Parks worker OKs settling sex, bias suit
By Craig Gustafson
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
July 11, 2009
A Park and Recreation Department employee who accused a supervisor of sexual harassment and sexual assault over a three-year period has agreed to settle her lawsuit against San Diego for $450,000...
Hoa Nguyen, 52, a grounds maintenance supervisor from Mira Mesa, filed the lawsuit last year, accusing her boss of sexual harassment, ethnic discrimination and repeated sexual assaults from February 2004 to March 2007.
Her boss, Angel Prado, 53, of Logan Heights resigned shortly after Nguyen leveled the allegations, said Deputy City Attorney Kristin Zlotnik, who handled the case. Prado said the two had a consensual sexual relationship but denied any wrongdoing, Zlotnik said.
Both Prado and Nguyen were married to other people at the time.
Nguyen, who has worked for the city since 1994, also sought criminal charges against Prado. The District Attorney's Office investigated but did not file any charges, Zlotnik said...
Zlotnik also said the city filed a cross-complaint against Prado, and he agreed to pay $5,000 toward any settlement...
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Lawyer Marc Dreier sentenced to 20 years for $700 million fraud
Lawyer Gets 20 Years in $700 Million Fraud
By BENJAMIN WEISER
July 13, 2009
Marc S. Dreier, once a high-flying New York lawyer who orchestrated an elaborate fraud scheme that bilked hedge funds and other investors of $700 million, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison by a judge who rejected the government’s request for a much longer sentence.
...the judge, Jed S. Rakoff of Federal District Court... ...ordered that Mr. Dreier pay $388 million in restitution and forfeit $746 million in criminal proceeds.
In carrying out his scheme, Mr. Dreier ...created phony financial statements and accounting documents, and paid people to impersonate others to trick prospective investors into believing the notes were genuine.
Mr. Dreier’s case exploded into public view in December, when he was arrested in Toronto after trying to impersonate an employee of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in an attempt to sell a fake note for millions of dollars.
Prosecutors have also said that Mr. Dreier, 59, a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, stole more than $46 million from his clients...
By BENJAMIN WEISER
July 13, 2009
Marc S. Dreier, once a high-flying New York lawyer who orchestrated an elaborate fraud scheme that bilked hedge funds and other investors of $700 million, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison by a judge who rejected the government’s request for a much longer sentence.
...the judge, Jed S. Rakoff of Federal District Court... ...ordered that Mr. Dreier pay $388 million in restitution and forfeit $746 million in criminal proceeds.
In carrying out his scheme, Mr. Dreier ...created phony financial statements and accounting documents, and paid people to impersonate others to trick prospective investors into believing the notes were genuine.
Mr. Dreier’s case exploded into public view in December, when he was arrested in Toronto after trying to impersonate an employee of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in an attempt to sell a fake note for millions of dollars.
Prosecutors have also said that Mr. Dreier, 59, a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, stole more than $46 million from his clients...
Mesa College fires award-winning coach and partner for being lesbians
National Center for Lesbian Rights Files Title IX Retaliation Lawsuit on Behalf of Former Basketball Coaches
Lawsuit alleges gender and sexual orientation discrimination at San Diego Mesa College
San Diego, CA,
July 24, 2008
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the law firms of Boxer & Gerson, LLP and Stock Stephens, LLP filed a lawsuit today in state court in San Diego, California on behalf of Lorri Sulpizio, the former Head Coach of the women’s basketball team at San Diego Mesa College (Mesa), and Cathy Bass, the former Director of Basketball Operations at Mesa. The complaint alleges that, despite Sulpizio’s and Bass’s dedication and demonstrated track record of success leading the women’s basketball program at the community college, Mesa officials unlawfully fired both coaches at the end of the 2007 academic year after they spoke out about the unequal treatment of female athletes and women coaches and following publication in a local paper of an article identifying them as domestic partners...
The complaint alleges that Mesa officials retaliated against Sulpizio and Bass for repeatedly raising concerns about unequal treatment of female athletes and faculty, as well as discriminating against them and ultimately firing them based on their gender and sexual orientation. The complaint names Mesa Athletic Director Dave Evans, San Diego Mesa College, and the San Diego Community College District as defendants...
Lorri Sulpizio served as Head Coach of the Mesa women’s basketball team for five years, from 2002-2007, after spending three years as an Assistant Coach and then a year as Interim Head Coach. She regularly led the team to championship play at tournaments, and secured high-level finishes in Pacific Coast Conference Championship tournaments in several seasons. The Mesa women’s basketball team won first place in the 2001-2002 season and third place in both the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. Under Sulpizio’s leadership, 50 percent of student-athletes from the women’s basketball team went on to four-year schools, which was higher than the average from Mesa’s other athletic teams. Also, more of Mesa women’s basketball student-athletes advanced to play ball at four-year colleges and more completed Bachelor’s degrees than the average from other San Diego community colleges.
Cathy Bass began working at Mesa as Assistant Coach to the women’s basketball team in 1999, and was appointed as an adjunct faculty member and made Director of Basketball Operations for the team in 2006. In that capacity, she was an integral part of the successful women’s basketball program at Mesa.
Lorri Sulpizio and Cathy Bass are registered domestic partners in the State of California, and together they have three children.
See full complaint.
Lawsuit alleges gender and sexual orientation discrimination at San Diego Mesa College
San Diego, CA,
July 24, 2008
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the law firms of Boxer & Gerson, LLP and Stock Stephens, LLP filed a lawsuit today in state court in San Diego, California on behalf of Lorri Sulpizio, the former Head Coach of the women’s basketball team at San Diego Mesa College (Mesa), and Cathy Bass, the former Director of Basketball Operations at Mesa. The complaint alleges that, despite Sulpizio’s and Bass’s dedication and demonstrated track record of success leading the women’s basketball program at the community college, Mesa officials unlawfully fired both coaches at the end of the 2007 academic year after they spoke out about the unequal treatment of female athletes and women coaches and following publication in a local paper of an article identifying them as domestic partners...
The complaint alleges that Mesa officials retaliated against Sulpizio and Bass for repeatedly raising concerns about unequal treatment of female athletes and faculty, as well as discriminating against them and ultimately firing them based on their gender and sexual orientation. The complaint names Mesa Athletic Director Dave Evans, San Diego Mesa College, and the San Diego Community College District as defendants...
Lorri Sulpizio served as Head Coach of the Mesa women’s basketball team for five years, from 2002-2007, after spending three years as an Assistant Coach and then a year as Interim Head Coach. She regularly led the team to championship play at tournaments, and secured high-level finishes in Pacific Coast Conference Championship tournaments in several seasons. The Mesa women’s basketball team won first place in the 2001-2002 season and third place in both the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. Under Sulpizio’s leadership, 50 percent of student-athletes from the women’s basketball team went on to four-year schools, which was higher than the average from Mesa’s other athletic teams. Also, more of Mesa women’s basketball student-athletes advanced to play ball at four-year colleges and more completed Bachelor’s degrees than the average from other San Diego community colleges.
Cathy Bass began working at Mesa as Assistant Coach to the women’s basketball team in 1999, and was appointed as an adjunct faculty member and made Director of Basketball Operations for the team in 2006. In that capacity, she was an integral part of the successful women’s basketball program at Mesa.
Lorri Sulpizio and Cathy Bass are registered domestic partners in the State of California, and together they have three children.
See full complaint.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Clyde Spencer was not the Vancouver father of the year, but not a child molester either
Kids Recant Abuse After Dad Serves Time
AP
VANCOUVER, Wash.
July 12, 2009
Former Vancouver police officer Clyde Ray Spencer spent nearly 20 years in prison after he was convicted of sexually molesting his son and daughter. Now, the children say it never happened.
Matthew Spencer and Kathryn Tetz, who live in Sacramento, Calif., each took the stand Friday in Clark County Superior Court to clear their father's name, The Columbian newspaper reported.
Matthew, now 33, was 9 years old at the time. He told a judge he made the allegation after months of insistent questioning by now-retired Clark County sheriff's detective Sharon Krause just so she would leave him alone.
Tetz, 30, said she doesn't remember what she told Krause back in 1985, but she remembers Krause buying her ice cream. She said that when she finally read the police reports she was "absolutely sure" the abuse never happened.
"I would have remembered something that graphic, that violent," Tetz said.
Spencer's sentence was commuted by then-Gov. Gary Locke in 2004 after questions arose about his conviction. Among other problems, prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse, even though Krause claimed the abuse was repeated and violent....
Krause declined an interview request from The Columbian in 2005 and could not be reached Friday, the newspaper reported.
Both children said that while growing up in California they were told by their mother, who divorced Spencer before he was charged, that they were blocking out the memory of the abuse.
They said they realized as adults the abuse never happened, and they came forward because it was the right thing to do.
Prosecutors aren't yet conceding that Spencer was wrongly convicted. Senior deputy prosecutor Kim Farr grilled the children about why they are so certain they weren't abused, and chief criminal deputy prosecutor Dennis Hunter said that if the convictions are tossed, his office might appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Matthew Spencer said his father had ruined the relationship with his mother and he had faults, "but none of them were molesting children."...
AP
VANCOUVER, Wash.
July 12, 2009
Former Vancouver police officer Clyde Ray Spencer spent nearly 20 years in prison after he was convicted of sexually molesting his son and daughter. Now, the children say it never happened.
Matthew Spencer and Kathryn Tetz, who live in Sacramento, Calif., each took the stand Friday in Clark County Superior Court to clear their father's name, The Columbian newspaper reported.
Matthew, now 33, was 9 years old at the time. He told a judge he made the allegation after months of insistent questioning by now-retired Clark County sheriff's detective Sharon Krause just so she would leave him alone.
Tetz, 30, said she doesn't remember what she told Krause back in 1985, but she remembers Krause buying her ice cream. She said that when she finally read the police reports she was "absolutely sure" the abuse never happened.
"I would have remembered something that graphic, that violent," Tetz said.
Spencer's sentence was commuted by then-Gov. Gary Locke in 2004 after questions arose about his conviction. Among other problems, prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse, even though Krause claimed the abuse was repeated and violent....
Krause declined an interview request from The Columbian in 2005 and could not be reached Friday, the newspaper reported.
Both children said that while growing up in California they were told by their mother, who divorced Spencer before he was charged, that they were blocking out the memory of the abuse.
They said they realized as adults the abuse never happened, and they came forward because it was the right thing to do.
Prosecutors aren't yet conceding that Spencer was wrongly convicted. Senior deputy prosecutor Kim Farr grilled the children about why they are so certain they weren't abused, and chief criminal deputy prosecutor Dennis Hunter said that if the convictions are tossed, his office might appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Matthew Spencer said his father had ruined the relationship with his mother and he had faults, "but none of them were molesting children."...
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Teacher Charged With Attempted Murder for Beating Student
Teacher Charged With Attempted Murder
AOL News
July 10, 2009
A popular science teacher at an English Catholic school has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly beating a 14-year-old student on the head with a metal weight, British media said Friday.
Peter Harvey, 49, allegedly "snapped" and attacked Jack Waterhouse before a packed classroom at the All Saints Roman Catholic Comprehensive School in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, The Telegraph reported.
Peter Harvey, a popular science teacher at a Catholic school in Nottinghamshire, England, was charged with attempted murder Friday for allegedly beating a student on the head with a metal object. Media reports said Harvey, 49, allegedly snapped and attacked 14-year-old Jack Waterhouse, right, after another student swore in class.
Harvey apparently lost control Wednesday after a student swore during a physics lesson. According to some accounts, Jack tried to intervene. Harvey allegedly picked up a metal measuring weight and began beating Jack on the head.
Two other pupils, a boy and girl, tried to come to Jack's aid and suffered minor injuries, the reports said.
Police and paramedics called to the scene found Jack lying in a pool of blood. The teenager was hospitalized in serious but stable condition Friday, the BBC said.
"Obviously, the whole class is traumatized. People send their children here from great distances because of its academic record and what happened is very much out of character for the school," Nottinghamshire Police Detective Superintendent Adrian Pearson told The Times of London newspaper.
Harvey, who is married and has two daughters at the school, had recently returned to work after being on sick leave for a stress-related condition, the Daily Mail said.
Former students described Harvey as an excellent teacher who was very popular with his pupils.
"I was never a fan of science, so it was a miracle I had Mr. Harvey. He's absolutely hilarious and inspires confidence in even the least scientifically minded," one wrote on the Rate My Teacher Web site.
Others wrote that Harvey made class fun and that "no other science teacher could compare."
"He was the best," one grad wrote.
AOL News
July 10, 2009
A popular science teacher at an English Catholic school has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly beating a 14-year-old student on the head with a metal weight, British media said Friday.
Peter Harvey, 49, allegedly "snapped" and attacked Jack Waterhouse before a packed classroom at the All Saints Roman Catholic Comprehensive School in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, The Telegraph reported.
Peter Harvey, a popular science teacher at a Catholic school in Nottinghamshire, England, was charged with attempted murder Friday for allegedly beating a student on the head with a metal object. Media reports said Harvey, 49, allegedly snapped and attacked 14-year-old Jack Waterhouse, right, after another student swore in class.
Harvey apparently lost control Wednesday after a student swore during a physics lesson. According to some accounts, Jack tried to intervene. Harvey allegedly picked up a metal measuring weight and began beating Jack on the head.
Two other pupils, a boy and girl, tried to come to Jack's aid and suffered minor injuries, the reports said.
Police and paramedics called to the scene found Jack lying in a pool of blood. The teenager was hospitalized in serious but stable condition Friday, the BBC said.
"Obviously, the whole class is traumatized. People send their children here from great distances because of its academic record and what happened is very much out of character for the school," Nottinghamshire Police Detective Superintendent Adrian Pearson told The Times of London newspaper.
Harvey, who is married and has two daughters at the school, had recently returned to work after being on sick leave for a stress-related condition, the Daily Mail said.
Former students described Harvey as an excellent teacher who was very popular with his pupils.
"I was never a fan of science, so it was a miracle I had Mr. Harvey. He's absolutely hilarious and inspires confidence in even the least scientifically minded," one wrote on the Rate My Teacher Web site.
Others wrote that Harvey made class fun and that "no other science teacher could compare."
"He was the best," one grad wrote.
Friday, July 10, 2009
SDCOE, Lora Duzyk complaint against this blogger dismissed
Photo: Lora Duzyk, San Diego County Office of Education Assistant Superintendent. Duzyk retaliated against this blogger for trying to serve a deposition subpoena on Dianne Crosier.SDCOE didn't like it when I attempted to serve SDCOE Risk Management director Diane Crosier with a deposition subpoena. So they tried to get a restraining order against me.
I was never served with any papers, but a friend of mine noticed the filing when it appeared on the Internet. Today I went down to the court records office to see the complaint that San Diego County Office of Education filed against me on February 24, 2009.
SDCOE's request for restraining order was dismissed immediately by the court.
The court is generally quite accommodating to public agencies, but couldn't stomach such a blatant attempt to harass me and deprive me of access to the justice system. SDCOE claimed to be afraid I would harm them physically. The truth is that Randolph Ward, Lora Duzyk and Dianne Crosier are furious that I have exposed their wrongdoing on my website, and are terrified of the prospect that I might be allowed to depose them.
Diane Crosier is a lawyer who knows it's unethical to intimidate litigants, but she apparently figured she had to do something. My website includes details of the close relationship between Diane Crosier and Stutz law firm, which is suing me for defamation. Public entities are not allowed to sue for defamation, but Crosier went ahead and gave tax money to Stutz to support the lawsuit. She arranged to pay tax dollars to the firm that is suing me for defamation to prepare a restraining order against me!
The SDCOE complaint has a wealth of entertaining information.
In the request, Lora Duzyk estimates that I am 5'5". That sounds more like Duzyk's height. I am several inches taller.
Ms. Duzyk estimates my weight at 280 pounds! For the record, I am several inches taller than Ms. Duzyk, and about 30 pounds heavier. I guess that makes Lora about 250 pounds. Quite a tubby lady, aren't you, Lora? We've really got to do something about our weight problems. How about we start an exercise program? We could do some heavy lifting of all the public records that SDCOE refuses to release.
A lot of things could be explained by simply saying that SDCOE committed perjury in its restraining order request. But let's assume that they didn't.
Why did they wait so long to file the request after my server and I tried to serve Dianne Crosier with a deposition subpoena?
They claimed to be afraid of me, but apparently the fear only began on February 20, 2009, the date of the summary judgment decision in Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz' defamation lawsuit against me. It sounds like strategy, not fear. It looks like very aggressive litigation tactics by SDCOE and its lawyers.
Note: Lora Duzyk is on the board of Mission Federal Credit Union (MFCU).
Rating adults on integrity, creativity will supplement GRE scores
New Index Will Score Graduate Students' Personality Traits
By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
July 10, 2009
The Educational Testing Service wanted to help graduate school applicants prove they are more than a set of test scores. So it developed a tool to rate students across a broad sweep of traits -- creativity, teamwork, integrity -- that admission tests don't measure.
The Personal Potential Index, unveiled this week, looks suspiciously like another set of scores. An applicant's personality is distilled into six traits, and the applicant is rated on each of them by various professors and former supervisors on a scale of 1 to 5...
The index asks professors to log onto a Web site and rate a student on such skills as "Works well in group settings" and "Accepts feedback without getting defensive." The scale is tailored to force tough choices: Is the student in the top 1 percent of "truly exceptional" human beings, in the top 5 percent of outstanding scholars or merely above average?
Responses are converted into numerical scores, then averaged into ratings in knowledge and creativity, communication skills, teamwork, resilience, planning and organization, and ethics and integrity. Each applicant also gets an overall rating.
Paul Karrer, who graduated from American University in May with a master's degree in public policy, said the index sounds like an improvement over the tradition of collecting letters from professors...
By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
July 10, 2009
The Educational Testing Service wanted to help graduate school applicants prove they are more than a set of test scores. So it developed a tool to rate students across a broad sweep of traits -- creativity, teamwork, integrity -- that admission tests don't measure.
The Personal Potential Index, unveiled this week, looks suspiciously like another set of scores. An applicant's personality is distilled into six traits, and the applicant is rated on each of them by various professors and former supervisors on a scale of 1 to 5...
The index asks professors to log onto a Web site and rate a student on such skills as "Works well in group settings" and "Accepts feedback without getting defensive." The scale is tailored to force tough choices: Is the student in the top 1 percent of "truly exceptional" human beings, in the top 5 percent of outstanding scholars or merely above average?
Responses are converted into numerical scores, then averaged into ratings in knowledge and creativity, communication skills, teamwork, resilience, planning and organization, and ethics and integrity. Each applicant also gets an overall rating.
Paul Karrer, who graduated from American University in May with a master's degree in public policy, said the index sounds like an improvement over the tradition of collecting letters from professors...
Judge stands his ground: SDCOE, Randolph Ward and Diane Crosier will not get new trial in Rodger Hartnett case
Judge Denies New Trial in County Schools Case
EMILY ALPERT
Voice of San Diego
July 10, 2009
After delaying his decision in May, a Superior Court judge has decided that the San Diego County Office of Education cannot get a new trial in the case of Rodger Hartnett, a former employee who alleges that he was fired for blowing the whistle on conflicts of interest in the agency.
The same judge ruled in March that Hartnett was entitled to be reinstated at his job with back pay because an Office of Education commission failed to properly investigate Hartnett's claims. County Office of Education attorney Steven Cologne had not seen the ruling, but said the office would plan to appeal it, which would prevent Hartnett from returning to work or getting his backpay while the case continues.
Cologne said that Denton also ruled that Hartnett was not entitled to have his attorneys' fees repaid by the County Office of Education. I haven't seen that ruling yet.
EMILY ALPERT
Voice of San Diego
July 10, 2009
After delaying his decision in May, a Superior Court judge has decided that the San Diego County Office of Education cannot get a new trial in the case of Rodger Hartnett, a former employee who alleges that he was fired for blowing the whistle on conflicts of interest in the agency.
The same judge ruled in March that Hartnett was entitled to be reinstated at his job with back pay because an Office of Education commission failed to properly investigate Hartnett's claims. County Office of Education attorney Steven Cologne had not seen the ruling, but said the office would plan to appeal it, which would prevent Hartnett from returning to work or getting his backpay while the case continues.
Cologne said that Denton also ruled that Hartnett was not entitled to have his attorneys' fees repaid by the County Office of Education. I haven't seen that ruling yet.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Ain't democracy great? Leslie Devaney circumvents need for majority at Murrietta city council
"By creating her own motion, City Attorney Leslie Devaney said, Bennett created a path to approve the project with a majority of the quorum, rather than a majority of the entire body."
T-Mobile tower approved; Two of three council members vote for enhanced cell coverage
By NELSY RODRIGUEZ
NCT
MURRIETA ---- Ten months after the project was proposed, the Murrieta City Council approved plans to construct a 50-foot T-Mobile cellular tower at the Date Street Plaza.
Councilwoman Kelly Bennett and Councilman Rick Gibbs voted to approve the tower, and Mayor Gary Thomasian voted against it at Tuesday night's council meeting.
The approval paves the way for the cell company to build the tower, which will be designed to look like a clock tower, over a trash enclosure in the shopping center at Date Street and Margarita Road. The tower will have room to include Verizon antennas, and possibly a third cell carrier, and is expected to improve the cell reception of thousands of customers in the area.
Only three members of the council were eligible to vote on the project because the other two are or had been employed by Verizon.
City staff members recommended the project be approved and drafted a resolution for the council to pass. Had the council members voted on that resolution, state law requires that all three would have had to vote yes for the project to be approved.
At a meeting last month, however, it became apparent that T-Mobile had an uphill climb to gain approval from all three when Thomasian made it clear that he was not inclined to support the project.
After the time reserved for members of the public to comment on the issue, Thomasian called for a five-minute break.
When the meeting resumed, Councilwoman Kelly Bennett read into the record her own seven-part motion to approve the project. By creating her own motion, City Attorney Leslie Devaney said, Bennett created a path to approve the project with a majority of the quorum, rather than a majority of the entire body.
"It was a motion not based on a resolution," Devaney said. "By her doing it that way and formulating on the spot her findings and facts, our interpretation of state law is that it requires only two (out of the three) votes."
Mayor Gary Thomasian, who cast the no vote, said Wednesday that he was not expecting Bennett's move, but was not upset over how the hearing transpired...
Thomasian's issues with the project paralleled the concerns of some 50 residents who signed a petition opposing the tower, and the position of an association governing the plaza's tenants. Those opposed said the tower would block the mountain views of people who live in the area and that it would stand well above the tallest homes, which are 36 feet tall.
Their points were countered by some 100 people, who signed a petition in favor of the project, and a representative of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said strong cell reception is paramount to public safety and that the tower would give the neighborhood its own identity...
"The city did what the city did and we'll see what happens when the next election comes up," [David] Castiglioni said. "Hopefully, that (plaza governing) association states that no cell tower is allowed."
T-Mobile tower approved; Two of three council members vote for enhanced cell coverage
By NELSY RODRIGUEZ
NCT
MURRIETA ---- Ten months after the project was proposed, the Murrieta City Council approved plans to construct a 50-foot T-Mobile cellular tower at the Date Street Plaza.
Councilwoman Kelly Bennett and Councilman Rick Gibbs voted to approve the tower, and Mayor Gary Thomasian voted against it at Tuesday night's council meeting.
The approval paves the way for the cell company to build the tower, which will be designed to look like a clock tower, over a trash enclosure in the shopping center at Date Street and Margarita Road. The tower will have room to include Verizon antennas, and possibly a third cell carrier, and is expected to improve the cell reception of thousands of customers in the area.
Only three members of the council were eligible to vote on the project because the other two are or had been employed by Verizon.
City staff members recommended the project be approved and drafted a resolution for the council to pass. Had the council members voted on that resolution, state law requires that all three would have had to vote yes for the project to be approved.
At a meeting last month, however, it became apparent that T-Mobile had an uphill climb to gain approval from all three when Thomasian made it clear that he was not inclined to support the project.
After the time reserved for members of the public to comment on the issue, Thomasian called for a five-minute break.
When the meeting resumed, Councilwoman Kelly Bennett read into the record her own seven-part motion to approve the project. By creating her own motion, City Attorney Leslie Devaney said, Bennett created a path to approve the project with a majority of the quorum, rather than a majority of the entire body.
"It was a motion not based on a resolution," Devaney said. "By her doing it that way and formulating on the spot her findings and facts, our interpretation of state law is that it requires only two (out of the three) votes."
Mayor Gary Thomasian, who cast the no vote, said Wednesday that he was not expecting Bennett's move, but was not upset over how the hearing transpired...
Thomasian's issues with the project paralleled the concerns of some 50 residents who signed a petition opposing the tower, and the position of an association governing the plaza's tenants. Those opposed said the tower would block the mountain views of people who live in the area and that it would stand well above the tallest homes, which are 36 feet tall.
Their points were countered by some 100 people, who signed a petition in favor of the project, and a representative of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said strong cell reception is paramount to public safety and that the tower would give the neighborhood its own identity...
"The city did what the city did and we'll see what happens when the next election comes up," [David] Castiglioni said. "Hopefully, that (plaza governing) association states that no cell tower is allowed."
White country club folks renege on agreement to allow black and brown kids to use their pool in Pennsylvania
UPDATE July 13, 2009: The swim club in the story below now wants to make amends. They realized it would be classier to go ahead and honor their contract to allow 90 black and Hispanic kids to use their pool for an hour and a half a week for a few weeks than to abruptly cancel the agreement upon seeing the kids. Member Amy Goldman apparently explained this to the directors. But will the kids want to come back? Silvia Carvalho says no. Her nine-year-old daughter Araceli "has already said so. She doesn't want people to look at her the same way." --from Huffington Post
Also see NBC News
Private Pool Bans Minority Campers
By RON TODT
AP
July 9, 2009
HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa.
Members and officials of a private swimming pool in a predominantly white Philadelphia suburb reacted to a visiting group of minority children by asking them not to return and pulling other kids out of the water, a day camp director said, and the state is investigating.
The Creative Steps camp in northeast Philadelphia had contracted for the 65 children at the day camp to go each Monday afternoon to The Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, camp director Alethea Wright said Thursday. But shortly after they arrived June 29, she said, some black and Hispanic children reported hearing racial comments.
View more news videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video.
"A couple of the children ran down saying, 'Miss Wright, Miss Wright, they're up there saying, "What are those black kids doing here?'''" she said.
The gated club is on a leafy hillside in a village that straddles two townships with overwhelmingly white populations. It says it has a diverse, multiethnic membership.
Wright said she went to talk to a group of members at the top of the hill and heard one woman say she would see to it that the group, made of up of children in kindergarten through seventh grade, did not return.
"Some of the members began pulling their children out of the pool and were standing around with their arms folded," Wright said. "Only three members left their children in the pool with us."
Several days later, the club refunded the camp's $1,950 without explanation, said Wright, who added that some parents are "weighing their options" on legal action...
Club president John Duesler told Philadelphia television station WTXF that several club members complained because the children "fundamentally changed the atmosphere" at the pool but that the complaints didn't involve race.
In a statement released on its Web site Thursday afternoon, the club called the allegations of racial discrimination "completely untrue" and claimed overcrowding from more than one outside camp was the problem.
The club said it "deplores discrimination."
[Maura Larkins comment: That's easy to say, and obviously false. If the club deplored discrimination, it would not have done what it did.]
...Amy Goldman said she's been a member of the club for two years. She said the pool wasn't particularly crowded and the children from Creative Steps were "well behaved and respectful."...
Also see NBC News
Private Pool Bans Minority Campers
By RON TODT
AP
July 9, 2009
HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa.
Members and officials of a private swimming pool in a predominantly white Philadelphia suburb reacted to a visiting group of minority children by asking them not to return and pulling other kids out of the water, a day camp director said, and the state is investigating.
The Creative Steps camp in northeast Philadelphia had contracted for the 65 children at the day camp to go each Monday afternoon to The Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley, camp director Alethea Wright said Thursday. But shortly after they arrived June 29, she said, some black and Hispanic children reported hearing racial comments.
View more news videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video.
"A couple of the children ran down saying, 'Miss Wright, Miss Wright, they're up there saying, "What are those black kids doing here?'''" she said.
The gated club is on a leafy hillside in a village that straddles two townships with overwhelmingly white populations. It says it has a diverse, multiethnic membership.
Wright said she went to talk to a group of members at the top of the hill and heard one woman say she would see to it that the group, made of up of children in kindergarten through seventh grade, did not return.
"Some of the members began pulling their children out of the pool and were standing around with their arms folded," Wright said. "Only three members left their children in the pool with us."
Several days later, the club refunded the camp's $1,950 without explanation, said Wright, who added that some parents are "weighing their options" on legal action...
Club president John Duesler told Philadelphia television station WTXF that several club members complained because the children "fundamentally changed the atmosphere" at the pool but that the complaints didn't involve race.
In a statement released on its Web site Thursday afternoon, the club called the allegations of racial discrimination "completely untrue" and claimed overcrowding from more than one outside camp was the problem.
The club said it "deplores discrimination."
[Maura Larkins comment: That's easy to say, and obviously false. If the club deplored discrimination, it would not have done what it did.]
...Amy Goldman said she's been a member of the club for two years. She said the pool wasn't particularly crowded and the children from Creative Steps were "well behaved and respectful."...
Motion hearing at San Diego Superior Court this Friday in Jade Ray v. Heather Hargett and Grossmont GUHSD
UPDATE: The tentative decision in this matter has been released on the evening of July 9, 2009. Heather Hargett, Ben Smith and Steve Cooper have been ordered to answer on or before July 24, 2009 deposition questions that they refused to answer on May 26, 27 and 28, 2009.
Photo: Mount Miguel student Jade Ray
Here's a photo of Heather Hargett.
Note to the Grossmont Union High School District board and Heather Hargett:
You need to do some thinking about three things: respect for all students, race, and how these two things affect student achievement. Take responsibility. Don't just leave the decision-making up to SDCOE-JPA's lawyers.
If think this case is a distraction to the work of education, they are wrong. The GUHSD boarde should read about how the testing gap between white and black students was all but eliminated when Obama at peak. How students feels about themselves directly affects their performance.
It's uncouth and unprofessional for a teacher to lead the class in ridiculing a fourteen-year-old girl for being "ugly". But this case wasn't just any teacher and any student. If a black woman had said the same words to Jade, it would not have had the same impact. I notice that Heather Hargett is very blond. Here's a photo of Heather Hargett. If her hair color has been chemically enhanced, I have to wonder if Hargett thinks blond is pretty and dark is not so pretty. I have to wonder if she revealed more of herself than she intended. I can understand why Jade never went back to Mount Miguel High School. She felt like Aracely Carvalho who was ejected from a Pennsylvania swim club, which later reversed its decision. She "doesn't want people to look at her" with the same contempt ever again in her life.
I have learned one thing as I have studied court cases in California schools. An award-winning music teacher can get away with just about anything. One such teacher got away with physically assaulting a student for being out of uniform at the Rose Parade. Schools seem to care about appearances more than they care about what students are learning.
A recent San Diego Union Tribune article about a high school girl who is suing a teacher for kicking her and telling her to leave the room because she was too ugly to deliver singing telegrams on Valentine's Day brought on an onslaught of comments from people defending the teacher.
I believe that many teachers need a more positive attitude toward children in general. Just because a teacher has a few teacher's pets isn't good enough. Every child should be treated with respect.
Here are some snippets of the pro-teacher comments that were posted regarding Leonel Sanchez' story about teacher Heather Hargett and student Jade Ray of Grossmont Union High School District. The consensus of these people seems to be that there are no abusive teachers, because if there were the school would have done something about it:
"With 50 witnesses and 5 months passed, I have to suspect this would have come out a long time ago if the story was as outrageous as the student is claiming..."
"The story seems pretty un-believable really. It will be interesting for sure when the facts really come out. With so many eye witnesses, I can hardly believe that the child would dare make something up but who knows in this day and age..."
"...So she was embarrassed, so what- who is high school wasnt?"
"...The girl suing should be counter sued and if she is givin money, it should only go to fix her "ugly" attribute..."
"Freddieboy, if that were my WIFE on the receiving end of a false complaint that could ruin her career, that kid AND her parent(s) would be getting a lot more than a lawsuit."
[Note from Blogger: Don't worry. If schools fired teachers for being hostile and disrespectful, there would be a teacher-shortage of huge proportions. That won't happen.]
On the other hand, two people supported the student:
"I had a high school physics teacher who always singled me out to embarrass me in front of the class... I finally walked out when one time he said, "gosh, your parents must be really ashamed."... I hope the kid wins."
"The teacher should have been Fired and the School Board should've addressed the situation with her parents promptly to ensure she went back to that school. This is a story of just a poor educational system."
[Blogger's note: I think ALL teachers need to be supported more--and challenged more--to help them behave maturely in the classroom. I know there are lots of teachers who are more abusive than this one. This situation sounds familiar to me; a lot of teachers get socialized into girl-clique attitudes. The cliques form on teaching staffs and even in classrooms. This sounds like a typical "mean girls" moment. I'll bet there were sycophant students who laughed with glee when the girl was (literally) kicked out.
Maura's advice to Heather Hargett: We've come a long way in race relations, but there's plenty of sensitivity and actual racism today, so it might be a good idea not to call your black students "ugly". You're in a particularly bad position, being blond and attractive. It's not a big stretch for us to imagine that you really do believe that you're prettier than Jade. Just for the record, you're not.]
Here's the court calendar information for this case:
07/10/09 10:00AM C-63 CV Vargas, Luis R. Motion Hearing 37-2008-00087380-CU-NP-CTL D)Heather Hargett Daniel R. Shinoff
Photo: Mount Miguel student Jade RayHere's a photo of Heather Hargett.
Note to the Grossmont Union High School District board and Heather Hargett:
You need to do some thinking about three things: respect for all students, race, and how these two things affect student achievement. Take responsibility. Don't just leave the decision-making up to SDCOE-JPA's lawyers.
If think this case is a distraction to the work of education, they are wrong. The GUHSD boarde should read about how the testing gap between white and black students was all but eliminated when Obama at peak. How students feels about themselves directly affects their performance.
It's uncouth and unprofessional for a teacher to lead the class in ridiculing a fourteen-year-old girl for being "ugly". But this case wasn't just any teacher and any student. If a black woman had said the same words to Jade, it would not have had the same impact. I notice that Heather Hargett is very blond. Here's a photo of Heather Hargett. If her hair color has been chemically enhanced, I have to wonder if Hargett thinks blond is pretty and dark is not so pretty. I have to wonder if she revealed more of herself than she intended. I can understand why Jade never went back to Mount Miguel High School. She felt like Aracely Carvalho who was ejected from a Pennsylvania swim club, which later reversed its decision. She "doesn't want people to look at her" with the same contempt ever again in her life.
I have learned one thing as I have studied court cases in California schools. An award-winning music teacher can get away with just about anything. One such teacher got away with physically assaulting a student for being out of uniform at the Rose Parade. Schools seem to care about appearances more than they care about what students are learning.
A recent San Diego Union Tribune article about a high school girl who is suing a teacher for kicking her and telling her to leave the room because she was too ugly to deliver singing telegrams on Valentine's Day brought on an onslaught of comments from people defending the teacher.
I believe that many teachers need a more positive attitude toward children in general. Just because a teacher has a few teacher's pets isn't good enough. Every child should be treated with respect.
Here are some snippets of the pro-teacher comments that were posted regarding Leonel Sanchez' story about teacher Heather Hargett and student Jade Ray of Grossmont Union High School District. The consensus of these people seems to be that there are no abusive teachers, because if there were the school would have done something about it:
"With 50 witnesses and 5 months passed, I have to suspect this would have come out a long time ago if the story was as outrageous as the student is claiming..."
"The story seems pretty un-believable really. It will be interesting for sure when the facts really come out. With so many eye witnesses, I can hardly believe that the child would dare make something up but who knows in this day and age..."
"...So she was embarrassed, so what- who is high school wasnt?"
"...The girl suing should be counter sued and if she is givin money, it should only go to fix her "ugly" attribute..."
"Freddieboy, if that were my WIFE on the receiving end of a false complaint that could ruin her career, that kid AND her parent(s) would be getting a lot more than a lawsuit."
[Note from Blogger: Don't worry. If schools fired teachers for being hostile and disrespectful, there would be a teacher-shortage of huge proportions. That won't happen.]
On the other hand, two people supported the student:
"I had a high school physics teacher who always singled me out to embarrass me in front of the class... I finally walked out when one time he said, "gosh, your parents must be really ashamed."... I hope the kid wins."
"The teacher should have been Fired and the School Board should've addressed the situation with her parents promptly to ensure she went back to that school. This is a story of just a poor educational system."
[Blogger's note: I think ALL teachers need to be supported more--and challenged more--to help them behave maturely in the classroom. I know there are lots of teachers who are more abusive than this one. This situation sounds familiar to me; a lot of teachers get socialized into girl-clique attitudes. The cliques form on teaching staffs and even in classrooms. This sounds like a typical "mean girls" moment. I'll bet there were sycophant students who laughed with glee when the girl was (literally) kicked out.
Maura's advice to Heather Hargett: We've come a long way in race relations, but there's plenty of sensitivity and actual racism today, so it might be a good idea not to call your black students "ugly". You're in a particularly bad position, being blond and attractive. It's not a big stretch for us to imagine that you really do believe that you're prettier than Jade. Just for the record, you're not.]
Here's the court calendar information for this case:
07/10/09 10:00AM C-63 CV Vargas, Luis R. Motion Hearing 37-2008-00087380-CU-NP-CTL D)Heather Hargett Daniel R. Shinoff
Why is school reform happening so slowly?
Why is school reform happening so slowly? Because those is control aren't thinkers and explorers; they have a clerk mentality. Every day, everyone and everything should be in the same place it was in the day before. That's the philosophy of most teachers and administrators.
This is not true of all teachers and educators, but it's the pervasive ethos of the profession.
The problem with most educators is that they are not in a learning mode. They like to have their system controlled, wrapped-up, routine, smooth, always the same. They don't like uncertainty, experimentation, open discussion, exploration. They like hierarchy and top-down decision-making, and uniformity. This is true of most union leaders as well as most administrators. They don't believe in democracy. They think students and parents should be required to jump through their idiosyncratic hoops before the kids are considered worthy of educating.
This is not true of all teachers and educators, but it's the pervasive ethos of the profession.
The problem with most educators is that they are not in a learning mode. They like to have their system controlled, wrapped-up, routine, smooth, always the same. They don't like uncertainty, experimentation, open discussion, exploration. They like hierarchy and top-down decision-making, and uniformity. This is true of most union leaders as well as most administrators. They don't believe in democracy. They think students and parents should be required to jump through their idiosyncratic hoops before the kids are considered worthy of educating.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Lori Richards, Director of SEC Inspections Office, Resigns after Failing to Uncover Madoff Fraud
Director of SEC Inspections Office Resigns
By Zachary A. Goldfarb
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 9, 2009
A senior Securities and Exchange Commission official who oversaw an office that conducted key probes of Bernard L. Madoff's business is resigning, following a period when the agency reevaluated how it conducts oversight of brokers and investment advisers.
