candidates. However, board member Crim raised an ethical concern, saying that one unnamed board member had spoken out in favor of one candidate and “ran down” the other in closed session. She suggested that the vote be postponed.
Jim Frost, interim PUSD superintendent, suggested that if there was an ethical concern, the board opening could be reposted.
Tanaka spoke from the audience: “Why postpone? Both have the same goal. What was said?”
Johnson said she had raised concerns about Barnett’s criticisms on social media and in person. She said she supports De La Montanya.
Barnett interrupted: “We are both here for the same thing.”
Johnson called for a vote. Barnett won 2-1, with Johnson casting her vote in favor of De La Montanya. Barnett was scheduled to be sworn in at the regular board meeting in Chester on May 14. Due to a procedural problem, that didn’t happen.
May 14 vote a split decision
In the two days between meetings, the board learned that all four board members were required to vote on the appointment. The Brown Act requires a majority of a board to take action on appointments. Because Cline was absent May 12, the vote was invalid. A second discussion was held at a May 14 special meeting following the regularly scheduled school board meeting in Chester. Barnett attended; De La Montanya did not
Before the re-vote took place, Johnson and Cline read aloud from emails they received before the meeting. The emails were from Amber McMichael, Antonio Maddalena, Sydney Gott and former board member Leslie Edlund. All raised various concerns about Barnett’s candidacy and expressed support for De La Montanya. Edlund said she believed De La Montanya would be the best at building trust and working to meet student needs. An anonymous student also endorsed De La Montanya and expressed concern about Barnett’s past negative statements on Black Lives Matter and LBGQT issues.
Crim chastised Johnson and Cline for reading the emails. “Reading trash is unacceptable,” said Crim. “Feels like it is a witch hunt here!”
Tanaka asked to address the board and audience. “We are friends with Matthew [De La Montanya] and his family, and we hang out together at the lake and events,” she said. “We have lots of kids that stay at our house and visit us. Keith is… what you see is what you get. Hearing this is so disheartening to me. This is who we are in the community.“
Barnett also spoke: “I have 23 employees. I have to be accountable to put food on my table,” referring to how he runs his business. He did admit to calling out the board members online when a financial crisis was revealed because, he said, he was upset.
The board’s second vote in two days was split, with Johnson and Cline supporting De La Montanya and Harrison and Crim supporting Barnett.
Johnson asked Frost for procedural guidance under the circumstances. Frost said the PCOE Superintendent Andrea White could make the appointment, or a special election could take place with District 5 residents voting. White suggested looking into an election.
