Teaching tips for teachers of one or more special needs kids

The people at Teaching Tips.com have posted the Ultimate Guide to Special Needs Teaching: 100+ Resources and Links by Laura Milligan.

CTA still looking for replacement for Scott McVarish

California Teachers Association needs someone who can work well with Barbara Kerr and other corrupt CTA honchos, while at the same time convincing the teachers of Long Beach that they belong to a democratic organization.

Position title: Executive Director/ UniServ Manager, Teachers Association of Long Beach
Location: Long Beach, CA

Term of employment: Regular
Type of employment: Full Time
Start date of this position: asap
Starting salary range: Not Provided

Education (minimum): Bachelor's Degree
Experience level (minimum): 7-15 Years
Categories: Education: K12, Education: Professional/Vocational, Non-Profit/Associations

Hartnett v. SDCOE, Diane Crosier, Randolph Ward, et al

See all Rodger Hartnett posts.
See all Diane Crosier posts.
See all Lora Duzyk posts.
See all Randy Ward posts.

A lot of people seem to be looking for information about the Hartnett v. SDCOE lawsuit. I have placed a link to the tort claim and complaint on this page.

The suit says, "...Lora Duzyk failed to perform an investigation regarding reports plaintiff made regarding the illegal rotation of business and billing practices of panel counsel Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz and Winet Patrick and Weaver in violation of the Political Reform Act."

I've been asking SDCOE for years for an investigation into Stutz law firm.

Are San Diego JPAs being investigated?

"...Several publicly owned insurance companies have since reported receiving subpoenas from San Diego investigators..."
--San Diego Union Tribune
June 25, 2008

Lora Duzyk (left) is San Diego County Office of Education's Assistant Superintendent for Business Services

San Diego Union Tribune's Jonathan Sidener reports that the US Attorney has fined an insurance company for paying a San Diego insurance broker "millions of dollars in kickbacks disguised as items such as requests for proposals, communications and enrollment fees. Those fees were passed along to policyholders."

I have wondered for a long time why SDCOE-JPA officials would be motivated to pay lawyers millions of dollars to protect wrongdoers in San Diego County schools. It makes no sense, unless...

It seems that insurance companies and insurance brokers and their lawyers control San Diego County Office of Education.

The SDCOE board members (Bob Watkins, Sharon Jones, Susan Hartley, John Witt and Nick Aguilar) and superintendent Randy Ward refuse to investigate the Joint Powers Authority. They allow Lora Duzyk and Diane Crosier free rein to spend millions of tax dollars on protecting school districts who disobey the law and harm students and employees. Why? Obviously, someone more powerful and important than the public is making it worth their while to look the other way. Who is it?

Schools mask problems instead of solving them

In times of crisis, schools hire consultants to calm everybody down instead of addressing the basic problem: teachers who can't think straight.

Helix High School in San Diego Unified School District has suffered from a rash of teacher-student sexual encounters. Since this makes the news, the school is doing something about it: hiring an ethics advisor.

Castle Park Elementary School in Chula Vista also hired an advisor, Peter Barron Stark, a few years back, in the mid-90s, when teachers were so hostile to bilingual education that they were using staff meetings as an emotional outlet to scream at their opponents.

Peter Barron Stark's advice didn't them help much. It seems that Castle Park Elementary teachers needed help with thinking skills and basic human decency. All they learned was how to conduct a meeting without yelling at each other. In other words, problems were covered up instead of being addressed.

According to Stark's website, the following educational institutions have hired Peter Barron Stark and Associates.

It's hard to miss MiraCosta College and others with legal problems on the list; many of these problem schools use Daniel Shinoff as their lawyer.

Is the failure of consultants caused by the fact that these institutions were asking for the wrong thing? They wanted to keep everything calm and quiet, when open, honest discussion was needed. Instead of hiring PBS consulting, they should have hired ethical lawyers, teachers, and administrators. Clearly, CVESD needs new board members.


PBS Consulting's education client list:

...Butte County Office of Education
Cal Poly Pomona
Chula Vista Elementary School District
Edison Charter Academy
KPBS
MiraCosta College
National School District
Poway Unified School District
Project Concern
San Diego County Office of Education
San Dieguito Union High School District
San Diego State University - College of Extended Studies
San Diego Community College District
Soquel Elementary School District
Southwestern College
Southwestern Christian School
University of Phoenix

Mr. Stark says, "I view each client I have the privilege of working with as the beginning of a lifelong relationship. I am committed to providing you with a customized presentation that begins long before I take the stage and doesn't end until your expectations have been exceeded."

