Shelia Jackson finds her voice

See all Shelia Jackson posts.

The post about Emily Alpert is HERE.

Shelia Jackson, board member of San Diego Unified School District, says things that need to be said. Why is she the only one?

And why did I think her name was Sheila? Sorry, Shelia, that I garbled your name. I always liked the name Sheila; maybe that had something to do with it. But I must say that Shelia is perfect. It takes a small step away from a European name, and the result is something that perhaps sounds even better, and more importantly gives an African-American woman her own identity. Your parents did a good job on naming their baby.

SAN DIEGO SCHOOLS
Jackson Settles in as Chief Dissident

School board member Shelia Jackson... is running for reelection against Xeng Yang, has become a firebrand whose statements have earned her both hostility and respect.

By EMILY ALPERT
Oct. 23, 2008

School board member Shelia Jackson was disappointed when former Superintendent Carl Cohn threw in the towel at San Diego Unified last year. She blamed another board member for berating Cohn, praised the superintendent for gradual and cautious reforms, and stayed mum on the scandal that ejected one of his top appointees.

"You can't have someone who is constantly undermining your authority at every turn," Jackson said last September. "And that's what some board members have done."

Now Jackson is being accused of -- and praised for -- doing the same. Under a new superintendent, Terry Grier, Jackson has become a firebrand whose bold statements have earned her both hostility and respect. Her voting record has long pitted Jackson against her peers on teacher layoffs and spending equity across the school district, but her role has shifted under Grier, a newcomer who has quickly made waves with new projects and made enemies in the teachers union. Now, Jackson has become the school board's chief dissident.

"We're not elected to support the superintendent," Jackson said in an October interview. "We're elected to hold him accountable."

[Blogger's note: YES!!!!!]

Her opponent in the coming election, Xeng Yang, complains that she criticizes Grier in public; Jackson fought a policy that would bar her and other trustees from publicly criticizing the superintendent and his staff, something she rarely did to Cohn. She called for an investigation of Grier and fellow board member Katherine Nakamura after a campaign meeting with principals became a political hot potato; she has hinted publicly that other board members should be ousted in the coming elections.

Yang argues that his opponent is beholden to the teachers union. "I don't think she wants to keep the superintendent. She goes along with the teachers. She was elected by the people to represent students, not a group of adult teachers," he said, adding, "She seems like she doesn't get along with other school board members."

[Blogger's note: And whom does the majority of board members represent? Developers, self-serving politicians, and insurance companies? Insurance is a multi-million dollar industry in many local school districts, and these companies wield power through their lawyers, paid by taxpayers to instruct and direct board members. Insurance companies do not care about kids. I have problems with the teachers union, too, but I think the union is needed to keep a balance in decision making.]

The race between Yang and Jackson has been quiet compared to other contests. Yang, a computer teacher, has fumbled in public forums and netted only a few endorsements, most notably from the county Republican Party and the conservative-leaning Lincoln Club...

[Blogger's note: It seems that Voice of San Diego has also found its voice. Reporter Emily Alpert finds the story behind the story, revealing schools as hotbeds of political intrigue and financial and legal shenanigans. For far too long, school officials were able to keep the truth about themselves hidden, hiding behind a sea of smiling children whom they pretended to care about.]

Chula Vista candidate forum for CVESD and SUHSD

Sponsored by South Bay Forum and
Castle Park High School student government
October 1, 2008

CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT CANDIDATES

SEAT TWO

David Bejarano

David Bejarano
Appointed governing board member

While children were being humbled for not having lunch money, Mr. Bejarano was spending tax dollars on lawyers for the sole purpose of maintaining the power of the small group, led by Patrick Judd, that has controlled the district for many years. Bejarano paid public lawyers to fight community efforts to create trustee districts.



* MY PICK SEAT TWO: ARCHIE MCALLISTER
Archie McAllister put an end to humiliating children at lunchtime.

Archie McAllister,
Retired Navy and educator

Mr. McAllister is the best candidate for seat #2 in my opinion. He has mainstream, pro-community attitudes, and is smart and well-organized. He brought an end to the policy of humiliating children who didn't have lunch money by giving them the dreaded cheese sandwich. (Cheese sandwiches are terrific, it's just that kids came to associate them with punishment.)


Norberto Salazar, right, fanning himself.

Norberto Salazar,
teacher (and spoiler?)

Norberto fell all over himself during the forum to tell David Bejarano (on two different occasions) how great he is. So why is he running against him? Clearly, Norberto is a Bejarano supporter, and is running once again for CVESD board for the sole apparent purpose of splitting the anti-incumbent vote. He read prepared statements, and constantly fanned himself while the other candidates on the stage sat calmly.

