Photo: Patrick Judd, formerly of Chula Vista Elementary School District and Mountain Empire School District.Dear Mr. Erick C. Johnson,
On Friday, February 13, 2009 our children received a Statement by TAS Board President indicating that you and The Board of Trustees had met to discuss the union petition filed by UTLA. You also stated that the Board had numerous concerns about the unionization and how it will impact our children, families, staff and teachers.
We would like you and the rest of The Board of Trustees of The Accelerated School to know that we the TAS Parent Coalition fully support our teachers in their decision to unionize. In the coming days we will be talking to other parents and informing them as to why our teachers decided to unionize and ways that we can support them in their decision.
Whatever impact comes as a result of the teachers unionization will be the sole responsibility of The Accelerated School Board of Trustees, Patrick Judd and Sandra Phillips. We, the TAS Parent Coalition offered to facilitate an open dialogue with you and some of the Board of Trustees, teachers and parents but you turned us down. The teachers came to the Board of Trustees meetings with their concerns and fears but you and the rest of the Board of Trustees turned your backs on the teachers and us parents. You and the Board of Trustees chose to believe Mr. Patrick Judd over all of us. You and the Board of Trustees believed Patrick Judd when he told you it was only a small group of teachers causing problems and complaining.
Teachers and parents worked hard to find ways of resolving the issues but no one was listening and teachers needed protection from Patrick Judd and Sandra Phillips tyrannical ways. In all of The Accelerated School’s existence the need for teacher unionize has never taken place until now and it’s all due to Mr. Patrick Judd and Sandra Phillips poor leadership skills. The teachers’ decision to unionization speaks volumes to the poor leadership of Patrick Judd and Sandra Phillips. If The Accelerated School Board of Trustees continues to trust and allow Mr. Patrick Judd an individual who is consumed in litigation and questionable practices to continue to directly oversee the operations of all its schools; we are all in serious trouble. Mr. Patrick Judd has a proven record of wasting taxpayer and school monies to hire lawyers for litigation that could’ve been prevented. We, the TAS Parent Coalition ask that The Board of Trustees terminate Mr. Patrick Judd’s contract as soon as possible due to the fact that his hiring has been detrimental to the students, families, staff and teachers of The Accelerated School, Accelerated Charter Elementary School, and Wallis Annenberg High School. We, the TAS Parent Coalition strongly believe that we can’t move forward with an Individual like Mr. Patrick Judd. He can’t relate to our teachers, our families and most of all our children.
There is no need to reply to our email we only ask that you and the rest of The Board of Trustees listen carefully to the pleas of the parents, students, staff, and teachers do not continue to ignore us all.
Sincerely,
Robert Saldaña and TAS Parent Coalition
CC:Dori E. Miles, UTLA Area Representative
Howard Blume, LA Times Writer
LAUSD Charter Schools Division
Monica Garcia, LAUSD Board President
Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles
The Accelerated School, Wallis Annenberg, and Accelerated Charter Elementary School Parents
Check out the following link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-union9-2009feb09,0,4416099.story
2 comments:
March 18, 2009 was a day of joy for The Accelerated School’s classified staff! They have unionized with SEIU Local 99. As a parent of The Accelerated School I support the unionization of the teachers and classified staff. Under the direction of PATRICK JUDD TAS is heading down a steady downward slope. According to Mr. Eric Johnson, President of TAS Board of Trustees Patrick Judd was brought to The Accelerated School to help take our school out of program improvement; I think it’s more like program destruction. Patrick Judd has managed to create nothing chaos. It’s unfortunate that TAS families were kept in the dark regarding Mr. Judd’s shady background. Patrick Judd has been forced down our throats and we parents weren’t allowed to give input into his hiring and the current extension of his contract for another school year. Teachers, parents, students, community and staff are doomed! Don't be mistaken, we parents will not give up the fight to remove Patrick Judd and Sandra Phillips.
Anonymous said...
What kind of investigation is this??? The people that were contacted were Johnathan Williams, Co-founder and TAS Board of Trustees Secretary and Sandra Phillips, K-6 Principal. I forgot some happy parents??? What happened to interviewing the TAS Parent Coalition??? This investigation if you can call it that was one sided. ALL LIES! We parents have been asking to see the schools budget, agendas, and minutes but Patrick Judd has not complied with our requests.
