California’s Superintendent of Equity, who was outed for reportedly living and operating a business in Pennsylvania, resigned amid pushback from state lawmakers over the legality of holding a state government position and living out-of-state.
Republican state Assemblyman Kevin Kiley submitted an inquiry with the secretary of the state’s Government Operations Agency questioning whether Superintendent of Equity Daniel Lee could legally hold his taxpayer-funded position while living across the country.
“In a recent interview Amy Palmer, a spokesperson for the California Government Operations Agency, stated that ‘State employment is for California residents unless the job requires a different location,’” Kiley said. “She made it clear that there are few exceptions to this rule. I respectfully request that you determine if Mr. Lee’s current employment is allowable under state law or produce and report your findings to the Legislature.”
California is illegally paying six figures to a “Superintendent of Equity” who lives and works as a life coach in Philadelphia. He was in the wedding of our state schools chief who hired him. pic.twitter.com/euhRBmJMRk
— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) December 14, 2021
On Dec. 15, Kiley said that Lee resigned from his position.
Lee was the subject of a Politico report that uncovered he is one of the highest-paid officials in the state with a salary range between $161,400 and $179,832. The former Superintendent of Equity allegedly had no relationships with school districts in California, though he has a personal relationship with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Lee was allegedly in Thurmond’s wedding party.
Thurmond — a former Democratic state lawmaker — defended hiring his friend in a statement to Politico and said that the pandemic allowed him to hire out-of-state employees. (RELATED: California’s Taxpayer-Funded Equity Superintendent Works, Lives And Runs Business In Pennsylvania)
Kiley told the Daily Caller that Thurmond and Lee have not issued official statements on Lee’s resignation. The California Department of Education did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.