I think you have some work left to do at Castle Park Elementary, Mr. Stark. And while you're at it, a visit to MiraCosta College might be in order.

How did Liberty Station get removed from Google streetview?

About six months ago I made a virtual visit to Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz' new offices in Liberty Station via Google's streetview.

I went back today, and found that no part of Liberty Station is available anymore on the service.

Why the secrecy?

Who twisted Google's arm?

Lowell Billings and the CVESD board can't get off the merry-go-round

Most schools use public money to improve. CVESD uses public money to make things worse. They use the money to pay lawyers to cover up wrongdoing.

But Lowell Billings and Castle Park Elementary teachers want me to stop telling the public that they have used $100,000s of taxpayer dollars to keep Castle Park Elementary circling the drain for the past seven years.

Nothing would please me more than to be able to say that Billings and the CVESD board are doing the right thing.

Here's how CVESD can stop my complaints without paying a dime:

All Billings and the board have to do is to stop the coverup and start dealing with the felony-serious problems at the district, the teachers union, and Castle Park Elementary.

Simply replace the corrupt culture at CVESD with a culture that values honesty, the rule of law, and the education of children.

And then you and the teachers at Castle Park Elementary can get off the merry-go-round of lies, attacks, and dysfunction that you have been riding for the past seven years.

No possibility for change in Zimbabue. How about change in America's schools?

We are different from Zimbabue. We can change.

I agree with world leaders who say that Morgan Tsvangirai should drop out of the presidential race because Mugabe will just keep killing people until his control is accepted. It's better to leave him alone.

Is the same true of those who want to change education in America? Should we give up? While some school districts use Mugabe-style tactics, like firing or arresting opposition leaders, I think America is different from Zimbabue. We can and should exercise our right to speak out--or we may lose it.

The Sunday Times, U. K.
Douglas Marle in Harare
"Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is facing an “avalanche of calls” to withdraw from this Friday’s presidential election after a campaign of murder, assault and intimidation by supporters of President Robert Mugabe.

"Tsvangirai is expected to decide tomorrow whether he will contest the election even though 85 members of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have been killed and evidence is mounting of attempts to rig the voting.

"The 56-year-old former trade union leader has previously indicated that nothing would deter him from fighting the election.

"But senior party officials warned yesterday that there was little point in a contest that Mugabe is determined to steal..."

Randoph Ward's SDCOE forum on education: here's what you missed, Mr. Ward

Randy Ward has asked the public to tell him if he's "missed something" regarding needed reforms in San Diego schools.

An Open Letter to Randolph Ward from Maura Larkins:

Dear. Mr. Ward:

Give the best teachers more responsibility for key instruction and big decisions--not in one classroom, but in several classrooms.

At the same time, give the less-skilled teachers the responsibility for reinforcement exercises and routine classroom chores, with one of these regular teachers in each classroom.

Teacher unions are often criticized, and rightly so, for blocking reforms to education, but the unions get plenty of help in the fight to keep the status quo from school boards and the education establishment.

Everyone knows that there are bad teachers, but school boards and admininstrators don't like to fire them as long as they remain passive and politically loyal. They pretend to be opposed to poor teachers, but they more often go after teachers who push for reforms.

If you go down to the office of administrative hearings and look at the files, you'll find that most teachers were fired for speaking out, even though the district involved admitted that they were good teachers.

Most district administrators are go-along-to-get-along folks. They want to keep everything calm and under control, even though that means that they are creating a population of undereducated citizens.

Mass firings of bad teachers is not what I propose. That would be costly, disruptive, harmful to morale, and could lead to teacher shortages. A better solution would be to give the best teachers more responsibility for classroom decision making and more instructional time, while giving the less-skilled teachers the responsibility for reinforcement of learning and routine classroom chores.

Schools don't investigate wrongdoing because they fear controversy will harm those in power

"...Brown declined to comment on McGeehan's request for an investigation other than to say she feared it would further upset parents and staff who are worried that the controversy will harm their schools..."


As lawmaker calls for probe, CEO of charters defends pay
By Martha Woodall
Inquirer
Philly.com
May. 24, 2008
A Pennsylvania state legislator...Rep. Michael McGeehan, a Northeast Philadelphia Democrat, also said that recent disclosures of high salaries paid to some charter executives and allegations of financial mismanagement at Philadelphia Academy Charter School make this a "good time" for the state "to reexamine charter schools. Some of them may need to be seriously reviewed."