From: "Porter, T.R" LAUSD
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 11:27:13 AM
Subject: RE: concerns at TAS
Dear Mr. Robert Saldaña,
Thank you for informing our office of your questions and concerns. We fully support the efforts of parents to resolve and understand issues that impact the educational experiences of their children and their school community.
I, along with staff of the Charter Schools Division, have received your e-mail expressing concerns about the validity of The Accelerated School Charter Renewal Petition that was recently submitted to the Charter Schools Division. In addition, in your correspondence, you indicated specific disagreements and concerns with hiring decisions made by The Accelerated Schools’ governing board, regarding Mr. Patrick Judd.
I prepared a response to your February 22nd e-mail on February 23, 2009 . However, we have been reviewing other e-mail, addressed to Ms. Phillips, (TAS K-8 School principal) but forwarded to our office, and attempting to determine if there are related issues that should be included in our response to your correspondence. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience our delay has caused you.
With regards to The Accelerated School‘s Charter Renewal Petition and its validity, please be advised that the entire LAUSD Charter Schools Renewal Components Packet is available, on line, for public viewing, on the Charter Schools Division website page. I have attached the packet for your review.
While reviewing the LAUSD Charter School Renewal Components Packet, you will find specific information that addresses the issues of how validity, for each petition, is determined by the Charter Schools Division. You will also see that there is an opportunity during the reauthorization process, for public hearings.
During the public hearings phase speakers, who wish to speak regarding specific petitions, are provided a forum and a specific amount of time to comment or share concerns. Sandra Phillips will be able to inform your school community of the date and time the TAS petition is to be brought forward for consideration. Ms. Phillips, or the office of the LAUSD board secretariat, can inform you of the public speaking process. The Charter Schools Division staff can also assist you with this information if you need further support. Further, more detailed information is available on the CSD website.
With regards to The Accelerated School ‘s governing board’s decision to hire Mr. Patrick Judd, I can not ascertain, through your description of the process in your e-mail, that the process or considerations for hiring Mr. Judd were inappropriate. It is my understanding that governing boards routinely and appropriately vet individuals who may be considered for employment among the board membership and, often seek input from board members regarding information related to these individuals. I am not aware that Mr. Billings benefited, in any way, from his recommendations of Mr. Judd. Such a benefit, for example, would constitute a basis for examining whether there was a conflict of interest and/or unethical behavior related to Mr. Judd’s hiring. I spoke (February 23, 2009), with Mr. Jonathan Williams (TAS Co-founder, Co-Director) and asked him for clarity regarding Mr. Billings’ contributions to the hiring of Mr. Judd. He informed me that, to his knowledge, Mr. Billings’ recommendation was based on an interest to support the governing board’s goals of increased commitment to learning and instruction for the TAS school community. However, if you have continuing doubts concerning this issue, please address these concerns to the TAS governing board, directly. It is my understanding that you attend TAS Board meetings and are familiar with TAS board proceedings and how to access its membership. Should our office receive information that contradicts Mr. William’s statements to me regarding this issue, or should we receive information that has the appearance of impropriety, the Charter Schools Division would have the responsibility to consider what follow-up actions were appropriate. Our office does have, on file, the minutes of the TAS Board meetings held April 29, 2008 and May 8, 2008 . These minutes document the board’s considerations and actions that changed Mr. Judd’s status from an unpaid volunteer consultant to a paid consultant. I understand that these minutes are available to you also.
If the scope of Mr. Judd’s responsibilities was unclear at the time he was hired, my understanding is that you now have the organizational chart that clarifies his duties. Regarding where the money for his employment comes from, and other questions of a fiscal nature that you raise in your e-mail; each of these answers can be ascertained by examining the monthly financial reports provided to board meeting attendees at each of the previous board meetings, or by directly requesting the information from the president of the TAS governing board. Again, my understanding is that you have already communicated with the TAS governing board regarding these issues, and as of this date, have been informed of access to the information you reference.
