Compton Unified School District Superintendent Kaye Burnside was finally dropped from her five-month wait of shame Tuesday night, when the district board voted 4-2 for her permanent departure.

Back in May, the Compton Bulletin reviewed her credit-card records to find the following:

“Since Burnside took the helm of the district in the spring of 2008, $58,328 has been charged to her account, according to statements from April 2008 through February of this year. The card was credited a total of $3,968, leaving the total charges at $54,360. Of that amount, according to the sum of all Burnside's reimbursement checks, she repaid $9,893.

Burnside's credit card was charged more than $12,000 for airline tickets, including seat upgrades and luggage charges; more than $8,900 for hotels; more than $4,700 for meals and food; more than $4,300 for floral arrangements; and more than $1,800 for gasoline, according to the statements.”

At that time, Burnside told the Bulletin: “I have not committed illegal acts. The worst that I have done is to unintentionally violate a board policy. The district has hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of board policies. I would not knowingly violate a policy.”

Funny — you'd think the city credit-card scandal of 2004, not to mention more recent L.A. City Council lavishness, might have wisened her to when it is and is not cool to swipe one's public plastic.

The Los Angeles Times reported from the meeting Tuesday night, where parents wasted their time singing Burnside's praises (in terms of her, you know, actual job performance). But no heartwarming anecdote could save another city employee from the tightening community intolerance of extravagant luncheons and first-class jet sets.

According to the Times, Burnside is considering legal retaliation. She better hope her jury more highly favors money-squandering public officials than that of former Compton Mayor Omar Bradley.

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