...Brown receives more than $500,000 in salary from four charters and a private school.

Yesterday, Brown again defended the money she receives saying she and three other school employees divide their time between the schools. "I work hard," said Brown. "I really work hard and so do our teachers."

"The citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania deserve nothing less than a full accounting of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars and some level of transparency into this intriguing web of charter schools."

...In an interview, McGeehan disputed Brown's defense of her compensation. He said it was incomprehensible that Brown could effectively carry out the responsibilities of her many jobs.

"This woman has to have eight arms to do the kind of things that are reported," McGeehan said in an interview yesterday. "What she is doing is juggling all these - what are essentially full-time jobs."

What makes ordinary people become abusive? Power.

Stanford Professor Philip Zimbardo Found Out What Power Does to Many Ordinary People
Stanford Report,
August 22, 2001
BY MEREDITH ALEXANDER

"Thirty years ago, a group of young men were rounded up by Palo Alto police and dropped off at a new jail -- in the Stanford Psychology Department. Strip searched, sprayed for lice and locked up with chains around their ankles, the "prisoners" were part of an experiment to test people's reactions to power dynamics in social situations.

" Other college student volunteers -- the "guards" -- were given authority to dictate 24-hour-a-day rules. They were soon humiliating the "prisoners" in an effort to break their will.

"Psychology Professor Philip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment of August 1971quickly became a classic. Using realistic methods, Zimbardo and others were able to create a prison atmosphere that transformed its participants. The young men who played prisoners and guards revealed how much circumstances can distort individual personalities -- and how anyone, when given complete control over others, can act like a monster.

"In a few days, the role dominated the person," Zimbardo -- now president-elect of the American Psychological Association -- recalled. "They became guards and prisoners." So disturbing was the transformation that Zimbardo ordered the experiment abruptly ended..."

Karen Horwitz, author of White Chalk Crime, notes Zimbardo's understanding that "passivity is the natural state for most people, which is why dissent rarely takes place."

This explains why the CVESD board and the CVE board helped cover up crimes against Maura Larkins, instead of demanding Richard Werlin's and Gina Boyd's
resignations.

It was easier to go along to get along, especially since CTA Executive Director Carolyn Doggett and CTA Head Counsel Beverly Tucker sent a lawyer down to Chula Vista to keep the board in line.

At the same time, CVESD sent Daniel Shinoff, Jeffery Morris, and Kelly Angell aka Minnehan to keep teachers in line.

White Chalk Crime on the radio

Karen Horwitz (not Horowitz), author of White Chalk Crime, will be interviewed by Michael Baker on KUZM radio on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, streaming live at
http://kzum.org/

Terry Grier on teachers union

Terry Grier (above) became Superintendent of San Diego Unified School District in 2008.

"I don't dislike anyone over there (in the teachers union.) In fact, I have great respect and admiration for all of them. They find themselves in a hard position. You've not heard me say some of the things about them that you've heard them say about me. Nor do I think you will."
--Terry Grier

Voice of San Diego
May 24, 2008

Terry Grier and Martin Haberman want to find out who can solve problems

UPDATE APRIL 13, 2010: San Diego Unified bows to pressure from employees to eliminate Haberman interviews.

UPDATE APRIL 12, 2010: There is a rumor going around at this time to the effect that Terry Grier was fired from San Diego Unified School District. The rumor is false. Terry Grier left because Houston offered him more money, and because he felt stymied by the teachers union and its opposition to effective teacher evaluation and followup.

Photo: Terry Grier

See all Terry Grier posts and updates HERE.

Photo: Martin Haberman (below)


Terry Grier of San Diego Unified is requiring principals to interview to keep their jobs. The interviews are designed to measure problem-solving ability, and were developed by Martin Haberman (see below).Haberman's Career Dedicated to Quality Public Education
By Kathy Quirk

University of Wisconsin
Martin Haberman

Martin Haberman, distinguished professor emeritus of curriculum and instruction in UWM's School of Education, discovered his life's work while standing in a draft board line in New York City waiting to take a 30-word vocabulary test...

"If you passed the 30-word vocabulary test, you could stay in college. If you failed it you went into the army and would be very likely to go to Korea, where 58,000 service people were wounded or killed."

...Among "the 500 naked guys standing in line" waiting to be processed and tested, he found that those most likely to fail the vocabulary test were Puerto Ricans, African Americans and poor whites. The experience taught him two valuable lessons: "a sound basic education could save your life; and "the fundamental inequities in the American public education system are life threatening..."

