All members of a San Francisco Bay Area school board resigned days after they were heard making disparaging comments about parents at a virtual board meeting they didn�t realize was being broadcast to the public.

The four members of Oakley Union Elementary School District Board had stepped down by Friday amid growing outrage that began with the board�s Wednesday meeting. Before the meeting officially began and unaware the public could see and hear them, they used profanity and made jokes about parents just wanting a babysitter or to smoke pot in their home.

The district�s superintendent, Greg Hetrick, announced the resignation in a letter Friday and said that Contra Costa County education board members will replace them in an interim capacity, the Mercury News reported.

�We deeply regret the earlier comments that were made in the meeting of the Board of Education earlier this week,� a joint statement by now ex-board members Kim Beede, Erica Ippolito and Richie Masadas says. �As trustees, we realize it is our responsibility to model the conduct that we expect of our students and staff, and it is our obligation to build confidence in district leadership; our comments failed you in both regards, and for this we offer our sincerest apology.�

Beede, Ippolito and Masadas join board President Lisa Brizendine, who announced her resignation Thursday.

Trustees were awaiting the start of the meeting when they began discussing parents� letters and social media posts about reopening schools.

Beede defended herself against a parent who chided her on social media for going to a party during the coronavirus pandemic after declaring it wasn�t safe to return to school.

�I wasn�t doing anything bad � I honestly don�t care about that part � but are we alone?� she asked the other trustees. ��-, ..If you call me out, I�m going to �you up.�

�Sorry, that�s just me,� Beede added.

After some laughter, Brizendine chimed in to commiserate with others about the growing criticism they�ve faced over closed schools, suggesting parents really want schools to reopen so they get their babysitters back.

Masadas suggested parents wanted their free time for other reasons.

�My brother had a delivery service for medical marijuana. The high clientele were the parents with their kids at school. When you have your kids at home, no more (inaudible),� Masadas said, clasping his hands on his forehead as others chuckled in the background.

The remarks were met with swift, widespread condemnation, calls for the board�s resignation � including from Oakley�s mayor � and coast-to-coast coverage. A petition calling for the board to resign quickly garnered thousands of signatures.

(AP)