AFTER RESIGNATION, CVESD SCHOOL BOARD SEEKS APPLICANTS

Thank you, Russell Coronado, for freeing CVESD from the lengthy reign of Patrick Judd.

See background story below, after resignation announcement:


AFTER RESIGNATION, SCHOOL BOARD SEEKS APPLICANTS
Chula Vista seeks applicants for post
By TAWNY MAYA McCRAY
U-T
March 20, 2012

The Chula Vista Elementary School District is looking to appoint a new board member.

It was announced Monday that board member Russell Coronado is resigning from his post effective March 31, nine months before his term is up in December. Board President Pamela Smith said Coronado, who was elected in 2008, was leaving due to “personal reasons.”

“(Coronado) has been very dedicated and it’s been a pleasure to serve with him,” Smith said at Monday’s meeting. “He’s brought a lot of expertise to the board and always focused. I have never been in a conversation publicly or in closed session with this board that isn’t always about kids, kids first, and Russell has been very true to that. We’re going to miss him.”

The remaining trustees, minus Douglas Luffborough who was absent, voted Monday to begin accepting applications to fill the position on the five-member board. Coronado was also absent from Monday’s meeting.

Applications are due at the district office by noon April 11.

Applicants must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen, a resident of the school district, a registered voter and not legally disqualified from holding public office by state law (for bribery or perjury convictions, for example).

The board decided not to fill the vacancy through a special election because of its estimated cost of $770,000 to $800,000. Trustees plan to interview the applicants and appoint the new member at a special board meeting April 23. The chosen candidate will serve the remainder of Coronado’s term.

This will be the third time since 2007 that the board has decided to appoint a new member. Trustee David Bejarano was chosen out of a pool of 39 candidates in 2007 after Cheryl Cox stepped down following her election as mayor of Chula Vista. Luffborough was selected out of 23 applicants in 2009 after Bertha Lopez resigned to serve on the Sweetwater Union High School District board.

“We have been through this process before and it’s been a good one and has resulted in some outstanding board members,” Smith said at Monday’s meeting. “I think it is a very inclusive process and we take the process very seriously. We look forward to hearing from our community and seeing who’s interested in this.”

Applications are available at the superintendent’s office, 84 E. J St. or on the district’s website at cvesd.org. Eligible community members must submit a letter of intent, the completed application, and two letters of recommendation to Soreli Norton, assistant to the superintendent and the board of education.


BACKGROUND




Head of CV school board to move temporarily
Russell Coronado, president since last year, is tending to a family member, officials say
Ashly McGlone
UT
Aug. 30, 2010

The board president of Chula Vista Elementary School District has temporarily moved to the North County to care for an ill family member, officials said Monday.

“I have a commitment to the students and people of Chula Vista, but at this time I also need to provide care and support to my family members,” Russell Coronado said. “At an appropriate time, we will make a decision about my position on the board.”

Further details were not disclosed.

Coronado was named school board president in December 2009 after being elected the previous year.

When asked whether there is a threshold for how long a board member may live outside of the school system's boundaries, district spokesman Anthony Millican said officials were looking into it.

Millican said the district’s day-to-day operations will be unaffected.

It's official: Francisco Escobedo is new CVESD superintendent

See all Francisco Escobedo posts.

I'm happy to see that the process of choosing a superintendent has become transparent and wide-ranging at CVESD.

It was less so in 2002, when Lowell Billings was selected without any search at all.

Lowell Billings is a board member at The Accelerated School ("TAS") in Los Angeles, where he hired his long-time boss, Patrick Judd, a CVESD board member who was voted out in 2008. At the time he was hired at TAS, Judd had accumulated an interesting employment history. In early 2008 Judd went on a mysterious leave from his job as superintendent of Mountain Empire Unified School District. A Mountain Empire board member told the press that Judd was on sick leave, but Judd said he was not on sick leave. Judd has never publicly revealed the reason for his sudden exit from his job. A few months later, Judd retired without ever going back to work. Interestingly, TAS is now conducting a secretive search for a permanent replacement for Judd. According to the board minutes, an anonymous "recommended CEO candidate" was interviewed by the TAS board on July 28, 2010.

Chula Vista elementary district gets new leader
By Ashly McGlone
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 11, 2010

CHULA VISTA — A new superintendent has been named at the Chula Vista Elementary School District. Francisco Escobedo, 49, will officially take the reigns of the largest elementary school district in the state in January.

According to the district website, the incoming superintendent will begin job shadowing in September.

Trustees approved the hire in a 4-0 vote on Wednesday. Board President Russell Coronado recused himself, citing “the public and professional relationship that I currently have with the finalist for superintendent.”

Escobedo is currently Coronado’s boss at the neighboring South Bay Union School District.

“Thank you for this honor to serve this great district,” Escobedo told the board. “You will not be disappointed in selecting me, so thank you for your confidence.”

