Poway Unified overturns election, seeks restraining order against parent who won seat on site council

In the movie ELECTION a poster turns up missing from a school hallway, triggering angry recriminations.  In Poway Unified, a principal overturned a school site council election because a candidate passed out donuts.  (Interestingly, nobody in the movie thought it was a problem when Tracy Flick provided cupcakes to voters.)  

Of course, I don't think that many people actually believe that the Poway situation is really about donuts.

This post is mainly about schools trying to get rid of parents who raise their voices at school. But I was struck with the irony of another story in the news at this time: about a teacher who allegedly "yelled" at students. The school didn't try to get rid of the teacher, but the students did. See last story below. 

 It's too bad that so many adults in schools rely on their raw power rather than on professionalism. They need to stop acting like very bad children.  

UPDATE SAT. JAN. 10, 2015  Court issues tentative ruling upholding restraining order against parent.  Hearing will continue in the coming week.

Poway Unified limits parent's speech
Pat Maio
UTSD
Jan. 9, 2015

A Superior Court judge in San Diego sided with the Poway Unified School District on Friday in part of its lawsuit against a volunteer parent, finding the man's remarks about school officials aren't protected by the First Amendment.

Poway Unified wants to block the parent, Chris Garnier, from volunteering at Painted Rock Elementary School where his children attend classes. 

In October, the district obtained a temporary restraining order against Garnier and filed a "strategic lawsuit against public participation" - or SLAPP action - seeking to keep him from lambasting school officials. Garnier filed an anti-SLAPP motion, arguing the district was trying to violate his right to free speech. 

San Diego Superior Court Judge Tamila E. Ipema rejected that claim Friday, attorneys for both sides said. 

"I'm flabbergasted," said Genevieve Suzuki, the lawyer representing Garnier. "The decision is a real concern facing any parent who has harsh or critical words to say about the school administration. If you speak loudly or say things that they don't find palatable, they could seek a restraining order against you." 

A two-day hearing will be held Jan. 15 and Jan. 20 on the second part of the case - whether to make the restraining order permanent.

A permanent order, said Suzuki and Poway Unified attorney William Shinoff, would prohibit the 36-year old Garnier from coming to the campus for any reason..

Here is my comment:

Maura Larkins

Well, emotions are certainly at peak level in Poway Unified--or at least I hope this is the peak. I trust that things will start cooling down from now on. I want to believe that Bill Wisniewski didn't really mean what he said in his comment, "YOU ARE NOT READY FOR POLITICS AND I BELIEVE THAT MOST OF US PTSD MARINE COMBAT VETS SHOULD NOT ENGAGE IN POLITICAL ACTIVITY."

Seriously, Bill?

I could understand if you argued that three tours in Afghanistan is not the best training for lunch duty at an elementary school, but you are demanding, in capital letters, that a returning veteran stay out of politics!!!!

And you are claiming that Mr. Garnier has "severe PTSD"! Severe? When he has a successful marriage and is working on an advanced degree in education, dresses well and is highly articulate? I think you're getting Chris mixed up with guys who are more severely damaged by war. Senator John McCain, a former POW in Vietnam, is known for flying off the handle. Do you think he should stay out of politics? Should the government overturn his election?

I don't believe that the principal's decision to pass over Mr. Garnier for the lunch duty position was based on racism, but I am not so sure that racism didn't play a role in overturning his election to site council, and in seeking a restraining order against him.

I am concerned about what the superintendent and board of Poway Unified are teaching students about how our democracy works.

Bill Wisniewski · Top Commenter · Writer at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

HEY CHRIS . SEMPER FI. CHRIS PLEASE BELIEVE ME THAT YOU SUFFER FROM SEVERE PTSD. I AM ONE OF THE VIET NAM PTSD POSTER BOYS. I WAS A POMONA HIPPY DRAFTED INTO USMC DURING THE BATTLE OF HUE AND DEPLOYED TO FOXTROT RIDGE IN LATE 68. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT CHRIS, YOU ARE NOT READY FOR POLITICS AND I BELIEVE THAT MOST OF US PTSD MARINE COMBAT VETS SHOULD NOT ENGAGE IN POLITICAL ACTIVITY UNLESS IT IS PURELY DEFENSIVE. BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT ONCE WE ENGAGE ... WELL YOU KNOW THE REST. THE OTHER THING CHRIS IS THAT THE SPIRIT CORPS THINKS YOU ARE SKATING ON THIN ICE RE. KEEPING OUR HONOR CLEAN. ("12 CONFIRMED KILLS")

UPDATE: Poway Unified might want to consider the case of a Vermont parent who was awarded $147,000 when a school district barred him from meetings, claiming that some staff members were afraid of him.  My guess is that they were afraid of what he would say, not what he would do.  See second story below.