Rodger Hartnett: Wrongful termination lawsuit

UPDATE: RODGER HARTNETT WINS!

SEE ALL RODGER HARTNETT POSTS HERE.



ORIGINAL POST:

Lots of people are wrongfully terminated, but many are rightfully terminated. I think most people have experienced the frustration of dealing with someone who is incompetent or just doesn't bother to do his job right.

I have no idea which was the case with Rodger Hartnett of SDCOE. I do know that Mr. Hartnett supported the wrongful terminations of many people.

Did Rodger come to a realization that he was supporting illegal actions by SDCOE-JPA and its lawyers? Did he argue against that wrongdoing, and thus inspire Diane Crosier's ire?

Or did Diane Crosier become rightfully concerned about Hartnett's work performance?

I'm sure Rodger could tell some good stories about the unethical inner circle at San Diego County Office of Education--the circle that Superintendent Randolph Ward has protected since his arrival at SDCOE, and the board has protected for even longer.

It seems that SDCOE-JPA is very good at protecting its accomplices.

A lot of people seem to be looking for information about the Harntett v. SDCOE lawsuti. I have placed a link to the tort claim and complaint on this page.

GCCCD Chancellor Omero Suarez






SDCOE lawyers from Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz, along with fair-haired boy Randall Winet, pulled off an amazing $3 million deal to pay off MiraCosta College President Victoria Richart, and quickly followed up with an indemnified-for-all-wrongdoing deal with Omero Suarez of Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College. Of course, Dan Shinoff and Randall Winet had help from good friends Judge Moon, Bob Ottilie, and Price Investigations. Diane Crosier certainly seems to have a close-knit group of friends!

On the other hand, maybe it's all the tax dollars flying around, not true friendship, that keep the wagons circled around the Crosier inner circle.

Will SDCOE use taxpayer dollars once again to pay off Harnett to keep its secrets?

Hopefully not. It would be best if there were a trial, and the public learned about the inner workings of the system that controls almost all legal work in San Diego county schools.

Teacher sues "Teacher Smackdown" website

Citizen Media Law Reports announces:

Cruse v. Teacher Smackdown

Lawsuit Date: 05/2008
Subject Area: Defamation
Party Issuing Threat: Loretta DiAnne Cruse
Party Receiving Threat: Teacher Smackdown

"In May 2008, Loretta DiAnne Cruse, a former special-ed teacher at Norfolk Elementary School in Arkansas, sued the Teacher Smackdown website for defamation in Arkansas state court.

"Teacher Smackdown is a teacher watchdog site, which describes its function as "identif[ying] the molesters, thieves, and lecherous adults masquerading as teachers in our society" and "giv[ing] parents resources and information on protecting our kids and identifying these monsters."

"The dispute revolves around an April 9, 2007 post about Cruse. The entire post is no longer available, but an abbreviated version (scroll down) is..."

Richard Werlin comes out of hiding

Richard Werlin's illegal actions as Assistant Superintendent cost Chula Vista Elementary School District about half a million dollars from 2001 to 2005 because the school board decided to cover up the wrongdoing, instead of reversing it.

Werlin disappeared from sight for a while, but then turned up briefly at West Contra Costa County Unified School District (WCCCUSD). He left after about 6 months, having succeeded in getting a second grade teacher (Jenny Mo) thrown in jail for holding hostages because she stayed with her second grade class instead of going home when he told her to. Of course, she would have been wise to go home, but being jailed with $900,000 bail was a bit much, especially since the order to go home was a result of her talking to the media about bullying problems at Shelton School.

Werlin disappeared again after that, but he has now turned up in Compton Unified School District.

I hope this information isn't too late to help Iwana. If you see this, Mr. Werlin, she is looking for you. Here is what she posted:

Iwana Nettles said...
"Where's Rick Werlin"
Can someone help me find Rick Werlin. I really need his help in validating something from When I taught school 1988-1990 in Galveston Texas. He was my Personel Director then. Thanks, Iwana(Sistrunk)Reynolds
November 15, 2007

What to make of Rodger Hartnett's lawsuit against SDCOE and Diane Crosier?

In Rodger Hartnett v. Diane Crosier, et al, Rodger Hartnett says SDCOE-JPA and its top management have done wrong.

I could have told him that years ago. In fact, I did tell him, and he disagreed with me.

If Hartnett was wrongfully terminated, he shouldn't be surprised. He knows that SDCOE's lawyers facilitate wrongful terminations all the time. Two high-profile cases were Mary Anne Weegar and Coach James "Ted" Carter.