My own inquiries to the CSD fiscal staff, regarding payment from TAS to Mr. Judd, did not yield responses that indicated a need for further follow up. In addition, TAS, like other independent charter schools, has autonomy for much of the decision-making regarding payments to their school’s staff.
Inquires as they are indicated, coupled with comparisons to Charter School laws, District policies, as well as California Education Code rules and regulations, comprise the basic explanation of how charter schools are monitored to ensure that their procedures comply with Federal, State, District, and other applicable laws. The Charter Schools Division also monitors charter schools for compliance with their approved charter and with guidelines from policies and procedures such as those found in the school’s Parent and/or Student Handbooks.
The CSD staff looks forward to supporting your efforts as you continue to communicate with the governing board of The Accelerated School. I understand that the staff of The Accelerated School has already responded to your inquires both verbally and in writing, and have offered to you opportunities for continued engagement.
Parents of charter school students often communicate with the Charter Schools Division that they have had positive experiences working with the governing board of their child’s charter school. I regret that this has not been your experience. However, as the entity charged with fiduciary responsibility at the school site, charter school governing boards are the appropriate and most effective mechanisms for resolving conflicts and concerns.
The Charter Schools Division regards parents as an integral partner to the charter schools that provide services to their children and to their school community. Please do not hesitate to contact our office should you need further assistance in continuing to work collaboratively with the TAS school community and its governing board, to resolve your questions and concerns. Best regards.
t.r. Porter, Ed.D
Coordinator, Charter Schools Division
Phone: 213 241 2665
Fax: 213 241 6862
e-mail address: t.r.Porter@lausd.net
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From: robert saldana [mailto: rsaldana21@yahoo.com ]
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 9:54 PM
To: Porter, T.R
Subject: concerns at TAS
Dear Ms. T.R. Porter,
My name is Robert Saldaña; I am a parent of The Accelerated School located on 400 S. Main Street in Los Angeles , California 90037 . Ms. Sandra Phillips, K-6 Principal of The Accelerated School provided me with the draft of our charter petition that was submitted to your office for review but I have some serious concerns as to the validity of the petition. As a parent how would I go about voicing my concerns to the appropriate governing body? Other parents and I have already voiced our concerns to The Accelerated School Board of Trustees to no avail. What is the next step or legal option we have as parents to dispute the validity of The Accelerated School Charter Renewal Petition.
We have probable cause to believe that one of our Board Members Mr. Lowell J. Billings from Chula Vista Elementary School District recommended for hire a former employee of his Mr. Patrick Judd to oversee all operations of The Accelerated School, Accelerated Charter Elementary School (ACES), and Wallis Annenberg High School . We have requested the minutes of the board meeting in which Mr. Patrick Judd was hired by The Accelerated School as Consulting Director. We have requested from the Board of Trustees in writing a description of Mr. Patrick Judd’s scope-of-work, where the money is coming from to pay his salary, what process was taken to hire him as a consultant, how many other consultants were interviewed, and what was the purpose of hiring Mr. Patrick Judd. We strongly believe the hiring of Mr. Patrick Judd is questionable, a conflict of interest and is unethical. Parents were informed by Kevin Sved, Co-found er at a parent meeting that Mr. Patrick Judd was hired as a consultant through a leadership grant to create systems for the schools. Now it is clear that Mr. Patrick Judd was hired and given complete oversight of all the family of schools mentioned above. This is evident in our schools organizational chart that Mr. Patrick Judd is more than a consultant but in fact he oversees everything.
Can you please explain to me how charter schools are monitored to ensure that they are complying with the law? According to Mr. Johnathan Williams and Patrick Judd, LAUSD Charter Schools Division has no jurisdiction over our schools because we are an independent charter. How are charter schools operating within LAUSD held accountable? If parents have concerns who do they go to besides the corrupt boards of these schools? If you are not able to assist me please provide me with information as to who I may contact to get som e sort of resolution to my concerns because it’s apparent that no one is listening to the parents of The Accelerated School. As the days go by it sadness me to see how a school with so much potential is falling apart over the hiring of one individual Mr. Patrick Judd.
Sincerely,
Robert Saldaña
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