Since the board named Escobedo as a sole finalist on July 27, some have questioned the selection because two of the five members on a search committee work for Escobedo.

Vice president of the school board Larry Cunningham addressed the recent coverage by The Watchdog, saying Coronado in “no way tried to influence anybody” in Escobedo’s selection.

Escobedo began teaching in 1988 in the South Bay Union School District, later moving on to National School District and Chula Vista Elementary School District. In 2008, he earned a doctorate in educational leadership through a partnership between University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University.

Escobedo will replace Lowell Billings, who will retire in December. No salary or start date has been set for the incoming superintendent. Billings’ annual salary is $247,000.

CVESD's Francisco Escobedo and Russell Coronado were fellow employees, but Lowell Billings and Patrick Judd personally hired each other

New CVESD superintendent Francisco Escobedo


See all Francisco Escobedo posts at San Diego Education Report blog.

Once again, the SDUT fails to give the full story about Chula Vista Elementary School District. Until he was voted out of office in 2008 (and replaced by Russell Coronado), CVESD board member Patrick Judd was an employee of CVESD Superintendent Lowell Billings in another school district, The Accelerated School (TAS) in Los Angeles. At TAS, Lowell Billings was on the board that chose Patrick Judd as executive director of the school.

But here's the big difference between the two situations: Escobedo didn't personally hire Coronado. Lowell Billings, on the other hand, was personally involved in the hiring of Patrick Judd, and Judd was personally involved in hiring Lowell Billings.

The board minutes for CVESD do not indicate that Patrick Judd recused himself from voting for Lowell Billings' employment, nor does it appear that Billings recused himself from voting for Judd's employment.

See blog posts about The Accelerated School (TAS) in Los Angeles.

Shame on the San Diego Union Tribune for cherry-picking the facts it gives to readers. This story reminds me of the "Castle Park Five" story, in which the SDUT was outraged that five teachers were transferred, but never told readers that several of those teachers were deeply involved in illegal actions. The district had paid $100,000s to defend them. The teachers weren't grateful for the district's assistance in covering up their wrongdoing, however. When they were transferred, they filed a complaint against the district!


Chula Vista superintendent candidate had inside track
The president of the school board works for him at another district
San Diego Union Tribune
By ASHLY McGLONE
August 2, 2010

One candidate for superintendent of Chula Vista’s elementary school district had an inside track — one of his employees is the president of the school board.

Francisco Escobedo last week was named the sole finalist for the job, which paid its last occupant $247,000...

It wasn’t mentioned in the news release, but The Watchdog has learned that Escobedo is Coronado’s boss at the South Bay Union School District. Escobedo is assistant superintendent of educational leadership there, a post he has held since 2007. Coronado is the director of student services.

Coronado was one of two board members on a selection committee, which also included a parent, a principal, a labor representative and a taxpayer. That committee passed along three finalists to the board, which narrowed the field to one by a unanimous vote that included Coronado.

Coronado on Monday said his relationship with Escobedo at the South Bay district was not a conflict-of-interest and had no bearing on the recruitment at the Chula Vista Elementary district...

Still, Coronado said, he has decided to recuse himself from the final vote to hire a superintendent, possibly on Aug. 17, “so that there wouldn’t be any misinterpretation.”

Escobedo said he sees no conflict with applying for a job controlled in part by a subordinate.

“I wouldn’t say that is the case,” Escobedo said. “[Coronado] has two roles to play: one as the school board president when he works for Chula Vista. He does an exceptional job at differentiating what his roles are in those two positions.”

Larry Cunningham, the other board member who served on the selection committee, said the relationship between Coronado and Escobedo was “not a discussion item” but that he was aware that they worked together. Asked whether he knew that Escobedo was Coronado’s boss, he said, “I don’t know what the structure is.”

[Maura Larkins' comment: Come on, Larry. Don't be so afraid to admit the truth. If Escobedo is the superintendent, then he's the boss of every employee in the district. I wish you would start giving straight answers to questions. This evasiveness is getting to be a very bad habit.]

Jim Groth, former president of the teacher’s union for the district, said he was unaware of the connection.

“As far as my reaction to it, it’s not uncommon, but it would be proper for a board member not to vote on the process,” said Groth, now a member of the California Teachers Association board. “Everybody in leadership kind of knows everybody else in leadership. To directly supervise them though, in the state of California, I am sure it happens, but as an elected official, you need to be very careful.”

[Maura Larkins comment: But you didn't want Lowell Billings to be careful, did you, Jim? At least not regarding issues that you and he were hiding from teachers and voters, right?]

The successful candidate will replace Lowell Billings, who will retire midway through his ninth year as district superintendent in December. His salary is $247,000, although a replacement with less experience might be paid less.

At South Bay Union, Escobedo’s salary stands at $144,000, and Coronado’s is $124,000.

