Saturday, July 26, 2008

SDUSD lawyer Jose Gonzales told Frances O'Neill Zimmerman exactly what she wanted to hear

Voice of San Diego published a thoughtful letter from Sally Smith of Serra Mesa on July 18, 2008.

Smith wrote: "San Diego Unified School District legal counsel Jose Gonzales must have been in a hurry to start his vacation when he advised the Board of Education trustees about meeting in a closed door session about Luis Acle..."

Smith was obviously going easy on Mr. Gonzales. But that wasn't good enough for former SDUSD board member Frances O'Neill Zimmerman.

Zimmerman wrote in the letter's comments section: "Jose Gonzales has been a lawyer for the San Diego Unified School District for many years, knows school law and policy inside out and always honors the truth. If he tells you something, you can believe it. If perchance he is wrong, he will tell you so. So much for the excellent reputation of Jose Gonzales. .."

So much for the credibility of Frances O'Neill Zimmerman.

Is it possible that she actually doesn't know that school attorneys are paid to tell board members what they want to hear?

I don't think so.

After reading the rest of Frances O. Zimmerman's comments in the same letter, it becomes clear that even after the recent avalanche of news about coaches and teachers abusing students, FOZ believes coaches should be allowed to conduct "closed" practices.

I agree with many of Zimmerman's opinions, but she is so deeply ensconced in the power structures of both the school district and California Teachers Association that she apparently believes that preserving the power structure comes first, and kids come second.

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