Lori A. Richards is stepping down after 14 years as director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, which has come under scrutiny for its role in the SEC's monitoring of Madoff's business. Her office reviewed his firm at least three times, in 1999, 2004 and 2005, without finding the multibillion-dollar fraud he was conducting.
With Richards' departure, SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro will soon have installed her own people in nearly all the top positions at the embattled agency. Early in her tenure, she asked enforcement director Linda Thomsen to leave and hired Robert Khuzami, a former federal prosecutor focused on white-collar crimes in New York, as a replacement...
By Zachary A. Goldfarb
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 9, 2009
A senior Securities and Exchange Commission official who oversaw an office that conducted key probes of Bernard L. Madoff's business is resigning, following a period when the agency reevaluated how it conducts oversight of brokers and investment advisers.
Lori A. Richards is stepping down after 14 years as director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, which has come under scrutiny for its role in the SEC's monitoring of Madoff's business. Her office reviewed his firm at least three times, in 1999, 2004 and 2005, without finding the multibillion-dollar fraud he was conducting.
With Richards' departure, SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro will soon have installed her own people in nearly all the top positions at the embattled agency. Early in her tenure, she asked enforcement director Linda Thomsen to leave and hired Robert Khuzami, a former federal prosecutor focused on white-collar crimes in New York, as a replacement...
Judge Anello said Daniel Shinoff 's actions at MiraCosta College did not have the appearance of integrity
The appearance of integrity is often different from integrity itself. If an official appoints a family member to a lucrative position, it doesn't look good. But it's possible that the family member really is the best person for the job. The official has failed to maintain the appearance of integrity even though the official might be absolutely in the right to choose this particular family member.
In 2005 Judge Anello believed that Daniel Shinoff might have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers when Shinoff interviewed Julie Hatoff, vice-president of MiraCosta College. But Judge Anello changed his mind about disqualifying Daniel Shinoff from representing MiraCosta College. Anello decided that such a violation, which may or may not have taken place in this case, does not disqualify a lawyer from representing a client.
Teacher's suit vs. MiraCosta awaits ruling
By Lola Sherman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 25, 2007
...Hatoff contends the college's lawyers misled her into thinking they represented her when in fact they have used information she provided against her...
On Thursday, Judge Michael Anello issued a tentative ruling agreeing with Hatoff's position and saying that “it appears to the court that disqualification is appropriate to preserve public trust in the scrupulous administration of justice and the integrity of the bar.” ...
Judge reverses decision on attorneys in MiraCosta case
By Lola Sherman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 6, 2007
OCEANSIDE – A Superior Court judge has reversed his tentative decision disqualifying MiraCosta College's attorneys in a case brought by former administrator Julie Hatoff.
Judge Michael Anello issued a new ruling last Thursday, saying that the San Diego firm Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz can continue to represent the college as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Hatoff.
A week earlier, Anello had tentatively disqualified the firm.
After the hearing Friday, in which attorneys for both sides argued the case for an hour, Anello said he would review his position...
In her request to disqualify the lawyers, Hatoff said she had disclosed confidential information to attorney Daniel Shinoff, who was conducting a probe into the Horticulture Department on behalf of the college. She was told her conversations were covered by attorney-client privilege.
...In his ruling last week, Anello said Shinoff might have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct in not failing to explain to Hatoff that he represented the community college.
But, the judge said, the issue is “whether such a violation should serve as the grounds for disqualification.”
He ruled that it doesn't.
In 2005 Judge Anello believed that Daniel Shinoff might have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers when Shinoff interviewed Julie Hatoff, vice-president of MiraCosta College. But Judge Anello changed his mind about disqualifying Daniel Shinoff from representing MiraCosta College. Anello decided that such a violation, which may or may not have taken place in this case, does not disqualify a lawyer from representing a client.
Teacher's suit vs. MiraCosta awaits ruling
By Lola Sherman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 25, 2007
...Hatoff contends the college's lawyers misled her into thinking they represented her when in fact they have used information she provided against her...
On Thursday, Judge Michael Anello issued a tentative ruling agreeing with Hatoff's position and saying that “it appears to the court that disqualification is appropriate to preserve public trust in the scrupulous administration of justice and the integrity of the bar.” ...
Judge reverses decision on attorneys in MiraCosta case
By Lola Sherman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 6, 2007
OCEANSIDE – A Superior Court judge has reversed his tentative decision disqualifying MiraCosta College's attorneys in a case brought by former administrator Julie Hatoff.
Judge Michael Anello issued a new ruling last Thursday, saying that the San Diego firm Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz can continue to represent the college as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Hatoff.
A week earlier, Anello had tentatively disqualified the firm.
After the hearing Friday, in which attorneys for both sides argued the case for an hour, Anello said he would review his position...
In her request to disqualify the lawyers, Hatoff said she had disclosed confidential information to attorney Daniel Shinoff, who was conducting a probe into the Horticulture Department on behalf of the college. She was told her conversations were covered by attorney-client privilege.
...In his ruling last week, Anello said Shinoff might have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct in not failing to explain to Hatoff that he represented the community college.
But, the judge said, the issue is “whether such a violation should serve as the grounds for disqualification.”
He ruled that it doesn't.
Lack of funds may cut disabled services after non-profit Central Valley Regional Center divvies up half a million dollars in bonuses among staff
Who are the beneficiaries of non-profits supposed to be? I'll bet the donors thought they were helping the disabled.
Disabled community questions pay bonuses during crisis
By GARANCE BURKE - Associated Press
July 7, 2009
FRESNO ---- Advocates for the developmentally disabled railed Tuesday against a California nonprofit's decision to pay its staff half a million dollars in taxpayer-funded bonuses even as the state's fiscal crisis threatens the services they manage.
The Fresno-based Central Valley Regional Center coordinates training and support for 230,000 people with mental disabilities through a contract with the state Department of Developmental Services.
Last week, center officials sent out $500,000 in state funds to its 350 employees. Executive Director Robert Riddick said giving an extra $1,400 to each staffer will help retain social workers as the recession worsens.
But Democratic Sen. Dean Florez and others said that money should have been spent to protect services essential to people with autism and cerebral palsy, or be returned to the state.
"We're not saying that their staff don't deserve raises ---- our staffers would love a raise, too," said Ron Killingsworth, who represents the Central Valley Caucus of the California Disability Services Association. "But to spend half a million dollars on employee bonuses when we're facing huge cuts to programs for the developmentally disabled? We just don't understand."
California contracts with 21 regional centers across the state that provide everything from job training to physical therapy to specialized education for developmentally disabled people.
But in February, when the Legislature failed to pass a plan to fix California's budget deficit, all regional centers were forced to trim 3 percent from their own budgets.
The governor's latest budget proposal forecasts an additional $234 million in cuts for the fiscal year that began Wednesday.
Because the Fresno nonprofit managed to lower its costs without affecting client care, board members voted in June to use the $500,000 left over in last year's operations budget to give staffers a one-time salary adjustment, Riddick said.
"The board knew full well that our clients were taken care of, so they turned to the future of our 350 employees and the increased health care costs they'll be facing," Riddick said. "Also, we don't have a severance package for people, and we know there are tough times ahead."
[Maura Larkins' comment: Then why didn't you come up with a severance package? Don't use that as an excuse to give money to employees who will be kept on.]
Still, company officials at Visalia-based Able Industries, which trains developmentally disabled people to work, said they feared the next wave of budget cuts could force them to scale back their direct services.
If that happens, relatives of people with developmental disabilities said the impact could be devastating.
"They're giving their employees bonuses at a time when the disability community doesn't know if they're going to have a safety net at the end of the week," said Chuck Genseal of Madera, whose 9-year-old granddaughter has autism, and learned to communicate through pictures because of behavioral services coordinated through the nonprofit. "They should have turned that money back to the state of California."
Disabled community questions pay bonuses during crisis
By GARANCE BURKE - Associated Press
July 7, 2009
FRESNO ---- Advocates for the developmentally disabled railed Tuesday against a California nonprofit's decision to pay its staff half a million dollars in taxpayer-funded bonuses even as the state's fiscal crisis threatens the services they manage.
The Fresno-based Central Valley Regional Center coordinates training and support for 230,000 people with mental disabilities through a contract with the state Department of Developmental Services.
Last week, center officials sent out $500,000 in state funds to its 350 employees. Executive Director Robert Riddick said giving an extra $1,400 to each staffer will help retain social workers as the recession worsens.
But Democratic Sen. Dean Florez and others said that money should have been spent to protect services essential to people with autism and cerebral palsy, or be returned to the state.
"We're not saying that their staff don't deserve raises ---- our staffers would love a raise, too," said Ron Killingsworth, who represents the Central Valley Caucus of the California Disability Services Association. "But to spend half a million dollars on employee bonuses when we're facing huge cuts to programs for the developmentally disabled? We just don't understand."
California contracts with 21 regional centers across the state that provide everything from job training to physical therapy to specialized education for developmentally disabled people.
But in February, when the Legislature failed to pass a plan to fix California's budget deficit, all regional centers were forced to trim 3 percent from their own budgets.
The governor's latest budget proposal forecasts an additional $234 million in cuts for the fiscal year that began Wednesday.
Because the Fresno nonprofit managed to lower its costs without affecting client care, board members voted in June to use the $500,000 left over in last year's operations budget to give staffers a one-time salary adjustment, Riddick said.
"The board knew full well that our clients were taken care of, so they turned to the future of our 350 employees and the increased health care costs they'll be facing," Riddick said. "Also, we don't have a severance package for people, and we know there are tough times ahead."
[Maura Larkins' comment: Then why didn't you come up with a severance package? Don't use that as an excuse to give money to employees who will be kept on.]
Still, company officials at Visalia-based Able Industries, which trains developmentally disabled people to work, said they feared the next wave of budget cuts could force them to scale back their direct services.
If that happens, relatives of people with developmental disabilities said the impact could be devastating.
"They're giving their employees bonuses at a time when the disability community doesn't know if they're going to have a safety net at the end of the week," said Chuck Genseal of Madera, whose 9-year-old granddaughter has autism, and learned to communicate through pictures because of behavioral services coordinated through the nonprofit. "They should have turned that money back to the state of California."
Prize-winning Israeli film WALTZ WITH BASHIR releases DVD June 2009
Waltz with BashirFrom Wikipedia
Release date May 13, 2008
December 25, 2008
Waltz with Bashir (Hebrew: ואלס עם באשיר - Vals Im Bashir) is a 2008 Israeli animated documentary film written and directed by Ari Folman. The film was conceived as a journey in search of Folman's lost memories from the 1982 Lebanon War.
This film and $9.99, also released in 2008, are the first Israeli animated feature-length films released in movie theaters. Waltz with Bashir premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival where it entered the competition for the Palme d'Or, and since then has won and been nominated for many additional important awards while receiving wide acclaim from critics. It won a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, an NSFC Award for Best Film, a César Award for Best Foreign Film and an IDA Award for Feature Documentary, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, a BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language and an Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.
Israeli film 'Waltz With Bashir' leads DVD releases this week
By ROBERT W. BUTLER
The Kansas City Star
June 24, 2009
When one of the best (if not the best) films of 2008 finally opened here a months weeks ago, it was widely ignored.
Maybe it was the subject matter: post-traumatic stress syndrome among former Israeli soldiers and a 1982 massacre of Lebanese civilians that remains a hot-button issue in Israel...
Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz sues me for defamation on my website, then insists that the jury not see my website
I have to go to court this Friday July 10, 2009 for a status conference on Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz v. Larkins defamation suit regarding my website.
On the day the trial was originally scheduled, April 6, 2009, I planned to show the jury my website. San Diego DJ and Karaoke brought me a projector to connect to my laptop. They delivered it on a cart right to the courtroom and gave me a lesson in how to use it. Then they came and picked it up from in front of the courthouse that afternoon since the trial was postponed. I recommend these guys largely because this was the only company that answered its phone on Sunday; I really appreciated the ready availability and service.
Stutz wasn't happy with the idea of my showing my website to the jury. Stutz asked the court not to allow me to do so, and insisted that the jury should see only Stutz' printouts of a few of my web pages. It seems that Stutz fears that if a jury is allowed to know the whole story in this case, Stutz will not prevail at trial. The judge did not make a decision on this issue.
Interestingly, for the past year and a half I believed that Dan Shinoff was the person at Stutz who pushed to have the firm sue me, but several incidents have caused me to believe that the person who insisted that I be sued for defamation was Leslie Devaney.
On the day the trial was originally scheduled, April 6, 2009, I planned to show the jury my website. San Diego DJ and Karaoke brought me a projector to connect to my laptop. They delivered it on a cart right to the courtroom and gave me a lesson in how to use it. Then they came and picked it up from in front of the courthouse that afternoon since the trial was postponed. I recommend these guys largely because this was the only company that answered its phone on Sunday; I really appreciated the ready availability and service.
Stutz wasn't happy with the idea of my showing my website to the jury. Stutz asked the court not to allow me to do so, and insisted that the jury should see only Stutz' printouts of a few of my web pages. It seems that Stutz fears that if a jury is allowed to know the whole story in this case, Stutz will not prevail at trial. The judge did not make a decision on this issue.
Interestingly, for the past year and a half I believed that Dan Shinoff was the person at Stutz who pushed to have the firm sue me, but several incidents have caused me to believe that the person who insisted that I be sued for defamation was Leslie Devaney.
Report: States aren't using stimulus funds as intended
Report: States aren't using stimulus funds as intended
July 8, 2009
By Matt Kelley, USA TODAY
Under pressure to spend stimulus money quickly, many states are using the federal funds for short-term projects and to fill budget gaps rather than spending on long-term improvements, according to a report by congressional investigators.
The report, scheduled to be released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) at a House oversight hearing... Some states, for example, are not sending transportation funding to the most economically distressed areas, and they are using education funds to prevent layoffs rather than fund innovative new programs, the report says.
As required by the $787 billion stimulus law, the GAO is monitoring stimulus spending in 16 states and the District of Columbia that will receive two-thirds of the federal funds...
The report says that as of mid-June, states had received about $29 billion of the estimated $49 billion in stimulus funding...
Some Democrats, such as Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, have raised the prospect of a second stimulus package. In an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, President Obama said improving the economy is "something we wrestle with constantly" but did not say whether he would support a second spending package.
The stimulus law requires states to give priority to transportation projects in economically distressed areas...
Nearly half of the $15.9 billion worth of transportation projects underway nationwide are for resurfacing or other pavement improvements, and an additional 17% are for widening existing roads, the report says. That's because paving projects can start quickly and don't usually require time-consuming environmental studies, the report says.
The report says local school officials told the GAO they did not plan to use stimulus funding for educational reform because they have to spend the money quickly and have more pressing needs. Stimulus money has saved teachers' jobs, including nearly 2,000 in the Miami-Dade school system in Florida, the report says. Education officials in Flint, Mich., said they were using stimulus money to preserve current programs although no new school buildings have been built there in more than 30 years.
[This sounds a lot like what banks did when given stimulus money to create more loans.]
July 8, 2009
By Matt Kelley, USA TODAY
Under pressure to spend stimulus money quickly, many states are using the federal funds for short-term projects and to fill budget gaps rather than spending on long-term improvements, according to a report by congressional investigators.
The report, scheduled to be released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) at a House oversight hearing... Some states, for example, are not sending transportation funding to the most economically distressed areas, and they are using education funds to prevent layoffs rather than fund innovative new programs, the report says.
As required by the $787 billion stimulus law, the GAO is monitoring stimulus spending in 16 states and the District of Columbia that will receive two-thirds of the federal funds...
The report says that as of mid-June, states had received about $29 billion of the estimated $49 billion in stimulus funding...
Some Democrats, such as Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, have raised the prospect of a second stimulus package. In an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, President Obama said improving the economy is "something we wrestle with constantly" but did not say whether he would support a second spending package.
The stimulus law requires states to give priority to transportation projects in economically distressed areas...
Nearly half of the $15.9 billion worth of transportation projects underway nationwide are for resurfacing or other pavement improvements, and an additional 17% are for widening existing roads, the report says. That's because paving projects can start quickly and don't usually require time-consuming environmental studies, the report says.
The report says local school officials told the GAO they did not plan to use stimulus funding for educational reform because they have to spend the money quickly and have more pressing needs. Stimulus money has saved teachers' jobs, including nearly 2,000 in the Miami-Dade school system in Florida, the report says. Education officials in Flint, Mich., said they were using stimulus money to preserve current programs although no new school buildings have been built there in more than 30 years.
[This sounds a lot like what banks did when given stimulus money to create more loans.]
NEA delegate says merit pay is union busting. That's silly. It just makes the union a bigger tent that will include more top-notch teachers
July 7, 2009
NEA, Obama Administration May Not Be in Sync
Education Week
By Stephen Sawchuk
...The day before official business began at the Representative Assembly, nearly 7,000 of the union’s delegates packed into the city’s convention center to listen to Arne Duncan, the U.S. secretary of education.
Beginning a few hours later—after Mr. Duncan had departed for Washington—and throughout the holiday weekend, union delegates proposed and debated resolution after policy resolution on elements of the Obama administration’s emerging education policy agenda.
In other words, this year’s convention, which ended yesterday, was marked by the NEA’s first major attempts at getting a handle on what the administration’s push into sensitive policy areas will mean for the union’s 3.2-million members. Issues on the table for the union, which represents mostly teachers and education-support personnel, include the expansion of charter schools, the “turning around” of low-performing schools, and now with Mr. Duncan’s latest address, structural changes to the way teachers are compensated and evaluated.
In his July 2 speech, the fourth he has given on the “assurances” states must meet in exchange for receiving funding through the economic-stimulus measure, the secretary called on teachers’ unions “to become full partners and leaders in education reform” and to be willing to collaborate with districts to create fair ways of incorporating student-achievement growth into evaluation and pay systems.
“Test scores alone should never drive evaluation, compensation, or tenure decisions. That would never make sense,” Mr. Duncan said. “But to remove student achievement entirely from evaluation is illogical and indefensible.”
In addition, he said that teachers’ unions must be willing to reconsider seniority provisions and rework tenure processes, two hard-won rights that unions have long defended.
“When inflexible seniority and rigid tenure rules that we designed put adults ahead of children, then we are not only putting kids at risk, we’re putting the entire education system at risk. We’re inviting the attack of parents and the public, and that is not good for any of us,” Mr. Duncan said. “I believe that teacher unions are at a crossroads. These policies were created over the past century to protect the rights of teachers, but they have produced an industrial, factory model of education that treats all teachers like interchangeable widgets.”
Performance-Pay Worries
Delegates applauded Secretary Duncan’s calls for continued federal funding for education, better training for administrators, and improved teacher-mentoring experiences. But they booed and hissed when he mentioned tying pay and evaluation to test scores.
Echoing President Barack Obama’s November education speech, Mr. Duncan sought to reassure teachers that he would seek reforms to the teaching profession in collaboration with them. But he also appeared to acknowledge teachers’ hesitancy to engage on some of those issues, especially given the union’s poor relations with the Bush administration.
“You can boo; [but] just don’t throw any shoes, please,” he quipped partway through his speech, to laughter and applause.
During a town hall-style meeting with Mr. Duncan following his remarks, delegates raised concerns about the use of test scores.
“In too many cases, our state boards of education, our local boards of education are not getting that message” that pay programs should be based on multiple measures of teacher performance beyond test scores, one delegate said.
Others were more frank about their dislike for performance-based pay. “Quite frankly, merit pay is union-busting,” said another delegate, to applause from her peers...
NEA, Obama Administration May Not Be in Sync
Education Week
By Stephen Sawchuk
...The day before official business began at the Representative Assembly, nearly 7,000 of the union’s delegates packed into the city’s convention center to listen to Arne Duncan, the U.S. secretary of education.
Beginning a few hours later—after Mr. Duncan had departed for Washington—and throughout the holiday weekend, union delegates proposed and debated resolution after policy resolution on elements of the Obama administration’s emerging education policy agenda.
In other words, this year’s convention, which ended yesterday, was marked by the NEA’s first major attempts at getting a handle on what the administration’s push into sensitive policy areas will mean for the union’s 3.2-million members. Issues on the table for the union, which represents mostly teachers and education-support personnel, include the expansion of charter schools, the “turning around” of low-performing schools, and now with Mr. Duncan’s latest address, structural changes to the way teachers are compensated and evaluated.
In his July 2 speech, the fourth he has given on the “assurances” states must meet in exchange for receiving funding through the economic-stimulus measure, the secretary called on teachers’ unions “to become full partners and leaders in education reform” and to be willing to collaborate with districts to create fair ways of incorporating student-achievement growth into evaluation and pay systems.
“Test scores alone should never drive evaluation, compensation, or tenure decisions. That would never make sense,” Mr. Duncan said. “But to remove student achievement entirely from evaluation is illogical and indefensible.”
In addition, he said that teachers’ unions must be willing to reconsider seniority provisions and rework tenure processes, two hard-won rights that unions have long defended.
“When inflexible seniority and rigid tenure rules that we designed put adults ahead of children, then we are not only putting kids at risk, we’re putting the entire education system at risk. We’re inviting the attack of parents and the public, and that is not good for any of us,” Mr. Duncan said. “I believe that teacher unions are at a crossroads. These policies were created over the past century to protect the rights of teachers, but they have produced an industrial, factory model of education that treats all teachers like interchangeable widgets.”
Performance-Pay Worries
Delegates applauded Secretary Duncan’s calls for continued federal funding for education, better training for administrators, and improved teacher-mentoring experiences. But they booed and hissed when he mentioned tying pay and evaluation to test scores.
Echoing President Barack Obama’s November education speech, Mr. Duncan sought to reassure teachers that he would seek reforms to the teaching profession in collaboration with them. But he also appeared to acknowledge teachers’ hesitancy to engage on some of those issues, especially given the union’s poor relations with the Bush administration.
“You can boo; [but] just don’t throw any shoes, please,” he quipped partway through his speech, to laughter and applause.
During a town hall-style meeting with Mr. Duncan following his remarks, delegates raised concerns about the use of test scores.
“In too many cases, our state boards of education, our local boards of education are not getting that message” that pay programs should be based on multiple measures of teacher performance beyond test scores, one delegate said.
Others were more frank about their dislike for performance-based pay. “Quite frankly, merit pay is union-busting,” said another delegate, to applause from her peers...
School bullying, once a silent battle, now a crime
School bullying, once a silent battle, now a crime
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Associated Press
July 6, 2009
TAMPA, Fla. ---- In a Tampa middle school locker room, prosecutors say four flag football players held down a younger teammate and committed a horrifying assault: Raping him with a hockey stick and a broom handle.
"Don't do it again or this is going to happen to you again," a witness says he heard one of the boys say in the April attack.
Two decades ago, the attack may have stayed a secret. Victims of hazing, bullying and sexual assault are still often too terrified to report their attackers ---- though officials say that's starting to change.
Police are called to investigate everything from cyber-bullying and schoolyard fights to brutal hazing rituals, and tormenters can be prosecuted under anti-bullying laws in dozens of states. Proactive parents aren't afraid to confront school officials or take the matter to court, and schools are training students and teachers alike to spot and report bullying...
Thirty-two percent of students ages 12 to 18 nationwide had experienced bullying within the past school year in 2007, according to a report by the U.S. Education Department and the U.S. Justice Department. That number was slightly higher than the year before ---- though officials say it's not because bullying is more frequent, but because it's more often reported.
Parents are taking more action as well, including filing more lawsuits.
"The reason it's picking up momentum is not necessarily the frequency of the bullying, but the manner in which people are engaging in bullying," said Joe Braun, a Cincinnati attorney who sued on behalf of the family of a high school basketball player attacked by three teammates while waiting for a bus to take them to practice in Milford, Ohio. "It's starting to become more physical, more sexual, and it's not just emotional bullying like we've seen in the past."
According to the lawsuit, the teens held the boy on the ground and punched him in the stomach. One of them exposed himself and rubbed his genitals on the boy's face.
Other accusations of particularly cruel incidents have led to lawsuits and criminal charges. In South Florida, two high school students have been charged with stalking and battery for allegedly restraining a freshman in the school locker room. One of the teens admitted he did "pretend to rape him," according to a police affidavit.
And a school district in Bakersfield along with several students and their parents, paid $260,000 to settle a lawsuit after debate team members encased a younger student in plastic wrap and tape in a hotel room before a competition.
The Tampa case has stunned the region for its brutality, the young age of the four students accused and the fact it happened on school grounds. Equally surprising were the characteristics of the accused: One is the son of a police officer, and several are promising athletes and students who took honors classes....
[Maura Larkins comment: Football players are often involved in bullying. In San Diego, an almost identical incident happened in Poway. Santana High School experienced a shooting that killed two students. Friends of the shooter said he had been bullied by athletes. The parents of the victims asked the district to have a conference about school violence, but the school refused. Not surprisingly, athletes continued their bullying, as in the Clark-Schirmer case. At Columbine a bullying culture among athletes continued after bullied boys killed thirteen people.]
The bullying had gone on for months, officials said, unbeknownst to the boys' coach, school administrators and the victim's parents, until the teen finally snapped.
Assistant State Attorney Kimberly Hindman said at a June hearing that the boys were fighting after a botched play during a flag football game. A school official intervened when the feud spilled into the locker room, and the teen later said he was "tired of them getting on me."
...[T]here are witnesses, independent eyewitnesses, who saw the acts taking place. Some of those witnesses will describe the victim screaming when it was happening. Fighting them and he told them to stop."
The suspects' families have expressed a combination of shock, denial and support.
"I just don't think that he deserved this," one defendant's mother said in court.
"Deserved what?" Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman replied.
"Whatever the accusations that was made," she said. "I just want him to live a normal life."
The 13-year-old victim, who is not being identified because he was the victim of an alleged sexual assault, said a few words himself before the judge set bond.
Comments from North County Times
...Roxy July 7, 2009 11:23PM PST [Edited by this blogger]
There are many bully stories and lawsuits in SAN DIEGO COUNTY and hardly any if any ever get any press coverage...California school districts are protected by JPA Pools like SELF in which Marsh and McLennan is the Broker, or Keenan and Associates. This schoolhouse lawyer makes millions of dollars from various JPAs. The JPAs’ Pool has over TEN MILLION DOLLARS of PUBLIC FUNDS at their disposal to fight a SINGLE CLAIM against one their insured school districts...
[OTHER] BULLY LAWSUITS
http://www.10news.com/news/4427116/detail.html
http://mauralarkins.com/files/CoralesSolteroOntarioMontclair0755892p.pdf
http://www.californiainjurylawyersblog.com/2009/06/-3-million-orange-county-california-wrongful-death-lawsuit-filed-over-suicide-death-of-teen-that-was.html
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060217/news_lz1n17read.html
http://learningboosters.blogspot.com/2008/12/miss-porters-school-sued-for-bullying.html
http://www.californiabusinesslitigation.com/2009/04/parents_file_suit_against_scho_1.html
http://denver.injuryboard.com/miscellaneous/parents-sue-bully-school-district-next.aspx?googleid=233634
http://sandiegoeducationreport.org/PETERSvGUAJOMEPARKACADEMY.html
http://www.ravendays.org/court.html
BULLY RELATED DEATHS and STILL COUNTING..
http://www.ravendays.org/darkness.html
VIDEO OF CHILDREN WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE
http://www.freewebs.com/agpcabinc/
Monday, July 06, 2009
Keeping the riff raff out of the library in Aliso Viejo
I like to drive, so I've taken advantage of all the opportunities that have come my way to drive the length of California and Oregon. (I plan to set out eastward as soon as possible.) I've stopped in libraries in small and large towns in both states, and always was given an opportunity to use a computer.
Until today. I came to Aliso Viejo library, and asked to use a computer.
"Sure," the librarian said. "Right over there."
That was easy, I thought. Usually you have sign something. So I sat down and was faced with a computer screen that asked for my library card number. I looked for the "guest" option, but there wasn't any.
"Do you have to have a library card to use the computer?" I asked the librarian.
She was a real sweet-looking young woman, pretty, with a neat brown pageboy haircut. She smiled at me. "Yes," she said, but all you need is photo ID and proof of address to get one."
I don't have proof of address because I live in San Diego. "You don't allow people without library cards to use the computers?" I asked.
"No," she said.
I was appalled. What's going on in this place?
I had already begun to suspect that Aliso Viejo is hostile to people who don't live here. I learned, when I was staying at an acquaintance's home, that they tow cars at night even though the cars are parked in perfectly legal places. I guess they figure that most people who pay to get their cars out of impound will then go home and never come back. I, however, came back, and filed a petition to get a refund for my impound fees. I took photos of my parking space, proving that it was legal, and asked that the Sheriff of Orange County provide the video taken by the deputy who towed my car. I got a refund a few days later.
I'll bet Aliso Viejo gets some services and perhaps funds from Orange County and California and the federal government--so why do they think they can act like the whole town is private property?
I asked the librarian, "May I speak to the manager of the library?"
The librarian paused. Finally she said, "You can go over to the information desk and get a temporary computer pass."
The lady at the information desk got me set up at a computer in no time flat. I asked her, "Why did the librarian lie to me? I had to ask to see the manager before I found out that guests can use the computers."
She said, "We do try to discourage people who don't have library cards."
"You sure do," I said.
Until today. I came to Aliso Viejo library, and asked to use a computer.
"Sure," the librarian said. "Right over there."
That was easy, I thought. Usually you have sign something. So I sat down and was faced with a computer screen that asked for my library card number. I looked for the "guest" option, but there wasn't any.
"Do you have to have a library card to use the computer?" I asked the librarian.
She was a real sweet-looking young woman, pretty, with a neat brown pageboy haircut. She smiled at me. "Yes," she said, but all you need is photo ID and proof of address to get one."
I don't have proof of address because I live in San Diego. "You don't allow people without library cards to use the computers?" I asked.
"No," she said.
I was appalled. What's going on in this place?
I had already begun to suspect that Aliso Viejo is hostile to people who don't live here. I learned, when I was staying at an acquaintance's home, that they tow cars at night even though the cars are parked in perfectly legal places. I guess they figure that most people who pay to get their cars out of impound will then go home and never come back. I, however, came back, and filed a petition to get a refund for my impound fees. I took photos of my parking space, proving that it was legal, and asked that the Sheriff of Orange County provide the video taken by the deputy who towed my car. I got a refund a few days later.
I'll bet Aliso Viejo gets some services and perhaps funds from Orange County and California and the federal government--so why do they think they can act like the whole town is private property?
I asked the librarian, "May I speak to the manager of the library?"
The librarian paused. Finally she said, "You can go over to the information desk and get a temporary computer pass."
The lady at the information desk got me set up at a computer in no time flat. I asked her, "Why did the librarian lie to me? I had to ask to see the manager before I found out that guests can use the computers."
She said, "We do try to discourage people who don't have library cards."
"You sure do," I said.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Libia Gil and Lowell Billings need to take the advice given by David Frost to Richard Nixon
I just watched the movie Frost v. Nixon, which suggests that Richard Nixon owed an apology to the American people.
Many Americans were outraged that Nixon was pardoned by President Gerald Ford and was never prosecuted for any crime. But isn't that how our justice system works? Isn't it true that powerful insiders in government, schools, corporations and non-profits can commit illegal acts and it just isn't considered illegal because, as Nixon said, "if the president does it, it's not illegal"?
David Frost told Richard Nixon that the American people needed to hear him say that he did more than make mistakes, that his actions were wrong, perhaps criminal, and that he did abuse power.
I believe that many other people in power ought to admit the same thing. Chula Vista Elementary School District administrators Libia Gil, Lowell Billings and Richard Werlin as well as CTA leaders Beverly Tucker, Tim O'Neill, Gina Boyd, Jim Groth and Peg Myers ought to say, "We put Castle Park Elementary through needless agony, a spiral of self destructive obstruction of justice that harmed hundreds of students, and forced the taxpayers to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover up our mistakes."
Also, these individuals should make amends by helping to change the attitude of teachers toward the law. Our children learn from many of their teachers that the rule of law is something that is to be applied by the strong to the weak, but it is grossly inappropriate for the weak to demand that the law be applied to their superiors.
Many Americans were outraged that Nixon was pardoned by President Gerald Ford and was never prosecuted for any crime. But isn't that how our justice system works? Isn't it true that powerful insiders in government, schools, corporations and non-profits can commit illegal acts and it just isn't considered illegal because, as Nixon said, "if the president does it, it's not illegal"?
David Frost told Richard Nixon that the American people needed to hear him say that he did more than make mistakes, that his actions were wrong, perhaps criminal, and that he did abuse power.
I believe that many other people in power ought to admit the same thing. Chula Vista Elementary School District administrators Libia Gil, Lowell Billings and Richard Werlin as well as CTA leaders Beverly Tucker, Tim O'Neill, Gina Boyd, Jim Groth and Peg Myers ought to say, "We put Castle Park Elementary through needless agony, a spiral of self destructive obstruction of justice that harmed hundreds of students, and forced the taxpayers to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover up our mistakes."
Also, these individuals should make amends by helping to change the attitude of teachers toward the law. Our children learn from many of their teachers that the rule of law is something that is to be applied by the strong to the weak, but it is grossly inappropriate for the weak to demand that the law be applied to their superiors.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Schools make a mess when they try to fire teachers
The big problem with the efforts of schools to fire teachers is that schools have no unbiased, comprehensive system for evaluating teachers. The principal alone is responsible, and usually bases evaluations on very little classroom observation. Few incompetent teachers are targeted; the targets are mostly people who made the mistake of going against the grain. (And we wonder why education reform is so difficult.)
Click HERE to see all posts on evaluating teachers.
The Crime of Teaching Too Long
By Susan Brinchman, San Diego
Letter to Voice of San Diego
July 02, 2009
What is little understood is that the accusations against these teachers are often entirely false - it is a way to get rid of union members, union reps, and older teachers who pull larger salaries. There was an all out war on those groups in the past ten years in SDUSD. The teachers languish at home, waiting for a hearing in a kangaroo court, with charges that range from criminal to those that would cause loss of a credential, completely setup by the district's attorneys and administration. The principals and admins learned how to do this - as a cost-saving measure and way to break the union. It was legal and with the help of the broken legal system, which could cost innocent teachers a hundred or two hundred thousand easily, only to lose, it was a despicable and discriminatory act repeated over and over. The teachers who were taken off the job waited, often, quite upset, when all they wanted was to be back at work and be treated with respect for the good job they were previously doing.
To read about this in depth, buy Janice Howes' The Black Hole in the Blueprint, available on Amazon.com. She is a local, highly successful, talented teacher who was set up to lose her job and credentials. Her crime? Teaching into her 60's.
A READER'S COMMENT:
Suggesting that School Principals falsely accuse, lie, or otherwise commit felonies against older teachers "as a cost-saving measure " is a bit theatrical. Mean-spirited hatchet jobs like this do nothing to gain support for teachers. Does the teacher's union support this position?
Posted by Ontheoutsidelookingin
MAURA LARKINS RESPONSE:
Have you ever heard of the Milgram experiments? Milgram proved that roughly 50% of ordinary, nice people will do just about anything that an authority figure tells them to do. Schools have authority figures (superintendents) who sometimes tell ordinary, nice principals to get rid of some teachers. The idea is to get rid of the incompetent teachers, but how does the principal decide which teachers deserve a pink slip? The principals know they will be rewarded even if they don't bother to carefully evaluate the teachers they choose.
This was made clear in testimony in the Danielle Cozaihr case in San Diego. The principal had walked through Ms. Cozaihr's classroom on a handful of occasions, not stopping to observe, and if he did make any notes about Cozaihr, he threw them away. He did not sign up Ms. Cozaihr for available training for new teachers. Why didn't superintendent Lowell Billings impress upon principals that they had to do these things as part of district policy? Billings apparently wanted principals to fire teachers rather than improve the teachers' performance. Principal Alex Cortes fired another teacher at the same time as Cozaihr. Click HERE for all Cozaihr posts.
In the infrequent situation in which a teacher demands a hearing, a new authority figure gets involved--the lawyer. Insurance company lawyers are generally paid to do what it takes to win. Sadly, that sometimes requires that principals give false testimony.
Amazingly, one principal in Virginia was actually indicted for perjury, but the court decided that he had not been required by law to take an oath, so he couldn't be prosecuted. The problem in school hearings is that it's often impossible to tell the difference between a true accusation and a false accusation. Witnesses, in fear of losing their jobs, tend to either not show up for hearings or to say what the district wants them to say. We need a system that gets rid of bad teachers without requiring lawyer involvement, and evaluations should be done by outsiders who are not under political pressure.
Click HERE to see all posts on evaluating teachers.
The Crime of Teaching Too Long
By Susan Brinchman, San Diego
Letter to Voice of San Diego
July 02, 2009
What is little understood is that the accusations against these teachers are often entirely false - it is a way to get rid of union members, union reps, and older teachers who pull larger salaries. There was an all out war on those groups in the past ten years in SDUSD. The teachers languish at home, waiting for a hearing in a kangaroo court, with charges that range from criminal to those that would cause loss of a credential, completely setup by the district's attorneys and administration. The principals and admins learned how to do this - as a cost-saving measure and way to break the union. It was legal and with the help of the broken legal system, which could cost innocent teachers a hundred or two hundred thousand easily, only to lose, it was a despicable and discriminatory act repeated over and over. The teachers who were taken off the job waited, often, quite upset, when all they wanted was to be back at work and be treated with respect for the good job they were previously doing.
To read about this in depth, buy Janice Howes' The Black Hole in the Blueprint, available on Amazon.com. She is a local, highly successful, talented teacher who was set up to lose her job and credentials. Her crime? Teaching into her 60's.
A READER'S COMMENT:
Suggesting that School Principals falsely accuse, lie, or otherwise commit felonies against older teachers "as a cost-saving measure " is a bit theatrical. Mean-spirited hatchet jobs like this do nothing to gain support for teachers. Does the teacher's union support this position?
Posted by Ontheoutsidelookingin
MAURA LARKINS RESPONSE:
Have you ever heard of the Milgram experiments? Milgram proved that roughly 50% of ordinary, nice people will do just about anything that an authority figure tells them to do. Schools have authority figures (superintendents) who sometimes tell ordinary, nice principals to get rid of some teachers. The idea is to get rid of the incompetent teachers, but how does the principal decide which teachers deserve a pink slip? The principals know they will be rewarded even if they don't bother to carefully evaluate the teachers they choose.
This was made clear in testimony in the Danielle Cozaihr case in San Diego. The principal had walked through Ms. Cozaihr's classroom on a handful of occasions, not stopping to observe, and if he did make any notes about Cozaihr, he threw them away. He did not sign up Ms. Cozaihr for available training for new teachers. Why didn't superintendent Lowell Billings impress upon principals that they had to do these things as part of district policy? Billings apparently wanted principals to fire teachers rather than improve the teachers' performance. Principal Alex Cortes fired another teacher at the same time as Cozaihr. Click HERE for all Cozaihr posts.