Diego Vargas, parent

Willard "Doc" Howard, program assistant analyst




SEAT FOUR

*MY PICK SEAT FOUR: RUSSEL CORONADO
Russell Coronado is the candidate of those who hope to pry Patrick Judd's fingers from the chair he has held for over twenty years.

Russell Coronado
Educator, parent and administrator

Mr. Coronado has a perfect combination of ability, experience and passion for helping children. Coronado came close to winning against Pamela Smith in 2006, and should win handily this time against Patrick Judd. Mr. Coronado is open about his work experience, while Judd refuses to comment on his recent departure from Mountain Empire School District.


Patrick Judd

Patrick Judd,
incumbent and retired superintendent

Patrick Judd has ruled the district with an iron hand for over twenty years, covering up problems by forcing employees to commit perjury and paying $100,000s to lawyers. He has succeeded in keeping the truth about CVESD out of the mainstream media.

Mr. Judd was a no-show at this forum, much like he was during his mysterious absence the last months of his job at Mountain Empire School District. He finally retired without coming back to work, and announced that he had not been on sick-leave. One suspects that there were some serious problems at the district, and Judd was part of the problem. Judd is now up in Los Angeles.


Aurora Murillo-Clark
community volunteer

I have no idea what Ms. Murillo-Clark's agenda is. I can't help wondering if she was recruited by Bertha Lopez and Norberto Salazar to run as a spoiler to protect incumbent Patrick Judd.

[Update: It seems I was correct in guessing that Murillo-Clark and Bertha Lopez were connected. The list of CABE board members (below) includes both of them.]

California Association for Bilingual Education, Board of Directors 2010 conference edition of The Multilingual Educator, see page 3

Oscar Medina ~ President
Karling Aguilera-Fort ~ Immediate Past President
Pilar Mejía ~ Vice President
Lauri Burnham Massey ~ Director of Legislative Affairs
Aurora Clark ~ Director of Community Affairs
Jeff Penichet ~ Director of Financial Affairs
Rosa Armstrong ~ Director of Para-Professional Affairs
Barbara Flores, Ph.D. ~ Director of Secondary & IHE Affairs
Maricela Parga ~ Director of Parent Relations
Ramón Zavala ~ Region I Representative
Peggy Morrison ~ Region II Representative
Robbie Wedeen ~ Region III Representative
Bertha López ~ Region IV Representative
Irma G. Villanueva ~ Region V Representative
Herman Sillas ~ Legal Counsel

Union-Tribune
Aurora Clark
Age: 39
Community involvement:
South Bay Forum;
district English Learners Advisory
Committee; Latino Summit Steering Committee;
California Association for Bilingual Education board;
Chula Vista City/Schools Community Task Force.
Occupation: Community volunteer
Education: Attended Southwestern College

Update March 2016 on Aurora Clark:

Did citizens lose when Councilman McCann won?

By Susan Luzzaro San Diego Reader March 22, 2016

Aurora Clark, a community advocate, has been ordered to pay Chula Vista councilman John McCann $99,918 to cover legal bills in connection with a 2014 election challenge. According to a recent U-T article, San Diego Superior Court judge Eddie C. Sturgeon ordered the decision on March 11.

Aurora Clark

In 2014 McCann won by two votes the city council seat contested between him and former Chula Vista mayor Steve Padilla: McCann had 18,448 to Padilla’s 18,446. With the assistance of attorney John Moot, Clark sued the County Registrar of Voters and McCann in an effort to ensure provisional votes were counted.

In a March 21 interview, Clark said, “I have been a seasonal poll worker for years. I was trying to be a hundred percent sure to honor the people's vote, and if the registrar could not honor them at least they could notify them. This was not about McCann. The way the votes were going he might have won. It was about honoring the votes people cast.

“As poll workers we learned about people who lost their homes or jobs during the financial crisis. We were trained that those people had rights, too…. During our training, each time we [poll workers] asked about provisional ballots they said the only way that a provisional ballot would not be counted was if someone voted twice....

“A citizen is supposed to have a right to challenge anything that might be unjust. Federal rulings say if a citizen sues on behalf of the public, they are protected as long as they don’t seek personal gain. With this new decision people are told, ‘Don’t exercise your right or you’re going to be penalized.’ The judge said his main concern was if he didn’t rule against me, pretty much, he was afraid that people who ran for political office would be intimidated. He was more concerned about those seeking political office than citizens and taxpayers….

“When I went to the hearing, I went hoping that the judge would listen to the true statement of my financial status; he said he would let me speak if I wanted to say something, but he was not going to consider any corrections to the…information that McCann’s lawyer gave him. I feel like I didn’t even get my day in court….

“I’ve got three children that are in college. I negotiated in my alimony to better care for my boys. I have a second home; that was the agreement. That house is my sole income and the only way that I can pay my mortgage.”

