Good news for Helix Charter High School; Not-so-good news for Josh Stepner

See all posts re Helix High.
See all posts re Josh Stepner.
See all posts for Grossmont Union High School District

THE GOOD NEWS:

Helix High's charter has been extended for five years. Jim Kelly and Daniel Shinoff did not succeed in bringing down the the school. They did succeed at adding drama to the lives of several of their targets. I was (and still am!) one of Daniel Shinoff's favorite targets, and I must say that he does make life interesting.

THE NOT-SO-GREAT NEWS:

"In another incident that did not involve sexual conduct Helix teacher Josh Stepner was charged with a misdemeanor for helping a student get a bus ticket to leave town."


Helix High Charter Extended
Reported by: Sharon Chen
5/01/2010

Helix Charter High School in La Mesa will get another chance to keep its charter.

The Grossmont Union High School District and Helix Charter High School Boards reached an agreement Friday morning.

The agreement calls for extending the Helix Charter for five years. It was also agreed principal Douglas Smith will retire at the end of June after 21 years with the school district.

Students expressed displeasure with the resignation of Smith, some calling it unnecessary...

Helix has had four sex scandals involving teachers and students during Smith's time as the school's executive director.

The school board had threatened to revoke the school’s charter because of the number of incidents.

In another incident that did not involve sexual conduct Helix teacher Josh Stepner was charged with a misdemeanor for helping a student get a bus ticket to leave town...

The school board issued the following statement:

"The parties have achieved a global settlement of all issues and the district board will renew Helix's Charter effective July 1st 2010. And after 21 years of successful service to Helix High school Dr. Doug Smith has acknowledged his resignation as Executive Director effective June 30, 2010. And in the acknowledgement of the many benefits of a healthy and collaborative relationship between the Grossmont Union High school District and the Helix Charter High School the parties hereby and fully commit and agree to abide by the following compact for positive relations to ensure an exemplary and model relationship which will be of significant benefit to both parties and more importantly the students that we serve." -- Brian Kick, President Helix Charter High School Board.



THE IRONY:

VUSD Attorneys Dan Shinoff, Jeffrey Morris and Carreli gloat that district doesn't have to pay even though girl was abused. Come on, guys. You don't even have an apology to offer to this woman? [See Shirk v. Vista Unified.] And yet Dan Shinoff claims to be upset about a teacher helping a student get to her grandmother's house?

From the website of the Stutz law firm:

In California Supreme Court Victory, Shinoff,
Sleeth, Carelli, Morris and Pate Save the Tort Claim
Act from Revival Statutes

In a precedent setting decision, the California
Supreme Court upheld the stricter time limitations
for alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse to file
suit against public entities. The reversal of the local
Court of Appeal, obtained by attorneys Dan
Shinoff, Jack Sleeth, Bill Pate, Jeff Morris and Paul
Carelli, all partners with the firm Stutz Artiano
Shinoff & Holtz, protects public entities from the so-
called “revival” statutes. As the name suggests, the
Legislature (under Gray Davis) passed the revival
statutes to revive really old claims, which normally
would have expired under statutes of limitation.
Revival statutes have been the vehicle for the
highly publicized clergy abuse claims against the
Catholic Diocese. This decision virtually eliminates
the ability to bring similar cases against
government entities. [Shirk v. Vista Unified Sch.
Dist. (2007) 42 Cal.4th 201, 164 P.3d 630]

Grossmont trustees hold off on revoking Helix High charter

Extremist Grossmont board member Jim Kelly and his faithful sidekick will be unhappy about this story.

See all Helix High posts.


Grossmont trustees hold off on revoking Helix High charter
By Maureen Magee, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 8, 2010

LA MESA — Helix High School has put off charter revocation — at least for a while.

The Grossmont Union High School District has postponed today’s charter revocation hearing to give a new Helix board of trustees a chance to address its growing concerns about the campus’s leadership.

The Grossmont school board voted in February to begin proceedings to rescind Helix High’s charter after an assistant principal violated a conduct code by helping a troubled student leave the state to visit her grandmother. The administrator was eventually fired and the student was not harmed, but the district claims that the school mishandled the situation and failed to promptly report suspicions of misconduct to authorities.

The incident came after four Helix teachers were convicted of sex crimes against students during an 18-month period. The series of scandals nearly cost the school its charter last year, when revocation hearings were scheduled and eventually canceled.

“We have very legitimate concerns about the safety of kids at Helix,” said district spokeswoman Catherine Martin, who declined to say what the school could do to keep its charter. “If and when those issues are resolved, then we will speak publicly (about it).”

Under an agreement reached to preserve the Helix charter after the sex scandals, the school imposed a strict employee-student conduct code. It also agreed to reconstitute its nine-member board of trustees to include fewer employees.

With three new Helix trustees taking office this week, the reconstituted board has “reached out to the district to open up new avenues of communication and resolution,” Grossmont district officials said in a statement released yesterday...

Former Helix High 16-Year-Old Says Josh Stepner "Did Nothing Wrong"

See all Josh Stepner posts.

Doesn't Bonnie Dumanis have anything better to do? Aren't there some actual bad guys she should be charging with crimes? Did Helix High and/or Grossmont Union High School District (controlled by extremist Jim Kelly) get legal advice regarding this case?