In the infrequent situation in which a teacher demands a hearing, a new authority figure gets involved--the lawyer. Insurance company lawyers are generally paid to do what it takes to win. Sadly, that sometimes requires that principals give false testimony.
Amazingly, one principal in Virginia was actually indicted for perjury, but the court decided that he had not been required by law to take an oath, so he couldn't be prosecuted. The problem in school hearings is that it's often impossible to tell the difference between a true accusation and a false accusation. Witnesses, in fear of losing their jobs, tend to either not show up for hearings or to say what the district wants them to say. We need a system that gets rid of bad teachers without requiring lawyer involvement, and evaluations should be done by outsiders who are not under political pressure.
Judge tosses out mom's convictions in MySpace hoax
Photo: Megan Meir, who committed suicide after being cyberbullies
Judge tosses out mom's convictions in MySpace hoax
Girl killed herself; ruling tentative
By Linda Deutsch
ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 3, 2009
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge yesterday tentatively threw out the convictions of a Missouri mother for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old neighbor girl who ended up committing suicide.
U.S. District Judge George Wu said he was acquitting Lori Drew of misdemeanor counts of accessing computers without authorization, but he emphasized that the ruling was tentative until he issues it in writing. He noted the case of a judge who changed his mind after ruling.
Drew showed no reaction to the decision.
She was convicted in November, but the judge said that if she is to be found guilty of illegally accessing computers, anyone who has ever violated the social networking site's terms of service would be guilty of a misdemeanor. That would be unconstitutional, he said.
“You could prosecute pretty much anyone who violated terms of service,” he said.
Prosecutors had sought the maximum three-year prison sentence and a $300,000 fine, but it had been uncertain going into yesterday's hearing whether Drew would be sentenced.
Wu had given a lengthy review to a defense request for dismissal, delaying sentencing from May to go over testimony from two prosecution witnesses.
Wu said he allowed the case to proceed to trial when Drew was charged with a felony, but she was convicted only of the misdemeanor, and that presented constitutional problems.
Drew, whose bond was released by the judge, didn't appear with her attorney when he later spoke to reporters.
Defense attorney Dean Steward said outside court that the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles shouldn't have brought the charges in a case that originated in Missouri and was rejected by prosecutors there.
“Shame on the U.S. attorney for bringing this case. The St. Louis prosecutors had it right,” Steward said. “The cynic in me says that (U.S. Attorney) Tom O'Brien wanted to make a name for himself or to keep his job.”
O'Brien told a news conference that after prosecutors see the written ruling, they will consider options, including an appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The parents of Megan Meier, the teenager who killed herself, were in court for the ruling. Later, her mother, Tina Meier, said that in spite of the disappointment, she felt justice was done because “we got the word out.”
Much attention has been paid to Drew's case, primarily because it was the nation's first cyberbullying trial. The trial was held in Los Angeles because the servers of the social networking site are in the area.
Prosecutors said Drew sought to humiliate Megan by helping create a fictitious teen boy on the social networking site and sending flirtatious messages to the girl in his name. The fake boy then dumped Megan in a message saying the world would be better without her.
She hanged herself a short time later in October 2006 in the St. Louis suburb of Dardenne Prairie, Mo.
Drew was not directly charged with causing Megan's death. Instead, prosecutors indicted her under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which in the past has been used in hacking and trademark-theft case.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Dianna Carberry in the news again; this time she claims to be the victim of Sweetwater Superintendent Jesus Gandara
Photo: Dianna and Ed Carberry. Dianna fired a coach for reporting that her husband Ed told a student to use a substance. The student developed kidney failure.It seems that the same people keep popping up in story after story about problems in schools. Dianna Carberry is one of the familiar names. She is the principal who fired coach James "Ted" Carter in Escondido because he had reported to his superiors that coach Ed Carberry, Dianna's husband, advised a student to take a substance. The student was later hospitalized with kidney failure. Carberry should have been fired by Escondido, instead, she left without being fired.
It is not surprising to me that she was hired in Sweetwater; the district has never shown much fondness for ethics, but it is amazing to me that employees would be protesting her demotion. What is surprising is that Carberry is now claiming to be a victim, and that employees of Sweetwater are rallying around her. It does seem, however, that employees are not terribly enthusiastic about Carberry; it's really Karen Janney that they like. Apparently they decided that it made their argument stronger to have two demotions to protest, but I think it's unwise to use Carberry as their poster child.
Another of the familiar names is Jaime Mercado. Perhaps this story should be called Jaime Mercado gets the last laugh.
Sweetwater's Miracle Worker Turned Lightning Rod
By EMILY ALPERT
Voice of San Diego
June 21, 2009
Jesus Gandara was described as a miracle worker when Sweetwater Union High School District, the largest high school district in the state, hired him as its leader nearly three years ago...
But now, as he nears the end of his third year overseeing a district that encompasses the middle and high schools from National City to San Ysidro, Gandara is in the crosshairs of a campaign to unseat him. Four labor unions from teachers to custodians have joined forces, gathering signatures for a petition that argues that he "neither welcomes nor respects input" and "relies on intimidation to gain consent."
...And unions are not the only ones angry: Many principals and middle managers were stunned by his decision to demote two of his highest ranking employees in March.
The school board has largely stayed out of the fray after a member highly critical of Gandara, Jaime Mercado, lost his re-election bid last fall.
[Maura Larkins' comment: It appears that things have not improved at Sweetwater since Bertha Lopez replaced Jaime Mercado.]
...School district leaders are hopeful that the recent election of a new teachers' union president, Alex Anguiano, will cool the furor: Spokeswoman Lillian Leopold said that Anguiano has a better relationship with Gandara, who said that when the old President Sam Lucero was voted out, "he got his vote of no confidence -- and his was louder than mine."
But several sources within the union said that the vote indicated a push for "a wartime president" who will continue their fight, not call it off. Employees charge that the uproar is not about proposed salary cuts or layoffs, which have been canceled as Sweetwater found other ways to cut $11.6 million from its $348 million budget, but about Gandara himself.
One union leader remembered Gandara visiting her after she complained to the school board about a computer system.
"He yelled at me. Just chewed me out. '...You have an issue, you bring it to me.' He was yelling and waving his finger in front of my nose," said Julie Hitchcock, president of the Sweetwater Counseling and Guidance Association...
[Maura Larkins' comment: I'll bet he didn't yell as loud or as long as CVESD Assistant Superintendent Richard Werlin used to yell. But a very close colleague of SEA President Alex Anguiano from Chula Vista Educators (Jim Groth) and current SUHSD trustee Bertha Lopezsupported Rick Werlin in his destructive goals. Rick Werlin yelled so viciously at one principal that the man had a heart attack. Sometimes I wonder if the teachers union really cares about all employees, or only acts when union leaders get offended. My recommendation to SUHSD trustees: next time, promote someone from within the district.]
...But a chorus of complaints focuses on Gandara's attitude toward employees. They are not confined to unions: Numerous employees in management positions declined to be quoted for this story, saying they feared for their jobs. A retiree has become their spokeswoman.
The demotions "were the tipping point," said Mary Anne Stro, who retired as a principal eight years ago. "If they can do this to Karen and Dianna, they can do anything to anybody."
[Maura Larkins comment: Why are all these people acting as if this is something new? What about Superintendent Ed Brand firing Mary Anne Weegar? Making an issue out of the demotion of Dianna Carberry is an odd thing for pro-employee groups to do.]
Stro was referring to the demotions of Karen Janney and Dianna Carberry, two assistant superintendents who lost their jobs after declining lesser positions in the school district. Demoting Janney, in particular, has inspired outrage from longtime employees who praised her as a competent and caring leader, citing the lofty awards she received and local projects she helped to complete...
Reasons for the demotions are unclear. While Sweetwater schools learned they had much room to improve in a critical report from the County Office of Education, the report was not shared with Gandara and other staff until weeks after Janney and Carberry were demoted. Janney's department was ranked highly in an internal survey last year of how managers felt about Sweetwater departments and their timeliness, communication and quality; Carberry was in the middle of the pack.
Board President Jim Cartmill said that decisions about the top personnel must be left to Gandara.
"We can't keep a superintendent accountable for results unless he or she is allowed to hire who they want," he said...
Business became [Gandara's] focus in Sweetwater, where he names the dysfunctional computer system that Hitchcock complained about as one challenge, along with dropping enrollment, budget woes and its $644 million facilities bond. Though most of the bond projects are in their infancy, Gandara prides himself on roughly $10 million in savings from three large projects where bids came in below estimates...
Critics and supporters of Gandara alike say he has largely left the educational side of schools, curriculum and instruction, to his subordinates. He now says that was a mistake and he will get involved. A County Office of Education study of Sweetwater schools that recently found that strategies to help lagging students were inconsistent, though annual test scores show improvement in Sweetwater over time...
Should CTA be able to veto any and all changes to a teacher's work routine?
Union-Tribune Editorial
Power play
Will school board put adults ahead of children?
July 2, 2009
In a bid to tighten its grip on the San Diego Unified School District, the teachers union is quietly seeking a contentious contract provision that would give it a virtual veto over any changes in the classroom. If the school board yields to the union's demand, operational control of the school district would effectively shift to organized labor, and Superintendent Terry Grier's ambitious reform plans would be blunted.
The school board's union-friendly majority — Shelia Jackson, John Lee Evans, Richard Barrera — have never said no to the teachers union on a major issue...
At issue is a controversial concept called “maintenance of standards.”...
The provision essentially means that the school board and the superintendent may introduce no changes in a teacher's work routine without the union's approval. In practice, “maintenance of standards” perpetuates the status quo — the antithesis of reform — which suits the calcified teachers union just fine.
For instance, the San Diego school district currently has plans to introduce Smart Boards in all elementary classrooms. A Smart Board is an interactive audio-visual tool which is widely praised for engaging students in learning. But in order to employ Smart Boards effectively, teachers must undergo several hours of training. Under a rigid “maintenance of standards” contract clause, the school district would not be able to introduce Smart Boards unless the teachers union agreed to the training.
The San Diego teachers union's sweeping proposal stipulates that “all terms and conditions of employment” that were in effect on June 30, 2008, “shall be “maintained.” Even trustee Barrera, himself a former union organizer, says the teachers union's demand is “too broad.”
Power play
Will school board put adults ahead of children?
July 2, 2009
In a bid to tighten its grip on the San Diego Unified School District, the teachers union is quietly seeking a contentious contract provision that would give it a virtual veto over any changes in the classroom. If the school board yields to the union's demand, operational control of the school district would effectively shift to organized labor, and Superintendent Terry Grier's ambitious reform plans would be blunted.
The school board's union-friendly majority — Shelia Jackson, John Lee Evans, Richard Barrera — have never said no to the teachers union on a major issue...
At issue is a controversial concept called “maintenance of standards.”...
The provision essentially means that the school board and the superintendent may introduce no changes in a teacher's work routine without the union's approval. In practice, “maintenance of standards” perpetuates the status quo — the antithesis of reform — which suits the calcified teachers union just fine.
For instance, the San Diego school district currently has plans to introduce Smart Boards in all elementary classrooms. A Smart Board is an interactive audio-visual tool which is widely praised for engaging students in learning. But in order to employ Smart Boards effectively, teachers must undergo several hours of training. Under a rigid “maintenance of standards” contract clause, the school district would not be able to introduce Smart Boards unless the teachers union agreed to the training.
The San Diego teachers union's sweeping proposal stipulates that “all terms and conditions of employment” that were in effect on June 30, 2008, “shall be “maintained.” Even trustee Barrera, himself a former union organizer, says the teachers union's demand is “too broad.”
How much do David Sanchez and Reg Weaver (CTA, NEA officials ) make?
Unfortunately, the story below does not tell us how much CTA lawyers (such as Beverly Tucker) make.
No recession for teachers unions
By Larry Sand
July 2, 2009
...While CTA will not divulge the amount it pays its employees, its income tax form lets us know what its officers make. David Sanchez, CTA's president, makes close to $200,000 a year, or about three times what the average teacher in California makes — yes, his salary is based on another union formula. And the other union officers make very close to that amount; these salaries are ascertained by yet another formula...
Neither is the NEA a shining example of fairness in action. Its former president, Reg Weaver, made well over $500,000 in 2008 and Vice President Dennis Van Roekel made more than $300,000. And then there is a staff of thousands, including an army of lobbyists who make hefty six-figure salaries...
No recession for teachers unions
By Larry Sand
July 2, 2009
...While CTA will not divulge the amount it pays its employees, its income tax form lets us know what its officers make. David Sanchez, CTA's president, makes close to $200,000 a year, or about three times what the average teacher in California makes — yes, his salary is based on another union formula. And the other union officers make very close to that amount; these salaries are ascertained by yet another formula...
Neither is the NEA a shining example of fairness in action. Its former president, Reg Weaver, made well over $500,000 in 2008 and Vice President Dennis Van Roekel made more than $300,000. And then there is a staff of thousands, including an army of lobbyists who make hefty six-figure salaries...
Missouri Republican Cynthia Davis says don't give food to hungry kids
Is it bad for kids to get summer lunches? Cynthia Davis thinks it is, because hunger keeps kids motivated. The Colbert Report salutes Cynthia Davis.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
No diplomas in LAUSD for students who protested; isn't this a violation of free student speech?
15 LA students denied diplomas after protest
06/23/2009
AP
The Los Angeles Unified School District says 15 students were denied diplomas at their eighth-grade graduation because they protested impending teacher layoffs.
The students at Liechty Middle School in East Los Angeles turned their backs on school board President Monica Garcia during Thursday's ceremonies.
A district statement says students are expected to act respectfully and the youngsters won't get diplomas until they and their parents meet with school officials to discuss appropriate behavior.
The district says an apology isn't required - just a meeting.
But Carlos Montes, an activist working with the parents, says some children got diplomas Monday after signing apologies the school provided.
Parents plan to protest to the school board.
06/23/2009
AP
The Los Angeles Unified School District says 15 students were denied diplomas at their eighth-grade graduation because they protested impending teacher layoffs.
The students at Liechty Middle School in East Los Angeles turned their backs on school board President Monica Garcia during Thursday's ceremonies.
A district statement says students are expected to act respectfully and the youngsters won't get diplomas until they and their parents meet with school officials to discuss appropriate behavior.
The district says an apology isn't required - just a meeting.
But Carlos Montes, an activist working with the parents, says some children got diplomas Monday after signing apologies the school provided.
Parents plan to protest to the school board.
Millions spent to pay teachers not to teach; why not spend the money on evaluation so bad teachers can be fired and good teachers protected?
When Schools Pay Teachers Not to Teach
By EMILY ALPERT
Voice of San Diego
June 30, 2009
Lynne Holyoke knew her principal wanted to fire her. The retired art teacher said the two had often sparred over her teaching style. But instead, Holyoke said the school district made her an offer: Take a year off with pay and resign at the end of it. Holyoke agreed and spent the year on paid administrative leave, doing art therapy, volunteering and mulling her future...
Holyoke is not the only educator who has been pulled from her classroom but paid nonetheless. Fifty-six educators have been put on paid administrative leave in San Diego Unified over the last six years, taken out of their ordinary jobs but kept on the payroll for anywhere from a few days to more than four years.
Some teachers have been accused of crimes or inappropriate behavior and are removed from their classes until the charges are proven or disproven. Some are awaiting hearings that decide whether they will be fired. A small number are suffering medical problems.
And others such as Holyoke are paid as part of a settlement to avoid the expensive process of firing them, especially when the cases against them are difficult to prove in court.
School district attorney Mark Bresee said that teachers sometimes make formal pacts -- agreeing to resign in exchange for staying on paid leave for a fixed time -- and sometimes simply agree informally to resign after time...
While still uncommon in the sprawling school district, the frequency of paid administrative leave has increased significantly in the past two years, along with its costs. Estimates done by voiceofsandiego.org based on data provided by the school district found that the practice cost more than $2.1 million over the past six years. Costs have risen from an eventual payout of an estimated $262,000 for three teachers put on leave in the 2003-2004 school year to more than $716,000 -- and counting -- for 26 educators in 2008-2009.
Staffers call the uptick a fluke and say that school district practices haven't changed. Pulling educators from their jobs but keeping them paid has many purposes: It removes teachers, counselors and administrators who are suspected of foul play from the classroom, separates employees when harassment is alleged, and ensures that workers are not penalized for allegations that go nowhere. Human resources and legal staffers, not principals, must approve the decision for leave.
"If we have people that we fear are not good for kids, we want to make sure that they're not working with kids," said Tim Asfazadour, a human resources officer.
It is sometimes mandated by California law, which limits the circumstances when teachers are pulled without pay. Attorneys said it can also be cheaper than firing educators, an extensive process during which teachers are typically still on the payroll...
"This is just wrong," said William Wright, vice chairman of San Diego Unified's audit and finance committee, when told about the practice of buyouts. "It's just happening because it's so hard to fire somebody. They're buying them off with the taxpayers' money."..
"If a principal has an issue with a teacher, they can accomplish their goal of getting rid of them," Holyoke said. "If they really mean to get you out, it's just too tortuous (for teachers) to go through."
Unlike the notorious "rubber rooms" in New York City, where hundreds of teachers under investigation sit idle, Asfazadour said that San Diego Unified educators on paid leave are usually still working, if not in their usual jobs. Some evaluate books or file supplies in a lending library for teachers, others work in the cafeteria or do data entry...
Asfazadour said the recent increase consisted of cases involving accusations that needed to be investigated, not settlements...
Teachers are often put on paid leave when someone accuses them of a crime or inappropriate behavior...Investigations are done by city or school police detectives and can be lengthy: One teacher accused of choking a student has been out on leave for more than nine months. Others end quickly.
"A child said something happened and they called in a police officer and investigated," said Donna Chateau, a retired teacher who was put on leave for less than two weeks before returning to the classroom...
Other employees are put on paid leave not because of alleged crimes, but because they are in the pipeline to be fired... actual firings are extraordinarily rare in San Diego Unified... A teacher would not lose pay until that commission ruled against them...
Petersen said cases where a teacher is seen doing something egregious, such as hitting a child, tend to be easier to wrap up and end without a buyout. The most expensive cases tend to be when principals argue that teachers are just not very good at their jobs. Holyoke, for example, said her teaching was criticized. Her story was echoed by several other teachers and counselors who said they were being paid to resign after clashing with principals, but declined to give their names.
Holyoke's former principal, Susan Levy, said she couldn't talk about what happened with the teacher because of employee confidentiality. Nor was Levy aware of what occurred after the human resources department stepped in to handle things after Holyoke had left; the teacher said she took a stress leave.
"They always say, 'We'll take care of it,'" Levy said.
HERE'S AN INTERESTING LETTER TO VOICE OF SAN DIEGO:
Discouraged Temp Teachers
By Jeff Claybaugh, San Diego
June 22, 2009 |
I read your article about "The Disposable Teacher" and wanted to tell you that it is spot on.
I graduated from the University of the Pacific in 2002 with a degree in music (and a teaching credential). My dream was to be a successful band/choir director, engaging kids' minds using the arts. My first job was in Central California, and after learning lots (and signing kids up for next year's classes), I was pink-slipped in March. Being new to the education system, I did not quite understand how the administrative process worked, and so I went along with it. What bothered me most about this was that the administration led me to believe that I had nothing to worry about, because all temp teachers go through this every year, and would be rehired without issue. Well, long story short, I received a phone call during the summer break and was told that the budget didn't allow for a music teacher position and that the program was cut. It was completely demoralizing. Hard work did not pay off. And now that the school season was to start again soon, I had to scramble to find another teaching position.
This happened again at the next location where I found work. Same pink slip, same waiting to hear about the budget, same phone call. Again, I was completely heart-broken and decided that I could not work in that type of system, where your position is decided not on success or quality, but solely on available funding. I am now working in a software business where I am valued and have been working regularly for almost 4 years. Although I miss the teaching aspect of my dream, I have security and am valued for my contributions...
HERE ARE SOME COMMENTS, INCLUDING MY OWN:
I agree that teaching ability, not seniority, should be the deciding factor in who gets laid off. Unfortunately, even if a decision were made to lay off the poorest-performing teachers, it would be impossible to do so because the current teacher evaluation system is a joke. If teachers were examined as exhaustively as kids, we wouldn't be having the problems we have.
Posted by Maura Larkins | reply to this comment
June 24, 2009 3:59 pm
And how is one to judge a teacher's merit? As it is now in SDUSD's evaluation process, it's up to ONE person -- a princpal (or sometimes vice-principal). Is a teacher to be laid off because the perception of one person (the principal) is that she is an ineffective teacher? At charter schools where most teachers are not union, I've often seen it happen that teachers who go against the grain and stand up for curriculum or for students against the wishes of a principal or CEO (yes, charters have CEOs), are fired. The state legislature passed laws that called for teacher layoffs to be based on seniority -- not "merit" -- perhaps to prevent this very thing from happening in our schools! Bad teachers can be disciplined and, with due process, fired. That's good enough. Let's not base layoffs on "merit."
Posted by MMT | reply to this comment
June 29, 2009 11:41 am
I agree completely. There is no system in place to accurately evaluate teachers. Certainly the current system in which principals evaluate teachers is a joke. A reliable evaluation would need to involve observers not involved in school or district politics--perhaps from outside the district. Regular observations, well-documented, would be needed. This would be a great learning experience for evaluators as well as those being evaluated. I also think teacher interviews, in which teachers could explain what they have learned and how their thinking has evolved, should be part of the process.
Posted by Maura Larkins | reply to this comment
June 30, 2009 3:28 pm
Actually, I disagree with MMT about one thing. MMT says, "Bad teachers can be disciplined and, with due process, fired. That's good enough." The current system is most certainly NOT good enough. Teachers are rarely fired for incompetence (it was the reason only about 20% of the time according to the Los Angeles Times series "Failure Gets a Pass"). Usually the reason is political. Another frequent cause of teacher firings is moral turpitude. As long as incompetent teachers make friends with the right people, they are usually safe. This is one of the reasons that schools are such hotbeds of personal politics, and it's a reason many incompetent teachers become administrators. In many occupations, seniority is a perfectly reasonable and sensible method to determine who gets laid off, but in teaching, competence should matter.
Posted by Maura Larkins | reply to this comment
June 30, 2009 3:28 pm
The inconvenient truth is the seniority system has yielded a state rank of 34th in student education and 1st in teacher salaries. Both the state legislature and school board except copious amounts of campaign funding from the CTA and teachers receive the highest pay in the country. The children of California give no money to the state legislature and the school boards and receive the 34th best education in the U.S.
Posted by RB | reply to this comment
July 1, 2009 7:48 am
By EMILY ALPERT
Voice of San Diego
June 30, 2009
Lynne Holyoke knew her principal wanted to fire her. The retired art teacher said the two had often sparred over her teaching style. But instead, Holyoke said the school district made her an offer: Take a year off with pay and resign at the end of it. Holyoke agreed and spent the year on paid administrative leave, doing art therapy, volunteering and mulling her future...
Holyoke is not the only educator who has been pulled from her classroom but paid nonetheless. Fifty-six educators have been put on paid administrative leave in San Diego Unified over the last six years, taken out of their ordinary jobs but kept on the payroll for anywhere from a few days to more than four years.
Some teachers have been accused of crimes or inappropriate behavior and are removed from their classes until the charges are proven or disproven. Some are awaiting hearings that decide whether they will be fired. A small number are suffering medical problems.
And others such as Holyoke are paid as part of a settlement to avoid the expensive process of firing them, especially when the cases against them are difficult to prove in court.
School district attorney Mark Bresee said that teachers sometimes make formal pacts -- agreeing to resign in exchange for staying on paid leave for a fixed time -- and sometimes simply agree informally to resign after time...
While still uncommon in the sprawling school district, the frequency of paid administrative leave has increased significantly in the past two years, along with its costs. Estimates done by voiceofsandiego.org based on data provided by the school district found that the practice cost more than $2.1 million over the past six years. Costs have risen from an eventual payout of an estimated $262,000 for three teachers put on leave in the 2003-2004 school year to more than $716,000 -- and counting -- for 26 educators in 2008-2009.
Staffers call the uptick a fluke and say that school district practices haven't changed. Pulling educators from their jobs but keeping them paid has many purposes: It removes teachers, counselors and administrators who are suspected of foul play from the classroom, separates employees when harassment is alleged, and ensures that workers are not penalized for allegations that go nowhere. Human resources and legal staffers, not principals, must approve the decision for leave.
"If we have people that we fear are not good for kids, we want to make sure that they're not working with kids," said Tim Asfazadour, a human resources officer.
It is sometimes mandated by California law, which limits the circumstances when teachers are pulled without pay. Attorneys said it can also be cheaper than firing educators, an extensive process during which teachers are typically still on the payroll...
"This is just wrong," said William Wright, vice chairman of San Diego Unified's audit and finance committee, when told about the practice of buyouts. "It's just happening because it's so hard to fire somebody. They're buying them off with the taxpayers' money."..
"If a principal has an issue with a teacher, they can accomplish their goal of getting rid of them," Holyoke said. "If they really mean to get you out, it's just too tortuous (for teachers) to go through."
Unlike the notorious "rubber rooms" in New York City, where hundreds of teachers under investigation sit idle, Asfazadour said that San Diego Unified educators on paid leave are usually still working, if not in their usual jobs. Some evaluate books or file supplies in a lending library for teachers, others work in the cafeteria or do data entry...
Asfazadour said the recent increase consisted of cases involving accusations that needed to be investigated, not settlements...
Teachers are often put on paid leave when someone accuses them of a crime or inappropriate behavior...Investigations are done by city or school police detectives and can be lengthy: One teacher accused of choking a student has been out on leave for more than nine months. Others end quickly.
"A child said something happened and they called in a police officer and investigated," said Donna Chateau, a retired teacher who was put on leave for less than two weeks before returning to the classroom...
Other employees are put on paid leave not because of alleged crimes, but because they are in the pipeline to be fired... actual firings are extraordinarily rare in San Diego Unified... A teacher would not lose pay until that commission ruled against them...
Petersen said cases where a teacher is seen doing something egregious, such as hitting a child, tend to be easier to wrap up and end without a buyout. The most expensive cases tend to be when principals argue that teachers are just not very good at their jobs. Holyoke, for example, said her teaching was criticized. Her story was echoed by several other teachers and counselors who said they were being paid to resign after clashing with principals, but declined to give their names.
Holyoke's former principal, Susan Levy, said she couldn't talk about what happened with the teacher because of employee confidentiality. Nor was Levy aware of what occurred after the human resources department stepped in to handle things after Holyoke had left; the teacher said she took a stress leave.
"They always say, 'We'll take care of it,'" Levy said.
HERE'S AN INTERESTING LETTER TO VOICE OF SAN DIEGO:
Discouraged Temp Teachers
By Jeff Claybaugh, San Diego
June 22, 2009 |
I read your article about "The Disposable Teacher" and wanted to tell you that it is spot on.
I graduated from the University of the Pacific in 2002 with a degree in music (and a teaching credential). My dream was to be a successful band/choir director, engaging kids' minds using the arts. My first job was in Central California, and after learning lots (and signing kids up for next year's classes), I was pink-slipped in March. Being new to the education system, I did not quite understand how the administrative process worked, and so I went along with it. What bothered me most about this was that the administration led me to believe that I had nothing to worry about, because all temp teachers go through this every year, and would be rehired without issue. Well, long story short, I received a phone call during the summer break and was told that the budget didn't allow for a music teacher position and that the program was cut. It was completely demoralizing. Hard work did not pay off. And now that the school season was to start again soon, I had to scramble to find another teaching position.
This happened again at the next location where I found work. Same pink slip, same waiting to hear about the budget, same phone call. Again, I was completely heart-broken and decided that I could not work in that type of system, where your position is decided not on success or quality, but solely on available funding. I am now working in a software business where I am valued and have been working regularly for almost 4 years. Although I miss the teaching aspect of my dream, I have security and am valued for my contributions...
HERE ARE SOME COMMENTS, INCLUDING MY OWN:
I agree that teaching ability, not seniority, should be the deciding factor in who gets laid off. Unfortunately, even if a decision were made to lay off the poorest-performing teachers, it would be impossible to do so because the current teacher evaluation system is a joke. If teachers were examined as exhaustively as kids, we wouldn't be having the problems we have.
Posted by Maura Larkins | reply to this comment
June 24, 2009 3:59 pm
And how is one to judge a teacher's merit? As it is now in SDUSD's evaluation process, it's up to ONE person -- a princpal (or sometimes vice-principal). Is a teacher to be laid off because the perception of one person (the principal) is that she is an ineffective teacher? At charter schools where most teachers are not union, I've often seen it happen that teachers who go against the grain and stand up for curriculum or for students against the wishes of a principal or CEO (yes, charters have CEOs), are fired. The state legislature passed laws that called for teacher layoffs to be based on seniority -- not "merit" -- perhaps to prevent this very thing from happening in our schools! Bad teachers can be disciplined and, with due process, fired. That's good enough. Let's not base layoffs on "merit."
Posted by MMT | reply to this comment
June 29, 2009 11:41 am
I agree completely. There is no system in place to accurately evaluate teachers. Certainly the current system in which principals evaluate teachers is a joke. A reliable evaluation would need to involve observers not involved in school or district politics--perhaps from outside the district. Regular observations, well-documented, would be needed. This would be a great learning experience for evaluators as well as those being evaluated. I also think teacher interviews, in which teachers could explain what they have learned and how their thinking has evolved, should be part of the process.
Posted by Maura Larkins | reply to this comment
June 30, 2009 3:28 pm
Actually, I disagree with MMT about one thing. MMT says, "Bad teachers can be disciplined and, with due process, fired. That's good enough." The current system is most certainly NOT good enough. Teachers are rarely fired for incompetence (it was the reason only about 20% of the time according to the Los Angeles Times series "Failure Gets a Pass"). Usually the reason is political. Another frequent cause of teacher firings is moral turpitude. As long as incompetent teachers make friends with the right people, they are usually safe. This is one of the reasons that schools are such hotbeds of personal politics, and it's a reason many incompetent teachers become administrators. In many occupations, seniority is a perfectly reasonable and sensible method to determine who gets laid off, but in teaching, competence should matter.
Posted by Maura Larkins | reply to this comment
June 30, 2009 3:28 pm
The inconvenient truth is the seniority system has yielded a state rank of 34th in student education and 1st in teacher salaries. Both the state legislature and school board except copious amounts of campaign funding from the CTA and teachers receive the highest pay in the country. The children of California give no money to the state legislature and the school boards and receive the 34th best education in the U.S.
Posted by RB | reply to this comment
July 1, 2009 7:48 am
Republicans veto budget bill
Schwarzenegger to order third furlough day, call special session of Legislature
By Shane Goldmacher and Michael Rothfeld
Los Angeles Times
July 1, 2009
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this morning will order state workers to take a third day off each month without pay, administration officials say, after Republican lawmakers acting with his support blocked a Democratic proposal to ease the state's deficit and allow the government to keep paying bills.
The latest reductions may be necessary after Tuesday night's inaction further exacerbated the state's financial problems by leaving on the table billions of dollars in potential cuts to school programs that had to be made before the new fiscal year began at midnight...
Democrats in the Legislature will also propose additional cuts today. They are targeting redevelopment agencies. Their plan would raid $1.2 billion of agency funds earmarked for affordable housing. As part of the plan, state requirements that redevelopment projects include such housing would be eased.
Aides to the lawmakers and governor said the shortfall, previously projected at $24.3 billion, increased when Republican state senators blocked a last-ditch effort Tuesday night to slice $3.3 billion, mostly from education.
...Schwarzenegger had promised to veto the bills unless they were accompanied by a complete plan to balance the budget.
Steinberg, saying Republican lawmakers had taken their direction from Schwarzenegger in voting it down, accused all of them of "the most irresponsible act I have seen in my 15 years of public service."
Officials said the failure to make the cuts means the state will now owe several billion dollars more to schools in the coming fiscal year because the state's complex education financing formula is based on the previous year's appropriation.
"It does make the problem bigger - there's no question about it," Senate Republican leader Dennis Hollingsworth of Murietta...
Montebello forgoes July 4th celebration, gives money to food bank
By Amanda Baumfeld
Whittier Daily News
06/30/2009
MONTEBELLO - Instead of shooting off fireworks Saturday, the city will provide meals to 5,200 needy families all year long, officials said Tuesday.
The City Council recently voted to allocate $40,040 to a meal program in conjunction with Hearts of Compassion, a nonprofit food bank.
The funds were originally supposed to go toward an annual Fourth of July celebration that typically draws between 7,000 and 10,000 people. The event has been canceled.
"There is an unprecedented need for basic food assistance," said Councilman Bill Molinari, who suggested the food program. "I wanted to try to do something that would help folks in our own community. That's what community is all about."
Hearts of Compassion, located on Maple Avenue, will be the main food distributor for the program.
Churches and local agencies will screen Montebello residents and submit the names of the neediest families to the program. The families will then be given vouchers from the city. ..
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Meet Erik Prince, Master of War
After reading the first chapter of Master of War by CNN producer Suzanne Simons, I'm already an admirer of Erik Prince, a man who designed his own life from an early age. It seems that he incorporated his parents' conservative values into his life plan, rather than being drawn into any plan of his parents. I am also terrified of Mr. Prince. His personality seems to consist almost entirely of driving ambition, with little room left for contemplation.The first sentence of Suzanne Simons book is, "Erik Prince's body bounced off the hood of the North Carolina Parks Development pickup truck before vanishing over a steep embankment next to a mountain road." The story goes on to prove that nothing gives this man pause.
Master of War
By Suzanne Simons
Introduction by publisher:
The name Blackwater, the world's largest private military contractor, became infamous early in the Iraq War, when four of its men were seized by a mob in Fallujah, murdered, and hung from a bridge for the world to see. Since then, Blackwater has expanded dramatically; its men have been involved in major scandals, including a shooting spree in Iraq that has now caused the Iraqi government to blacklist the company...
He publicly reassures everyone that Blackwater only works for the U.S., and would never become a mercenary organization for other governments, yet he has another entire company dedicated to doing just that...
In addition, he has a private spying company, run by former top CIA men, employing extraordinarily sensitive methods and technical sophistication, for rent by any interested party...
He has given Suzanne Simons hours of interviews; access to his staff; invitations to join him on trips to Afghanistan; and more. He is a fascinating figure, part deeply conservative, evangelical patriot; part rebellious, go-it-alone kingpin. He is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and his companies are worth billions. His empire dwarfs all of its competitors, to such a degree that even if the military wanted to wash its hands of him, they wouldn't be able to replace him.
Shame on Shelia Jackson for thwarting Gompers Charter High School
Gompers’ protest over district’s latest scheme
By Marsha Sutton, SDNN
June 29, 2009
“HELP US STOP SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT FROM TAKING AWAY GOMPERS PROPERTY!”
The headline screamed out at me from my computer screen. Gompers Charter, the Little School That Could, needs help once more.
Against all odds, this neighborhood charter school in southeast San Diego - in partnership with the University of California, San Diego - has taken over where the San Diego Unified School District left off. And that fact apparently infuriates some school board members, particularly board president Shelia Jackson, who represents the Gompers sub-district on the board.
Gompers became a charter school in 2005 after years of chronic failure and indifference by San Diego Unified. In a move that garnered national attention, proponents rallied together and managed to persuade a reluctant school board to approve a Gompers charter unanimously.
What made this charter unique is that it transformed itself from a shell of a school battered by neglect and constrained by union-dominated policies and people, to a neighborhood charter school serving neighborhood kids’ needs with the full support and involvement of parents and the community.
Today, under the leadership of charismatic Gompers principal Vince Riveroll and an enthusiastic staff, achievement has improved, detentions and suspensions have declined, and belief in future success has replaced hopelessness and apathy.
A crumbling educational environment has been converted into a middle school that offers promising outcomes at last.
After four years of steady middle school success, Gompers and its board of directors petitioned the school board earlier this year to approve a Gompers charter high school. A unanimous school board once again voted to support the petition, so Gompers will expand this fall and open a high school that will eventually serve students in grades 9-12.
You’d think, given the unanimity of the charter vote, that all five school board members would be supportive of the school, right? Wrong.
Just after approving the high school charter, it became clear that Jackson had plans to construct a bus turn-around in the area where Gompers has its heart set on building athletic fields for its kids.
Obliterating athletic fields so integral to high school success is a back-door entry to derailed dreams and is yet another blow in a long series of attacks against the school. Even after she heard how strongly the school and community opposed the turn-around, Jackson persisted.
The desperate message from Riveroll lays out the problem:
“The San Diego Unified School District is placing buildings on Gompers sports fields starting in July 2009. We must stop this from happening! The San Diego Unified School District is placing a bus station on Gompers property. We must stop this from happening!”
As Riveroll and his board of directors see it, the destruction of the fields in order to provide a bus turn-around for a nearby magnet school that imports 70 to 80 percent of its students from outside the Gompers area is “unfair treatment” of neighborhood kids - especially when there are other viable options for the magnet school’s buses.
“The district is taking away the Gompers field of dreams and giving it to Millennial Tech Magnet Middle School,” Riveroll says.
Jackson has managed to do this virtually unilaterally, and privately. She has not brought the matter before the full school board, perhaps because not all members support her efforts to thwart Gompers’ progress...
UPDATE FROM VOICE OF SAN DIEGO
by Emily Alpert
June 30, 2009
The charter school is planning a rally Wednesday to protest school district proposals to place classrooms and build a bus turnaround on part of its site...
I finally caught up with school board President Shelia Jackson and bond czar Stuart Markey today to get their thoughts on the plans.
"I'm not sure what all the hullabaloo is about," Jackson said. "The bungalows are a necessary part of the [Millennial Tech] school. They won't interrupt [Gompers'] P.E. program." She argued that contrary to claims made by critics, she had nothing to do with the plans personally. "Whatever has been planned, has been planned by our facilities department."
School board member Katherine Nakamura begged to differ. "This is Ms. Jackson" behind the plan, she said. "And her community is coming to her and telling her in no uncertain terms that this is something they don't want. Does this need to be smack dab in the middle of the athletic fields?"
Stuart Markey, who is overseeing the facilities bond that would help to fund the new classrooms...[said] buildings would be placed no earlier than August if the plans go through. Markey said the issue will go to the school board later in July for a vote.
[Maura Larkins' comment: Usually I give Katherine Nakamura a hard time, but I believe she's on the side of the community here, and I believe she's telling the truth. Shelia, please don't sell out to sweet-talking supporters. Do what's right for the kids. All the kids.]
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-06-29/news/politics-city-county-government/marsha-sutton-gompers-protest-over-district%e2%80%99s-scheme#ixzz0JxFZlhdj&C
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/07/01/education/schooled/766gompers063009.txt
By Marsha Sutton, SDNN
June 29, 2009
“HELP US STOP SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT FROM TAKING AWAY GOMPERS PROPERTY!”
The headline screamed out at me from my computer screen. Gompers Charter, the Little School That Could, needs help once more.
Against all odds, this neighborhood charter school in southeast San Diego - in partnership with the University of California, San Diego - has taken over where the San Diego Unified School District left off. And that fact apparently infuriates some school board members, particularly board president Shelia Jackson, who represents the Gompers sub-district on the board.