Escobedo, who has a doctorate in education and has worked in education for 22 years, should not be excluded from the Chula Vista job because a board member happens to work for him, Billings said.

“Do you exclude someone that you really really like because you have a history with them? He is a really good educator,” Billings said. “You have to look at the track record of the candidate that has been selected, and it is immaculate.”

Billings said there was no problem with the news release quoting Coronado praising Escobedo, without disclosing their outside relationship.

“I think you have to put it in the context of how pleased the other board members are,” Billings said. “One board member is not the board. He is not giving his sole opinion. He is voicing the consolidated opinion of the board. He doesn’t speak for himself.”...

Patrick Judd is turned out by new CVESD board member Russell Coronado, but Judd's pal Bertha Lopez wins in SUHSD

Russell Coronado brings a breath of fresh air to Chula Vista Elementary School District


CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

RUSSELL CORONADO v. PATRICK JUDD

20-year incumbent Patrick Judd failed to keep his board seat in Chula Vista Elementary School District in spite of the efforts of Aurora Murillo-Clark to split the vote.

Clearly, voters had had enough of Mr. Judd, who was recently forced out of his job as superintendent of Mountain Empire Unified School District due to sexual harassment charges.

CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SEAT NO. 4
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
AURORA MURILLO-CLARK - 21.53%
PATRICK JUDD - 35.81%
RUSSELL CORONADO - 42.65%




ARCHIE MC ALLISTER v. DAVID BEJARANO

Spoiler Norberto Salazar, however, was successful in splitting the vote for seat 2. Salazar, who can't seem to open his mouth without praising former San Diego police chief David Bejarano, managed to get his idol elected for the first time. Bejarano got his position on the board through appointment.

The real opposition candidate, ARCHIE MC ALLISTER, did very well. HE SHOULD BE APPOINTED TO FILL THE SEAT THAT IS BEING VACATED BY BERTHA LOPEZ.

CHULA VISTA ELEMENTARY SEAT NO. 2
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
ARCHIE MC ALLISTER - 27.34%
NORBERTO P. SALAZAR - 17.39%
WILLARD 'DOC' HOWARD - 5.28%
DIEGO VARGAS - 10.87%
DAVID BEJARANO - 39.12%









SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

JAIME MERCADO v. BERTHA LOPEZ

Patrick Judd's obedient servant Bertha Lopez, however, will apparently carry his torch to Sweetwater Union High School District. This will give Bertha Lopez' cronies on the CVESD board the opportunity to appoint her replacement, instead of allowing the voters to choose. Obviously, the voters' top choice is ARCHIE MC ALLISTER. The board should either appoint Mr. Mc Allister or hold a new election.

SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SEAT NO. 4
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
JAIME MERCADO - 36.29%
BERTHA J. LOPEZ - 42.99%
TRINA LOPEZ - 7.08%
STEPHANIE M. ALCARAZ - 13.64%



PEARL QUINONES v. LORENZO PROVENCIO

Pearl Quinones kept her SUHSD seat, as expected.

SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SEAT NO. 2
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ - 18.63%
LORENZO PROVENCIO - 31.24%
PEARL QUINONES - 50.13%

Kim Longo suggests runner-up Russell Coronado as Cheryl Cox replacement

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2008: APPOINT ARCHIE MCALLISTER TO FILL BERTHA LOPEZ SEAT.

Appointing trustees defeats the will of the voters.

Kim Longo's idea was good in 2006, and it's even better now. The CVESD incumbents delayed Russell Coronado's entry to the board of CVESD for two years, obviously against the wishes of the voters. Instead, they appointed David Bejarano.

The CVESD incumbents shouldn't do the same to Archie McAllister.

Mr. McAllister would have won on November 4, 2008 if David Bejarano hadn't had a spoiler (Norberto Salazar) on the ticket to split the vote against him..

ORIGINAL POST:

A letter from CVESD parent Kim Longo appeared in the Nov 16, 2006 edition of the San Diego Union Tribune. It's a well thought-out and well-written suggestion. If the board can summon up some respect for the voters, they will follow Kim's suggestion. Perhaps their slogan for the new year could be AN END TO ARROGANCE.

Here's Ms. Longo's letter:

Regarding the Chula Vista Elementary School District's board vacancy:

It seems to be too great an expense to conduct another election in order to fill the vacant seat left by outgoing board member Cheryl Cox. Rather than engage in the same path that subjected Patty Chavez to such initial negative scrutiny after she was appointed to fill a Chula Vista City Council vacancy, the CVESD existing board members should take a lesson from the outrage of the community's response, and respect the voters' wishes expressed in the board election of last week. That is, the board should appoint the candidate who received the highest number of votes from the voting public in Chula Vista. At last count, that candidate is Russell Coronado.

KIMBERLY LONGO
Chula Vista