While McCann did not respond to an email or phone call from the Reader, he told the Star News, “We won the election, the election audit, the election recount, the election lawsuit, unanimously won the appeal with the three-judge Fourth District Court of Appeals and now we won our children’s college money back.”

Clark’s attorney Moot was surprised by the judge’s decision: “There’s no legal precedent for the ruling. No one in [Clark’s] position has ever been responsible for attorney fees before, of any case I can find anywhere.

“I don’t know what was going through the judge’s mind. He issued a four-line opinion. He didn’t provide legal analysis. His only real comment at the hearing was he was concerned about the chilling effect it had on the candidates, to which I said — there’s nothing in the law that says you should take into consideration the chilling effect of the defendant….

“At no time did this case involve Mr. McCann or anything he did. It was testing how the Registrar of Voters was counting votes; McCann was only named because the election code says you have to name the person who won the election because if the votes get counted and it changes the result then the court has to be able to issue an order.

“These same votes would be counted in the Orange County Registrar, but the San Diego Registrar did not count them. The registrar has discretion…."...

SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT CANDIDATES

SEAT TWO

My pick here is Pearl Quinones.

Lorenzo Provencio, retired educator

Pearl Quiñones, president of the governing board
[Note to Pearl: What's up with the Bonny Garcia legal bills? What were you thinking?]

Gabriel Rodriguez, finance representative



SEAT FOUR

*MY PICK SEAT FOUR: JAIME MERCADO
Jaime Mercado and Pearl Quinones

Jaime Mercado
Incumbent, former teacher and principal

Jaime Mercado is clearly interested in his work for the board, and is not just interested in his own advancement. I can't say the same for Bertha Lopez (see below).

Stephanie Alcaraz and Bertha Lopez

Bertha Lopez
Chula Vista school board member
Bertha Lopez is trying to extend the control of the Judd group to Sweetwater district. This group has stood in the way of educational reform, choosing instead to protect cronies at the expense of children and taxpayers. Members of the group are both Democrats (Lopez, Norberto Salazar) and Republicans (Judd, Bejarano), and only one thing is required for group membership: members must protect other members at any cost, and be silent if the group takes action that conflicts with any principles one might have.

Stephanie Alcaraz, nurse

Trina Lopez, retired instructional aide

Rose Urdahl's hoax: she's not really a teacher or a nurse, and she has no business degree

College instructor and SDCOE board candidate Mark Anderson must be scratching his head. Who exactly is he running against? A teacher? A nurse? A woman with a business degree? Or none of the above?

Chris Moran at the San Diego Union Tribune reports on the SDCOE board race between Mark Anderson and Larry Urdahl's wife:

"This month, a court ordered the registrar to remove the words “teacher” and “nurse” as occupation listings under Rose Urdahl's name on the November ballot and to strike from her statement of candidacy a business degree earned at Kansas State University. Urdahl acknowledged that she did not have a teaching credential, a nurse's license, nor the degree."

The Urdahls recently declared bankruptcy, but they seem to have a lot of cash on hand. Rose is being investigated by the District Attorney regarding a $10,000 loan to her campaign from husband Larry.

The SDUT report continues:

"Bankruptcy documents show the Urdahls have more than $3 million in liabilities, including an Alpine home they bought less than two years ago for $1.1 million. The five-member county school board has oversight of the county Office of Education's annual budget of $647 million."

How does one manage to acquire almost $2 million in debt in addition to one's mortgage? What on earth have the Urdahls been spending money on?

Fortunately, college instructor Mark Anderson of Santee is running for the same board seat as the bumbling Ms. Urdahl.




GROSSMONT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

In another race, Rose's husband Larry Urdahl is running with Priscilla Schreiber against Carroll Boone in Grossmont Union High School District.

Carroll Boone
Age: 66
Residence: La Mesa
Community involvement: La Mesa First United Methodist Church, San Diego County Community Coalition
Occupation: mediator, retired lawyer and manager
Education: juris doctorate from University of Pugent Sound; master of social work from University of Washington, bachelor's degree from University of Alaska

Also in the race are two candidates who seem to be very close to Jim Kelly, the dethroned former master of the GUHSD board.

The SDUT reports:

"The county Republican Party, which dominates the political landscape in East County, endorsed Jedynak, a freelance journalist, and Woods, a seminary teacher. Trustees Jim Kelly and Rob Shield have also endorsed them.

"Priscilla Schreiber and Urdahl have been endorsed by other Republican leaders, including U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth and county Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

"Schreiber and Urdahl said they believe they are running against candidates who were picked by Kelly so he can regain control of the school board. Kelly was president of the board from 2002 to 2006..."