Gompers became a charter school in 2005 after years of chronic failure and indifference by San Diego Unified. In a move that garnered national attention, proponents rallied together and managed to persuade a reluctant school board to approve a Gompers charter unanimously.
What made this charter unique is that it transformed itself from a shell of a school battered by neglect and constrained by union-dominated policies and people, to a neighborhood charter school serving neighborhood kids’ needs with the full support and involvement of parents and the community.
Today, under the leadership of charismatic Gompers principal Vince Riveroll and an enthusiastic staff, achievement has improved, detentions and suspensions have declined, and belief in future success has replaced hopelessness and apathy.
A crumbling educational environment has been converted into a middle school that offers promising outcomes at last.
After four years of steady middle school success, Gompers and its board of directors petitioned the school board earlier this year to approve a Gompers charter high school. A unanimous school board once again voted to support the petition, so Gompers will expand this fall and open a high school that will eventually serve students in grades 9-12.
You’d think, given the unanimity of the charter vote, that all five school board members would be supportive of the school, right? Wrong.
Just after approving the high school charter, it became clear that Jackson had plans to construct a bus turn-around in the area where Gompers has its heart set on building athletic fields for its kids.
Obliterating athletic fields so integral to high school success is a back-door entry to derailed dreams and is yet another blow in a long series of attacks against the school. Even after she heard how strongly the school and community opposed the turn-around, Jackson persisted.
The desperate message from Riveroll lays out the problem:
“The San Diego Unified School District is placing buildings on Gompers sports fields starting in July 2009. We must stop this from happening! The San Diego Unified School District is placing a bus station on Gompers property. We must stop this from happening!”
As Riveroll and his board of directors see it, the destruction of the fields in order to provide a bus turn-around for a nearby magnet school that imports 70 to 80 percent of its students from outside the Gompers area is “unfair treatment” of neighborhood kids - especially when there are other viable options for the magnet school’s buses.
“The district is taking away the Gompers field of dreams and giving it to Millennial Tech Magnet Middle School,” Riveroll says.
Jackson has managed to do this virtually unilaterally, and privately. She has not brought the matter before the full school board, perhaps because not all members support her efforts to thwart Gompers’ progress...
UPDATE FROM VOICE OF SAN DIEGO
by Emily Alpert
June 30, 2009
The charter school is planning a rally Wednesday to protest school district proposals to place classrooms and build a bus turnaround on part of its site...
I finally caught up with school board President Shelia Jackson and bond czar Stuart Markey today to get their thoughts on the plans.
"I'm not sure what all the hullabaloo is about," Jackson said. "The bungalows are a necessary part of the [Millennial Tech] school. They won't interrupt [Gompers'] P.E. program." She argued that contrary to claims made by critics, she had nothing to do with the plans personally. "Whatever has been planned, has been planned by our facilities department."
School board member Katherine Nakamura begged to differ. "This is Ms. Jackson" behind the plan, she said. "And her community is coming to her and telling her in no uncertain terms that this is something they don't want. Does this need to be smack dab in the middle of the athletic fields?"
Stuart Markey, who is overseeing the facilities bond that would help to fund the new classrooms...[said] buildings would be placed no earlier than August if the plans go through. Markey said the issue will go to the school board later in July for a vote.
[Maura Larkins' comment: Usually I give Katherine Nakamura a hard time, but I believe she's on the side of the community here, and I believe she's telling the truth. Shelia, please don't sell out to sweet-talking supporters. Do what's right for the kids. All the kids.]
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-06-29/news/politics-city-county-government/marsha-sutton-gompers-protest-over-district%e2%80%99s-scheme#ixzz0JxFZlhdj&C
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/07/01/education/schooled/766gompers063009.txt
Teacher culture: does it explain why there's a higher turnover in small high schools?
New research pinpoints factors that affect teacher turnover
By Sarah Karp
Catalyst Chicago
June 29, 2009
Small high schools, once heralded as a way to build stronger relationships between teachers and students, have some of the highest rates of teacher turnover in the district. This is one of the more interesting findings from the report The Schools Teachers Leave, released today by the Consortium on Chicago School Research.
Linking teacher personnel data, survey data and information about schools and communities, researchers found that Chicago’s one-year turnover rate is similar to that of other schools in Illinois and across the nation: about 80 percent of teachers stay at their school from one year to the next. But within five years, most CPS schools lose about half of their teachers.
At both the elementary and high school level, small schools had higher turnover than larger schools. Elementary schools with more than 700 students retained 83 percent of their teachers from year-to-year, compared to just 78 percent at schools with fewer than 350 students. Similarly, larger high schools retained 83 percent of teachers; small high schools, just 73 percent...
Much of the report seeks to pinpoint why teachers leave.
At small high schools, researchers said that more intensive work may be required, as teachers are supposed to reach out and bond with students. Also, school conflicts might be more acute...
http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook/index.php/entry/347/New_research_pinpoints_factors_that_affect_teacher_turnover
By Sarah Karp
Catalyst Chicago
June 29, 2009
Small high schools, once heralded as a way to build stronger relationships between teachers and students, have some of the highest rates of teacher turnover in the district. This is one of the more interesting findings from the report The Schools Teachers Leave, released today by the Consortium on Chicago School Research.
Linking teacher personnel data, survey data and information about schools and communities, researchers found that Chicago’s one-year turnover rate is similar to that of other schools in Illinois and across the nation: about 80 percent of teachers stay at their school from one year to the next. But within five years, most CPS schools lose about half of their teachers.
At both the elementary and high school level, small schools had higher turnover than larger schools. Elementary schools with more than 700 students retained 83 percent of their teachers from year-to-year, compared to just 78 percent at schools with fewer than 350 students. Similarly, larger high schools retained 83 percent of teachers; small high schools, just 73 percent...
Much of the report seeks to pinpoint why teachers leave.
At small high schools, researchers said that more intensive work may be required, as teachers are supposed to reach out and bond with students. Also, school conflicts might be more acute...
http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook/index.php/entry/347/New_research_pinpoints_factors_that_affect_teacher_turnover
How easy is it to arrest a parent who complains too much? Just schedule a hearing for her kid, and arrest her there.
It's hard not to be entertained by the following theater of the absurd from Poway.
A parent got mad and sent a 600-page fax to Poway Unified School District lawyers. The district responded by getting a court to order that the parent pay $2 for each page. When the parent didn't pay, the court issued a $25,000 warrant for her arrest.
I'm not making this up. Poway Schools reeeeally wanted to teach parent Lindsey Stewart to be quiet.
On February 14, 2007, PUSD and Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Romo & Rudd (AALRR) filed an application in Superior Court for an order to reissue the bench warrant. Here is a quote from the declaration of Penelope R. Glover in Support of Application for Order Reissuing Bench Warrant:
“I am informed and believe that Respondent has scheduled a hearing at the Poway Unified School District, Extended Student Services Conference Room, 13626 Twin Peaks Road, Poway, California, on February 20, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. and will be appearing personally for the hearing. It is necessary that the bench warrant be reissued at this time... so that service can be effected on Respondent at the February 20,2007 hearing, if she has not been served before then.”
Lindsey Stewart says attorney Justin Shinnefield managed to get 9 witnesses who were under subpoena to stay home.
A parent got mad and sent a 600-page fax to Poway Unified School District lawyers. The district responded by getting a court to order that the parent pay $2 for each page. When the parent didn't pay, the court issued a $25,000 warrant for her arrest.
I'm not making this up. Poway Schools reeeeally wanted to teach parent Lindsey Stewart to be quiet.
On February 14, 2007, PUSD and Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Romo & Rudd (AALRR) filed an application in Superior Court for an order to reissue the bench warrant. Here is a quote from the declaration of Penelope R. Glover in Support of Application for Order Reissuing Bench Warrant:
“I am informed and believe that Respondent has scheduled a hearing at the Poway Unified School District, Extended Student Services Conference Room, 13626 Twin Peaks Road, Poway, California, on February 20, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. and will be appearing personally for the hearing. It is necessary that the bench warrant be reissued at this time... so that service can be effected on Respondent at the February 20,2007 hearing, if she has not been served before then.”
Lindsey Stewart says attorney Justin Shinnefield managed to get 9 witnesses who were under subpoena to stay home.
California screws up NCLB tutor list (SES); refuses to qualify Lindamood-Bell but approves substandard ARC Associates
Ineffective tutors, why does California pay them to continue?
June 28, 10:03 PM
Under No Child Left Behind, outside literacy tutoring is supposed to be offered to schools with low academic scores. State Department of Education agencies are supposed to screen and select tutoring centers that are deemed to be effective...
SES focuses on supplemental instruction or tutoring in English-language arts and/or mathematics for eligible students in Title I Program Improvement (PI) schools. Schools in Year two and beyond of PI are required to offer SES. The SES program augments the PI schools’ programs of instruction to help eligible students meet California’s state content standards."
...However one has to wonder what criteria they are using to select their tutors and how they monitor their effectiveness. I have found out Lindamood Bell, which offers scientifically researched successful programs with well documented statistical evidence or reading gain was NOT approved to be an SES tutor.
According to Tom Mendoza at Lindamood Bell learning process's, the Ca DOE was evasive about their criteria and did not offer any plausible explanation for the refusal.
In contrast, San Francisco based * ARC Associates, was approved by the CDE. ARC associates is the tutoring company.who has worked at Cesar Chavez Elementary School for the past five years and last year made $237,266.71 from the San Francisco Unified School District. This year, the district will pay ARC a projected $559,523 in SES tutoring contracts, according to the San Francisco Unified School District’s Office of State and Federally Funded Programs.
Yet nowhere has the weakness in the tutoring program been more stark than at Cesar Chavez, where tutoring has failed to increase scores on the standardized math and reading tests for most of the last five years. In 2007, test scores actually plunged 139 points, and last year’s scores rose only 10 points despite a growing number of students taking advantage of the subsidized tutoring.
This year at Cesar Chavez, 93 of the 183 eligible first through fifth grade students have been spending two or three hours a week since January getting assistance, but few expect better results on tests. At a school in Program Improvement, all students are eligible to receive tutoring, although some students get priority including those who are failing state tests and first graders who fail a reading test.
Arlene Graham, program liaison for ARC Associates, blamed the low test scores on the difficulty in teaching students whose first language is not English. Chavez’s student body is comprised of 71.6 percent Latino English learners compared to 17.5 percent district-wide. “The reality of working with bilingual children is that they have to go through development academically in their own language, then transition academically into English,” said Graham. “How do we get the English content and meaning to them? There is a lag.”
In contrast, Lindamood Bell made substantial gains with ESL students in 2009 working in collaboration with Vista Unified School District at Olive, their lowest performing school which consisted of many ESL students. See http://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2009m6d8-Vista-unified-school-district-and-Lindamood-Bell-proves-all-students-can-achieve
Reading instructor Amber Lamprecht was able to make 1.4 years of reading gain in 36 hours over 6 months to ESL students. http://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2009m4d22-36-hours-to-change-a-child-life
...Secretary of education, Arne Duncan recently stated that California has "lost it's way" when it comes to education. When one looks at this tutoring situation, he is absolutely right. Why should he give California more funds for education when our current decision makers at the CDE make such poor choices?
*As first reported in Mission Local web site:
SES Providers for Ca: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ti/ap/providers.aspx
https://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2009m6d28-Ineffective-NCLB-tutors-why-does-Ca-DOE-allow-them-to-continue
June 28, 10:03 PM
Under No Child Left Behind, outside literacy tutoring is supposed to be offered to schools with low academic scores. State Department of Education agencies are supposed to screen and select tutoring centers that are deemed to be effective...
SES focuses on supplemental instruction or tutoring in English-language arts and/or mathematics for eligible students in Title I Program Improvement (PI) schools. Schools in Year two and beyond of PI are required to offer SES. The SES program augments the PI schools’ programs of instruction to help eligible students meet California’s state content standards."
...However one has to wonder what criteria they are using to select their tutors and how they monitor their effectiveness. I have found out Lindamood Bell, which offers scientifically researched successful programs with well documented statistical evidence or reading gain was NOT approved to be an SES tutor.
According to Tom Mendoza at Lindamood Bell learning process's, the Ca DOE was evasive about their criteria and did not offer any plausible explanation for the refusal.
In contrast, San Francisco based * ARC Associates, was approved by the CDE. ARC associates is the tutoring company.who has worked at Cesar Chavez Elementary School for the past five years and last year made $237,266.71 from the San Francisco Unified School District. This year, the district will pay ARC a projected $559,523 in SES tutoring contracts, according to the San Francisco Unified School District’s Office of State and Federally Funded Programs.
Yet nowhere has the weakness in the tutoring program been more stark than at Cesar Chavez, where tutoring has failed to increase scores on the standardized math and reading tests for most of the last five years. In 2007, test scores actually plunged 139 points, and last year’s scores rose only 10 points despite a growing number of students taking advantage of the subsidized tutoring.
This year at Cesar Chavez, 93 of the 183 eligible first through fifth grade students have been spending two or three hours a week since January getting assistance, but few expect better results on tests. At a school in Program Improvement, all students are eligible to receive tutoring, although some students get priority including those who are failing state tests and first graders who fail a reading test.
Arlene Graham, program liaison for ARC Associates, blamed the low test scores on the difficulty in teaching students whose first language is not English. Chavez’s student body is comprised of 71.6 percent Latino English learners compared to 17.5 percent district-wide. “The reality of working with bilingual children is that they have to go through development academically in their own language, then transition academically into English,” said Graham. “How do we get the English content and meaning to them? There is a lag.”
In contrast, Lindamood Bell made substantial gains with ESL students in 2009 working in collaboration with Vista Unified School District at Olive, their lowest performing school which consisted of many ESL students. See http://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2009m6d8-Vista-unified-school-district-and-Lindamood-Bell-proves-all-students-can-achieve
Reading instructor Amber Lamprecht was able to make 1.4 years of reading gain in 36 hours over 6 months to ESL students. http://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2009m4d22-36-hours-to-change-a-child-life
...Secretary of education, Arne Duncan recently stated that California has "lost it's way" when it comes to education. When one looks at this tutoring situation, he is absolutely right. Why should he give California more funds for education when our current decision makers at the CDE make such poor choices?
*As first reported in Mission Local web site:
SES Providers for Ca: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ti/ap/providers.aspx
https://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2009m6d28-Ineffective-NCLB-tutors-why-does-Ca-DOE-allow-them-to-continue
Wealthy Washington DC suburb takes steps to better evaluate teachers
One Way to Save Struggling Teachers--Maybe
Washington Post
June 29, 2009
My colleague Dan de Vise provides an intriguing look at teacher support efforts on our front page Monday, in what many seasoned educators think is the best way to help bad teachers--regular counseling and review by experts.
His subject is the Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) program in Montgomery County, a wealthy suburb that can afford the $2 million annual cost. Teachers who are ineffective in the classroom, and all new teachers, are assigned a classroom expert who watches them in action and meets with them regularly, making suggestions and seeing if they work. A 16-person panel---8 principals appointed by the school system and 8 teachers appointed by the union--makes the final decision on whether to keep the teachers or dismiss them so they can seek more congenial employment.
This seems to produce more, rather than fewer, dismissals of ineffective teachers than Montgomery had before. But that is a misleading figure because before PAR, under-performing teachers were often hectored into quitting, and didn’t show up on the stats as being dismissed. The teachers union designed the plan. The superintendent likes it.
My only qualm is that the panel pays little attention to test score data or parental opinions---both of which teachers' unions tend to ignore anyway. Many parents, including me, think those factors should get more weight.
Throwing a Lifeline to Struggling Teachers
Montgomery Program Embraces Peer Review
By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post
June 29, 2009
...Union contracts and tenure rules tend to make it difficult to dismiss ineffective teachers. But in Montgomery, the union is teaming with school officials to weed out -- or, better yet, help improve -- teachers who fall short.
Introduced by teachers in Toledo in 1981, peer review arrived in Montgomery 10 years ago and is considered in many quarters a promising solution to the labor-management impasse over teacher dismissals. The National Education Association has encouraged peer review since the mid-1990s. The American Federation of Teachers, which had supported it even earlier, last year passed a resolution calling on affiliates to consider the program.
But no other school system in the D.C. region has embraced peer review, and the program has expanded slowly. Federation President Randi Weingarten said peer review "takes real collaboration between the superintendent and the union leader." Often, the two are adversaries.
Peer review gives Maryland's largest school system the power to dismiss under-performers. It gives struggling teachers a chance to rebuild skills. Of 66 Montgomery teachers in peer review in the 2008-09 school year, 10 are being dismissed and 21 have resigned or retired. Five will remain in review for a second year. The remaining 30 will successfully exit.
[Maura Larkins' comment: Thirty successful teachers out of sixty-six shows that there is some success in the mentoring side of this operation. And one thing I like about the system is that there is some genuine evaluation going on...It sounds like an improvement to the current system, although I would recommend that the district have outsiders come in to do the final evaluations to eliminate politics from the equation. The success rate isn't high enough to rely on in-district individuals making the final decision. It seems that there is more pressure to get rid of the teachers than there is to help them improve.]
"We've changed the whole culture from 'gotcha' to support," said Montgomery Superintendent Jerry D. Weast.
Peer review, which costs Montgomery schools $2 million a year, pairs a struggling teacher with a mentor. Those who improve return to the classroom. Those who do not go before a panel of 16 teachers and principals that amounts to an impartial court. It decides whether to recommend termination or a second year of monitoring. No one gets more than two years...
Washington Post
June 29, 2009
My colleague Dan de Vise provides an intriguing look at teacher support efforts on our front page Monday, in what many seasoned educators think is the best way to help bad teachers--regular counseling and review by experts.
His subject is the Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) program in Montgomery County, a wealthy suburb that can afford the $2 million annual cost. Teachers who are ineffective in the classroom, and all new teachers, are assigned a classroom expert who watches them in action and meets with them regularly, making suggestions and seeing if they work. A 16-person panel---8 principals appointed by the school system and 8 teachers appointed by the union--makes the final decision on whether to keep the teachers or dismiss them so they can seek more congenial employment.
This seems to produce more, rather than fewer, dismissals of ineffective teachers than Montgomery had before. But that is a misleading figure because before PAR, under-performing teachers were often hectored into quitting, and didn’t show up on the stats as being dismissed. The teachers union designed the plan. The superintendent likes it.
My only qualm is that the panel pays little attention to test score data or parental opinions---both of which teachers' unions tend to ignore anyway. Many parents, including me, think those factors should get more weight.
Throwing a Lifeline to Struggling Teachers
Montgomery Program Embraces Peer Review
By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post
June 29, 2009
...Union contracts and tenure rules tend to make it difficult to dismiss ineffective teachers. But in Montgomery, the union is teaming with school officials to weed out -- or, better yet, help improve -- teachers who fall short.
Introduced by teachers in Toledo in 1981, peer review arrived in Montgomery 10 years ago and is considered in many quarters a promising solution to the labor-management impasse over teacher dismissals. The National Education Association has encouraged peer review since the mid-1990s. The American Federation of Teachers, which had supported it even earlier, last year passed a resolution calling on affiliates to consider the program.
But no other school system in the D.C. region has embraced peer review, and the program has expanded slowly. Federation President Randi Weingarten said peer review "takes real collaboration between the superintendent and the union leader." Often, the two are adversaries.
Peer review gives Maryland's largest school system the power to dismiss under-performers. It gives struggling teachers a chance to rebuild skills. Of 66 Montgomery teachers in peer review in the 2008-09 school year, 10 are being dismissed and 21 have resigned or retired. Five will remain in review for a second year. The remaining 30 will successfully exit.
[Maura Larkins' comment: Thirty successful teachers out of sixty-six shows that there is some success in the mentoring side of this operation. And one thing I like about the system is that there is some genuine evaluation going on...It sounds like an improvement to the current system, although I would recommend that the district have outsiders come in to do the final evaluations to eliminate politics from the equation. The success rate isn't high enough to rely on in-district individuals making the final decision. It seems that there is more pressure to get rid of the teachers than there is to help them improve.]
"We've changed the whole culture from 'gotcha' to support," said Montgomery Superintendent Jerry D. Weast.
Peer review, which costs Montgomery schools $2 million a year, pairs a struggling teacher with a mentor. Those who improve return to the classroom. Those who do not go before a panel of 16 teachers and principals that amounts to an impartial court. It decides whether to recommend termination or a second year of monitoring. No one gets more than two years...
Burning Moms are edgier than the PTA
Burning Moms use humor to push for education changes in California
By Pamela Martineau
Sacramento Bee
Jun. 28, 2009
They think of themselves as street-theater activists who are willing to get in the face of the powers-that-be to bring equity to the state's school funding system.
So between driving kids to soccer practice and helping with homework, these moms are hooking up online to organize their next rally or blogging about what bill in the Legislature might bring transparency to education finance.
At the Capitol last week, a loosely formed coalition called the Burning Moms staged its second annual rally at the state Capitol to protest school funding cuts.
Instead of marching with placards and chanting slogans, the Burning Moms and their kids built sculptures out of trash and danced to rewritten rock tunes performed by a band called the Angry, Tired Teachers.
Their goal is to make political activism fun and irreverent, while shining a spotlight on a public school system in crisis.
The name Burning Moms is a riff on the annual nonconformist celebration Burning Man.
"We see ourselves as somewhat edgier than the PTA," said Burning Mom Deb McCurdy, who drove to Sacramento from Pasadena with her two kids for the rally. "We're willing to take somewhat more of a risk to demonstrate our passion."
Burning Moms co-founder, stand-up comic and author Sandra Tsing Loh, 47, of San Francisco, likens the grass-roots movement to a "string of terrorist cells."
The Burning Moms (who also include a few dads) will blog online about an issue then decide to show up to protest or help a group organize...
"It's informal and cell-like," said Loh, who also hosts a talk show on National Public Radio on various topics. A few years ago, Loh developed a comedic monologue and later wrote a book called Mom on Fire about her efforts to find a decent public school for her kindergarten-age daughter in San Francisco.
That effort morphed into the Burning Moms, as more mothers contacted her saying they were experiencing similar frustrations with public schools. Now, the moms regularly chat on their Facebook page or on the site askamagnetyenta.wordpress .com about where to find the best magnet schools or to complain about state and national education policies...
Burning Moms rallied at first lady Maria Shriver's conference on women in November to protest its lack of discussion of public education...
California's beleaguered public education system is a crisis they believe threatens the future of their kids and therefore engenders their oft-referenced "burning" rage. (Watch their video on www.theburningmoms.org.)
They say they applaud (and some still belong to) the well-meaning PTA and other booster groups whose members bake cookies and organize fundraisers to raise money for their kids' public schools. But Burning Moms believe they need to start working to better all kids' schools, not just the ones that are fortunate enough to have active booster clubs. It's an equity issue, they say...
By Pamela Martineau
Sacramento Bee
Jun. 28, 2009
They think of themselves as street-theater activists who are willing to get in the face of the powers-that-be to bring equity to the state's school funding system.
So between driving kids to soccer practice and helping with homework, these moms are hooking up online to organize their next rally or blogging about what bill in the Legislature might bring transparency to education finance.
At the Capitol last week, a loosely formed coalition called the Burning Moms staged its second annual rally at the state Capitol to protest school funding cuts.
Instead of marching with placards and chanting slogans, the Burning Moms and their kids built sculptures out of trash and danced to rewritten rock tunes performed by a band called the Angry, Tired Teachers.
Their goal is to make political activism fun and irreverent, while shining a spotlight on a public school system in crisis.
The name Burning Moms is a riff on the annual nonconformist celebration Burning Man.
"We see ourselves as somewhat edgier than the PTA," said Burning Mom Deb McCurdy, who drove to Sacramento from Pasadena with her two kids for the rally. "We're willing to take somewhat more of a risk to demonstrate our passion."
Burning Moms co-founder, stand-up comic and author Sandra Tsing Loh, 47, of San Francisco, likens the grass-roots movement to a "string of terrorist cells."
The Burning Moms (who also include a few dads) will blog online about an issue then decide to show up to protest or help a group organize...
"It's informal and cell-like," said Loh, who also hosts a talk show on National Public Radio on various topics. A few years ago, Loh developed a comedic monologue and later wrote a book called Mom on Fire about her efforts to find a decent public school for her kindergarten-age daughter in San Francisco.
That effort morphed into the Burning Moms, as more mothers contacted her saying they were experiencing similar frustrations with public schools. Now, the moms regularly chat on their Facebook page or on the site askamagnetyenta.wordpress .com about where to find the best magnet schools or to complain about state and national education policies...
Burning Moms rallied at first lady Maria Shriver's conference on women in November to protest its lack of discussion of public education...
California's beleaguered public education system is a crisis they believe threatens the future of their kids and therefore engenders their oft-referenced "burning" rage. (Watch their video on www.theburningmoms.org.)
They say they applaud (and some still belong to) the well-meaning PTA and other booster groups whose members bake cookies and organize fundraisers to raise money for their kids' public schools. But Burning Moms believe they need to start working to better all kids' schools, not just the ones that are fortunate enough to have active booster clubs. It's an equity issue, they say...
Monday, June 29, 2009
Judge finds "extraordinary evil" in Bernard Madoff for fraud against so many
Bernard MadoffCan you physically harm someone just by cheating him or her out of money that is rightfully theirs?
Are economic crimes indirectly crimes of violence?
They are, and it's time that many people in positions of prestige and power were recognized for the harm they do. It isn't just money if it's someone's livelihood.
Madoff gets 150 years in prison
‘Extraordinary evil’ cited by judge
Bernard L. Madoff received the maximum penalty.
By Beth Healy and Casey Ross
Boston Globe Staff
June 30, 2009
Despite his claims of contrition, Bernard L. Madoff was sentenced yesterday to 150 years in prison for a crime a federal judge called an act of “extraordinary evil.’’
The lengthy sentence - ensuring Madoff will die behind bars - was the harshest possible punishment that US District Judge Denny Chin could impose.
In March, the former investment manager confessed to swindling some of the nation’s wealthiest families and prominent philanthropies out of their fortunes, along with cheating widows, retired teachers, tradesmen, and hundreds of other middle-class investors out of their life savings.
“The fraud here was staggering,’’ Chin said during the sentencing in a packed Manhattan courtroom. “This is not just a matter of money. The breach of trust was massive.’’
And yet investigators are still trying to determine its full scope.
Last night, a person familiar with the investigation said 10 more people are likely to face federal charges over the next few months, the Associated Press reported. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, would not say whether Madoff’s relatives or former employees are being targeted.
Boston was one of several focal points of Madoff’s two-decade fraud, and yesterday several victims from Massachusetts expressed satisfaction after the sentencing. But they said the prison term is not enough to undo the financial devastation he brought.
“I wish there was some way for him to feel the hurt and the damage he has created,’’ said David Ranzer, a retired broker from Williamstown who said he lost a nearly seven-figure sum to Madoff. “But I don’t think he’s capable of that, and the reason he is not capable of that is the very reason he allowed himself to do what he did.’’
Madoff drew many clients from the networks of Boston’s and New York’s wealthy Jewish communities, often socializing with them in the winter retreat of Palm Beach, Fla. Among them was the Shapiro family of Boston.
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the bankruptcy trustee overseeing the recovery of money for victims accused Robert Jaffe of Weston, the son-in-law of Carl and Ruth Shapiro, and the brokerage firm at which he worked of steering more than $1 billion in investors’ money to Madoff - when he should have known Madoff was running a fraud. Regulators said Jaffe earned at least $150 million from Madoff.
Jaffe, through his attorney, denied the charges.
Dozens of victims who submitted statements to the court detailed the extreme privation that Madoff’s theft had left them in. Some said they were reduced to living on Social Security, being forced to sell their homes, or returning to work years after having retired.
Madoff tried to address the anger and the emotions in a statement in court. Dressed in a dark suit and looking thinner than in March, when he pleaded guilty, Madoff spoke quietly, almost meekly - in marked contrast to the tearful, angst-ridden statements read by nine victims...
BERNARD MADOFF DIDN'T DO IT ALONE
Ten could eventually be charged in Madoff fraud
By Grant McCool
June 30, 2009
Reuters
U.S. investigators believe 10 or more people associated with imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff could be criminally charged in the coming months or beyond, a law enforcement source said on Tuesday.
The source, who asked not be identified because of the ongoing investigation into the multibillion-dollar Madoff fraud, said the FBI was "closer to the beginning than the end" of the probe.
Disgraced financier Madoff, 71, was sentenced to 150 years imprisonment on Monday after he pleaded guilty in March to orchestrating a worldwide investment scheme of as much as $65 billion...
"There will probably be more people charged," the law enforcement source said. "It is likely to be 10 or more, but it is going to be a lengthy process that could take months or more."
A spokeswoman for the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, which prosecuted Madoff and accountant David Friehling, declined to comment on the investigations.
Federal investigators have declined to identify who is the focus of their inquiries, but they are skeptical of the claims by some people who worked at the Madoff firm that they had no knowledge of the scheme.
Lawyers and white-collar crime experts have said all along that Madoff's decades-long scheme appeared to be too complex to have been the work of one person alone...
The trustee and regulators have sued several businessmen, who made billions in handling Madoff money through so-called feeder funds, charging that they knew or should have known the financier was running a fraud. (Reporting by Grant McCool, editing by Maureen Bavdek)
Test scores matter for firemen in in Connecticut but not for teachers in California
Why did New Haven create a formula that relied 60% on a multiple choice test? It's not that I have anything against multiple choice tests. It's just that I can think of jobs where such tests are more important, but are not used at all!
Teachers don't take tests to get raises. But they should.
Supreme Court rules in favor of Conn. firefighters
Group accused city of racial discrimination
Boston Globe
By Joseph Williams
WASHINGTON - A sharply divided US Supreme Court ruled yesterday in favor of a group of white firefighters who accused the city of New Haven of racial discrimination, potentially making it much harder for employers to bring racial balance to the workplace, while handing ammunition to critics of high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on the eve of her confirmation hearings.
The 5-to-4 ruling struck down the decision of a three-judge federal appeals court panel that included Sotomayor, President Obama’s first Supreme Court pick and the first Latino chosen to serve on the nation’s highest court. Since her nomination, conservative Republicans have attacked Sotomayor’s views on racial preferences and stirring up hot-button questions about whether diversity and background should be considered for a lifetime judicial appointment. If confirmed, Sotomayor would replace retiring Justice David Souter, who agreed with her and sided with New Haven in the case.
Conservative legal analysts were quick to link the ruling, issued on the last day of the court’s session, to Sotomayor.
“It suggests that we have somebody who’s quite out of sync with the right approach to the law in this area,’’ said Roger Clegg, who heads the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative think tank.
At the same time, legal analysts said the court’s decision dramatically shifts the affirmative action landscape. Opponents of race-based preferences cheered the ruling as a major step toward a society that doesn’t place significance on color, while supporters said the majority ignored the ongoing need for remedies to past discrimination, virtually wiping out advances made over the last quarter century.
Marge Baker, executive vice president for policy and program planning at People For the American Way, a liberal advocacy group, said the ruling is more evidence that Chief Justice John Roberts is presiding over “a piecemeal dismantling of really, really important civil rights protections.’’
“It’s going to make it harder for the typical employer to make choices in their employment decisions with an eye toward achieving some kind of racial diversity,’’ said Stephen Vladeck, an American University constitutional law professor. “These choices will invariably be seen as discriminatory against whites. The court has been moving this way for some time.’’
At the heart of the case is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which makes it illegal to base hiring decisions on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.’’
Although New Haven had tried to make its promotion examination race-neutral, too many whites and Latinos and too few African Americans met the standard for promotion. The city, worried that it would be sued by black firefighters, voided exam results and did not promote any of the white firefighters, even though they scored high enough to advance...
Teachers don't take tests to get raises. But they should.
Supreme Court rules in favor of Conn. firefighters
Group accused city of racial discrimination
Boston Globe
By Joseph Williams
WASHINGTON - A sharply divided US Supreme Court ruled yesterday in favor of a group of white firefighters who accused the city of New Haven of racial discrimination, potentially making it much harder for employers to bring racial balance to the workplace, while handing ammunition to critics of high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on the eve of her confirmation hearings.
The 5-to-4 ruling struck down the decision of a three-judge federal appeals court panel that included Sotomayor, President Obama’s first Supreme Court pick and the first Latino chosen to serve on the nation’s highest court. Since her nomination, conservative Republicans have attacked Sotomayor’s views on racial preferences and stirring up hot-button questions about whether diversity and background should be considered for a lifetime judicial appointment. If confirmed, Sotomayor would replace retiring Justice David Souter, who agreed with her and sided with New Haven in the case.
Conservative legal analysts were quick to link the ruling, issued on the last day of the court’s session, to Sotomayor.
“It suggests that we have somebody who’s quite out of sync with the right approach to the law in this area,’’ said Roger Clegg, who heads the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative think tank.
At the same time, legal analysts said the court’s decision dramatically shifts the affirmative action landscape. Opponents of race-based preferences cheered the ruling as a major step toward a society that doesn’t place significance on color, while supporters said the majority ignored the ongoing need for remedies to past discrimination, virtually wiping out advances made over the last quarter century.
Marge Baker, executive vice president for policy and program planning at People For the American Way, a liberal advocacy group, said the ruling is more evidence that Chief Justice John Roberts is presiding over “a piecemeal dismantling of really, really important civil rights protections.’’
“It’s going to make it harder for the typical employer to make choices in their employment decisions with an eye toward achieving some kind of racial diversity,’’ said Stephen Vladeck, an American University constitutional law professor. “These choices will invariably be seen as discriminatory against whites. The court has been moving this way for some time.’’
At the heart of the case is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which makes it illegal to base hiring decisions on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.’’
Although New Haven had tried to make its promotion examination race-neutral, too many whites and Latinos and too few African Americans met the standard for promotion. The city, worried that it would be sued by black firefighters, voided exam results and did not promote any of the white firefighters, even though they scored high enough to advance...
Friday, June 26, 2009
Los Angeles Times: Patrick Judd refuses to allow valedictorian to make a speech...and fires her from her summer job
Being vindictive and malicious to adults is one thing, but Patrick Judd's retaliation against a child in his care is another. Do he and his administrators stay up nights thinking up punishments? Or do ideas just pop into their heads without any effort?
The TAS brass thinks that certain people are so insignificant that there's no need to take any notice of them.
Here's an old saying that might help Mr. Judd rethink this situation (substituting "girl" for "boy"): Always be kind to the office boy, because he's on his way up, and you're on your way down.
What were Lowell Billings and the other trustees thinking when they hired Patrick Judd to be superintendent of The Accelerated Schools? See all Pat Judd posts HERE.
Photo: Christina House / For The Times
Aurora Ponce, 18, speaks about being barred from making her valedictory speech after participating in a student sit-in.
Valedictorian says Accelerated School barred her from making speech
LA Times
By Seema Mehta
June 25, 2009
...Aurora Ponce says she was also deprived of a tutoring job she was counting on to help with coming college expenses after she took part in a protest over school cuts. Officials aren't talking.
Aurora Ponce is senior class president, boasts a near-perfect A average and is UC-bound with plans to study engineering.
But according to the 18-year-old and her supporters, officials at the Accelerated School, a collection of South Los Angeles charter schools, have barred Ponce from making her valedictory speech at Saturday's graduation as punishment for participating in a student sit-in to protest increased class sizes and the elimination of college prep classes. They have also taken away a summer tutoring job and other honors, she said.
"I see it as retaliation," said the South Los Angeles teen. "I just want to speak during graduation."
Officials involved in the actions regarding Ponce did not return calls seeking comment. They include Patrick Judd, who is in charge of the umbrella organization that oversees the Accelerated Schools; Elizabeth Oberreiter, principal of the Wallis Annenberg High School, Ponce's campus; and Sandra Phillips, principal of the Accelerated School's K-8 school. At least one referred questions to school co-founder Johnathan Williams, who said he was not familiar with the matter and would not release student information to the media in any event.
"All I'll say is this school is doing wonderfully by the children and the families and all the rest," he said. "There's no story here. Everyone is treated fairly here at the Accelerated School and Wallis Annenberg High School."
[Maura Larkins' note to Mr. Williams: If you're not familiar with all the complaints at TAS, then your comments about how wonderful it is are without foundation.]
Dozens of parents and students who protested outside the school Wednesday, many carrying posters calling for Judd's firing, disagreed.
...Critics charge that in recent years, what was once a collaborative environment rich with teacher and parent input has given way to top-heavy management that is not responsive to parents and students and is no longer transparent in its decision-making. These concerns, along with class sizes increasing, popular teachers departing and some college-prep offerings being eliminated, led scores of students to stage a silent sit-in May 15 outside the Annenberg auditorium...
It's unclear how many students were punished, but Ponce said she was immediately escorted off campus without her parents being notified and was suspended for two days. Other punishments have dribbled out since...
A SIMILAR STORY: IRANIAN CLERIC URGES FIRM PUNISHMENT FOR PROTESTERS
Iranian cleric urges firm punishment for protesters
TEHRAN, Iran
June 26, 2009
CNN
Two weeks into turmoil, Iran's leaders turned up the heat Friday as a high-ranking cleric warned protesters that they would be punished "firmly" and shown no mercy.
Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami says rioters in Iran will be "firmly" dealt with if they continue to protest.
"Rioters and those who mastermind the unrest must know the Iranian nation will not give in to pressure and accept the nullification of the election results," said Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami during Friday prayers in Tehran, according to Iran's state-run Press TV.
"I ask the Judiciary to firmly deal with these people and set an example for everyone," Khatami said...
YET ANOTHER EFFORT TO SILENCE PROTESTERS
Video shows Honduran troops shooting protesters' bus tires
July 3, 2009
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CNN) -- Honduran soldiers shot out the tires of buses headed for a demonstration in support of ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya, a video obtained by CNN shows.
This image from a cell phone video shows Honduran soldiers shooting out the tires of a bus.
The video, believed shot within the past two days, shows a line of buses stopped on a road in what is reported to be the city of Limones. The city is about 70 miles (112 kilometers) northeast of the capital, Tegucigalpa.
A noisy, chaotic crowd is milling around the buses while soldiers move among them. Some slight pushing can be seen.
"The people united can never be defeated," many crowd members chant in unison.
Gunfire is heard and the crowd grows quieter. More shots are heard and then the video shows soldiers shooting out the tires on a yellow bus. Air hissing from a tire can be heard and the video shows a flattened tire. ..
.
.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-valedictorian25-2009jun25,0,3843783.story
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/06/quiet-protest-costs-student-a-chance-to-speak.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/27/iran.protests/
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/07/03/honduras.video/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular
The TAS brass thinks that certain people are so insignificant that there's no need to take any notice of them.
Here's an old saying that might help Mr. Judd rethink this situation (substituting "girl" for "boy"): Always be kind to the office boy, because he's on his way up, and you're on your way down.
What were Lowell Billings and the other trustees thinking when they hired Patrick Judd to be superintendent of The Accelerated Schools? See all Pat Judd posts HERE.
Photo: Christina House / For The Times
Aurora Ponce, 18, speaks about being barred from making her valedictory speech after participating in a student sit-in.