ORIGINAL POST

In the school where I worked in Chula Vista, the administration used many tricks to control who was on the site council--including appointing members rather than electing them.  Also, administrators in my district made false and bizarre allegations.  It's rather remarkable that schools so often simply ignore the education code and other laws.

My inclination is to believe that Poway Unified is simply bullying the parent in the following story. 

School tries to ban parent volunteer

By Pat Maio

UT San Diego

 Jan. 4, 2015

POWAY — The Poway Unified School District has filed a lawsuit against a Painted Rock Elementary School parent, seeking to block him from volunteering at the campus and making remarks about school officials.

The action - called a "strategic lawsuit against public participation," or SLAPP - is unusual, officials acknowledge. The defendant, Chris Garnier, says it's rooted in racism and violates his right to free speech. 

In court filings, the district says Garnier, a former Marine and wounded war veteran, has made verbal threats against school employees, including Principal Mary Jo Thomas, and has exhibited menacing behavior, such as pounding on car windows to get the attention of other parents, and disrupting a Sept. 23 community forum at Rancho Bernardo High School.

Garnier, 36, denies threatening anyone and says the mostly white district is trying to ban him from the school because he is an African-American and has criticized decisions made by Thomas. He said he volunteered at the campus for two years without problems until she arrived.

"I just want our family to be treated like everyone else, not like second-class citizens," said Garnier.

Part of his dispute with the district centers around his election in October to Painted Rock's school site council, a parent-teacher group that helps make decisions about campus programs and spending.

The principal overturned the election, citing technical difficulties, according to court documents. A second election was held in which parents had to show a photo ID when they cast their ballots. Garnier didn't win...

"I have not done any of this stuff -absolutely not," he said. "If I had done this, the police would have come to my house and arrested me."...

Garnier's defense attorney, Genevieve Suzuki, characterized the use of the photo ID in the second election as akin to unfair requirements that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1964, a civil rights law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin...

See more HERE. 

Vermont school district that barred parent to pay $147,500

Jan. 6, 2015

BENSON, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont school district that barred a parent from meetings because some staff members were afraid of him has agreed to pay $147,500.

Attorneys negotiated the settlement between the Addison Rutland Supervisory Union and Marcel Cyr after a federal judge ruled Cyr had been discriminated against. Cyr had been critical of the education provided his child at the Benson Village School.

"We're talking about a guy who was worried about his kid's education and was trying to bring attention to what he thought the problems were and he was told he couldn't come to the meetings," said Allen Gilbert of the Vermont Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Basic rights were taken away. Schools need really good reasons to serve no-trespass orders. This case is a win for everyone who cares for education, democracy and how public policy is done."

No-trespass orders were served against Cyr in September 2011 and March 2012 after school officials said they feared for their safety, in part because of Cyr's loud voice and sometimes harsh comments about the education his son was receiving.

Cyr's family had lived in Benson, but they have since moved elsewhere.

Superintendent Ron Ryan tells the Rutland Herald (http://bit.ly/13WimHN ) that he would rather lose a lawsuit than risk the safety of teachers, school staff, students and parents.

"From this point forward, I guess if we suspect someone is being unruly, we'll hire a law enforcement officer to stand guard," he said. "It could be expensive, but that's what we have to do."



Maura Larkins' comment:  Are there enough adults in schools who solve problems by talking and listening?  Who will teach these girls a better way to solve problems?  Let's hope they don't grow up to be mean teachers who lash out at children and adults who don't behave exactly as demanded!

4th Graders Plotted to Kill Teacher with Hand Sanitizer

By Maria Mercedes Lara

People Magazne

01/11/2015 

 

Three fourth-grade elementary school girls from Elba, New York, have been accused of plotting to kill their teacher with hand sanitizer.

The students allegedly plotted to put the substance on items they knew their teacher would touch after they learned that she was severely allergic to antibacterial sanitizer. The girls reportedly told their classmates that they were going to "kill" their teacher.

Asked why they wanted to harm their teacher, the students reportedly told youth officers from Genesee County Sheriff's Department that the teacher "yells" at the students and that "the class has problems with her."

The children were unable to carry out their attack on their teacher after another student not directly involved in the scheme reported it to his mother.

While the girls won't face any legal repercussions for their plan, they were reportedly suspended, and the Sheriff's Department handed the case over to the Elba Central School District.

Although the district could not provide details on the plot because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, it did confirm reports of the planned attack and said that "it is important to note that no one was injured or actually placed in harm's way."

"The District does not condone any of the behaviors that have been reported and is in the process of working alongside the Sheriff's Department to use this incident as a vehicle for educating the District's students regarding appropriate behaviors," said a statement..