I suppose that Rodger expected loyalty after all the dirty work he did on SDCOE's behalf.

My question is this: does Rodger think that SDCOE has betrayed its obligation to serve insurance companies well, or does he think SDCOE has betrayed the taxpayers who pay the premiums?

Which side is he on? How does he see himself?

Is he outraged on behalf of all school employees who were harmed through illegal actions by SDCOE attorneys, or is he outraged only on behalf of one member of the SDCOE-JPA elite?

Has he gone over to the other side--the side of the voters, citizens, taxpayers, students and school employees--or is this case just a dispute among high level government ripoff artists?

A lot of people seem to be looking for information about the Harntett v. SDCOE lawsuit. I have placed a link to the tort claim and complaint on this page.

Parents and ACORN stage rally at Castle Park Elementary School

Parents, kids and grandparents of Castle Park Elementary, with the support of Chula Vista ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) rallied to ask for an investigation of the highly unusual and constant dismissals and transfers of teachers and principals from the school since 1995.

They waved signs reading "11 (eleven) principals in 11 (eleven) years" and "New principal: How long will she stay?" Clowns and a unicyclist performed. Vehicles honked their horns. Many drivers called out their support.

As superintendent Lowell Billings arrived, he spoke to a group of parents. I was impressed that he communicated so well in Spanish. He that they would be big changes soon among the staff. Apparently teacher Nikki Perez, the target of several parent complaints, will be tranferred out of the school next week.

Lowell Billings had transferred Perez in 2004, but she challenged him to tell her the reason for the transfer. He could hardly say, "Because you are part of a group of teachers that has committed crimes, damaged student learning, and prevented anyone other than yourselves from having control over the school." The reason he couldn't say these words was that he himself was involved in the wrongdoing and the coverup. So an arbitrator ruled that Perez should be allowed to return to the school. Lionel Richman, the mediator, is probably quite unhappy with both Lowell Billings and the teachers union for concealing the truth from him.

Tonight Mr. Billings entered the Castle Park Elementary auditorium to join a crowd of over 100 that had come to cheer parents who were to be awarded diplomas for completing "Parents Institute" classes that had been brought to the school by principal Carlos Ulloa.

Parents are unhappy that yet another principal has been pushed out of the school by the group of teachers that calls itself the "Castle Park Family." This group of teachers seems to be fully in control of personnel decisions at Castle Park Elementary. They have attacked Billings in the press quite ferociously, but he still humbly gets rid of anyone whose ouster is demanded by the "Family."

At one point parents burst out with chants of "Let him stay!" ("¡Que se quede!")

Alicia Moreno, who has been associate principal at Vista Square Elementary in CVESD, will take Carlos Ulloa's place. Billings told parents that Ms. Moreno is very strict and will be very good for the school.

Billings didn't say if Moreno would be strict with the teachers who have caused so many problems with the school. A better idea would be to sit the teachers down, talk about the real problems of dishonesty and constant battles for power. If Moreno doesn't deal with those problems, no amount of strictness will help. The dishonesty and power battles, the anger and fear of discovery, will continue in the teachers lounge of Castle Park Elementary.

CVESD Superintendent Lowell Billings spreads joy and confidence at Castle Park Elementary

A group of women listened to CVESD Superintendent Lowell Billings in front of Castle Park Elementary on June 4, 2008.



Billings told the audience inside the auditorium that he supported the demonstrators, but the look on his face said otherwise.

US Dept of Education waters down teacher quality guidelines in NCLB

US Dept of Education waters down teacher quality guidelines in NCLB

San Francisco, CA – A coalition of parents, students, community groups, and legal advocates today sued the United States Department of Education...
A major loophole in NCLB defies the will of Congress and harms students nationwide by defining teachers still in training as “highly qualified."
... More than half of California’s interns are teaching in schools with 90­% students of color compared to only 3% of interns in schools with the lowest population of students of color...

A new book by Karen Horwitz about "White Chalk Crime"

An Interview with Karen Horwitz: White Chalk Crime
By Michael F. Shaughnessy
Senior Columnist EdNews.org
05/29/2008

1) Karen, you have just written a book entitled "White Chalk Crime" The Real Reason Schools Fail. What prompted you to write this book?

The knowledge that those running our schools have absolute power to control what people can know about our schools prompted me to put together a book that would speak truth to this unbalanced power and thus empower the public to force change.