Valedictorian says Accelerated School barred her from making speech
LA Times
By Seema Mehta
June 25, 2009
...Aurora Ponce says she was also deprived of a tutoring job she was counting on to help with coming college expenses after she took part in a protest over school cuts. Officials aren't talking.
Aurora Ponce is senior class president, boasts a near-perfect A average and is UC-bound with plans to study engineering.
But according to the 18-year-old and her supporters, officials at the Accelerated School, a collection of South Los Angeles charter schools, have barred Ponce from making her valedictory speech at Saturday's graduation as punishment for participating in a student sit-in to protest increased class sizes and the elimination of college prep classes. They have also taken away a summer tutoring job and other honors, she said.
"I see it as retaliation," said the South Los Angeles teen. "I just want to speak during graduation."
Officials involved in the actions regarding Ponce did not return calls seeking comment. They include Patrick Judd, who is in charge of the umbrella organization that oversees the Accelerated Schools; Elizabeth Oberreiter, principal of the Wallis Annenberg High School, Ponce's campus; and Sandra Phillips, principal of the Accelerated School's K-8 school. At least one referred questions to school co-founder Johnathan Williams, who said he was not familiar with the matter and would not release student information to the media in any event."All I'll say is this school is doing wonderfully by the children and the families and all the rest," he said. "There's no story here. Everyone is treated fairly here at the Accelerated School and Wallis Annenberg High School."
[Maura Larkins' note to Mr. Williams: If you're not familiar with all the complaints at TAS, then your comments about how wonderful it is are without foundation.]
Dozens of parents and students who protested outside the school Wednesday, many carrying posters calling for Judd's firing, disagreed.
...Critics charge that in recent years, what was once a collaborative environment rich with teacher and parent input has given way to top-heavy management that is not responsive to parents and students and is no longer transparent in its decision-making. These concerns, along with class sizes increasing, popular teachers departing and some college-prep offerings being eliminated, led scores of students to stage a silent sit-in May 15 outside the Annenberg auditorium...
It's unclear how many students were punished, but Ponce said she was immediately escorted off campus without her parents being notified and was suspended for two days. Other punishments have dribbled out since...
A SIMILAR STORY: IRANIAN CLERIC URGES FIRM PUNISHMENT FOR PROTESTERSIranian cleric urges firm punishment for protesters
TEHRAN, Iran
June 26, 2009
CNN
Two weeks into turmoil, Iran's leaders turned up the heat Friday as a high-ranking cleric warned protesters that they would be punished "firmly" and shown no mercy.
Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami says rioters in Iran will be "firmly" dealt with if they continue to protest.
"Rioters and those who mastermind the unrest must know the Iranian nation will not give in to pressure and accept the nullification of the election results," said Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami during Friday prayers in Tehran, according to Iran's state-run Press TV.
"I ask the Judiciary to firmly deal with these people and set an example for everyone," Khatami said...
YET ANOTHER EFFORT TO SILENCE PROTESTERS
Video shows Honduran troops shooting protesters' bus tires
July 3, 2009
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CNN) -- Honduran soldiers shot out the tires of buses headed for a demonstration in support of ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya, a video obtained by CNN shows.
This image from a cell phone video shows Honduran soldiers shooting out the tires of a bus.The video, believed shot within the past two days, shows a line of buses stopped on a road in what is reported to be the city of Limones. The city is about 70 miles (112 kilometers) northeast of the capital, Tegucigalpa.
A noisy, chaotic crowd is milling around the buses while soldiers move among them. Some slight pushing can be seen.
"The people united can never be defeated," many crowd members chant in unison.
Gunfire is heard and the crowd grows quieter. More shots are heard and then the video shows soldiers shooting out the tires on a yellow bus. Air hissing from a tire can be heard and the video shows a flattened tire. ..
.
.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-valedictorian25-2009jun25,0,3843783.story
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/06/quiet-protest-costs-student-a-chance-to-speak.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/27/iran.protests/
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/07/03/honduras.video/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular
Student video asks why can't schools find a fair way to fairly evaluate teachers
How come bad teachers get to keep their jobs just because they've been around a long time, while bright, hardworking young teachers are laid off?
One reason is that there is currently no meaningful system to evaluate teachers.
Student's video puts school cuts on personal level
Los Angeles Times
Steve Lopez
June 26, 2009
David Vera took up an L.A. school board member's challenge, using images to portray the harm caused by slashed budgets. Education advocates hope his work gets a wide audience.
David Vera, 18, has his young heart set on becoming a film editor or an actor. So the challenge posted on the door of his film arts class at Monroe High School in the San Fernando Valley held obvious appeal.
...The challenge had come from Los Angeles Unified School Board member Tamar Galatzan...
His favorite teacher got a pink slip.
That would be Travis Aranaga, an ambitious young teacher in his third year and loving every minute of his job. Aranaga's parents were both teachers, and he always knew he wanted to follow them into the profession. He went and got two masters degrees and threw himself into the job at Monroe.
But none of that mattered. The school district based its job cuts on seniority alone, and Aranaga's neck was under the budget ax...
"That's a special student," said Barbara Avery, telling me Vera was a delight to have in class, and his French wasn't bad, either. "Every once in a while, you get a kid like that."
Avery agreed. "It's just horrible," she said. "Absolutely horrible."
There has to be a way for teachers, administrators, parents and students to fairly evaluate teachers, Avery said, so that when layoffs are necessary, experience is not the only consideration.
She expects to get some heat for advocating that sort of reform. She's Monroe's co-chapter chair of United Teachers Los Angeles, and the union has staunchly defended basing layoffs on seniority, not evaluations.
I should note that Avery and Aranaga hesitated before speaking their minds, something few of their colleagues are willing to do publicly. But they felt it was important to do so, and Aranaga added that he felt "hung out to dry" by union leadership.
"I'm not saying old teachers are bad," said Aranaga, "but for every five good ones there's a bad one, and there's no way to get rid of those guys."
Avery said more than 20 Monroe teachers got layoff notices, and it appeared that roughly a third of them would actually lose their jobs.
"And some of those teachers are better than I could ever hope to be," said Aranaga. "In their first year, they're better than I can be."
Here are the videos. The winners are labeled. David Vera's is at the bottom, Monroe High School #4.
.
.
.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez26-2009jun26,0,1202557.column?page=3&track=rss
One reason is that there is currently no meaningful system to evaluate teachers.
Student's video puts school cuts on personal level
Los Angeles Times
Steve Lopez
June 26, 2009
David Vera took up an L.A. school board member's challenge, using images to portray the harm caused by slashed budgets. Education advocates hope his work gets a wide audience.
David Vera, 18, has his young heart set on becoming a film editor or an actor. So the challenge posted on the door of his film arts class at Monroe High School in the San Fernando Valley held obvious appeal.
...The challenge had come from Los Angeles Unified School Board member Tamar Galatzan...
His favorite teacher got a pink slip.
That would be Travis Aranaga, an ambitious young teacher in his third year and loving every minute of his job. Aranaga's parents were both teachers, and he always knew he wanted to follow them into the profession. He went and got two masters degrees and threw himself into the job at Monroe.
But none of that mattered. The school district based its job cuts on seniority alone, and Aranaga's neck was under the budget ax...
"That's a special student," said Barbara Avery, telling me Vera was a delight to have in class, and his French wasn't bad, either. "Every once in a while, you get a kid like that."
Avery agreed. "It's just horrible," she said. "Absolutely horrible."
There has to be a way for teachers, administrators, parents and students to fairly evaluate teachers, Avery said, so that when layoffs are necessary, experience is not the only consideration.
She expects to get some heat for advocating that sort of reform. She's Monroe's co-chapter chair of United Teachers Los Angeles, and the union has staunchly defended basing layoffs on seniority, not evaluations.
I should note that Avery and Aranaga hesitated before speaking their minds, something few of their colleagues are willing to do publicly. But they felt it was important to do so, and Aranaga added that he felt "hung out to dry" by union leadership.
"I'm not saying old teachers are bad," said Aranaga, "but for every five good ones there's a bad one, and there's no way to get rid of those guys."
Avery said more than 20 Monroe teachers got layoff notices, and it appeared that roughly a third of them would actually lose their jobs.
"And some of those teachers are better than I could ever hope to be," said Aranaga. "In their first year, they're better than I can be."
Here are the videos. The winners are labeled. David Vera's is at the bottom, Monroe High School #4.
.
.
.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez26-2009jun26,0,1202557.column?page=3&track=rss
Student wins $1.25 million from secretive SDUSD
Steve Cologne, who is representing San Diego Unified School District in this San Diego Unified School District case, is working hard to keep evidence out of court in the Rodger Hartnett case, in which he is representing the folks at San Diego County Office of Education.
Student wins $1.25 million in sex lawsuit
San Diego News Network
By Staff, City News Service
June 25, 2009
A jury awarded $1.25 million to a former student at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Paradise Hills, finding that the principal and others failed to report a suspected sexual relationship between the student and her teacher.
The San Diego Superior Court jury reached its verdict Monday against the San Diego Unified School District for its role in allowing teacher John Kyujoon Lee to engage in a sexual relationship with the student from the time she was 16 until she graduated in 2006.
Jurors awarded a total of $250,000 for past and future psychiatric counseling for the student, now 21, and $1 million for emotional distress and related damages.
Of that total amount, the jury found that Lee was 60 percent responsible and the school district 40 percent responsible.
Lee settled prior to the civil trial for an undisclosed sum. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to statutory rape and other sex-related charges for having a sexual relationship with a teenage student in September 2007.
Attorneys for the plaintiff said the main reason for the suit was to “force school districts to pay attention to what is so obviously a growing problem, and to ensure that future kids are free from abuse by their teachers.”
Attorney Steve Cologne, who represented the San Diego Unified School District, said the district is disappointed with the jury award, considering Lee and the student concealed their affair from everyone.
[Maura Larkins' comment: Concealing information is your job, right, Mr. Cologne? Isn't that why schools pay you so much money? I'm guessing that you tried hard to keep evidence out of this case, too.]
Cologne said an appeal of the verdict is possible.
“We’re looking at all our options,” the attorney said.
.
.
.
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-06-25/news/education/student-wins-125-million-in-sex-lawsuit
Student wins $1.25 million in sex lawsuit
San Diego News Network
By Staff, City News Service
June 25, 2009
A jury awarded $1.25 million to a former student at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Paradise Hills, finding that the principal and others failed to report a suspected sexual relationship between the student and her teacher.
The San Diego Superior Court jury reached its verdict Monday against the San Diego Unified School District for its role in allowing teacher John Kyujoon Lee to engage in a sexual relationship with the student from the time she was 16 until she graduated in 2006.
Jurors awarded a total of $250,000 for past and future psychiatric counseling for the student, now 21, and $1 million for emotional distress and related damages.
Of that total amount, the jury found that Lee was 60 percent responsible and the school district 40 percent responsible.
Lee settled prior to the civil trial for an undisclosed sum. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to statutory rape and other sex-related charges for having a sexual relationship with a teenage student in September 2007.
Attorneys for the plaintiff said the main reason for the suit was to “force school districts to pay attention to what is so obviously a growing problem, and to ensure that future kids are free from abuse by their teachers.”
Attorney Steve Cologne, who represented the San Diego Unified School District, said the district is disappointed with the jury award, considering Lee and the student concealed their affair from everyone.
[Maura Larkins' comment: Concealing information is your job, right, Mr. Cologne? Isn't that why schools pay you so much money? I'm guessing that you tried hard to keep evidence out of this case, too.]
Cologne said an appeal of the verdict is possible.
“We’re looking at all our options,” the attorney said.
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.
.
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-06-25/news/education/student-wins-125-million-in-sex-lawsuit
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Lompoc School District violates Brown Act to hire personnel manager
"I held them in high regard until today." I know how Sue Schuyler feels. I could have said the same thing about Patrick Judd, Cheryl Cox, Pamela Smith, Bertha Lopez and Larry Cunningham at one time.
It's amazing how people will surrender their ethics and honesty to get a tiny bit of power. It's all the more shocking when it's such a TINY bit of power.
Lompoc: Ex-school board members accuse board of violating Brown Act
First Amendment Coalition
June 23, 2009
Two ex-members of the Lompoc Unified School District school board say that the council majority acted precipitously in a June 2008 by a motion to hire a particular candidate for interim personnel director. The action contributed to board turmoil and a series of charges and denials among board members past and present. -DB
The Lompoc Record
June 23, 2009
By Bo Poertner
During a closed meeting of the Lompoc Unified School District Board of Education in June 2008, two of the members expected only to discuss the possible hiring of an interim personnel director.
Instead, former board members Bob Campbell and Ken Ostini said, they were surprised by the suddenness of a motion to hire Marilyn Corey, who had been interim personnel director in 2002, and the existence of a proposed contract to pay Corey $500 per day.
The actions of the board majority — Sue Schuyler, Anne Bossert and Kris Andrews — were highly inappropriate and perhaps violated California’s open meetings law, according to Campbell and Ostini, both of whom declined to seek re-election in November.
Andrews, Schuyler and Bossert deny that they violated the Brown Act and are reacting strongly to the accusation.
Although Corey wasn’t hired for that position, the discussion at the meeting a year ago threw the board into a tailspin, symptomatic perhaps of the turmoil it has been engulfed in for the past couple of years as it has made deep, painful budget cuts and controversial personnel moves.
It quickly became apparent, Campbell said, that the board majority had been discussing personnel moves privately and reaching a majority consensus outside of a board meeting — a clear violation of the Brown Act.
The board had not advertised to fill the position being vacated by Personnel Director Ragan Fife, and other options had not been discussed, he said.
One of those options, Campbell said, was a suggestion from Superintendent Frank Lynch that Lynch, Fife and Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services Tanya Opfermann share the personnel director’s responsibilities temporarily to save money.
“I was just kind of stunned,” Campbell said. “I remember saying, ‘Now, wait a minute here. We’re getting way ahead of things here.’”
Ostini said he was shocked as well.
“I was very surprised that all of a sudden, boom, it just sort of hit us,” he said. “This is the first I’ve seen this contract and we’re getting ready to approve this, and we’ve been sitting here five minutes?”
“The damage that these three school board members have done in the last 18 months will take years to repair, or to heal,” Campbell said. “It’s just no way to operate.”
Andrews, Schuyler and Bossert have a much different interpretation of events.
“Nothing was set in advance. Nothing was agreed to. There is no pattern of collusion, no agreement, no nothing,” Andrews said.
“We would have never done something like this,” Schuyler added. “I’m really disappointed in these two men. I held them in high regard until today...
It's amazing how people will surrender their ethics and honesty to get a tiny bit of power. It's all the more shocking when it's such a TINY bit of power.
Lompoc: Ex-school board members accuse board of violating Brown Act
First Amendment Coalition
June 23, 2009
Two ex-members of the Lompoc Unified School District school board say that the council majority acted precipitously in a June 2008 by a motion to hire a particular candidate for interim personnel director. The action contributed to board turmoil and a series of charges and denials among board members past and present. -DB
The Lompoc Record
June 23, 2009
By Bo Poertner
During a closed meeting of the Lompoc Unified School District Board of Education in June 2008, two of the members expected only to discuss the possible hiring of an interim personnel director.
Instead, former board members Bob Campbell and Ken Ostini said, they were surprised by the suddenness of a motion to hire Marilyn Corey, who had been interim personnel director in 2002, and the existence of a proposed contract to pay Corey $500 per day.
The actions of the board majority — Sue Schuyler, Anne Bossert and Kris Andrews — were highly inappropriate and perhaps violated California’s open meetings law, according to Campbell and Ostini, both of whom declined to seek re-election in November.
Andrews, Schuyler and Bossert deny that they violated the Brown Act and are reacting strongly to the accusation.
Although Corey wasn’t hired for that position, the discussion at the meeting a year ago threw the board into a tailspin, symptomatic perhaps of the turmoil it has been engulfed in for the past couple of years as it has made deep, painful budget cuts and controversial personnel moves.
It quickly became apparent, Campbell said, that the board majority had been discussing personnel moves privately and reaching a majority consensus outside of a board meeting — a clear violation of the Brown Act.
The board had not advertised to fill the position being vacated by Personnel Director Ragan Fife, and other options had not been discussed, he said.
One of those options, Campbell said, was a suggestion from Superintendent Frank Lynch that Lynch, Fife and Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services Tanya Opfermann share the personnel director’s responsibilities temporarily to save money.
“I was just kind of stunned,” Campbell said. “I remember saying, ‘Now, wait a minute here. We’re getting way ahead of things here.’”
Ostini said he was shocked as well.
“I was very surprised that all of a sudden, boom, it just sort of hit us,” he said. “This is the first I’ve seen this contract and we’re getting ready to approve this, and we’ve been sitting here five minutes?”
“The damage that these three school board members have done in the last 18 months will take years to repair, or to heal,” Campbell said. “It’s just no way to operate.”
Andrews, Schuyler and Bossert have a much different interpretation of events.
“Nothing was set in advance. Nothing was agreed to. There is no pattern of collusion, no agreement, no nothing,” Andrews said.
“We would have never done something like this,” Schuyler added. “I’m really disappointed in these two men. I held them in high regard until today...
Supreme Court to school authorities who did strip search: kids get to keep their clothes on
Due to my personal experiences at Chula Vista Elementary School District and what I have learned of other districts, I have long believed that teachers and administrators desperately need to brush up on the American Constitution.
It's a problem when those tasked with teaching American values show so much disrespect toward those values.
Supreme Court rules school's strip search of teen Savana Redding unconstitutional
BY James Gordon Meek
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
June 25th 2009
Wilson/Getty
Savana Redding leaves the U.S. Supreme Court after her case was heard April 21, 2009. The Supreme Court ruled today that a strip search performed on her in the 8th grade was unconstitutional.
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a strip search of a 13-year-old schoolgirl by administrators looking for banned medication was unconstitutional.
The high court held in the 8 to 1 opinion that a male assistant school principal in Arizona and a female nurse violated student Savanna Redding's rights when they ordered her to partially undress in a fruitless search for a tiny amount of Ibuprofen pain relief pills.
Only Justice Clarence Thomas dissented in the "regrettable decision" by the majority, reveling in the details of the teen drama.
The conservative justice even questioned whether Redding was really strip-searched - arguing that the term is reserved for those required "to fully disrobe in view of officials."
"What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear," soon-to-retire moderate Justice David Souter wrote in the majority opinion.
The justices described how the Safford Middle School official, Kerry Wilson, told Redding to "pull her bra out and shake it, and to pull out the elastic on her underpants, thus exposing her breasts and pelvic area."
The search - prompted by schoolmates who ratted Redding out as a pill pusher - came up empty.
But the 'tween girl, who had described standing exposed before the school administrators as "humiliating," felt vindicated.
"I'm pretty excited about it, because that's what I wanted," Redding told the Associated Press. "I wanted to keep it from happening to anybody else."
Liberal-leaning Justice John Paul Stevens said Redding's forced nudity - even if partial - was "outrageous conduct."
"I have long believed that it does not require a constitutional scholar to conclude that a nude search of a 13-year-old child is an invasion of constitutional rights of some magnitude," Stevens wrote.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/06/25/2009-06-25_supreme_court_rules_schools_strip_search_of_teen_savana_redding_unconstitutional.html#ixzz0JTnPWUQe&C
It's a problem when those tasked with teaching American values show so much disrespect toward those values.
Supreme Court rules school's strip search of teen Savana Redding unconstitutional
BY James Gordon Meek
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
June 25th 2009
Wilson/Getty
Savana Redding leaves the U.S. Supreme Court after her case was heard April 21, 2009. The Supreme Court ruled today that a strip search performed on her in the 8th grade was unconstitutional.
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a strip search of a 13-year-old schoolgirl by administrators looking for banned medication was unconstitutional.
The high court held in the 8 to 1 opinion that a male assistant school principal in Arizona and a female nurse violated student Savanna Redding's rights when they ordered her to partially undress in a fruitless search for a tiny amount of Ibuprofen pain relief pills.
Only Justice Clarence Thomas dissented in the "regrettable decision" by the majority, reveling in the details of the teen drama.
The conservative justice even questioned whether Redding was really strip-searched - arguing that the term is reserved for those required "to fully disrobe in view of officials."
"What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear," soon-to-retire moderate Justice David Souter wrote in the majority opinion.
The justices described how the Safford Middle School official, Kerry Wilson, told Redding to "pull her bra out and shake it, and to pull out the elastic on her underpants, thus exposing her breasts and pelvic area."
The search - prompted by schoolmates who ratted Redding out as a pill pusher - came up empty.
But the 'tween girl, who had described standing exposed before the school administrators as "humiliating," felt vindicated.
"I'm pretty excited about it, because that's what I wanted," Redding told the Associated Press. "I wanted to keep it from happening to anybody else."
Liberal-leaning Justice John Paul Stevens said Redding's forced nudity - even if partial - was "outrageous conduct."
"I have long believed that it does not require a constitutional scholar to conclude that a nude search of a 13-year-old child is an invasion of constitutional rights of some magnitude," Stevens wrote.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/06/25/2009-06-25_supreme_court_rules_schools_strip_search_of_teen_savana_redding_unconstitutional.html#ixzz0JTnPWUQe&C
A discussion of teacher tenure
Click HERE to see all posts on evaluating teachers.
The tenure dilemma: no easy answers
June 24, 2009
by Casey Weiss
Mountain View Voice
...In 1921, California adopted a policy granting tenure to its public school teachers after a two-year probationary period, becoming the first state to do so. Other U.S. states have since adopted similar policies, although many have a longer probationary period.
...As for teachers' legal costs, Dina Martin, spokesperson for the California Teachers Association, said they are covered by CTA dues.
[Maura Larkins comment: Dina Martin forgot to say that CTA pays only if a CTA-approved lawyer is involved. The reason for this is that the union may want certain facts covered up, and they know that the lawyers on their list will keep evidence out of the hearing. Sometimes a whistle-blowing teacher is a threat to the union as well as to the school administration.]
...Many local parents have asked the Voice what steps they can take to protect their children from an errant teacher, in the rare case that it becomes necessary. After a weeklong investigation into tenured teachers' rights...the Voice found that answers to this question were hard to come by.
[Maura Larkins comment: Secrecy is a hallmark of school districts' relationship with the public and parents. In San Diego County, schools are advised by Diane Crosier, director of the County Risk Management Department, not to let parents see accident reports involving their children!]
...Representatives at the County Office of Education and the California Teacher Association said they were not privy to how districts reviewed their teachers' performance...
[Maura Larkins comment: Not privy or not interested? Click HERE to see the starling testimony of one local CTA affiliate president.]
Attempts to find answers at the state level were even less successful. After looking through her database of specialists, Tina Jung, a spokesperson in the Department of Education, said there was no one there qualified to talk about tenure...Several calls to the state Public Employment Relations Board and the California School Boards Association produced the same answer: ask the school districts...
"We are an association," said CSBA spokesperson Brittany McKannay. "We are there to provide information for the school board."
http://www.mv-voice.com/news/show_story.php?id=1657
The tenure dilemma: no easy answers
June 24, 2009
by Casey Weiss
Mountain View Voice
...In 1921, California adopted a policy granting tenure to its public school teachers after a two-year probationary period, becoming the first state to do so. Other U.S. states have since adopted similar policies, although many have a longer probationary period.
...As for teachers' legal costs, Dina Martin, spokesperson for the California Teachers Association, said they are covered by CTA dues.
[Maura Larkins comment: Dina Martin forgot to say that CTA pays only if a CTA-approved lawyer is involved. The reason for this is that the union may want certain facts covered up, and they know that the lawyers on their list will keep evidence out of the hearing. Sometimes a whistle-blowing teacher is a threat to the union as well as to the school administration.]
...Many local parents have asked the Voice what steps they can take to protect their children from an errant teacher, in the rare case that it becomes necessary. After a weeklong investigation into tenured teachers' rights...the Voice found that answers to this question were hard to come by.
[Maura Larkins comment: Secrecy is a hallmark of school districts' relationship with the public and parents. In San Diego County, schools are advised by Diane Crosier, director of the County Risk Management Department, not to let parents see accident reports involving their children!]
...Representatives at the County Office of Education and the California Teacher Association said they were not privy to how districts reviewed their teachers' performance...
[Maura Larkins comment: Not privy or not interested? Click HERE to see the starling testimony of one local CTA affiliate president.]
Attempts to find answers at the state level were even less successful. After looking through her database of specialists, Tina Jung, a spokesperson in the Department of Education, said there was no one there qualified to talk about tenure...Several calls to the state Public Employment Relations Board and the California School Boards Association produced the same answer: ask the school districts...
"We are an association," said CSBA spokesperson Brittany McKannay. "We are there to provide information for the school board."
http://www.mv-voice.com/news/show_story.php?id=1657
Stimulus is saving jobs at Vista Unified School District
Stimulus funds help district to bridge gap
Budget cuts had put 200 school jobs at risk
By Bruce Lieberman,
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
June 21, 2009
VISTA — Federal stimulus money saved Vista Unified School District this past week from a late round of punishing budget cuts.
The jobs of about 200 people were on the line at the district, which enrolls about 23,000 students and employs more than 2,000 teachers and other non-teaching workers.
As recently as June 12, administrators were bracing for the worst because of a grim budget update Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced in late May. The governor projected that public school districts statewide would have to cut $3.6 billion between now and the end of 2009-10.
For Vista Unified, that meant cutting $5 million before the end of the current fiscal year, June 30, and another $9.7 million for 2009-10.
This was on top of $11.8 million the district cut from its 2009-10 budget earlier this spring.
While a district committee combed the budget for more dollars and administrators waited for the state to release more federal stimulus money, a plan was developed to lay off about 200 employees.
Then on June 12, the district learned it would have access to nearly $6 million in additional federal stimulus money. At Thursday's board meeting, employees expressed relief that they'd get a reprieve at least for another year.
“You've made a lot of people very happy,” said Bill Faust, head of the district's union for 1,100 employees who do not have teaching credentials.
It's clear, however, that the federal stimulus money will not be around in 2010-11, and the district will face another round of deep cuts if the economy doesn't rebound, said Donna Caperton, Vista Unified's chief business officer...
Budget cuts had put 200 school jobs at risk
By Bruce Lieberman,
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
June 21, 2009
VISTA — Federal stimulus money saved Vista Unified School District this past week from a late round of punishing budget cuts.
The jobs of about 200 people were on the line at the district, which enrolls about 23,000 students and employs more than 2,000 teachers and other non-teaching workers.
As recently as June 12, administrators were bracing for the worst because of a grim budget update Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced in late May. The governor projected that public school districts statewide would have to cut $3.6 billion between now and the end of 2009-10.
For Vista Unified, that meant cutting $5 million before the end of the current fiscal year, June 30, and another $9.7 million for 2009-10.
This was on top of $11.8 million the district cut from its 2009-10 budget earlier this spring.
While a district committee combed the budget for more dollars and administrators waited for the state to release more federal stimulus money, a plan was developed to lay off about 200 employees.
Then on June 12, the district learned it would have access to nearly $6 million in additional federal stimulus money. At Thursday's board meeting, employees expressed relief that they'd get a reprieve at least for another year.
“You've made a lot of people very happy,” said Bill Faust, head of the district's union for 1,100 employees who do not have teaching credentials.
It's clear, however, that the federal stimulus money will not be around in 2010-11, and the district will face another round of deep cuts if the economy doesn't rebound, said Donna Caperton, Vista Unified's chief business officer...
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Dear Randy Ward, how about allowing a broadcast by school inmates along the lines of Brixton Prison radio?
It's long been popular to give school kids the opportunity to present news and information to their peers; now this idea seems to have become popular in prisons. Does broadcasting improve the minds of the people who do it? How could it not? It makes them think; it teaches them to speak.
It's too bad students and teachers can't do probing interviews like the Brixton inmate who interviewed the former government minister who was sentenced to prison for perjury (story below).
A lot of problems in schools could be fixed if they weren't covered up by officials. Instead of selling exposure on public television to commercial interests, perhaps San Diego County Office of Education Superintendent Randolph Ward could create a television broadcast in which the inmates of San Diego schools, along with the public, could give real information to voters and taxpayers about schools.
Prison Radio Shines
Forbes
Parmy Olson
05.11.09
A tiny prison radio station in London is competing against the BBC for a prestigious award.
...A tiny prison radio station in South London is up for four prestigious Sony awards on Monday night, putting it alongside the some of the top talent of the BBC and other commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom.
Electric Radio in Brixton Prison is run by the Prison Radio Association, a British charity, and broadcasts to just 800 inmates--but it has a rich array of programming...
Its nominations include an award for talk radio and the all-important Interview Award.
...one of Brixton Prison's inmates interviewed former U.K. government minister Jonathan Aitken, who was sentenced to 18 months in Belmarsh prison in 1999 for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
The interviewer was half-way through a four-year sentence when he conducted the interview, and the two men were "socially, culturally and educationally poles apart," the Prison Radio Association says. But while Aitken comes across as well-spoken and slightly pompous, Tis' is not afraid to ask probing questions, creating an intriguing interview in which Aitken opens up about his divorce, bankruptcy and experiences in jail. The interview can be listened to here...
[Maura Larkins' comment: Perhaps freedom of speech, though it may be the foundation of our country's success, is not popular with education officials. Perhaps Randy Ward and Diane Crosier, who are supporting their lawyer Daniel Shinoff in his defamation lawsuit against me, believe that anyone who tells the truth about their actions should face a court system that has often helped them cover up their actions. Thank goodness they don't have as much power as officials in Iran.]
Blogger jailed in Iran is dead
CNN
March 19, 2009
A young blogger arrested in Iran for allegedly insulting supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an Internet posting has died in prison, his attorney said Friday.
The blogger had been jailed for allegedly insulting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an internet posting.
Attorney Mohammad Ali Dadkhah said Omid Mir Sayafi, reported to be in his 20s, died in Evin prison, which is located in Tehran and known for its wing that holds political prisoners.
Dadkhah said a fellow inmate, Dr. Hessam Firouzi, called him Wednesday night with the news -- and said he believed Sayafi would have lived if he received proper medical care.
Dadkhah said Firouzi, an imprisoned human-rights activist, said that he carried a semi-conscious Sayafi to a prison doctor but that he didn't receive the care he needed.
"It was Dr. Firouzi's opinion that if he would've received proper medical attention, he would not have died," Dadkhah said.
He said Sayafi was buried on Thursday and that his calls to the prison asking for an explanation have not been returned.
Dadkhah said Sayafi "sounded OK" at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday when he last spoke to him by telephone. He said the blogger asked for a book about Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, which begins Friday.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, which advocates for activists in the country, quoted Firouzi on its Web site as saying Sayafi suffered from depression and had taken extra doses of medication on Wednesday.
The group blamed Iran's government for unsafe conditions in its prisons.
"Iranian leaders have relegated the administration of the prison system to a group of incompetent and cruel officials who are showing their utter disregard for human life," said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesman for the campaign. "If the authorities do not move quickly to hold negligent officials responsible, they are reinforcing impunity and the lack of accountability."
Sayafi was first arrested in April, then released for 41 days before being arrested again. He was sentenced to 2½ years in prison for comments on a blog that his lawyer argued was intended only for a few friends to read.
It's too bad students and teachers can't do probing interviews like the Brixton inmate who interviewed the former government minister who was sentenced to prison for perjury (story below).
A lot of problems in schools could be fixed if they weren't covered up by officials. Instead of selling exposure on public television to commercial interests, perhaps San Diego County Office of Education Superintendent Randolph Ward could create a television broadcast in which the inmates of San Diego schools, along with the public, could give real information to voters and taxpayers about schools.
Prison Radio Shines
Forbes
Parmy Olson
05.11.09
A tiny prison radio station in London is competing against the BBC for a prestigious award.
...A tiny prison radio station in South London is up for four prestigious Sony awards on Monday night, putting it alongside the some of the top talent of the BBC and other commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom.
Electric Radio in Brixton Prison is run by the Prison Radio Association, a British charity, and broadcasts to just 800 inmates--but it has a rich array of programming...
Its nominations include an award for talk radio and the all-important Interview Award.
...one of Brixton Prison's inmates interviewed former U.K. government minister Jonathan Aitken, who was sentenced to 18 months in Belmarsh prison in 1999 for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
The interviewer was half-way through a four-year sentence when he conducted the interview, and the two men were "socially, culturally and educationally poles apart," the Prison Radio Association says. But while Aitken comes across as well-spoken and slightly pompous, Tis' is not afraid to ask probing questions, creating an intriguing interview in which Aitken opens up about his divorce, bankruptcy and experiences in jail. The interview can be listened to here...
[Maura Larkins' comment: Perhaps freedom of speech, though it may be the foundation of our country's success, is not popular with education officials. Perhaps Randy Ward and Diane Crosier, who are supporting their lawyer Daniel Shinoff in his defamation lawsuit against me, believe that anyone who tells the truth about their actions should face a court system that has often helped them cover up their actions. Thank goodness they don't have as much power as officials in Iran.]
Blogger jailed in Iran is dead
CNN
March 19, 2009
A young blogger arrested in Iran for allegedly insulting supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an Internet posting has died in prison, his attorney said Friday.
The blogger had been jailed for allegedly insulting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an internet posting.
Attorney Mohammad Ali Dadkhah said Omid Mir Sayafi, reported to be in his 20s, died in Evin prison, which is located in Tehran and known for its wing that holds political prisoners.
Dadkhah said a fellow inmate, Dr. Hessam Firouzi, called him Wednesday night with the news -- and said he believed Sayafi would have lived if he received proper medical care.
Dadkhah said Firouzi, an imprisoned human-rights activist, said that he carried a semi-conscious Sayafi to a prison doctor but that he didn't receive the care he needed.
"It was Dr. Firouzi's opinion that if he would've received proper medical attention, he would not have died," Dadkhah said.
He said Sayafi was buried on Thursday and that his calls to the prison asking for an explanation have not been returned.
Dadkhah said Sayafi "sounded OK" at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday when he last spoke to him by telephone. He said the blogger asked for a book about Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, which begins Friday.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, which advocates for activists in the country, quoted Firouzi on its Web site as saying Sayafi suffered from depression and had taken extra doses of medication on Wednesday.
The group blamed Iran's government for unsafe conditions in its prisons.
"Iranian leaders have relegated the administration of the prison system to a group of incompetent and cruel officials who are showing their utter disregard for human life," said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesman for the campaign. "If the authorities do not move quickly to hold negligent officials responsible, they are reinforcing impunity and the lack of accountability."
Sayafi was first arrested in April, then released for 41 days before being arrested again. He was sentenced to 2½ years in prison for comments on a blog that his lawyer argued was intended only for a few friends to read.
SDCOE has given millions of tax dollars to its business pals; now it will sell advertizing rights to make up for some of the loss
Instead of selling exposure on public television to commercial interests, why doesn't SDCOE Superintendent Randolph Ward allow school stakeholders to produce a free and unfettered broadcast that gives voters a peek into how our schools are run?
Your company's name here . . .
County Office of Education's courtship of corporate sponsors could raise big cash – and concerns about the lessons learned
By Chris Moran,
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
June 24, 2009
For $3 million, the county Office of Education's sixth-grade camp could take a corporate name such as Cuyamaca Outdoor School presented by Mission Federal Credit Union. Or maybe Qualcomm's Camp Cuyamaca.
For $75,000, a company can present the high school girls volleyball championship on ITV, the office's cable channel. For another $75,000, a company president can appear on ITV handing over the trophies to the winning students in a video production contest...
Naming-rights deals once associated with sports and entertainment venues are migrating to public education, leading critics to warn that schools may be venturing down the wrong path.
“One of the purposes of education and of school is to promote reasoning, and advertising by its nature subverts reason, and for that reason alone has no place in the schools,” said Susan Linn, director of the nonprofit Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston.
The county Office of Education's plan, released last week, would be the biggest corporate sponsorship of its kind in the region...
“In tough economic times, it's very difficult for parents to raise $270 for a week of their children going to school when you're coming from a socio-economic situation where that's a very difficult choice,” said county schools Superintendent Randy Ward...
That Camp Cuyamaca administrators feel compelled to seek private money demonstrates that society doesn't value public education enough, Linn said.
She said a corporate presence in an educational setting carries extra weight because it benefits from the “halo effect” of the tacit endorsement of teachers.
“It's ironic that the kids are going to be really face-to-face with marketing that is going to be inculcating consumerism, which is antithetical to environmental values” that camps try to promote, Linn said.
Officials with the Office of Education insist that the naming rights are not advertising...
Your company's name here . . .
County Office of Education's courtship of corporate sponsors could raise big cash – and concerns about the lessons learned
By Chris Moran,
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
June 24, 2009
For $3 million, the county Office of Education's sixth-grade camp could take a corporate name such as Cuyamaca Outdoor School presented by Mission Federal Credit Union. Or maybe Qualcomm's Camp Cuyamaca.
For $75,000, a company can present the high school girls volleyball championship on ITV, the office's cable channel. For another $75,000, a company president can appear on ITV handing over the trophies to the winning students in a video production contest...
Naming-rights deals once associated with sports and entertainment venues are migrating to public education, leading critics to warn that schools may be venturing down the wrong path.
“One of the purposes of education and of school is to promote reasoning, and advertising by its nature subverts reason, and for that reason alone has no place in the schools,” said Susan Linn, director of the nonprofit Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston.
The county Office of Education's plan, released last week, would be the biggest corporate sponsorship of its kind in the region...
“In tough economic times, it's very difficult for parents to raise $270 for a week of their children going to school when you're coming from a socio-economic situation where that's a very difficult choice,” said county schools Superintendent Randy Ward...
That Camp Cuyamaca administrators feel compelled to seek private money demonstrates that society doesn't value public education enough, Linn said.
She said a corporate presence in an educational setting carries extra weight because it benefits from the “halo effect” of the tacit endorsement of teachers.
“It's ironic that the kids are going to be really face-to-face with marketing that is going to be inculcating consumerism, which is antithetical to environmental values” that camps try to promote, Linn said.
Officials with the Office of Education insist that the naming rights are not advertising...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Do we have a right to know the truth about the mortgage companies that melted down the economy?
Will New Hampshire Supreme Court defend the 1st amendment or the mortgage company?
New Hampshire Court Tramples on Constitution, Reporter's Privilege, Section 230, What Have You
April 8th, 2009
Citizen Media Law Project
by Sam Bayard
A reader recently tipped us off to a troubling ruling from a trial court in New Hampshire:
The Mortgage Specialists, Inc. v. Implode-Explode Heavy Industries, Inc., No. 08-E-0572 (N.H. Super. Ct. Mar. 11, 2009).
In the decision, Justice McHugh of the Superior Court for Rockingham County ordered the publishers of the popular mortgage industry watchdog site, The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter ("ML-Implode"), to turn over the identity of an anonymous source who provided ML-Implode with a copy of a financial document prepared by The Mortgage Specialists, Inc. for submission to the New Hampshire Banking Department.
The court also ordered ML-Implode to reveal the identity of an anonymous commenter who allegedly posted defamatory statements about the company and enjoined the website from re-posting the financial document or the allegedly defamatory comments...