Sometimes I wonder if education attorneys intentionally create problems so that there will be a lawsuit against the school and the attorneys will be paid $100,000s to defend the school. My advice to Helix High: settle this case right now, before it really gets expensive.

Channel 6's Jeff Powers served the public well by getting this story:


Exclusive: 16-Year-Old Says Josh Stepner "Did Nothing Wrong."
Reported by: Jeff Powers
San Diego Channel 6
11/05/09

EL CAJON - Former Helix High assistant principal Josh Stepner was supposed to appear in court on Thursday to face a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for giving a female student a ride to a bus station, but his arraignment was postponed.

Dakota Garza is the student who was given that ride, and she is shocked that Stepner was even charged in the first place. She says at the time of the ride, she was no longer a student at Helix High.

"I'm a lot more comfortable now," Garza told San Diego 6 in an exclusive interview from her hometown in Medford, Oregon. "I'm in my familiar town where I was born and raised and I'm very happy to be back."

Garza says she is doing well. "Stay in all my honors classes and I'm back in soccer and enjoying school."

Garza began the school year as a student at Helix High. She had been living with relative Karen Flores and 9 others in a two bedroom home.

On August 24th, the 16-year-old took action. A court order shows Garza dissolved any legal custody to Flores. She was trying to get back to Medford and says she told Assistant Vice Principal Kevin Osborn.

Garza said, "After I had purchased the ticket I went into his office and just was letting him know that I was going to be unenrolling from the school."

Garza purchased a bus ticket on the morning of September 17th from the school computer. She says she went through the procedures Helix requires for unenrollment and says she alerted Osborn to those details. It was very clear to her that she was no longer a student.

Officials at Helix would not confirm the timing of Garza's withdrawal from school. It was later that night that Josh Stepner gave her a ride to the bus station.

Garza said she is surprised Stepner is facing a misdemeanor because, "He was really just trying to help me. He did absolutely nothing wrong. I think he was the only one who really tried to reach out to me and help me with what I was going through."

Stepner says the past couple months have been tough on him and his family. "It's been a nightmare. It's hard to watch yourself being talked about when you know you're a good person -- you know that you're a righteous person."

Garza says now it's about putting this behind her and exposing the truth. "I really think that in this whole thing he's just been more of a scapegoat. He's just been someone that people felt that they could just dump things on and you know accuse him and point the finger at him."

Stepner and his attorney are due back in court December 14th. Stepner's attorney is challenging the legitimacy of the misdemeanor complaint.

We asked to interview Helix Assistant Principal Kevin Osborn but our offer was declined.

Would you do what Josh Stepner did? Give an abandoned and abused girl a ride to a bus station to visit her grandmother?

See all posts on Helix High.
See all posts re Grossmont Union High School District.

Here is the declaration of the girl in this case. All she wanted was to live with her grandmother, and that is what she is now doing. Her cousin, who instituted the complaints against former Helix High Charter School vice principal Josh Stepner, apparently has control issues. It's a disgrace that a good man is being run through Bonnie Dumanis' wringer after having been punished by his employer. Josh Stepner never would have had any problems at all if four teachers at Helix High hadn't behaved so badly. He is being punished for his own good deed and for the bad deeds of others.

I'm wondering if trustee Jim Kelly of Grossmont High School District asked Bonnie Dumanis to prosecute a good man at Helix High simply because Kelly wants to bring down the charter school.

Student's application & restraining order against her mother (2009)

See all Josh Stepner posts.


Helix asst. principal says he was only trying to help student
KFMB TV 8
Oct 22, 2009

For the first time, we're hearing from a Helix High School assistant principal accused of helping a 16-year-old student run away. Through his attorney, the principal says he was only trying to help a child abandoned by her mother.

"This is really a classic example of no good deed goes unpunished," Josh Stepner's attorney Mark-Robert Bluemel said.

Bluemel is getting ready to go to court to defend Stepner against a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Stepner is accused of helping a 16-year-old student run away to Oregon.

"This man is innocent and he has the right to prove that. Unfortunately, what has happened prior - and that's why I'm talking to you - is he was painted out as being guilty," Bluemel said.

Stepner is not accused of having a sexual relationship with the student, as was initially reported by News 8 and other media outlets. Those reports were based on inaccurate information given to the media on October 5th, and were corrected by News 8 twelve hours later.

As it turns out, Stepner is accused of helping the girl purchase a bus ticket to Oregon and driving her to the bus station.

"My client brought her to safety, so to speak. She's now back in Oregon with a family and going to school," Bluemel said.

Court records show the girl had recently taken out a restraining order against her mother, and the judge revoked the mother's custodial rights. Bluemel says the girl in effect had no guardian and no home to run away from.

"He was assisting a student in need without a guardian and helping her get home, and I think he's been made a scapegoat," Bluemel said.

Since 2006, four teachers have been convicted of sex crimes involving Helix High students.

Bluemel says his client, a married father of three, simply got caught up in that firestorm.

"The evidence will show that there was no inappropriate conduct. He was acting in furtherance of the child's best interests in getting her to a safe harbor, back home to Oregon," Bluemel said.

The girl's father is dead and her grandmother lives in Oregon.

Stepner is facing one misdemeanor count. His attorney will enter a plea in El Cajon court by Nov. 5


See earlier post.