2) Your book, which is published by BookSurge Publishing out of South Carolina seems to document the issue of " teacher abuse". Could you define " teacher abuse " for us?

Teacher abuse...includes a myriad of ways of silencing educators from tormenting them with false evaluations, setting them up as pariahs amongst their colleagues, to pushing them out of their positions and it serves as an example so other educators will know to just go along with whatever the powers that be want even when it is harmful to children and/or illegal...

This culture of abuse invites the worst in people and does lead to teachers abusing others...

3) Now, what do you mean by "teacher cleansing"?

Teacher cleansing is pushing teachers/educators out of their position and out of the profession by using trumped up charges or setting teachers up to fail with stacked classes, impossible, abusive parents, or inappropriate assignments and using these devious set-up's against them. By blacklisting any teacher who speaks truth to power, any teacher who is a nuisance to EducRAT$ will be cleansed from the profession.

4) What are EDucRat$, and how are they influencing education?

EducRAT$ are unethical, self-serving "leaders," administrators, and board members that use this out-of control power to have their way. They are "rats" whose concern for money ($) and power drives them to take advantage of whatever they can from kickbacks when ordering supplies, to squandering tax funds on legal fees to cleanse excellent teachers out of the system – all forms of White Chalk Crime.

The ways they influence education are obvious. They prioritize their needs and corrupt education to the point that it is dysfunctional. Most significantly, part of this corruption is their ability to make sure the public doesn't know they have corrupted it.

Their power to keep the truth from the public is the single most devastating aspect of all. It has enabled them to escalate their bad acts, while the public remains clueless...

Oops! I forgot about Lowell Billings' problems at Castle Park Elementary

I withdraw my suggestion that Chula Vista Elementary School District superintendent Lowell Billings take it upon himself to bring order to Castle Park Elementary instead of appointing yet another principal to perform as torero at the school. Obviously, Billings lost his personal standing when he came to the school a few years ago, threw around his big smile and personal charm, and ended up making things worse than ever.

Since Lowell is out at a possibility, I would like to suggest Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Tom Cruz as acting principal of Castle Park Elementary until law and order is restored.

Who benefits from CASBO's and Lora Duzyk's "calculated risks"?

The first time I saw Lora Duzyk (on left in above picture) she had just been promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Business Services at SDCOE. I thought to myself, "She couldn't possibly know about the criminal actions in the SDCOE business office. Don Shelton, her predecessor, must have known about wrongdoing by SDCOE Joint Powers Authority, but how could this round-faced, innocent-looking blond lady with the sweet smile be involved in such goings-on?

It turns out I was wrong.

Here's what Lora Duzyk herself wrote:

"At CASBO [California Association of School Business Officials] we take actions – or calculated risks – based on our version of thoughtful data: our strategic plan...

"We’re very near adoption of our new strategic plan: ... We’re the lead agency in implementing a partnership program for SB 352 CBO training: Classes have begun in a program that took five years of CASBO advocacy to bring to fruition..."

Very clever, Ms. Duzyk. CASBO trains all the school business officers, indoctrinating them into the system in which insurance companies make big profits by making sure that schools use lawyers that have been hand-picked to generate business--and soak the taxpayers--for the benefit of those in power, without regard to the needs of students.

Duzyk is clear about who CASBO benefits. Duzyk praises "...active members today, all of whom took calculated risks to move the association forward for their sake and for the sake of their colleagues throughout California."

How do Duzyk and her sidekick Diane Crosier benefit themselves and insurance companies? By making sure that school officers and top employees who violate the law are protected. That ensures that problems--and lawsuits--keep coming. The school officials and administrators love it--they've got great job security, no matter what they do. Chancellor Omero Suarez of Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District and Victoria Richart of MiraCosta College are perfect examples. The lawyers who masterminded these deals (Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz) also represent the lion's share of K-12 school districts in San Diego County.

Duzyk writes, "Taking calculated risks based on thoughtful consideration of the data at hand is the hallmark of every great human achievement...Risking nothing means gaining nothing."

Duzyk and her friends have carefully calculated that it's worth the risk to break the law. And they are apparently correct.

From SDCOE website: "As for the biggest influences in her career, Duzyk named Don Shelton..."

I realize now that Duzyk had me completely fooled that first time I saw her. She knew the truth that night. She had simply calculated that she would be safe if she ignored it.

CASBO's motto is "Smart Business. Smart Schools."

Clearly, the "smart" in the motto isn't referring to students. The taxpayers might be paying the salaries of CASBO members, but they're not reaping the benefits.