New Hampshire Court Tramples on Constitution, Reporter's Privilege, Section 230, What Have You
April 8th, 2009
Citizen Media Law Project
by Sam Bayard
A reader recently tipped us off to a troubling ruling from a trial court in New Hampshire:
The Mortgage Specialists, Inc. v. Implode-Explode Heavy Industries, Inc., No. 08-E-0572 (N.H. Super. Ct. Mar. 11, 2009).
In the decision, Justice McHugh of the Superior Court for Rockingham County ordered the publishers of the popular mortgage industry watchdog site, The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter ("ML-Implode"), to turn over the identity of an anonymous source who provided ML-Implode with a copy of a financial document prepared by The Mortgage Specialists, Inc. for submission to the New Hampshire Banking Department.
The court also ordered ML-Implode to reveal the identity of an anonymous commenter who allegedly posted defamatory statements about the company and enjoined the website from re-posting the financial document or the allegedly defamatory comments...
Another week, another restriction of student speech; the principal of high school in Orange, California, has confiscated student magazine
Principal Censors School Paper: Claims "Old English" Font Promotes Gang Activity
June 18th, 2009
by Lee Baker
Another week, another restriction of student speech. S.K. Johnson, the principal of Orange High School in (where else?) Orange, California, has confiscated copies of a student magazine prior to publication. His main complaint about the latest issue of PULP concerns the cover, which features a faux full-back tattoo with the publication’s name and a picture of a panther, the school mascot. The principal alleges that the image promotes gang life and might encourage students to get tattoos, singling out the use of Old English font to create “gangster-style writing.”
While the school has a legitimate interest in preventing the glorification of gang culture, one of Mr. Johnson’s proposed solutions – to affix an addendum or edit the accompanying article on student tattoos to indicate that tattoos are permanent – demonstrates that this is not actually his primary concern.
Although it may be helpful for students to be reminded of the difficulty of tattoo removal, such a concern should not give a school principal the legal right to suppress student speech.
Despite the essentially unlimited reach of Hazelwood with regard to school-sponsored speech (discussed in last week’s post), sanctioning censorship in order to protect students from making bad decisions on icy.skin art almost certainly pushes it too far.
...California state law has more stringent restrictions on censoring student speech, a position supported by a recent paper in the UC Davis Journal of Juvenile Law & Policy.
June 18th, 2009
by Lee Baker
Another week, another restriction of student speech. S.K. Johnson, the principal of Orange High School in (where else?) Orange, California, has confiscated copies of a student magazine prior to publication. His main complaint about the latest issue of PULP concerns the cover, which features a faux full-back tattoo with the publication’s name and a picture of a panther, the school mascot. The principal alleges that the image promotes gang life and might encourage students to get tattoos, singling out the use of Old English font to create “gangster-style writing.”
While the school has a legitimate interest in preventing the glorification of gang culture, one of Mr. Johnson’s proposed solutions – to affix an addendum or edit the accompanying article on student tattoos to indicate that tattoos are permanent – demonstrates that this is not actually his primary concern.
Although it may be helpful for students to be reminded of the difficulty of tattoo removal, such a concern should not give a school principal the legal right to suppress student speech.
Despite the essentially unlimited reach of Hazelwood with regard to school-sponsored speech (discussed in last week’s post), sanctioning censorship in order to protect students from making bad decisions on icy.skin art almost certainly pushes it too far.
...California state law has more stringent restrictions on censoring student speech, a position supported by a recent paper in the UC Davis Journal of Juvenile Law & Policy.
New York state senate proves that everything you need to know you learned in kindergarten
The recent antics of the New York state senate brings back fond memories of childhood when we divided into two groups, each with its own secret hiding place, and tried to discover and enter our opponents' lair.
Who says politics isn't fun?
Albany Democrats Lock Themselves in the Senate Chamber
New York Times
By DANNY HAKIM and JEREMY W. PETERS
June 23, 2009
ALBANY — Senate Democrats entered the Senate chamber through a back hallway on Tuesday afternoon and locked themselves in, pulling off a sneak attack of sorts in the ongoing battle for control of the State Senate.
The move took the Capitol by surprise, and left Republicans scrambling to plan their next procedural move. Republicans had planned to enter the chamber at 2 p.m. — an hour before the special session called by Gov. David A. Paterson was scheduled to begin...
“At this point, they refuse to enter into an operating agreement,” Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side, told reporters just before he and his fellow Democrats sneaked into the chamber...
Republicans seemed just as caught off guard as the rest of the Capitol. And as news of the Democrats’ move spread, some Republican staff members rushed to the Senate chamber and peered in through the windows to watch the Democrats congregating inside.
Senator George H. Winner Jr., a Republican from central New York, described the Democrats’ move as unnecessary and possibly against the law.
“It seems to me somewhat petulant and or illegal to lock the doors,” Mr. Winner said.
[Maura Larkins' comment: How would Mr. Winner describe Republicans' earlier antics?]
The outer doors to the chamber were kept locked by the sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, but some reporters were able to gain access through a back door...
Democratic senators seemed somewhat amused by the situation. Senator Craig M. Johnson, a Long Island Democrat, even took pictures of reporters who assembled in the gallery. The only way in to the locked chamber was through the office of Pedro Espada Jr., the turncoat Democrat whose defection created the deadlock.
...Mr. Espada said he was willing to accept binding arbitration as a way to resolve the leadership dispute.
“The Democratic senators have refused to respond in any significant way to embrace our reforms,” said Mr. Espada, who joined with Republicans two weeks ago to vote to displace Mr. Smith as majority leader and install himself as president of the Senate and Mr. Skelos as the new majority leader. Democrats have rejected that vote as illegitimate.
[Mr. Espada sounds just like some of the kids I once played with. Their goal is to win personally at any cost, including betraying one's friends and the principles one has proclaimed to get those friends.]
...Democrats insisted they would not recognize a Republican leader, and Republicans were planning to move forward with their 2 p.m. session...
Democrats have said that the doors will remain locked until 3 p.m., when they plan to call the governor’s special session to order...
The Senate was left in its first 31-to-31 tie after Republicans orchestrated a coup earlier this month and installed Mr. Espada as the Senate’s president. The Democratic caucus has refused to return to the chamber during the last two weeks unless Republicans accept a power-sharing arrangement.
Who says politics isn't fun?
Albany Democrats Lock Themselves in the Senate Chamber
New York Times
By DANNY HAKIM and JEREMY W. PETERS
June 23, 2009
ALBANY — Senate Democrats entered the Senate chamber through a back hallway on Tuesday afternoon and locked themselves in, pulling off a sneak attack of sorts in the ongoing battle for control of the State Senate.
The move took the Capitol by surprise, and left Republicans scrambling to plan their next procedural move. Republicans had planned to enter the chamber at 2 p.m. — an hour before the special session called by Gov. David A. Paterson was scheduled to begin...
“At this point, they refuse to enter into an operating agreement,” Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side, told reporters just before he and his fellow Democrats sneaked into the chamber...
Republicans seemed just as caught off guard as the rest of the Capitol. And as news of the Democrats’ move spread, some Republican staff members rushed to the Senate chamber and peered in through the windows to watch the Democrats congregating inside.
Senator George H. Winner Jr., a Republican from central New York, described the Democrats’ move as unnecessary and possibly against the law.
“It seems to me somewhat petulant and or illegal to lock the doors,” Mr. Winner said.
[Maura Larkins' comment: How would Mr. Winner describe Republicans' earlier antics?]
The outer doors to the chamber were kept locked by the sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, but some reporters were able to gain access through a back door...
Democratic senators seemed somewhat amused by the situation. Senator Craig M. Johnson, a Long Island Democrat, even took pictures of reporters who assembled in the gallery. The only way in to the locked chamber was through the office of Pedro Espada Jr., the turncoat Democrat whose defection created the deadlock.
...Mr. Espada said he was willing to accept binding arbitration as a way to resolve the leadership dispute.
“The Democratic senators have refused to respond in any significant way to embrace our reforms,” said Mr. Espada, who joined with Republicans two weeks ago to vote to displace Mr. Smith as majority leader and install himself as president of the Senate and Mr. Skelos as the new majority leader. Democrats have rejected that vote as illegitimate.
[Mr. Espada sounds just like some of the kids I once played with. Their goal is to win personally at any cost, including betraying one's friends and the principles one has proclaimed to get those friends.]
...Democrats insisted they would not recognize a Republican leader, and Republicans were planning to move forward with their 2 p.m. session...
Democrats have said that the doors will remain locked until 3 p.m., when they plan to call the governor’s special session to order...
The Senate was left in its first 31-to-31 tie after Republicans orchestrated a coup earlier this month and installed Mr. Espada as the Senate’s president. The Democratic caucus has refused to return to the chamber during the last two weeks unless Republicans accept a power-sharing arrangement.
Supreme Court rules against schools who fail to offer FAPE to students with disabilities
Court says public must pay for private special ed
By JESSE J. HOLLAND - Associated Pres
June 22, 2009
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday shifted the landscape for students with learning disabilities, saying parents can in many instances bypass public school special education programs and be reimbursed for private school tuition instead.
The court ruled 6-3 in favor of a teenage boy from Oregon whose parents sought to force their local public school district to pay the $5,200 a month it cost to send their son to a private school.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the nation's special education students are entitled to a "free and appropriate public education." Federal law calls for school districts to reimburse students or their families for education costs when public schools do not have services that address or fulfill the students' needs.
But schools have argued that the law says parents of special education students must give public special education programs a chance before seeking reimbursement for private school tuition. The Forest Grove, Ore., School District said the parents were ineligible for reimbursement because their son had not been in public special education classes.
A majority at the Supreme Court disagreed.
"We conclude that IDEA authorizes reimbursement for the cost of special education services when a school district fails to provide a FAPE and the private-school placement is appropriate, regardless of whether the child previously received special education or related services through the public school," said Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the majority opinion.
In the case before the Supreme Court, the family of a teenage Oregon boy diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- who was identified only as T.A. -- sued the school district, saying the school did not properly address the student's learning problems. The family is seeking reimbursement for the student's tuition, which cost $5,200 a month. The family paid a total of $65,000 in private tuition.
In its appeal, the Forest Grove School District said students should be forced to at least give public special education programs a try before seeking reimbursement for private tuition. If not, lawyers argue, parents would bypass public schools and go directly to private school -- and then ask for reimbursement from school systems already burdened by ever-increasing costs.
School districts "can avoid any liability for tuition reimbursement by providing a free appropriate public education to a child with a disability," said lawyer David Salmons, who argued the case for T.A. But "if they fail to do that, they may be responsible for private school tuition if the parents can show that it's an appropriate case."
The court's decision does not require reimbursement, but Stevens said school officials "must consider all relevant factors, including the notice provided by parents and the school district's opportunities for evaluating the child, in determining whether reimbursement for some or all of the cost of the child's private school education is warranted."...
By JESSE J. HOLLAND - Associated Pres
June 22, 2009
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday shifted the landscape for students with learning disabilities, saying parents can in many instances bypass public school special education programs and be reimbursed for private school tuition instead.
The court ruled 6-3 in favor of a teenage boy from Oregon whose parents sought to force their local public school district to pay the $5,200 a month it cost to send their son to a private school.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the nation's special education students are entitled to a "free and appropriate public education." Federal law calls for school districts to reimburse students or their families for education costs when public schools do not have services that address or fulfill the students' needs.
But schools have argued that the law says parents of special education students must give public special education programs a chance before seeking reimbursement for private school tuition. The Forest Grove, Ore., School District said the parents were ineligible for reimbursement because their son had not been in public special education classes.
A majority at the Supreme Court disagreed.
"We conclude that IDEA authorizes reimbursement for the cost of special education services when a school district fails to provide a FAPE and the private-school placement is appropriate, regardless of whether the child previously received special education or related services through the public school," said Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the majority opinion.
In the case before the Supreme Court, the family of a teenage Oregon boy diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- who was identified only as T.A. -- sued the school district, saying the school did not properly address the student's learning problems. The family is seeking reimbursement for the student's tuition, which cost $5,200 a month. The family paid a total of $65,000 in private tuition.
In its appeal, the Forest Grove School District said students should be forced to at least give public special education programs a try before seeking reimbursement for private tuition. If not, lawyers argue, parents would bypass public schools and go directly to private school -- and then ask for reimbursement from school systems already burdened by ever-increasing costs.
School districts "can avoid any liability for tuition reimbursement by providing a free appropriate public education to a child with a disability," said lawyer David Salmons, who argued the case for T.A. But "if they fail to do that, they may be responsible for private school tuition if the parents can show that it's an appropriate case."
The court's decision does not require reimbursement, but Stevens said school officials "must consider all relevant factors, including the notice provided by parents and the school district's opportunities for evaluating the child, in determining whether reimbursement for some or all of the cost of the child's private school education is warranted."...
Is Judge Frank Devaney a slow learner, or simply determined to keep Mexicans out?
Overturned probation condition is judge's 2nd
Orders kept youths from entering U.S.
By Greg Moran,
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
June 23, 2009
The state appeals court struck down the first order as unconstitutional in August, weeks before the second reversal.
For the second time in a year, a state appeals court has reversed a San Diego judge's probation condition that essentially banished a juvenile U.S. citizen to Mexico.
The youth, identified in court papers as Alex O., was 17 when he was arrested in August at the San Ysidro border crossing with about 4 pounds of marijuana. He is a U.S. citizen who lives in Tijuana with his mother, who is not a legal U.S. resident.
Alex pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana, and Superior Court Judge Frank Devaney sentenced him to a year in juvenile camp but stayed that sentence and placed him on probation.
As a condition of the probation, Devaney said the youth could enter the United States only to attend school, visit relatives or work. He also ordered Alex to notify his probation officer when he was to enter the country.
Devaney made that ruling in September. That was just weeks after the state 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego struck down a similar order that Devaney made for another youth.
In that case, Devaney ordered James C. to live with his grandparents in Tijuana, and under no circumstances return for a year. The state appeals court struck down that order as unconstitutional in August because it violated the youth's rights of free association and travel.
Faced with the similar case of Alex O., Devaney again erred, the court concluded.
The youth does not attend school in this country, has no job and no family, so it was unlikely that any of the permitted reasons for him to enter the country would apply, Justice Patricia Benke wrote. The order also prevented Alex from entering the country to attend a movie or go to the beach or the zoo, Benke said.
“In short, although the juvenile court's order is not an express banishment from the United States, its practical effect on Alex is almost indistinguishable from a banishment,” Benke wrote.
Devaney, now a judge in the downtown San Diego adult courts, declined to comment last week.
Deputy Public Defender Jo Pastore, who handled the appeal, said Devaney's order was too broad. While judges have discretion on setting conditions of probation, the law says those conditions have to have some relation to the crime at issue.
“The (appeals) court is saying the problem happened at the border, so if you are infringing on someone's right to travel, it has to be limited and specifically tailored to crossing the border,” Pastore said.
That is why the appeals court upheld one condition — that Alex notify his probation officer before coming into the United States. Such orders are made in other juvenile probation cases, such as when minors want to leave the county.
Benke said requiring Alex to notify his probation officer when he enters the country relates to the crime he committed, and does not hinder his right to travel as a U.S. citizen.
Pastore said Devaney thought he was complying with the appeals court's first decision when he dealt with Alex. But his solution ended up with the same effect.
“It banished him from the entire country, and the court said that is just over-broad,” Pastore said.
Orders kept youths from entering U.S.
By Greg Moran,
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
June 23, 2009
The state appeals court struck down the first order as unconstitutional in August, weeks before the second reversal.
For the second time in a year, a state appeals court has reversed a San Diego judge's probation condition that essentially banished a juvenile U.S. citizen to Mexico.
The youth, identified in court papers as Alex O., was 17 when he was arrested in August at the San Ysidro border crossing with about 4 pounds of marijuana. He is a U.S. citizen who lives in Tijuana with his mother, who is not a legal U.S. resident.
Alex pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana, and Superior Court Judge Frank Devaney sentenced him to a year in juvenile camp but stayed that sentence and placed him on probation.
As a condition of the probation, Devaney said the youth could enter the United States only to attend school, visit relatives or work. He also ordered Alex to notify his probation officer when he was to enter the country.
Devaney made that ruling in September. That was just weeks after the state 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego struck down a similar order that Devaney made for another youth.
In that case, Devaney ordered James C. to live with his grandparents in Tijuana, and under no circumstances return for a year. The state appeals court struck down that order as unconstitutional in August because it violated the youth's rights of free association and travel.
Faced with the similar case of Alex O., Devaney again erred, the court concluded.
The youth does not attend school in this country, has no job and no family, so it was unlikely that any of the permitted reasons for him to enter the country would apply, Justice Patricia Benke wrote. The order also prevented Alex from entering the country to attend a movie or go to the beach or the zoo, Benke said.
“In short, although the juvenile court's order is not an express banishment from the United States, its practical effect on Alex is almost indistinguishable from a banishment,” Benke wrote.
Devaney, now a judge in the downtown San Diego adult courts, declined to comment last week.
Deputy Public Defender Jo Pastore, who handled the appeal, said Devaney's order was too broad. While judges have discretion on setting conditions of probation, the law says those conditions have to have some relation to the crime at issue.
“The (appeals) court is saying the problem happened at the border, so if you are infringing on someone's right to travel, it has to be limited and specifically tailored to crossing the border,” Pastore said.
That is why the appeals court upheld one condition — that Alex notify his probation officer before coming into the United States. Such orders are made in other juvenile probation cases, such as when minors want to leave the county.
Benke said requiring Alex to notify his probation officer when he enters the country relates to the crime he committed, and does not hinder his right to travel as a U.S. citizen.
Pastore said Devaney thought he was complying with the appeals court's first decision when he dealt with Alex. But his solution ended up with the same effect.
“It banished him from the entire country, and the court said that is just over-broad,” Pastore said.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
DeveloperAlert.org tells what's going on in San Diego
I found a superb blog about local developers called DEVELOPERALERT.ORG. Here are some quotes from the blog:
Development that works
Paul Solomon quit his job as a real estate attorney to pursue a dream of redeveloping obsolete factory buildings in downtown Los Angeles (an area that is now being called the Arts District)... As I spent the day with him in February touring his new development of the "National Biscuit Company" Building, every turn seemed to tender a brand new treasure. Copper doors and windows, maple floors, exposed wood formwork, concrete columns, staircases ascending effortlessly to mezzanines open to below characterized these engaging spaces. It was obvious that the architect Aleks Istanbullu had carefully considered every facet of the design... It was obvious that this building was more than just a source of revenue for him, it was a source of pride... and that is rare.
Here's more from DeveloperAlert.org:
Development that doesn't work
"Developers' money is like heroin to politicians." - Roy P. Disney, March 2, 2008, Los Angeles Times
“We need open, honest government that is working for people, not developers.” - Stephen Whitburn, March 15, 2008, San Diego Union Tribune
Development that worksPaul Solomon quit his job as a real estate attorney to pursue a dream of redeveloping obsolete factory buildings in downtown Los Angeles (an area that is now being called the Arts District)... As I spent the day with him in February touring his new development of the "National Biscuit Company" Building, every turn seemed to tender a brand new treasure. Copper doors and windows, maple floors, exposed wood formwork, concrete columns, staircases ascending effortlessly to mezzanines open to below characterized these engaging spaces. It was obvious that the architect Aleks Istanbullu had carefully considered every facet of the design... It was obvious that this building was more than just a source of revenue for him, it was a source of pride... and that is rare.
Here's more from DeveloperAlert.org:
Development that doesn't work
"Developers' money is like heroin to politicians." - Roy P. Disney, March 2, 2008, Los Angeles Times
“We need open, honest government that is working for people, not developers.” - Stephen Whitburn, March 15, 2008, San Diego Union Tribune
Sometimes the real losers in court are the ones who win: $1.9 million music industry victory
Damages of $1.9 million could backfire on music industry
Sat Jun 20, 2009
By Ben Sheffner
Reuters/Billboard
The recording industry secured a resounding victory last week when a Minneapolis jury awarded the four major labels $1.92 million in damages after unanimously finding that a 32-year-old mother had willfully infringed on their copyrights by downloading and sharing 24 songs on the Kazaa peer-to-peer network.
But a question arose after the verdict about whether the sheer size of the damages could lead to a backlash against an industry that is already portrayed in some quarters as overreaching. Sony BMG attorney Wade Leak, who testified at the trial, said he was "shocked" by the damages award.
No one expects that the labels will collect the entire amount from Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a 32-year-old Brainerd, Minn., mother of four who testified during the retrial that her ex-boyfriend or sons, then 8 and 10, were most likely responsible for downloading and distributing the songs. Thomas-Rasset lost her previous trial in 2007 and was ordered to pay $222,000, only to achieve a now-pyrrhic victory when the court tossed the verdict because of a faulty jury instruction.
Even for law-abiding citizens who believe that labels have every right to protect their copyrights, a verdict of almost $2 million could be hard to swallow...
Sat Jun 20, 2009
By Ben Sheffner
Reuters/Billboard
The recording industry secured a resounding victory last week when a Minneapolis jury awarded the four major labels $1.92 million in damages after unanimously finding that a 32-year-old mother had willfully infringed on their copyrights by downloading and sharing 24 songs on the Kazaa peer-to-peer network.
But a question arose after the verdict about whether the sheer size of the damages could lead to a backlash against an industry that is already portrayed in some quarters as overreaching. Sony BMG attorney Wade Leak, who testified at the trial, said he was "shocked" by the damages award.
No one expects that the labels will collect the entire amount from Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a 32-year-old Brainerd, Minn., mother of four who testified during the retrial that her ex-boyfriend or sons, then 8 and 10, were most likely responsible for downloading and distributing the songs. Thomas-Rasset lost her previous trial in 2007 and was ordered to pay $222,000, only to achieve a now-pyrrhic victory when the court tossed the verdict because of a faulty jury instruction.
Even for law-abiding citizens who believe that labels have every right to protect their copyrights, a verdict of almost $2 million could be hard to swallow...
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Amalia Cudeiro is starting out in Bellevue exactly like Libia Gil started in CVESD
Back in 1993 Amalia Cudeiro's friend Libia Gil was hired as superintendent in Chula Vista Elementary School District. Gil said she was just going to listen to other people for the first few months. She went around listening to business people and politicos, everybody except the teachers. And when did she begin to speak? Never, as far as I can recall. The ability to sit quietly and say nothing seemed to be her strongest trait. But she ruled with the help of a few close associates, particularly Richard Werlin, assistant superintendent for human resources.
Gil instituted site-based management, which meant that as long as they kept things quiet, principals were on their own. If a problem developed, Richard Werlin swooped in and started yelling and putting people on administrative leave.
There were few tears when Libia Gil left mysteriously in 2002, supposedly for a job in Virginia. But she never left San Diego, and she never has been hired as a public school superintendent since then, though not for lack of trying.
Amalia Cudeiro and Libia Gil are old friends and business partners. I imagine that the Bellevue School Board has a majority of rigid, right-wing members who wanted someone just like Libby Gil. They picked the right person if that's their purpose.
She's going to listen: where have we heard this before?
New Bellevue schools superintendent says her first assignment is to listen
Seattle Times
March 30, 2009
By Katherine Long
Amalia Cudeiro, a 52-year-old education consultant, will officially become Bellevue's new superintendent in July, although it's likely she'll work informally with the district in the months leading up to that date.
* Archive | Life story helped Cudeiro win Bellevue superintendent job
* Archive | Bellevue School Board offers superintendent job to Cudeiro
* Archive | Bellevue school board names 3 finalists for superintendent job
She's a good listener and a no-nonsense administrator who makes her decisions after poring over assessment data.
[Maura Larkins' note: Actually, I think she makes her decisions BEFORE poring over assessment data, as seemed to be the case when she did "research" on Tom Payzant and Libia Gil.]
She holds a doctorate from Harvard University and lectures at the school's Urban Superintendents Program, but as a parent she's known firsthand the frustration of trying to find a school that works for a daughter with a learning disability.
Amalia Cudeiro, a 52-year-old education consultant, will officially become Bellevue's new superintendent in July, although it's likely she'll work informally with the district in the months leading up to that date.
She swings through Bellevue today, her first visit since being offered the job, with a packed itinerary that includes meeting with district officials, signing her contract and talking to the media.
Cudeiro will take leadership of a district considered one of the best in the state, with schools with a national reputation for excellence.
But the School Board wants to make more headway at helping lower-income students perform better. About 18 percent of Bellevue's students are on free- or reduced-price lunch, and more than 80 languages are spoken by students in the district's increasingly diverse schools.
Cudeiro says her first job will be to listen to what others have to say, especially teachers who went on strike six months ago over the district's standardized curriculum. "I am going to have to spend a little time understanding what has been put in place," she said.
Cudeiro's most recent public-schools job was as deputy superintendent of Boston Public Schools from September 1999 to June 2001. After that, with her husband, Jeffrey Nelsen, she founded a consulting firm, Targeted Leadership Consulting. She became an adjunct lecturer at Harvard University's Urban Superintendents Program in June 2004.
As a consultant, she's worked in school districts across the country, helping principals and teachers become better leaders and work together more effectively. The company also diagnoses a district's weak areas by examining data that show how students are doing, then building a curriculum based on that work.
"She has had the unusual experience of having been in literally dozens of school districts," said Tom Payzant, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. "She has a frame of reference that's much broader than you'll see in a lot of candidates."
As a consultant, she's done work in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Chicago; Chula Vista, Calif.; Elizabeth, N.J.; and internationally with Department of Defense schools.
Payzant was superintendent of Boston Public Schools when Cudeiro worked as deputy superintendent. He described her as a good listener but someone who didn't hesitate to make tough decisions, such as not renewing the contract of a principal who wasn't doing a good job.
One of her high-profile assignments was to overhaul Boston High, a school with some of the lowest test scores in the district.
Lowell Billings, the superintendent of Chula Vista Elementary School District in California, worked with Cudeiro's consulting firm on education reform in the diverse district south of San Diego. "Our achievement trends have been rather impressive, and Amalia played an important part in that," Billings said.
He said Cudeiro's work, which focused on developing better leadership skills among principals, helped raise test scores in low-income schools. But it also helped schools in well-to-do neighborhoods, where there was a core of students whose failure rate was masked by the overall success of the system.
As a mother, Cudeiro has also known what it's like to battle the system. She spent years trying to find a Boston public-school program that would help her dyslexic daughter catch up to peers.
She said she eventually "had to make a real tough decision" to pull her daughter from public school and put her in private school.
Cudeiro's daughter is now in college and doing well, she said.
Gil instituted site-based management, which meant that as long as they kept things quiet, principals were on their own. If a problem developed, Richard Werlin swooped in and started yelling and putting people on administrative leave.
There were few tears when Libia Gil left mysteriously in 2002, supposedly for a job in Virginia. But she never left San Diego, and she never has been hired as a public school superintendent since then, though not for lack of trying.
Amalia Cudeiro and Libia Gil are old friends and business partners. I imagine that the Bellevue School Board has a majority of rigid, right-wing members who wanted someone just like Libby Gil. They picked the right person if that's their purpose.
She's going to listen: where have we heard this before?
New Bellevue schools superintendent says her first assignment is to listen
Seattle Times
March 30, 2009
By Katherine Long
Amalia Cudeiro, a 52-year-old education consultant, will officially become Bellevue's new superintendent in July, although it's likely she'll work informally with the district in the months leading up to that date.
* Archive | Life story helped Cudeiro win Bellevue superintendent job
* Archive | Bellevue School Board offers superintendent job to Cudeiro
* Archive | Bellevue school board names 3 finalists for superintendent job
She's a good listener and a no-nonsense administrator who makes her decisions after poring over assessment data.
[Maura Larkins' note: Actually, I think she makes her decisions BEFORE poring over assessment data, as seemed to be the case when she did "research" on Tom Payzant and Libia Gil.]
She holds a doctorate from Harvard University and lectures at the school's Urban Superintendents Program, but as a parent she's known firsthand the frustration of trying to find a school that works for a daughter with a learning disability.
Amalia Cudeiro, a 52-year-old education consultant, will officially become Bellevue's new superintendent in July, although it's likely she'll work informally with the district in the months leading up to that date.
She swings through Bellevue today, her first visit since being offered the job, with a packed itinerary that includes meeting with district officials, signing her contract and talking to the media.
Cudeiro will take leadership of a district considered one of the best in the state, with schools with a national reputation for excellence.
But the School Board wants to make more headway at helping lower-income students perform better. About 18 percent of Bellevue's students are on free- or reduced-price lunch, and more than 80 languages are spoken by students in the district's increasingly diverse schools.
Cudeiro says her first job will be to listen to what others have to say, especially teachers who went on strike six months ago over the district's standardized curriculum. "I am going to have to spend a little time understanding what has been put in place," she said.
Cudeiro's most recent public-schools job was as deputy superintendent of Boston Public Schools from September 1999 to June 2001. After that, with her husband, Jeffrey Nelsen, she founded a consulting firm, Targeted Leadership Consulting. She became an adjunct lecturer at Harvard University's Urban Superintendents Program in June 2004.
As a consultant, she's worked in school districts across the country, helping principals and teachers become better leaders and work together more effectively. The company also diagnoses a district's weak areas by examining data that show how students are doing, then building a curriculum based on that work.
"She has had the unusual experience of having been in literally dozens of school districts," said Tom Payzant, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. "She has a frame of reference that's much broader than you'll see in a lot of candidates."
As a consultant, she's done work in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Chicago; Chula Vista, Calif.; Elizabeth, N.J.; and internationally with Department of Defense schools.
Payzant was superintendent of Boston Public Schools when Cudeiro worked as deputy superintendent. He described her as a good listener but someone who didn't hesitate to make tough decisions, such as not renewing the contract of a principal who wasn't doing a good job.
One of her high-profile assignments was to overhaul Boston High, a school with some of the lowest test scores in the district.
Lowell Billings, the superintendent of Chula Vista Elementary School District in California, worked with Cudeiro's consulting firm on education reform in the diverse district south of San Diego. "Our achievement trends have been rather impressive, and Amalia played an important part in that," Billings said.
He said Cudeiro's work, which focused on developing better leadership skills among principals, helped raise test scores in low-income schools. But it also helped schools in well-to-do neighborhoods, where there was a core of students whose failure rate was masked by the overall success of the system.
As a mother, Cudeiro has also known what it's like to battle the system. She spent years trying to find a Boston public-school program that would help her dyslexic daughter catch up to peers.
She said she eventually "had to make a real tough decision" to pull her daughter from public school and put her in private school.
Cudeiro's daughter is now in college and doing well, she said.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Superintendent Emeritus Libia Gil seems to have hired some new cheerleaders for her new business
For years I've wondered about Amalia Cudeiro and her "research" on former CVESD Superintendent Libia Gil. The "research" seemed to demonstrate breathtaking cluelessness. Now my curiosity has been sated. I find that Cudeiro and Gil are in business together. It also appears that Cudeiro was doing research on herself. According to this biography, she worked for (or currently works for) the districts whose success she proclaimed in her "research."
Also see my "site-based management" page for a peek at some of Libby Gil's more recent cheerleaders.
I recently noted that Richard Hanks and Monica Sorenson have become principals at Chula Vista Elementary School District. I suspect this is an omen that Libia Gil's top-down decision making management style will continue at CVESD, and will continue based on the same principles of doing what's best for the people in charge.
Former Superintendent Libia Gil remade the district in her own image, and it has remained the same even though she herself was pushed out in March 2002. [I suspect she was pushed out not because she broke the law, but because she made such a mess while doing so.]
Gil beat the union (Chula Vista Educators) by co-opting and corrupting its leaders, specifically Jim Groth, Virginia (Gina) Boyd, Tim O'Neill and the board of directors.
It was obvious all along that neither Libby Gil nor her assistant superintendent Lowell Billings believed in the democratic principles they were spouting to sell site-based management. Chula Vista Elementary School District's Superintendent Lowell Billings apparently watched closely and learned from his predecessor Libia Gil, who managed to increase her power without ever saying much of anything.
Billings continues to promote the system as implemented at CVESD, which always involved top-down decision-making, never democracy at the school site.
It also involved laziness and neglect. So things would often get out of hand at various schools, and then the district office would swoop in and fire people, or, if they were political allies, bring them back to the district office for their own protection.
In 2008 CVESD superintendent Lowell Billings had a new problem. The school that was trying to make its own decisions was a charter school. The staff didn't think that principal Erik Latoni should make all the decisions.
Once again, Lowell wanted to swoop in and take control. He threatened to to terminate the charter of Feaster Elementary School because the people who run the school actually work at the school. Instead of "site-based decision-making," this is now being called "a conflict of interest" by Mr. Billings. The meaning of the words changes whenever the people in charge feel it's necessary.
It's probably worthwhile to note that CVESD rehired Daniel Shinoff of Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz in 2008. Apparently the board was impressed with Shinoff's work at MiraCosta College. I notice a striking similarity in the arguments used to attack Feaster Elementary and the arguments used to justify the actions of the majority-bloc of trustees at MiraCosta.
Also see my "site-based management" page for a peek at some of Libby Gil's more recent cheerleaders.
I recently noted that Richard Hanks and Monica Sorenson have become principals at Chula Vista Elementary School District. I suspect this is an omen that Libia Gil's top-down decision making management style will continue at CVESD, and will continue based on the same principles of doing what's best for the people in charge.
Former Superintendent Libia Gil remade the district in her own image, and it has remained the same even though she herself was pushed out in March 2002. [I suspect she was pushed out not because she broke the law, but because she made such a mess while doing so.]
Gil beat the union (Chula Vista Educators) by co-opting and corrupting its leaders, specifically Jim Groth, Virginia (Gina) Boyd, Tim O'Neill and the board of directors.
It was obvious all along that neither Libby Gil nor her assistant superintendent Lowell Billings believed in the democratic principles they were spouting to sell site-based management. Chula Vista Elementary School District's Superintendent Lowell Billings apparently watched closely and learned from his predecessor Libia Gil, who managed to increase her power without ever saying much of anything.
Billings continues to promote the system as implemented at CVESD, which always involved top-down decision-making, never democracy at the school site.
It also involved laziness and neglect. So things would often get out of hand at various schools, and then the district office would swoop in and fire people, or, if they were political allies, bring them back to the district office for their own protection.
In 2008 CVESD superintendent Lowell Billings had a new problem. The school that was trying to make its own decisions was a charter school. The staff didn't think that principal Erik Latoni should make all the decisions.
Once again, Lowell wanted to swoop in and take control. He threatened to to terminate the charter of Feaster Elementary School because the people who run the school actually work at the school. Instead of "site-based decision-making," this is now being called "a conflict of interest" by Mr. Billings. The meaning of the words changes whenever the people in charge feel it's necessary.
It's probably worthwhile to note that CVESD rehired Daniel Shinoff of Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz in 2008. Apparently the board was impressed with Shinoff's work at MiraCosta College. I notice a striking similarity in the arguments used to attack Feaster Elementary and the arguments used to justify the actions of the majority-bloc of trustees at MiraCosta.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Why were these students singled out?
Mission Bay student says he was punished for activism
By Wendy Fry, SDNN
June 16, 2009
Approximately 200 Mission Bay High School seniors walked across the graduation stage Monday, but one student says his high school principal told him a single truancy prevented him from participating in the ceremony.
David Morales, 18, purchased his cap and gown before the school’s principal, Cheryl Seelos, told him last week he would not be walking at the graduation, Morales said.
Morales said Seelos told him a single truant mark on his record disqualified him from participating. Morales said he had eight truancies throughout the school year, but they were not on his final record.
Morales - who plans to attend UCSD in the fall - believes his campus activism, not the truancy, made him a target. Seelos did not return a call for comment Tuesday.
Last semester Morales campaigned and petitioned the San Diego Unified School District board to remove shooting ranges on local high school campuses. He is also vocal about military recruiting on high school campuses, and vocational training replacing University of California prerequisite courses on campuses that have diverse student populations.
School board member John de Beck said he petitioned the school board, the superintendant and Seelos about excusing Morales’ truancy by giving him credit for his public service. In February, the San Diego Unified School District voted 3-2 to remove the JROTC shooting ranges from area high schools.
The superintendant and a member of SDUSD’s legal department asked Seelos to reconsider the punishment, de Beck said.
“She [Seelos] was incredibly inflexible about it,” de Beck said. “I decided to withdraw from the graduation and boycott the ceremony on his behalf. I didn’t feel right about going there and graduating all these other students if Morales wasn’t going to get to walk.”
There were other students with truancies who were allowed to participate and who were not held to the same standard as Morales, de Beck said.
The truancy Morales said Seelos cited occurred June 9, when Morales left his fourth period class to go to work, which met the school’s internship requirement, he said.
He stopped in a parking lot across from the school to be interviewed by Univision, a television news station that wanted to talk with Morales about his campus activism.
Morales said Seelos interrupted the interview and instructed Morales to return to class. He followed Seelos’ instruction, but Seelos told the instructor to mark him as truant, Morales said.
Morales was also involved in a student-organized walkout on May 1 to advocate for immigration rights. He received a truant mark for that too...
This story brought to mind another case in which a school official came down very hard on a student for going to an immigration rally.
Another school official takes advantage of a final opportunity to punish a student.
Look at the video and decide if the superintendent was right to single this student out for humiliation in front of his family and thousands of people. Why was this student really singled out? As his father says, "It's once in a lifetime...There are no do-overs."
Student Denied Diploma After Blowing Kiss to Mom
Asylum
Jun 18th 2009
By Jeremy Taylor
While we've all heard sad tales of high school students not being allowed to graduate at the last moment because of senior pranks gone wrong, a student losing his diploma for blowing a kiss to his mother as he walked the commencement stage has to be a first.
But that's what happened to Justin Denney, a Bonny Eagle High senior from Standish, Maine. Apparently this show of long-distance affection violated a code of conduct that Denney and the other students had signed.
The school district's superintendent, who was presiding over the ceremony, made the snap decision not to give Denney his diploma and send him back to his seat empty-handed.
You can watch Justin Denney's "conduct violation" after the jump, and decide for yourself if the superintendent's harsh ruling had any merit.
By Wendy Fry, SDNN
June 16, 2009
Approximately 200 Mission Bay High School seniors walked across the graduation stage Monday, but one student says his high school principal told him a single truancy prevented him from participating in the ceremony.
David Morales, 18, purchased his cap and gown before the school’s principal, Cheryl Seelos, told him last week he would not be walking at the graduation, Morales said.
Morales said Seelos told him a single truant mark on his record disqualified him from participating. Morales said he had eight truancies throughout the school year, but they were not on his final record.
Morales - who plans to attend UCSD in the fall - believes his campus activism, not the truancy, made him a target. Seelos did not return a call for comment Tuesday.
Last semester Morales campaigned and petitioned the San Diego Unified School District board to remove shooting ranges on local high school campuses. He is also vocal about military recruiting on high school campuses, and vocational training replacing University of California prerequisite courses on campuses that have diverse student populations.
School board member John de Beck said he petitioned the school board, the superintendant and Seelos about excusing Morales’ truancy by giving him credit for his public service. In February, the San Diego Unified School District voted 3-2 to remove the JROTC shooting ranges from area high schools.
The superintendant and a member of SDUSD’s legal department asked Seelos to reconsider the punishment, de Beck said.
“She [Seelos] was incredibly inflexible about it,” de Beck said. “I decided to withdraw from the graduation and boycott the ceremony on his behalf. I didn’t feel right about going there and graduating all these other students if Morales wasn’t going to get to walk.”
There were other students with truancies who were allowed to participate and who were not held to the same standard as Morales, de Beck said.
The truancy Morales said Seelos cited occurred June 9, when Morales left his fourth period class to go to work, which met the school’s internship requirement, he said.
He stopped in a parking lot across from the school to be interviewed by Univision, a television news station that wanted to talk with Morales about his campus activism.
Morales said Seelos interrupted the interview and instructed Morales to return to class. He followed Seelos’ instruction, but Seelos told the instructor to mark him as truant, Morales said.
Morales was also involved in a student-organized walkout on May 1 to advocate for immigration rights. He received a truant mark for that too...
This story brought to mind another case in which a school official came down very hard on a student for going to an immigration rally.
Another school official takes advantage of a final opportunity to punish a student.
Look at the video and decide if the superintendent was right to single this student out for humiliation in front of his family and thousands of people. Why was this student really singled out? As his father says, "It's once in a lifetime...There are no do-overs."
Student Denied Diploma After Blowing Kiss to Mom
Asylum
Jun 18th 2009
By Jeremy Taylor
While we've all heard sad tales of high school students not being allowed to graduate at the last moment because of senior pranks gone wrong, a student losing his diploma for blowing a kiss to his mother as he walked the commencement stage has to be a first.
But that's what happened to Justin Denney, a Bonny Eagle High senior from Standish, Maine. Apparently this show of long-distance affection violated a code of conduct that Denney and the other students had signed.
The school district's superintendent, who was presiding over the ceremony, made the snap decision not to give Denney his diploma and send him back to his seat empty-handed.
You can watch Justin Denney's "conduct violation" after the jump, and decide for yourself if the superintendent's harsh ruling had any merit.
Sharon Jones tries to pull the wool over our eyes regarding SDCOE
Sharon Jones didn't just fail to follow up on my public record requests about how much SDCOE-JPA paid to attorney Daniel Shinoff; she never even acknowledged my requests.Now she's trying to claim that she's been conscientious in investigating complaints. Nice try, Sharon. (CLICK HERE to see all posts about Sharon Jones.)
The SDUT has, until now, been very helpful in keeping information under wraps when it received documentation of wrongdoing at SDCOE. But recently it published this editorial:
UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL
Feckless, hapless, clueless
Handling of county schools conflict of interest is unacceptable
March 29, 2009
In the grand scheme of things, the San Diego County Office of Education is something of an obscure bit player. It provides administrative support to local school districts and runs continuation schools for students with disciplinary problems. This fringe status, however, does not excuse it from having to meet basic standards of good government.
That absolutely hasn't happened in the case of Daniel Puplava, who manages the office's retirement program while also working as a private broker who sells investments to administrators and teachers served by the program. This is prohibited, according to a 2008 opinion from the state Attorney General's Office.
But even with such an opinion, it is obvious that this is an unacceptable conflict of interest. While a full-time school office employee, Puplava lined up fellow government employees for his private brokerage and used his government phone as his primary contact number. Incredibly, Superintendent Randolph Ward himself bought an annuity from Puplava shortly after Ward began work in 2006.
Now Ward is refusing to answer questions on the matter. Board trustees John Witt and Mark Anderson also are stonewalling. Trustee Sharon Hartley says it's much ado about nothing, evidently concluding that the county schools office is not answerable to Attorney General Jerry Brown. Board President Sharon Jones pretends she's not allowed to comment on the matter because of “personnel” rules. Only trustee Jerry Rindone shows the appropriate level of dismay.
A respected high school principal and Chula Vista councilman before being elected to the county schools board, Rindone understands this isn't how government is supposed to work.
That doesn't hold for Ward, Witt, Anderson, Hartley and Jones. Their “what, me worry?” approach is an embarrassment.
Letter to the Editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune:
April 2, 2009
The Union-Tribune mistook our silence for inaction. As president of the county Board of Education, I wish to state that county schools Superintendent Randolph E. Ward and I take the allegations in the editorial very seriously. Omitted was the fact that three separate government investigations of the Fringe Benefit Consortium deferred compensation program manager have been conducted. Those investigations (by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the county District Attorney's Office) resulted in no charges of any kind.
It was also not mentioned that the consortium and its manager are the focus of on-going civil litigation. County Office of Education staff investigated the allegations prior to the three investigations. But the fact remains that we risk significant public and personal liability by offering comments on matters currently in civil court and dealing with confidential personnel issues.
Your readers should know that the county superintendent had legal counsel review all operational aspects of the consortium, commissioned a third-party audit of the consortium, and began to restructure the entire consortium program shortly after being appointed by the board. Those actions were taken to guard against the very kind of allegations the Union-Tribune has brought forth, and to ensure proper checks and balances are in place.
SHARON C. JONES
San Diego
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
House votes tomorrow on Peace Corps
On June 13, 2009 supporters held a rally in Washington D.C. to support funding for the Peace Corps. San Diego's own SDCOE superintendent Randolph Ward was a peace corps volunteer.Get Set for Big House Vote Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs is expected to meet and finalize its funding recommendations for Peace Corps and other international affairs programs.
Chairwoman of the Subcommittee, Nita Lowey, says $450 Million for Peace Corps!
A short while ago, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, appearing on the Chris Matthews Show, announced that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, will recommend $450 Million in funding for Peace Corps for Fiscal Year 2010.
Chris Matthews of Hardball and Orth are both RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers). Matthews served in Swaziland from 1969 to 1971, while Orth served in Colombia from 1964 to 1966.
Students do education research themselves
Students Turn the Tables on School Research -- And Do It Themselves
Voice of San Diego
By EMILY ALPERT
June 15, 2009
...are usually under the microscope in education research as scholars try to figure out how to raise their test scores or why they drop out. Now the teens are manning the microscopes. A fledgling extracurricular project, now in its third year in San Diego Unified, empowers students to study the inner workings of their own schools, from why teens skip tutoring to whether classes are interesting.
Trained by researchers from the University of California, San Diego, students at four different schools chose their own questions, learned to conduct interviews, gathered and analyzed data from surveys and classroom visits, and even explained their work at an annual conference for education wonks in the convention center downtown. The teens volunteered for the project and met roughly once a week after school.
"There is always debate about how to improve schools," said Makeba Jones, a project scientist at the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment and Teaching Excellence at UCSD, who led the project along with fellow researcher Susan Yonezawa. "Who better to ask than the students themselves?"..
Voice of San Diego
By EMILY ALPERT
June 15, 2009
...are usually under the microscope in education research as scholars try to figure out how to raise their test scores or why they drop out. Now the teens are manning the microscopes. A fledgling extracurricular project, now in its third year in San Diego Unified, empowers students to study the inner workings of their own schools, from why teens skip tutoring to whether classes are interesting.
Trained by researchers from the University of California, San Diego, students at four different schools chose their own questions, learned to conduct interviews, gathered and analyzed data from surveys and classroom visits, and even explained their work at an annual conference for education wonks in the convention center downtown. The teens volunteered for the project and met roughly once a week after school.
"There is always debate about how to improve schools," said Makeba Jones, a project scientist at the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment and Teaching Excellence at UCSD, who led the project along with fellow researcher Susan Yonezawa. "Who better to ask than the students themselves?"..
Monday, June 15, 2009
California high school physics teacher gets Bush administration to correct its math mistake
Photo: California physics teacher David ChandlerWhen does a government spokesman sound like a kid who didn't read his homework assignment?
When he's National Institute of Standards and Technology official S. Shyam Sunder presenting a report for public comment on the fall of World Trade Center building 7 (August 26, 2008).
Teacher David Chandler had a question for Mr. Sunder:
"Any number of competent measurements using a variety of methods indicate ...WTC 7 fell with an acceleration within a few percent of the acceleration of gravity. Yet your report contradicts this, claiming a 40% slower based on a single data point. How could such a publicly-visible easily-measurable quantity be set aside?"
NIST spokesman Mr. S. Shyam Sunder needed more time to think about that question. He asked that the query be repeated. After the question was repeated, Mr. Sunder explained:
"Gravity is the loading function that applies to the structure, that applies to all bodies on this particular planet, not just in Ground Zero."
Huh? This is a technical report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology!?
HERE is the video of the presentation.
HERE is a New York Times story about the report.
Mr. Sunder insisted that did NOT fall at the speed of freefall, but instead fell more slowly, because there were steel structures that were slowing the fall. "There was structural resistance."
Member of the public Steven Jones noted that the NIST report was mistaken in assuming constant speed. It seemed obvious that Engineer John Gross, lead investigator on the report, manipulated the data to match the desired scenario, in a strategy called "dry-labbing." A NIST engineer sitting next to Mr. Gross noted that this might need to be fixed in the final report.
AND SURE ENOUGH, THREE MONTHS LATER, NIST ADMITTED THAT FREEFALL OCCURRED DURING THE COLLAPSE OF WORLD TRADE CENTER BUILDING 7.In November 2008 NIST issued another report admitting that freefall occurred in the WTC 7 collapse.
More sources about the WTC 7 collapse are included in THIS ARTICLE.
CLICK HERE for a video of the building collapsing.
The only steel skyscraper that ever collapsed due to fire (World Trade Center Building 7) housed 3000 SEC files
World Trade Center building 7, where SEC files were kept, is the only steel skyscraper has ever collapsed due primarily to fire. In all other skyscraper fires, the steel frame has been left intact even after fires burned uncontrolled and destroyed everything else.
The NIST report and other articles are HERE.
The collapse of WTC7 IS SHOWN IN THIS VIDEO
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The NIST report and other articles are HERE.
The collapse of WTC7 IS SHOWN IN THIS VIDEO
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Sunday, June 14, 2009
What do San Diego county schools have in common with Iraq defense contractors? AIG insurance!
Students and employees in San Diego county have something in common with private-company contractors who work in Iraq beside American troops: when they are harmed, they are at the mercy of AIG lawyers and other insurance company lawyers.
Both deserve better.
From "The Wars Come Home":
"Insurance companies alone have pocketed $600 million in excessive profits over the past five years, says a staff report from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, but the Defense Department refuses to adjust its approach for managing the program."
A poorly run Pentagon program for providing workman's compensation for civilian taxpayers, a House oversight committee said Thursday.
Insurance companies alone have pocketed $600 million in excessive profits over the past five years, says a staff report from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, but the Defense Department refuses to adjust its approach for managing the program.
According to the committee, the Pentagon allows its contractors to negotiate their own insurance contracts. By contrast, the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Army Corps of Engineers have all selected a single insurance carrier to provide the insurance at fixed rates.
"What makes the situation even worse is the people this program is supposed to benefit - the injured employees working for contractors - have to fight the insurance companies to get their benefits," committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said at a hearing Thursday. "Delays and denials in paying claims are the rule."
KBR Inc., one of the largest defense contractors in Iraq, paid the insurance giant AIG $284 million for medical and disability coverage under the Defense Base Act, a reference to the federal law mandating the insurance. Due to the way KBR's contract is structured, this premium, along with an $8 million markup for KBR, gets billed to the taxpayer.
"Out of this amount, just $73 million actually goes to injured contractors, and AIG and KBR pocket over $100 million as profit," Waxman said.
Full Story
Both deserve better.
From "The Wars Come Home":
"Insurance companies alone have pocketed $600 million in excessive profits over the past five years, says a staff report from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, but the Defense Department refuses to adjust its approach for managing the program."
A poorly run Pentagon program for providing workman's compensation for civilian taxpayers, a House oversight committee said Thursday.
Insurance companies alone have pocketed $600 million in excessive profits over the past five years, says a staff report from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, but the Defense Department refuses to adjust its approach for managing the program.
According to the committee, the Pentagon allows its contractors to negotiate their own insurance contracts. By contrast, the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Army Corps of Engineers have all selected a single insurance carrier to provide the insurance at fixed rates.
"What makes the situation even worse is the people this program is supposed to benefit - the injured employees working for contractors - have to fight the insurance companies to get their benefits," committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said at a hearing Thursday. "Delays and denials in paying claims are the rule."
KBR Inc., one of the largest defense contractors in Iraq, paid the insurance giant AIG $284 million for medical and disability coverage under the Defense Base Act, a reference to the federal law mandating the insurance. Due to the way KBR's contract is structured, this premium, along with an $8 million markup for KBR, gets billed to the taxpayer.
"Out of this amount, just $73 million actually goes to injured contractors, and AIG and KBR pocket over $100 million as profit," Waxman said.
Full Story
Saturday, June 13, 2009
SDUSD's teachers union (SDEA) joins AFL-CIO
SDEA will continue to be affiliated with the California Teachers Association and the National Education Association.
Teachers Union Joins Labor Council
Voice of San Diego
EMILY ALPERT
June 11, 2009
The union that represents teachers in San Diego Unified, the San Diego Education Association, voted yesterday to join the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, signifying a tighter relationship between unionized teachers and other organized labor across the region.
Evan McLaughlin, political director of the Labor Council, said the teachers union would join the regional group as one of its largest unions, bumping its overall membership from 181,000 to 189,000 people...
NEA-AFT-AFL-CIO? "Not Just No, But HELL NO!"
Rich Gibson
...7. On July 5, 1998, 58 percent of the 9,741 delegates to the National Education Association's 77th annual representative assembly rejected the strident urging of their leaders to merge their national membership of 2.3 million with the 900,000 members of the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO.
The vote reflected a stunning rebuff to NEA President Bob Chase, vice-president Reg Weaver, secretary-treasurer Dennis Van Roekel, and the executive director, Don Cameron. The four dapper men lead an organization whose membership is 84% women...
8. ... Never before has an NEA assembly been so divided, never have delegates demonstrated such deep distrust of and alienation from their leaders... Like their AFL-CIO counterparts, NEA delegates, when given a chance with a secret ballot, ignored the leaders' demands. They said "yes" to their leaders and voted "no" in private on the "Principles of Unity," a brief conceptual document many delegates believed lacked the details to protect the heritage of the remarkably successful NEA in a merger with the fading AFL-CIO.
9. Even so, delegates did pass a proposal from Minnesota that allows states--like Florida and some locals, which are deeply involved in merger negotiations with the AFT--to continue to bargain, and perhaps to link with the AFL-CIO...
10. A merged NEA and AFT would have created the largest union in North America. With more than three million members, it would have been three times the size of the Teamsters, now the biggest union in the U.S. The slowly disintegrating AFL-CIO, representing a low of about 13 percent of the nation's work force, would have enjoyed a quick injection of nearly eight million dollars--and much needed respectability in the face of federal indictments against leaders like Ron Carey, and potential charges pending against other top officers like the United Mineworkers' Rich Trumka, who was prominent in calling for an NEA merger. The merged organization would have comprised about 20 percent of the AFL-CIO.
11. All of NEA's chickens came home to roost at the New Orleans assembly. A formal, if superficial dedication to internal democracy was strained by a growing gap between leaders, staff, and members at every level... Years of battles with the AFT which required extensive training of the rank and file--about every AFT blemish--contradicted the sudden leadership romance with the entire AFL-CIO...
Teachers Union Joins Labor Council
Voice of San Diego
EMILY ALPERT
June 11, 2009
The union that represents teachers in San Diego Unified, the San Diego Education Association, voted yesterday to join the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, signifying a tighter relationship between unionized teachers and other organized labor across the region.
Evan McLaughlin, political director of the Labor Council, said the teachers union would join the regional group as one of its largest unions, bumping its overall membership from 181,000 to 189,000 people...
NEA-AFT-AFL-CIO? "Not Just No, But HELL NO!"
Rich Gibson
...7. On July 5, 1998, 58 percent of the 9,741 delegates to the National Education Association's 77th annual representative assembly rejected the strident urging of their leaders to merge their national membership of 2.3 million with the 900,000 members of the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO.
The vote reflected a stunning rebuff to NEA President Bob Chase, vice-president Reg Weaver, secretary-treasurer Dennis Van Roekel, and the executive director, Don Cameron. The four dapper men lead an organization whose membership is 84% women...
8. ... Never before has an NEA assembly been so divided, never have delegates demonstrated such deep distrust of and alienation from their leaders... Like their AFL-CIO counterparts, NEA delegates, when given a chance with a secret ballot, ignored the leaders' demands. They said "yes" to their leaders and voted "no" in private on the "Principles of Unity," a brief conceptual document many delegates believed lacked the details to protect the heritage of the remarkably successful NEA in a merger with the fading AFL-CIO.
9. Even so, delegates did pass a proposal from Minnesota that allows states--like Florida and some locals, which are deeply involved in merger negotiations with the AFT--to continue to bargain, and perhaps to link with the AFL-CIO...
10. A merged NEA and AFT would have created the largest union in North America. With more than three million members, it would have been three times the size of the Teamsters, now the biggest union in the U.S. The slowly disintegrating AFL-CIO, representing a low of about 13 percent of the nation's work force, would have enjoyed a quick injection of nearly eight million dollars--and much needed respectability in the face of federal indictments against leaders like Ron Carey, and potential charges pending against other top officers like the United Mineworkers' Rich Trumka, who was prominent in calling for an NEA merger. The merged organization would have comprised about 20 percent of the AFL-CIO.
11. All of NEA's chickens came home to roost at the New Orleans assembly. A formal, if superficial dedication to internal democracy was strained by a growing gap between leaders, staff, and members at every level... Years of battles with the AFT which required extensive training of the rank and file--about every AFT blemish--contradicted the sudden leadership romance with the entire AFL-CIO...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Parents and Students apparently really do want Pat Judd to leave TAS (The Accelerated School) in Los Angeles
[Photo by Ciro Cesar La Opinion, Los Angeles]An article about former Mountain Empire School District superintendent (and CVESD board member) Patrick Judd has come out in a Los Angeles newspaper, La Opinion. For those who don't read Spanish, someone was kind enough to leave a comment in English yesterday:
Parents and Students want Patrick Judd out of The Accelerated School!
Parents and students have been protesting outside of the school for a couple of weeks demanding that Patrick Judd’s contract be terminated effective immediately.
Check out the web link to an article in La Opinion regarding the protest.
[Maura Larkins note: The article quotes Judd as saying that he didn't know anything about the protest and had no idea what the parents were upset about. When the reporter informed him about the complaints, Judd said parents should go to "the appropriate authorities" with their issues.]
He should be embarrassed to make such a comment because it only proves that he does nothing but hide in that big office on the second floor and earns $12,000 a month and a $500.00 car allowance plus his medical insurance... Whoever is responsible for hiring him is a smart cookie. Oh! I forgot it was Kevin Sved the co-founder of The Accelerated School that jumped ship when the going got tuff. Kevin Sved left Johnathan Williams to deal with the sinking ship! What are friends for???
To see all posts about Patrick Judd, click HERE.
Swine flu is usually mild, but it has spread fast, so it's officially a pandemic
UPDATE JUNE 11, 2009:
WHO: Swine flu pandemic has begun, 1st in 41 years
By MARIA CHENG and FRANK JORDANS
AP
June 11, 2009
GENEVA -The World Health Organization declared a swine flu pandemic Thursday — the first global flu epidemic in 41 years — as infections in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere climbed to nearly 30,000 cases.
...WHO will now ask drugmakers to speed up production of a swine flu vaccine. The declaration will also prompt governments to devote more money toward efforts to contain the virus.
WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan made the announcement Thursday after the U.N. agency held an emergency meeting with flu experts. Chan said she was moving the world to phase 6 — the agency's highest alert level — which means a pandemic, or global epidemic, is under way...
Chan described the virus as "moderate." According to WHO's pandemic criteria, a global outbreak has begun when a new flu virus begins spreading in two world regions.
The agency has stressed that most cases are mild and require no treatment, but the fear is that a rash of new infections could overwhelm hospitals and health authorities — especially in poorer countries.
Still, about half of the people who have died from swine flu were previously young and healthy — people who are not usually susceptible to flu. Swine flu is also crowding out regular flu viruses. Both features are typical of pandemic flu viruses.
The last pandemic — the Hong Kong flu of 1968 — killed about 1 million people. Ordinary flu kills about 250,000 to 500,000 people each year...
ORIGINAL POST:
I have a bad case of flu, which is strange, because I haven't had the flu in 25 years. I've been so achy and fatigued, and I have a horrible cough.
It's alarming that people in Mexico and Inuit populations in Canada seem to become very severely ill from the swine flu.
Perhaps people with indigenous American ancestry need to take particularly good care of themselves during the next few months, so they won't be run down and weak if they get exposed. Also, they need to be careful if they do get sick, get plenty of rest and not go back to work too soon.
WHO: Swine flu pandemic has begun, 1st in 41 years
By MARIA CHENG and FRANK JORDANS
AP
June 11, 2009
GENEVA -The World Health Organization declared a swine flu pandemic Thursday — the first global flu epidemic in 41 years — as infections in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere climbed to nearly 30,000 cases.
...WHO will now ask drugmakers to speed up production of a swine flu vaccine. The declaration will also prompt governments to devote more money toward efforts to contain the virus.
WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan made the announcement Thursday after the U.N. agency held an emergency meeting with flu experts. Chan said she was moving the world to phase 6 — the agency's highest alert level — which means a pandemic, or global epidemic, is under way...
Chan described the virus as "moderate." According to WHO's pandemic criteria, a global outbreak has begun when a new flu virus begins spreading in two world regions.
The agency has stressed that most cases are mild and require no treatment, but the fear is that a rash of new infections could overwhelm hospitals and health authorities — especially in poorer countries.
Still, about half of the people who have died from swine flu were previously young and healthy — people who are not usually susceptible to flu. Swine flu is also crowding out regular flu viruses. Both features are typical of pandemic flu viruses.
The last pandemic — the Hong Kong flu of 1968 — killed about 1 million people. Ordinary flu kills about 250,000 to 500,000 people each year...
ORIGINAL POST:
I have a bad case of flu, which is strange, because I haven't had the flu in 25 years. I've been so achy and fatigued, and I have a horrible cough.
It's alarming that people in Mexico and Inuit populations in Canada seem to become very severely ill from the swine flu.
Perhaps people with indigenous American ancestry need to take particularly good care of themselves during the next few months, so they won't be run down and weak if they get exposed. Also, they need to be careful if they do get sick, get plenty of rest and not go back to work too soon.
Tri-City CEO Art Gonzalez gets a job in Minneapolis after $1 million payout from Tri-City Hospital
UPDATE: ART GONZALEZ WILL MAKE $490,000 IN HIS NEW JOB
Tri-City ex-CEO lands job with Minneapolis health system
By Keith Darcé, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
June 10, 2009
...Gonzalez's annual base salary with the Oceanside medical center was $483,000. He will earn $490,000 a year in his new job, said Hennepin spokesman Tom Hayes.
Tri-City delivered large surpluses toward the end of Gonzalez's 10-year tenure there.
But critics blamed him for Tri-City's three failed bond initiatives, bonuses for executives that some considered excessive and a debt-refinancing program that became costly after the collapse of auction-rate securities markets last year. Tri-City faces an $8 million loss in the current fiscal year.
ORIGINAL POST:
Former CEO Art Gonzalez' severance deal with Tri-City Healthcare was finalized less than two months ago (see second story in this post). Today Hennepin County Medical Center announced that Gonzalez has been hired in Minnesota.
The forensic audit that was conducted while Art Gonzalez was on administrative leave has been kept secret, but I suspect that similar shenanigans take place at most hospitals, and the folks in Minnesota apparently agree with me.
All posts about our Tri-City Healthcare scandal. are here.
HCMC names new CEO
by Elizabeth Baier
Minnesota Public Radio
June 9, 2009
St. Paul, Minn. — The Hennepin County Medical Center has named a health care administrator from California, Arthur Gonzalez, its new chief executive officer.
Gonzalez will lead the Hennepin Healthcare System, which operates the Minneapolis trauma center and public hospital and clinic system...
Gonzalez has a doctor of public health degree from the University of Texas, and a master's degree in health care administration from Trinity University.
Most recently, he was president and CEO of Tri-City Healthcare District, a public health care system in Oceanside, Calif., where he spent 10 years...
Gonzalez has also served as the chief executive officer of Schumpert Health System in Shreveport, La., St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas; and Kino Community Hospital in Tucson, Ariz.
Gonzalez comes to HCMC at a time of budget uncertainty...Officials said cuts in state funding since 2008, and a drop in inpatient volume this year have resulted in a loss of approximately $10 million on operations.
Tri-City's severance deal tops $1 million
Former CEO agrees to drop legal action
By Lola Sherman
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
May 5, 2009
Online: To read the settlement agreement, go to uniontrib.com/more/gonzalez
NORTH COUNTY — The Tri-City Healthcare District board and former chief executive Arthur Gonzalez have agreed to a severance deal worth more than $1 million in cash and benefits....
Gonzalez was Tri-City's chief for almost a decade. He was placed on paid leave in December.
He could not be reached to comment yesterday. His attorney, Leslie Devaney, said Gonzalez was pleased with the deal...
The deal also indemnifies Gonzalez from any litigation that might name him during the period he was a district employee.
The agreement ends Gonzalez's turbulent tenure at Tri-City. When he was hired in December 1998, the district was in financial trouble...
In December, a newly-elected board majority put Gonzalez and eight other administrators on paid leave and launched a “forensic audit,” the results of which have not been released...
Tri-City's chief of medical staff, Dr. Richard Burruss... has warned that recent controversy harms the hospital's reputation.
“The medical staff feels strongly that the community deserves to know the final findings of the audit so the confidence of the community in the hospital can be restored,” he said.
Devaney yesterday would not discuss the seven other administrators she represents. A ninth district employee placed on leave has not been identified.
Tri-City ex-CEO lands job with Minneapolis health system
By Keith Darcé, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
June 10, 2009
...Gonzalez's annual base salary with the Oceanside medical center was $483,000. He will earn $490,000 a year in his new job, said Hennepin spokesman Tom Hayes.
Tri-City delivered large surpluses toward the end of Gonzalez's 10-year tenure there.
But critics blamed him for Tri-City's three failed bond initiatives, bonuses for executives that some considered excessive and a debt-refinancing program that became costly after the collapse of auction-rate securities markets last year. Tri-City faces an $8 million loss in the current fiscal year.
ORIGINAL POST:
Former CEO Art Gonzalez' severance deal with Tri-City Healthcare was finalized less than two months ago (see second story in this post). Today Hennepin County Medical Center announced that Gonzalez has been hired in Minnesota.
The forensic audit that was conducted while Art Gonzalez was on administrative leave has been kept secret, but I suspect that similar shenanigans take place at most hospitals, and the folks in Minnesota apparently agree with me.
All posts about our Tri-City Healthcare scandal. are here.
HCMC names new CEO
by Elizabeth Baier
Minnesota Public Radio
June 9, 2009
St. Paul, Minn. — The Hennepin County Medical Center has named a health care administrator from California, Arthur Gonzalez, its new chief executive officer.
Gonzalez will lead the Hennepin Healthcare System, which operates the Minneapolis trauma center and public hospital and clinic system...
Gonzalez has a doctor of public health degree from the University of Texas, and a master's degree in health care administration from Trinity University.
Most recently, he was president and CEO of Tri-City Healthcare District, a public health care system in Oceanside, Calif., where he spent 10 years...
Gonzalez has also served as the chief executive officer of Schumpert Health System in Shreveport, La., St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas; and Kino Community Hospital in Tucson, Ariz.
Gonzalez comes to HCMC at a time of budget uncertainty...Officials said cuts in state funding since 2008, and a drop in inpatient volume this year have resulted in a loss of approximately $10 million on operations.
Tri-City's severance deal tops $1 million
Former CEO agrees to drop legal action
By Lola Sherman
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
May 5, 2009
Online: To read the settlement agreement, go to uniontrib.com/more/gonzalez
NORTH COUNTY — The Tri-City Healthcare District board and former chief executive Arthur Gonzalez have agreed to a severance deal worth more than $1 million in cash and benefits....
Gonzalez was Tri-City's chief for almost a decade. He was placed on paid leave in December.
He could not be reached to comment yesterday. His attorney, Leslie Devaney, said Gonzalez was pleased with the deal...
The deal also indemnifies Gonzalez from any litigation that might name him during the period he was a district employee.
The agreement ends Gonzalez's turbulent tenure at Tri-City. When he was hired in December 1998, the district was in financial trouble...
In December, a newly-elected board majority put Gonzalez and eight other administrators on paid leave and launched a “forensic audit,” the results of which have not been released...
Tri-City's chief of medical staff, Dr. Richard Burruss... has warned that recent controversy harms the hospital's reputation.
“The medical staff feels strongly that the community deserves to know the final findings of the audit so the confidence of the community in the hospital can be restored,” he said.
Devaney yesterday would not discuss the seven other administrators she represents. A ninth district employee placed on leave has not been identified.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Psychology research: Human beings can not be trusted to act in their own best interests
Using Psychology To Save You From Yourself
by Alix Spiegel
All Things Considered, NPR
June 8, 2009
Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein's blog, Nudge, looks at how many — from parents to credit card companies to policymakers — are using human psychology to help you, or sometimes to simply get what they want.·
In the city of Greensboro, N.C., there's a program designed for teenage mothers. To prevent these teens from having another child, the city offers each of them $1 a day for every day they are not pregnant. It turns out that the psychological power of that small daily payment is huge. A single dollar a day is enough to push the rate of teen pregnancy down, saving all the incredible costs — human and financial — that go with teen parenting.
Cass Sunstein, President Obama's pick to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, is a vocal supporter of the program, because it's an economic policy that shapes itself around human psychology...
Aspect program collects big money from foreign kids to see America, but where's the oversight?
Exchange student scandal spurs calls for reforms
Sarah Hofius Hall
Jun. 7, 2009
The Times-Tribune
The alleged neglect and financial exploitation of 12 Lackawanna and Luzerne county foreign exchange students revealed a glaring lack of oversight...The call for stronger oversight was spurred by the complaints of a dozen students placed in area homes by Scranton resident Edna Burgette, area coordinator for the San Francisco-based Aspect Foundation. Students reported being placed in filthy homes which were later condemned and being shuffled from home to home, including living in one with ex-convicts. At least one required medical attention for malnutrition...
Numerous requests for an interview with an Aspect representative have been denied...
The students -- who are between the ages of 15 and 18 and come from countries including Nigeria, Denmark, Vietnam, Norway, Tanzania, France and Colombia -- paid Aspect for placement here. One mother reported paying $12,000 for her son to experience life in an American family...
Sarah Hofius Hall
Jun. 7, 2009
The Times-Tribune
The alleged neglect and financial exploitation of 12 Lackawanna and Luzerne county foreign exchange students revealed a glaring lack of oversight...The call for stronger oversight was spurred by the complaints of a dozen students placed in area homes by Scranton resident Edna Burgette, area coordinator for the San Francisco-based Aspect Foundation. Students reported being placed in filthy homes which were later condemned and being shuffled from home to home, including living in one with ex-convicts. At least one required medical attention for malnutrition...
Numerous requests for an interview with an Aspect representative have been denied...
The students -- who are between the ages of 15 and 18 and come from countries including Nigeria, Denmark, Vietnam, Norway, Tanzania, France and Colombia -- paid Aspect for placement here. One mother reported paying $12,000 for her son to experience life in an American family...
Is it defamatory to say that Attorney Bob Gallagher didn't like Stutz law firm's tactics?
Here's the message I just send to Stutz law firm regarding its demands for changes in my website, pursuant to its defamation suit against me.
June 9, 2009
Dear Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz:
A person can disagree with Stutz without saying or implying that Stutz' actions are illegal or unprofessional. Obviously, there was a parting of the ways between Stutz and Bob Gallagher. Bob clearly did not see eye to eye with Dan Shinoff, Ray Artiano, James Holtz, etc. There's nothing in the court order that prevents me from saying so. People are allowed to dislike Stutz law firm, and they're not legally required to keep their feelings secret.
And, conversely, Stutz is allowed to nurture whatever hostile feelings it wishes against me and others.
Some Stutz lawyers get so angry that one would hardly be surprised to see smoke rising from the top of their heads. Ray Artiano was so mad during his deposition that his face kept twitching. Kelly Angell pointed both her index fingers at me in court, with thumbs cocked as if she were shooting me with two guns at once. (And I'll bet Stutz doesn't even charge the taxpayers for the theatrics. Rage and fury are thrown in for no charge!)
Citizens are allowed to criticize the actions of public entities and other organizations, such as tax-free educational institutions like Californians Against Lawsuit Abuse. America is what it is because of freedom of speech. You have no authority to stop me from presenting my ideas about education and the justice system.
Stutz obtained a summary judgment that it didn't deserve in its defamation case against me. The judge didn't consider my evidence, and relied on the declaration of a man (Dan Shinoff) who refused to be deposed and refused to produce documents. I would think that Stutz wouldn't want to push this too far.
If I were Stutz, I'd quit while I was ahead. But I guess that sort of advice is lost on Stutz. Stutz has had so many chances to quit while it was ahead in my case, but didn't take advantage of any of them. You know when the perfect time would have been to settle with me? Feb. 11, 2003, the day my OAH decision came out. Or Dec. 18, 2004, when my Superior Court case got thrown out.
At that time I probably would have exchanged confidentiality for a song.
Why did Stutz wait until I was back up and running, with a successful website, and THEN ask me to keep my information under wraps? Honestly, sometimes I wonder if the guys in charge of your firm have common sense.
I've heard that Daniel Shinoff considers "The Art of War" to be his personal bible, but I don't think he's read it carefully. Charging ahead with as many weapons as you can muster is not always the best plan. Sometimes you can defang an opponent with a smile and a handshake.
Can you believe that our trial date is just a month away? Maybe that's what we should be focusing on, rather than whether it is defamatory to say that Bob Gallagher left the firm because he didn't like Stutz' tactics.
Respectfully,
Maura Larkins
[Maura Larkins' comment: A report I found on NPR today helped me understand what's going on here. "Through their research, Kahneman and Tversky identified dozens of these biases and errors in judgment, which together painted a certain picture of the human animal. Human beings, it turns out, don't always make good decisions, and frequently the choices they do make aren't in their best interest...In other words, if the human brain is hard-wired to make serious errors, that implies all kinds of things about the need for regulation and protection."
June 9, 2009
Dear Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz:
A person can disagree with Stutz without saying or implying that Stutz' actions are illegal or unprofessional. Obviously, there was a parting of the ways between Stutz and Bob Gallagher. Bob clearly did not see eye to eye with Dan Shinoff, Ray Artiano, James Holtz, etc. There's nothing in the court order that prevents me from saying so. People are allowed to dislike Stutz law firm, and they're not legally required to keep their feelings secret.
And, conversely, Stutz is allowed to nurture whatever hostile feelings it wishes against me and others.
Some Stutz lawyers get so angry that one would hardly be surprised to see smoke rising from the top of their heads. Ray Artiano was so mad during his deposition that his face kept twitching. Kelly Angell pointed both her index fingers at me in court, with thumbs cocked as if she were shooting me with two guns at once. (And I'll bet Stutz doesn't even charge the taxpayers for the theatrics. Rage and fury are thrown in for no charge!)
Citizens are allowed to criticize the actions of public entities and other organizations, such as tax-free educational institutions like Californians Against Lawsuit Abuse. America is what it is because of freedom of speech. You have no authority to stop me from presenting my ideas about education and the justice system.
Stutz obtained a summary judgment that it didn't deserve in its defamation case against me. The judge didn't consider my evidence, and relied on the declaration of a man (Dan Shinoff) who refused to be deposed and refused to produce documents. I would think that Stutz wouldn't want to push this too far.
If I were Stutz, I'd quit while I was ahead. But I guess that sort of advice is lost on Stutz. Stutz has had so many chances to quit while it was ahead in my case, but didn't take advantage of any of them. You know when the perfect time would have been to settle with me? Feb. 11, 2003, the day my OAH decision came out. Or Dec. 18, 2004, when my Superior Court case got thrown out.
At that time I probably would have exchanged confidentiality for a song.
Why did Stutz wait until I was back up and running, with a successful website, and THEN ask me to keep my information under wraps? Honestly, sometimes I wonder if the guys in charge of your firm have common sense.
I've heard that Daniel Shinoff considers "The Art of War" to be his personal bible, but I don't think he's read it carefully. Charging ahead with as many weapons as you can muster is not always the best plan. Sometimes you can defang an opponent with a smile and a handshake.
Can you believe that our trial date is just a month away? Maybe that's what we should be focusing on, rather than whether it is defamatory to say that Bob Gallagher left the firm because he didn't like Stutz' tactics.
Respectfully,
Maura Larkins
[Maura Larkins' comment: A report I found on NPR today helped me understand what's going on here. "Through their research, Kahneman and Tversky identified dozens of these biases and errors in judgment, which together painted a certain picture of the human animal. Human beings, it turns out, don't always make good decisions, and frequently the choices they do make aren't in their best interest...In other words, if the human brain is hard-wired to make serious errors, that implies all kinds of things about the need for regulation and protection."
Bonnie Dumanis follows her predecessor in wrongfully prosecuting innocent teacher for child molestation
From the false allegations files, a case that resembles the Dale Akiki, Jim Wade and Wenatchee, Washington cases:
Molestation convictions reversed for ex-teacher
Ineffective legal work, juror misconduct cited
By Greg Moran
and Mark Sauer
San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
September 13, 2007
A state appeals court reversed yesterday the 2004 child molestation convictions of a popular Toler Elementary School teacher who is serving a prison sentence of 15 years to life after three separate trials.
The 2-1 decision by a panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego was the latest turn in the emotionally charged case of Thad Jesperson, or “Mr. J” as he was known to many at the Clairemont school, which is in the San Diego Unified School District.
Jesperson was put on trial three times by San Diego prosecutors on charges relating to the alleged molestation of eight second-and third-grade students in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years.
His convictions involved four of those girls. Charges relating to the other four children were either dropped by prosecutors or ended in acquittals or jury deadlocks.
In an 80-page ruling, Justice Richard Huffman wrote that the verdict had to be thrown out because of a combination of misconduct by jurors and ineffective legal work by Jesperson's lawyer. The defense lawyer did not prevent jurors from hearing videotaped interviews of the children that Huffman said were filled with prejudicial and irrelevant comments.
In the face of the allegations, Jesperson always insisted he was innocent...
A spokesman for the San Diego District Attorney's Office said yesterday the office was reviewing the decision and weighing its next step. In the meantime, Jesperson remains in state prison in Kings County.
Jesperson was arrested in April 2003 and was convicted in December 2004 at the age of 40. He had no record or previous allegations against him in his career, and had been a well-regarded teacher at Toler for five years.
Charles Sevilla, Jesperson's lawyer for the appeal, said in court papers the case had its origins on Toler's playground, where several students, including three of the later accusers, were talking at recess in late 2002. One mentioned that Jesperson had touched her on the shoulder a year earlier.
Another student said that it was child molestation and they should tell someone. Several weeks later, the mother of one of the children contacted the school and police, triggering the investigation.
... no witnesses ever corroborated the accusations, according to the appellate court opinion. When first questioned by San Diego detectives, the children who made the initial accusations denied anything happened...
The Education of Mr. J.
San Diego Magazine
By Mark Sauer
May 2008
Concern among Toler parents was spurred by letters sent home saying a teacher was suspected of molesting students. The letters urged parents to question their children, a red flag to many child-abuse experts. In high-profile false-accusation cases a generation ago, badgering by parents and misguided therapists led to fantastic stories by youngsters of not only sexual abuse but also blood rituals and animal sacrifice in classrooms. The notorious Dale Akiki prosecution in San Diego and the McMartin Preschool case in suburban Los Angeles were two of the more famous among at least 100 such “witch hunt” prosecutions across America.
San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis vigorously defends the decision to prosecute Jesperson. She says lessons learned from the phony case against Akiki provided safeguards against false allegations in the investigation at Toler Elementary School.
Dumanis says the Jesperson case was vetted by a panel of experienced prosecutors. Her team decided the girls’ statements were strong enough to convince jurors of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution’s ultimate success on that score was decidedly mixed, however.
As prosecutor Tracy Prior, an 11-year veteran in the Family Protection Division, told the court, the “entire case rides on the backs of 9- and 10-year-olds.” There was no corroborating evidence, and there were no independent witnesses against Jesperson. The issue of suggestibility played a prominent role at trial...
Molestation convictions reversed for ex-teacher
Ineffective legal work, juror misconduct cited
By Greg Moran
and Mark Sauer
San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
September 13, 2007
A state appeals court reversed yesterday the 2004 child molestation convictions of a popular Toler Elementary School teacher who is serving a prison sentence of 15 years to life after three separate trials.
The 2-1 decision by a panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego was the latest turn in the emotionally charged case of Thad Jesperson, or “Mr. J” as he was known to many at the Clairemont school, which is in the San Diego Unified School District.
Jesperson was put on trial three times by San Diego prosecutors on charges relating to the alleged molestation of eight second-and third-grade students in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years.
His convictions involved four of those girls. Charges relating to the other four children were either dropped by prosecutors or ended in acquittals or jury deadlocks.
In an 80-page ruling, Justice Richard Huffman wrote that the verdict had to be thrown out because of a combination of misconduct by jurors and ineffective legal work by Jesperson's lawyer. The defense lawyer did not prevent jurors from hearing videotaped interviews of the children that Huffman said were filled with prejudicial and irrelevant comments.
In the face of the allegations, Jesperson always insisted he was innocent...
A spokesman for the San Diego District Attorney's Office said yesterday the office was reviewing the decision and weighing its next step. In the meantime, Jesperson remains in state prison in Kings County.
Jesperson was arrested in April 2003 and was convicted in December 2004 at the age of 40. He had no record or previous allegations against him in his career, and had been a well-regarded teacher at Toler for five years.
Charles Sevilla, Jesperson's lawyer for the appeal, said in court papers the case had its origins on Toler's playground, where several students, including three of the later accusers, were talking at recess in late 2002. One mentioned that Jesperson had touched her on the shoulder a year earlier.
Another student said that it was child molestation and they should tell someone. Several weeks later, the mother of one of the children contacted the school and police, triggering the investigation.
... no witnesses ever corroborated the accusations, according to the appellate court opinion. When first questioned by San Diego detectives, the children who made the initial accusations denied anything happened...
The Education of Mr. J.
San Diego Magazine
By Mark Sauer
May 2008
Concern among Toler parents was spurred by letters sent home saying a teacher was suspected of molesting students. The letters urged parents to question their children, a red flag to many child-abuse experts. In high-profile false-accusation cases a generation ago, badgering by parents and misguided therapists led to fantastic stories by youngsters of not only sexual abuse but also blood rituals and animal sacrifice in classrooms. The notorious Dale Akiki prosecution in San Diego and the McMartin Preschool case in suburban Los Angeles were two of the more famous among at least 100 such “witch hunt” prosecutions across America.
San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis vigorously defends the decision to prosecute Jesperson. She says lessons learned from the phony case against Akiki provided safeguards against false allegations in the investigation at Toler Elementary School.
Dumanis says the Jesperson case was vetted by a panel of experienced prosecutors. Her team decided the girls’ statements were strong enough to convince jurors of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution’s ultimate success on that score was decidedly mixed, however.
As prosecutor Tracy Prior, an 11-year veteran in the Family Protection Division, told the court, the “entire case rides on the backs of 9- and 10-year-olds.” There was no corroborating evidence, and there were no independent witnesses against Jesperson. The issue of suggestibility played a prominent role at trial...
Monday, June 08, 2009
Court says schools have no duty of care when first-grader molested by substitute teacher
EDUCATION LAW, INJURY AND TORT LAW
P.S. v. San Bernardino City Unified Sch. Dist.
California Fourth Appellate
In a negligence action brought by first-grade student victims of molestation by a substitute teacher, trial court action sustaining defendant's demurrer as to all causes of action against it is affirmed where: 1) defendant did not have a duty of care toward the plaintiff, as plaintiffs were not in the class of persons protected by the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act; and 2) the amendment to the Act did not extend a duty or to create liability to all future children who might be harmed by a suspected abuser.
This case is part of a steady flow of cases that protect school districts from responsibility for just about everything; in this case, the molestation of a first grader by a substitute teacher.
The molestation, of course, was not an intentional act by the school, but the court also protects schools from responsibility for intentional wrongdoing, such as the Coach James "Ted" Carter case. Carter was fired because he reported another coach for recommending that a student take a substance that caused the student's kidney to fail. See Daniel Shinoff cases.
Who on earth would support such a policy? Public entity lawyers!
Daniel Shinoff's partner and former city attorney candidate Leslie Devaney, for one. She is past president of San Diego CALA (Californians Against Lawsuit Abuse), which works to change public opinion so that jurors won't demand that public entities pay their victims. Of course, CALA thinks its fine to give lots of tax money to the the lawyers who help public entities avoid responsibility for harming citizens.
Ms. Devaney used to give radio talks to convince the public that public entities shouldn't have to pay people they harm.
At least she's not a hypocrite, right? She truly believes public entities should not pay people whom they've harmed?
I'm afraid not. It seems that Ms. Devaney has taken on a nice little side line in addition to her public entity work. Lately she's been using her legal skills to force cities and hospitals to pay through the nose for such things as:
(1) The City of Chula Vista's firing of developer's wife Laurie Madigan for taking extended sick leave BECAUSE SHE WAS AFRAID SHE MIGHT GET SICK. Why was Madigan afraid she might get sick? BECAUSE SHE WAS BEING INVESTIGATED!
(2) Tri-City Healthcare's placing CEO Art Gonzalez on administrative leave while a forensic audit was conducted. Ms. Devaney thought he should have one more million-dollar bonus before he went away.
But if you are an ordinary employee or student who has been illegally damaged, I'm not sure she'd take your case. But she might. You could always ask.
So who's responsible when your kid is at school? They're on their own, basically.
I think CALA can declare victory in this case. Is there a celebration going on at Leslie Devaney's law firm, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz?
Teachers arrange mock hanging; boy falls with rope around his neck
My question is: what sort of decisions do these teachers make the rest of the time (when they're not planning mock hangings)?
Class hanging has authorities seeing red
Wed Jun 3, 2009
Reuters
A student who fell with a noose around his neck during a mock class hanging that was arranged by teachers has enraged Australian authorities.
The high school student fell from a table while fellow students, under the supervision of a teacher, were photographing a staged hanging as part of an English class project.
"It beggars belief that such an incident could take place," Queensland state Education Minister Geoff Wilson told local radio on Wednesday.
"I'm a parent. The last thing I've ever wanted any of my children to do is put a rope around their neck," Wilson said.
Students and teachers rushed to the boy and cut the rope when he fell, Education Queensland Assistant Director-General Lyn McKenzie said, although local newspapers said the boy turned blue before he was freed.
The student was allowed to go home with his mother after being examined by paramedics, while authorities launched an investigation into how the incident occurred.
Class hanging has authorities seeing red
Wed Jun 3, 2009
Reuters
A student who fell with a noose around his neck during a mock class hanging that was arranged by teachers has enraged Australian authorities.
The high school student fell from a table while fellow students, under the supervision of a teacher, were photographing a staged hanging as part of an English class project.
"It beggars belief that such an incident could take place," Queensland state Education Minister Geoff Wilson told local radio on Wednesday.
"I'm a parent. The last thing I've ever wanted any of my children to do is put a rope around their neck," Wilson said.
Students and teachers rushed to the boy and cut the rope when he fell, Education Queensland Assistant Director-General Lyn McKenzie said, although local newspapers said the boy turned blue before he was freed.
The student was allowed to go home with his mother after being examined by paramedics, while authorities launched an investigation into how the incident occurred.
Chief Justice John Roberts: Judge Brent Benjamin doesn't have to recuse himself just because of a measly $3 million campaign contribution
Remember Senate confirmation hearings for Chief Justice John Roberts? Roberts seemed like a reasonable guy, didn't he? Apparently he fooled a lot of senators. Surely even the Republicans who supported him must be embarrassed by his dissent in this case in which a $3 million campaign contribution to a judge was found to be sufficient reason for a judge to recuse himself in a case involving his benefactor. It's the sort of thing we expect from Antonin Scalia and his worshipful sidekick Clarence Thomas. And we're learning to expect this sort of this from Sam Alioto.On the bright side, Republicans can take pride in Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority ruling against Judge Brent Benjamin and the CEO of A.T. Massey Coal.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
How do you find out what goes on inside CTA? Do you ask a current insider, or a former insider?
Question: How do you find out the truth about what goes on inside California Teachers Association (CTA)?
Answer: You listen to people who used to be on the inside.
Revelation:
[Superintendent Pat] Pettit, himself a former teachers union president, said that during the time when he negotiated for teachers he was trained to spread misinformation among employees and to vilify opponents.
Denial:
[David A. Sanchez told the board CTA never instructs members to be "anything but honest, assertive and united" in the collective bargaining process.
ARTICLES ABOUT THE ALLEGATIONS
South Bay schools see more cuts
By Chris Moran
San Diego Union Tribune
March 3, 2006
Faced with shrinking enrollment that may ultimately force a school to close, South Bay Union School District trustees last night cut $1.8 million from the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1...
It also led last night to tension between employee unions and the superintendent. Employees picketed and distributed a salary chart that appeared to represent a 33 percent salary increase for the superintendent's position from 1999 through 2003.
[Superintendent Pat] Pettit angrily denounced the union tactics, saying he didn't accept a raise that he qualified for last year and hasn't approached the board about a raise this year.
“Damn it, I have not gotten a raise!” he said from his seat at the board table, addressing the dozens of employees in the audience. He later told the group, “If you don't like me, tough!”
[Superintendent Pat] Pettit, himself a former teachers union president, said that during the time when he negotiated for teachers he was trained to spread misinformation among employees and to vilify opponents.
[SWTA President] Frank Cherry, who has been teachers union president for 14 of the past 16 years, said there's no such training...
SWTA calls in big guns to set the record straight
from CTA website
May 2006
Facing some bad press generated by the superintendent of the South Bay Union School District, the Southwest Teachers Association called in CTA to defend its reputation.
[Maura Larkins' comment: CTA also was called in when local leaders made a mess of my case.]
The chapter, which is in contract negotiations with the district, organized a rally before the April 20 school board meeting to help build solidarity and brought in CTA Vice President David A. Sanchez to set the board straight.
According to a March 26 article in the San Diego Union Tribune, the superintendent claimed he had received training in how to "spread misinformation and vilify opponents" when he was a CTA member.
Sanchez told the board CTA never instructs members to be "anything but honest, assertive and united" in the collective bargaining process.
While he couldn't speak to the superintendent's recollections of 20-plus years ago, he could speak to the truth about "what CTA believes, what we have fought for, and what is happening in this school district."
...Before the meeting, Sanchez addressed the teachers at the rally, saying that CTA trains its members "to stand up to bullies, to organize, to unite and to speak the truth! And speaking the truth is easy because it is on our side."
[Maura Larkins' comment: David A. Sanchez (now president of CTA) is telling a half-truth. Sometimes CTA stands up to bullies. And sometimes CTA aids and abets bullies. It depends on the politics that are operating at the time...It should be noted that Southwest Teachers Association works with South County Teachers United.]
Answer: You listen to people who used to be on the inside.
Revelation:
[Superintendent Pat] Pettit, himself a former teachers union president, said that during the time when he negotiated for teachers he was trained to spread misinformation among employees and to vilify opponents.
Denial:
[David A. Sanchez told the board CTA never instructs members to be "anything but honest, assertive and united" in the collective bargaining process.
ARTICLES ABOUT THE ALLEGATIONS
South Bay schools see more cuts
By Chris Moran
San Diego Union Tribune
March 3, 2006
Faced with shrinking enrollment that may ultimately force a school to close, South Bay Union School District trustees last night cut $1.8 million from the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1...
It also led last night to tension between employee unions and the superintendent. Employees picketed and distributed a salary chart that appeared to represent a 33 percent salary increase for the superintendent's position from 1999 through 2003.
[Superintendent Pat] Pettit angrily denounced the union tactics, saying he didn't accept a raise that he qualified for last year and hasn't approached the board about a raise this year.
“Damn it, I have not gotten a raise!” he said from his seat at the board table, addressing the dozens of employees in the audience. He later told the group, “If you don't like me, tough!”
[Superintendent Pat] Pettit, himself a former teachers union president, said that during the time when he negotiated for teachers he was trained to spread misinformation among employees and to vilify opponents.
[SWTA President] Frank Cherry, who has been teachers union president for 14 of the past 16 years, said there's no such training...
SWTA calls in big guns to set the record straight
from CTA website
May 2006
Facing some bad press generated by the superintendent of the South Bay Union School District, the Southwest Teachers Association called in CTA to defend its reputation.
[Maura Larkins' comment: CTA also was called in when local leaders made a mess of my case.]
The chapter, which is in contract negotiations with the district, organized a rally before the April 20 school board meeting to help build solidarity and brought in CTA Vice President David A. Sanchez to set the board straight.
According to a March 26 article in the San Diego Union Tribune, the superintendent claimed he had received training in how to "spread misinformation and vilify opponents" when he was a CTA member.
Sanchez told the board CTA never instructs members to be "anything but honest, assertive and united" in the collective bargaining process.
While he couldn't speak to the superintendent's recollections of 20-plus years ago, he could speak to the truth about "what CTA believes, what we have fought for, and what is happening in this school district."
...Before the meeting, Sanchez addressed the teachers at the rally, saying that CTA trains its members "to stand up to bullies, to organize, to unite and to speak the truth! And speaking the truth is easy because it is on our side."
[Maura Larkins' comment: David A. Sanchez (now president of CTA) is telling a half-truth. Sometimes CTA stands up to bullies. And sometimes CTA aids and abets bullies. It depends on the politics that are operating at the time...It should be noted that Southwest Teachers Association works with South County Teachers United.]
Hillary Clinton urged to investigate people who prey on exchange students
Within weeks, approximately 30,000 exchange visitors will be arriving in the United States. Placement agencies that refuse to adhere to the federal regulations represents a serious threat to our country's reputation in the world.
Pennsylvania attorney general probes exchange students
June 4, 2009
Casey Urges Secretary Clinton to Investigate U.S. Youth Exchange Programs
Sends letter after reports of mistreatment of students in Pennsylvania
May 26, 2009
Respectfully,
Danielle Grijalva, CFES
Friday, June 05, 2009
It's the teachers, stupid! Pay $125,000 a year, and the whole picture will change
"Excellent teachers — and not revolutionary technology, talented principals or small class size — are the critical ingredient for success..."
(see full story below)
I agree with this concept. I believe that children taught by really good teachers will outstrip others within a few years.
Next Test: Value of $125,000-a-Year Teachers
The New York Times
By ELISSA GOOTMAN
June 4, 2009
So what kind of teachers could a school get if it paid them $125,000 a year?
An accomplished violist who infuses her music lessons with the neuroscience of why one needs to practice, and creatively worded instructions like, “Pass the melody gently, as if it were a bowl of Jell-O!”
A self-described “explorer” from Arizona who spent three decades honing her craft at public, private, urban and rural schools...
They are members of an eight-teacher dream team, lured to an innovative charter school that will open in Washington Heights in September with salaries that would make most teachers drop their chalk and swoon; $125,000 is nearly twice as much as the average New York City public school teacher earns...
The school, called the Equity Project, is premised on the theory that excellent teachers — and not revolutionary technology, talented principals or small class size — are the critical ingredient for success...
The school’s founder, Zeke M. Vanderhoek, 32, a Yale graduate who founded a test prep company, has been grappling with just these issues...
The Equity Project will open with 120 fifth graders chosen this spring in a lottery that gave preference to children from the neighborhood and to low academic performers; most students are from low-income Hispanic families. It will grow to 480 children in Grades 5 to 8, with 28 teachers.
The school received 600 applications. Mr. Vanderhoek interviewed 100 in person.
Along the way, Mr. Vanderhoek, who taught at a middle school in Washington Heights before founding Manhattan GMAT, learned a few lessons.
One was that a golden résumé and a well-run classroom are two different things. “There are people who it’s like, wow, they look great on paper, but the kids don’t respect them,” Mr. Vanderhoek said.
The eight winning candidates, he said, have some common traits, like a high “engagement factor,” as measured by the portion of a given time frame during which students seem so focused that they almost forget they are in class. They were expert at redirecting potential troublemakers, a crucial skill for middle school teachers. And they possessed a contagious enthusiasm...
Teachers said the rigorous selection process was more gratifying than grueling.
“It’s so refreshing that somebody comes to a teacher and says, ‘Show me what you know,’ ” said Oscar Quintero, who goes by Pepe and will teach special education. “This is the first time in 30 years of teaching that anybody has been really interested in what I do.”
[Maura Larkins' comment: In all my years at CVESD, no one ever showed any interest in what I knew. Year after year I learned more and more, but both principals and teachers were interested in politics, not knowledge.]
The school will use only public money for everything but its building...
...There will be no deans, substitute teachers (except for extended leaves)... Teachers will work longer hours and more days, and have 30 pupils, about 6 more than the typical New York City fifth-grade class.
The principal, Mr. Vanderhoek, will earn just $90,000. Teachers will not have the same retirement benefits as members of the city’s teachers’ union. And they can be fired at will...
(see full story below)
I agree with this concept. I believe that children taught by really good teachers will outstrip others within a few years.
Next Test: Value of $125,000-a-Year Teachers
The New York Times
By ELISSA GOOTMAN
June 4, 2009
So what kind of teachers could a school get if it paid them $125,000 a year?
An accomplished violist who infuses her music lessons with the neuroscience of why one needs to practice, and creatively worded instructions like, “Pass the melody gently, as if it were a bowl of Jell-O!”
A self-described “explorer” from Arizona who spent three decades honing her craft at public, private, urban and rural schools...
They are members of an eight-teacher dream team, lured to an innovative charter school that will open in Washington Heights in September with salaries that would make most teachers drop their chalk and swoon; $125,000 is nearly twice as much as the average New York City public school teacher earns...
The school, called the Equity Project, is premised on the theory that excellent teachers — and not revolutionary technology, talented principals or small class size — are the critical ingredient for success...
The school’s founder, Zeke M. Vanderhoek, 32, a Yale graduate who founded a test prep company, has been grappling with just these issues...
The Equity Project will open with 120 fifth graders chosen this spring in a lottery that gave preference to children from the neighborhood and to low academic performers; most students are from low-income Hispanic families. It will grow to 480 children in Grades 5 to 8, with 28 teachers.
The school received 600 applications. Mr. Vanderhoek interviewed 100 in person.
Along the way, Mr. Vanderhoek, who taught at a middle school in Washington Heights before founding Manhattan GMAT, learned a few lessons.
One was that a golden résumé and a well-run classroom are two different things. “There are people who it’s like, wow, they look great on paper, but the kids don’t respect them,” Mr. Vanderhoek said.
The eight winning candidates, he said, have some common traits, like a high “engagement factor,” as measured by the portion of a given time frame during which students seem so focused that they almost forget they are in class. They were expert at redirecting potential troublemakers, a crucial skill for middle school teachers. And they possessed a contagious enthusiasm...
Teachers said the rigorous selection process was more gratifying than grueling.
“It’s so refreshing that somebody comes to a teacher and says, ‘Show me what you know,’ ” said Oscar Quintero, who goes by Pepe and will teach special education. “This is the first time in 30 years of teaching that anybody has been really interested in what I do.”
[Maura Larkins' comment: In all my years at CVESD, no one ever showed any interest in what I knew. Year after year I learned more and more, but both principals and teachers were interested in politics, not knowledge.]
The school will use only public money for everything but its building...
...There will be no deans, substitute teachers (except for extended leaves)... Teachers will work longer hours and more days, and have 30 pupils, about 6 more than the typical New York City fifth-grade class.
The principal, Mr. Vanderhoek, will earn just $90,000. Teachers will not have the same retirement benefits as members of the city’s teachers’ union. And they can be fired at will...
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Self-dealing discovered among First 5 commissioners in San Diego
What if First 5 commissioners had really gone out looking for dedicated individuals who want to teach children? Maybe education in California would start to turn around.
I first read this story moments after finishing this post about the relationship between Chula Vista Elementary School District and the YMCA. Now I discover that the YMCA is involved in another scandal.
Deeper conflicts emerge in First 5 funding
Groups tied to advisers see millions in grants
By Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune
June 4, 2009
Background: First 5 San Diego Commissioner Charlene Tressler resigned Sunday, as questions arose about $8.3 million in agency grants paid to a charity and a private preschool run by Tressler.
What's new: The group's awarding of $67 million to organizations that employ its main advisory committee members also is raising questions.
Funds from First 5 San Diego awarded to organizations with ties to the commission's advisory committee, for the past three fiscal years:
2005-06: $33.76 million out of $90.93 million, or 37.1 percent of grant money given
2006-07: $10.16 million out of $22.9 million, or 44.4 percent
2007-08: $23.56 million out of $39.56 million, or 59.6 percent
The county's First 5 Commission has awarded at least $67 million in the past three years to nonprofits and other groups that employ people who serve on its top advisory committee, according to an analysis by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The share of early childhood grants given to groups with ties to insiders has grown over the years, from 37.1 percent three years ago to 59.6 percent last year, the newspaper found.
The findings show that conflicts of interest at the agency go deeper than those of former Commissioner Charlene Tressler, who resigned Sunday as the newspaper prepared a report about First 5 funds granted to the charity that employs her.
Robert Fellmeth, a University of San Diego law professor and director of the Center for Public Interest Law, said public officials should know better than to steer so much money to groups with which they have close relationships.
“If you're making a decision on the allocation of public money, you or your direct employer or your personal interests should not be enriched by it,” Fellmeth said.
County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Dianne Jacob chairs the First 5 Commission by virtue of her county post...
Jacob said it's time for “a complete housecleaning” within the organization... “It's the perception of a conflict of interest, even though the advisory committee does not make decisions.”
[Maura Larkins' comment: This reminds of the Voice of San Diego story about San Diego County Office of Education Superintendent Randolph Ward's claim that he makes decisions about hiring. SDCOE is also involved in this scandal.]
...Tressler cited health reasons in her letter of resignation Sunday, which the county made public Tuesday. County officials knew the Union-Tribune was planning to report about Tressler's votes in favor of a preschool program that sent more than $8 million to a charity she runs in Chula Vista.
In giving grants, Tressler and her colleagues relied on advice from a First 5 committee of experts...
[Maura Larkins' comment: Did they bend her elbow to make her give money to herself?]
Of $153.39 million given out, at least $67.48 million went to groups with that inside track. That's 44 percent.
Last year, the commission in part awarded $7 million to St. Vincent de Paul, $6 million to the San Diego County Office of Education and $3 million to YMCA Childcare Resource Service, all of which employ advisory committee members.
Michael Carr is the longtime executive director of SAY San Diego, which provides a variety of youth services and receives money from First 5. Carr is also a member of the First 5 Commission's advisory and finance committees.
Carr said he and other volunteers are aware of the potential for conflicting interests, but he noted that committee members are seated because of their expertise and they have no authority to spend money.
“It's a question of who's interested in this sort of public policy,” said Carr, who said he would quit the committee rather than stop delivering the services he provides with First 5 revenue.
“It's not my sense the majority of folks on (the advisory committee) agree to spend that amount of time because of funding opportunities,” Carr said.
Joan Zinser, interim First 5 San Diego executive director, would not directly say why so many commission grants were paid to groups with representatives on the advisory committee. Zinser said only that they are “hands-on providers, dealing directly with families we serve.”
Supervisor Ron Roberts, who last served as First 5 chair in 2007, said the distributions represent “a major conflict of interest” and the system of rotating First 5 chairs based on the supervisor chairmanship needs to be re-evaluated.
“The serial chair almost guarantees you have chairs coming in that don't have a good enough grasp to effect the change you need,” said Roberts, who last month publicly criticized the commission for sitting on a $200 million bank balance.
Proposition 10 deemed that there would be independent commissions in each county so that First 5 spending decisions would be local, rather than fall to state political leaders...
Sherry Novick, who runs the First 5 Association of California trade group, said... early-childhood experts in any region are too valuable as resources to exclude from programs simply because they also serve as advisers.
“Frequently, the best provider is the one who's done it the most,” said Novick, who offers regular training sessions for commissioners on avoiding conflicts of interest...
[Maura Larkins to Sherry Novick: Do they do it the most because they have friends in high places? Which came first, the political connections or the contracts?]
Other First 5 commissions around the state also have been criticized for awarding contracts to groups that advise the panels...
2005-06 grants
2006-07 grants
2007-08 grants
FIRST 5 TIES
Some of the organizations that received First 5 San Diego funds in 2008 and the commission advisers who work for them:
St. Vincent de Paul: $7 million, Ruth Newton
San Diego County Office of Education: $6 million, Linda Scarpa
Rady Children's Hospital: $3.6 million, Kristin Gist
YMCA Childcare Resource Service: $3 million, Debbie Macdonald
Family Health Centers of San Diego: $2.3 million, Fran Butler-Cohen
Palomar Pomerado Health: $1.7 million, Annamarie Martinez
SAY San Diego: $1.7 million, Michael Carr
"First 5" RELATED LINK
Watchdog Report ♦ Member of First 5 Commission steps down: Tressler reportedly had conflict of interest
"First 5" EARLIER STORY:
First 5's fund focus of county attention
By Jeff McDonald, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
May 24, 2009
FIRST 5 SAN DIEGO
Created in 1999 after California voters approved Proposition 10, imposing tobacco taxes to fund early-childhood programs.
The five-member commission is appointed by the county Board of Supervisors. The board chair serves as head of the commission.
State voters last week rejected the idea of taking First 5 early-childhood funds to help balance the budget, but in San Diego County, the Board of Supervisors may find a way to do it anyway.
County Supervisor Ron Roberts singled out First 5 San Diego earlier this month as he and his colleagues sliced 771 positions from the county work force and a handful of programs that help poor children.
“I was shocked to find that the First 5 commission has $200 million in the bank,” Roberts said. “That is not a prudent reserve; that is a sinful reserve. There's something seriously wrong with that organization.”
Roberts suggested that First 5 San Diego pay the $340,000 needed to keep open the county's Child Health and Youth Clinics program, which serves about 1,750 patients every year but is now slated to close June 12. Community clinics will be asked to pick up the slack.
...[Dianne] Jacob defended the healthy bank balance and said the amount of unencumbered money the commission has is actually closer to $75 million...
For starters, longtime Executive Director Laura Spiegel resigned days after a March meeting. The commission made no public announcement, and Jacob declined to discuss the reason for Spiegel's departure.
Former county Health and Human Services Agency official Joan Zinser has taken the reins on an interim basis. Jacob said the commission expects to name a permanent successor later this year...
Chula Vista Elementary's DASH & STRETCH deal with YMCA, pulled off by Lowell Billings and Pam Smith, reveals the underbelly of CVESD
Get ready to make some noise again Chula Vista! Salt Creek & South Bay 'Y' are holding focus groups tomorrow, June 4, 2009 and June 17, 2009 re: DASH/STRETCH.
June 4
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Here, you will get to speak.
Salt Creek Elementary School Auditorium
1055 Hunte Parkway
Chula Vista, CA 91914
June 17
11 - 12 and 12 - 1
South Bay YMCA
50 North 4th Ave., 91910
Earlier DASH & STRETCH posts are here.
The Dash & Stretch Story as told by a veteran DASH leader
San Diego Reader
By CVPFEP
Posted June 3, 2009
...Why wasn't Dr. Lowell Billings transparent with the parents and employees of the City of Chula Vista's DASH and STRETCH? That is a question that will remain unanswered as Dr. Lowell Billings will not comment on that...Double-Boarding a conflict of interest? Follow me: www.twitter.com/cvpfep
Care2 make a difference
While legally Dr. Lowell Billings & Pamela B. Smith may serve on two boards, namely CVESD & the YMCA's Board of Management, they were supposed to have abstained their votes on the March 10th, 2009 district board meeting as it was a clear conflict of interests.
Maura Larkins' response:
Here's what Robert Fellmeth, University of San Diego law professor and director of the Center for Public Interest Law, says, "[P]ublic officials should know better than to steer so much money to groups with which they have close relationships."
Shame on Pamela Smith for voting to give control of a school district program to a private charity she's involved in. (On the other hand, it helps explain why the YMCA would give her a "woman of distinction" award. But the web of longtime cronies involved in the DASH & STRETCH power grab extends beyond Lowell Billings and Pam Smith to Cheryl Cox, mayor of Chula Vista. Cox served on the CVESD board until 2006.The DASH & STRETCH backroom deal is a small part of a much bigger problem.
Lowell Billings (like many other school superintendents) is paid big bucks to do whatever it takes to keep things calm and quiet in the school district. He's also supposed to educate as many kids as possible while keeping things quiet, but when a choice has to be made between educating kids and keeping the power structure in place, the kids come in second place.
Mr. Billings seems to be good at covering up problems. This is why CVESD pays Lowell Billings one of the highest salaries of any public employee in San Diego County, while at the same time laying off the people who actually educate kids. (How much is Billings paid to do this? In the 2007-2008 fiscal year he was the fourth-highest earning public employee in San Diego County, earning $238,205. I would guess his salary was about $20,000 higher this past year.)
Like other school officials, CVESD board members are so paranoid that they feel threatened by every little complaint. They don't want issues addressed in a public forum; they believe democracy is the road to ruin. Voters must be kept in the dark because voters can't be trusted with the truth. They are the only ones worthy of being on the board, and they must do whatever they have to do to stay there, including ignoring conflict of interest and other laws.
You might not guess that arrogance and fear would be so closely intertwined, but both the arrogance and the paranoia are real.
Chula Vista Elementary School District has a particularly bad case of paranoia. Board members and administrators fear that their system would fall apart if parents, teachers or kids were allowed to express dissatisfaction. It's CVESD's reflex response is to silence complaints and to deny its mistakes. CVESD flounders for years covering up its blunders rather than solving its problems.
The deterioration of DASH & STRETCH at CVESD is an unfortunate event, but it's just a tiny part of the big problem in education: teacher quality. Politics, not competence, determines who teaches children. People love to moan about the problem of not being able to get rid of incompetent teachers, but the truth is that education wouldn't really improve much if each school got rid of its worst teacher and replaced that teacher with a barely-competent teacher. The standards need to be much higher. Unfortunately, our society doesn't want to pay much for schools. One of Lowell Billings' jobs is to find a cheap way to put a teacher in every classroom (after first taking out plenty for himself and his lawyers, of course).
Adding to the problem, or perhaps, the very core of the problem, is that there is no effective system to evaluate teaching performance. Principals do observations, but they don't really know what's going on in classrooms, as reported in recent research.
Links on ineffective teacher evaluations:
Gotham Schools
Education Week
Voice of San Diego
As long as everything is peaceful and quiet, most administrators believe that everything is fine. And if kids end up as failures years later, very few people in the schools feel guilty. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, but most school officials are apparently fine with that.
Schools teach that if we keep a low profile and don't make the people in power angry, we'll be among the "contributing" members of society. I disagree. I think that looking the other way when wrong is being done damages society. I hope that Elisa Betancourt will keep speaking out. There's plenty more to talk about, Elisa. Don't go away!
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Schools can prevent depression in students
After yesterday's 9th Circuit opinion absolving a school bully (an adult) of the suicide of a student, the following article seemed particularly important. Of course, my guess is that there was no group therapy option at Ontario-Mountclair School District. So Gene Bennett did what he thought vice principals are supposed to do: make sure that kids who broke rules thoroughly understood how worthless they were.
Group Therapy Prevents Depression in Teens, Study Finds
New York Times
By RONI CARYN RABIN
June 2, 2009
Depression often strikes during adolescence, and teenagers whose parents have a history of depression are at particularly high risk. Now, a large clinical trial has found that a group cognitive behavioral program that teaches coping and problem-solving skills to these high-risk teens can reduce their risk of developing the mood disorder.
But the success rate of the prevention program varied greatly depending on the mental health status of the teenagers’ parents at the time they began intervention, the study also found. The program was much more effective than standard care if the teens’ parents were also without depression when the intervention began.
The study was published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Were we surprised? No,” said Judy Garber, a professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. “There is evidence in the literature that kids don’t respond as well to treatment if the parent is depressed.”
John Weisz, a professor of psychology at Harvard University who was not involved in the trial, said the results may help identify the best candidates for the prevention program.
He said there were several reasons why treatment may be less effective when an adolescent’s parent is depressed. “It may be the biological risk for depression is greater in these adolescents — that if the parents were once depressed but aren’t depressed any longer, the biological risk isn’t as great," he said.
Another possibility is that living with a depressed parent is difficult and stressful for a child, he added, while a third possibility is that teenagers model their parents’ behavior.
The new study is a randomized controlled clinical trial conducted in four cities: Nashville, Boston, Pittsburgh and Portland, Ore. The trial included 316 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17, all of whom had parents who were depressed or had been depressed at some earlier point in the child’s life.
The teenagers were randomly assigned to either the prevention program, which consisted of eight weekly 90-minute group sessions followed by six monthly sessions, or to receive only the usual care.
While almost one-third of the teens who got the usual care developed depression during the eight months of the study, only 21 percent of teens who participated in the prevention program became depressed.
But among teens whose parents were free of depression when the intervention started, the impact of the prevention program was more dramatic. Only 11.7 percent of those teens became depressed, compared to 40.5 percent of teens with healthy parents who received the usual care.
Among teenagers whose parents were depressed, the cognitive behavioral program was only slightly more effective. Some 31.2 percent of these adolescents went on to become depressed themselves, compared with 24.3 percent among those who received the usual care. The researchers said that difference was not statistically significant.
Group Therapy Prevents Depression in Teens, Study Finds
New York Times
By RONI CARYN RABIN
June 2, 2009
Depression often strikes during adolescence, and teenagers whose parents have a history of depression are at particularly high risk. Now, a large clinical trial has found that a group cognitive behavioral program that teaches coping and problem-solving skills to these high-risk teens can reduce their risk of developing the mood disorder.
But the success rate of the prevention program varied greatly depending on the mental health status of the teenagers’ parents at the time they began intervention, the study also found. The program was much more effective than standard care if the teens’ parents were also without depression when the intervention began.
The study was published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Were we surprised? No,” said Judy Garber, a professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. “There is evidence in the literature that kids don’t respond as well to treatment if the parent is depressed.”
John Weisz, a professor of psychology at Harvard University who was not involved in the trial, said the results may help identify the best candidates for the prevention program.
He said there were several reasons why treatment may be less effective when an adolescent’s parent is depressed. “It may be the biological risk for depression is greater in these adolescents — that if the parents were once depressed but aren’t depressed any longer, the biological risk isn’t as great," he said.
Another possibility is that living with a depressed parent is difficult and stressful for a child, he added, while a third possibility is that teenagers model their parents’ behavior.
The new study is a randomized controlled clinical trial conducted in four cities: Nashville, Boston, Pittsburgh and Portland, Ore. The trial included 316 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17, all of whom had parents who were depressed or had been depressed at some earlier point in the child’s life.
The teenagers were randomly assigned to either the prevention program, which consisted of eight weekly 90-minute group sessions followed by six monthly sessions, or to receive only the usual care.
While almost one-third of the teens who got the usual care developed depression during the eight months of the study, only 21 percent of teens who participated in the prevention program became depressed.
But among teens whose parents were free of depression when the intervention started, the impact of the prevention program was more dramatic. Only 11.7 percent of those teens became depressed, compared to 40.5 percent of teens with healthy parents who received the usual care.
Among teenagers whose parents were depressed, the cognitive behavioral program was only slightly more effective. Some 31.2 percent of these adolescents went on to become depressed themselves, compared with 24.3 percent among those who received the usual care. The researchers said that difference was not statistically significant.
Kathleen Fernandez wins in Chula Vista Elementary; no explanation for secrecy given by CVE President Peg Myers
Photo: CVE President Peg Myers apparently has some reason for her decision not to reveal election results on the Chula Vista Educators website.Today I finally got CVE election results. This news may not seem like a big deal to you and me, but apparently it's a big deal to CVE President Peg Myers. Myers wouldn't return my phone calls, and for the past 13 days, her secretaries claimed not to have any information about election results.
When the secretary told me once again this morning that she didn't have the election results, I told her what I had learned: Treasurer Nancy Potts had resigned two weeks ago--before the votes were counted in the May 20, 2009 run off election. Kathleen Fernandez won by default. (Each of the other offices had only one person running.)
The CVE secretary then said, "I knew that." (?!)
(Humans are funny, aren't we? In this case, the young woman preferred to let me know that she had been lying rather than allow me to think I knew something she didn't know.)
I don't hold the girl who answers the phone responsible for this deception. The blame rests squarely with Peg Myers.
This is not appropriate protocol; it's a shameful way to conduct business. A public school teachers union should not be secretive; it contributes to public mistrust of CTA, and for good reason. I would like to see CTA become truly democratic, like California Federation of Teachers. CFT has real elections; decisions are made at the ballot box, not it the back room.
I hope Kathleen Fernandez won't be co-opted into Peg Myers' corruption. If they ask her to keep a secret that shouldn't be kept, I hope she'll say no. Of course, she'll get thrown off the board, but there are worse fates--such as being on the board when illegal acts are committed by CVE. Unfortunately, CVE elections seem to be about personalities, not policies.
Just as members of San Diego's MEA didn't seem to care about President/Manager Judie Italiano's wrongdoing, CVE members also seem uninterested in corruption on Landis Street. Perhaps not coincidentally, attorney Ann Smith has worked for both organizations.
Chula Vista teachers seem to like to let CTA director Jim Groth and CVE President Peg Myers do their thinking for them. As the CVE website says, "CVE forms a representative body capable of developing group opinion and speaks with authority for members."