Father files suit, claims CVESD principal, sheriff's deputy ignored his daughter's abuse report

A bungled investigation into sexual abuse of a student in Chula Vista Elementary School sounds familiar to me: an alarming allegation made to a CVESD administrator followed by NO meaningful investigation.

According to a recent Jane Doe lawsuit against CVESD and the San Diego Sheriff's Department, a principal stopped a girl's complaint in its tracks. 

I believe that the principal sincerely believed that no genuine abuse was occurring, and also believed that the child's mother would protect her. That's why the principal orchestrated a meeting at which it was decided NOT to start an official investigation.  

The principal was sadly, tragically mistaken.  

As a result, both the girl and her sister were sexually abused by their older half-brother during the subsequent eighteen months, and the mother was eventually found to be responsible for the wrongdoing.

So whose fault was the bungled investigation--the principal's or the deputy's? Or someone else's?

I submit that the school district was far more responsible for the outcome than some might imagine.

In my experience, school officials call the shots when law enforcement is called in--and this needs to change. 

The crux of the problem lies in the imbalance of power between the school district and the lone law officer. This is a problem that needs to be solved at the top levels of the school district and sheriff's department. Politics needs to be taken out of the situation, and should be replaced with professionalism.

Normal law enforcement procedures should be followed on school property. Victims should never be questioned in front of people who might be victimizing them. Police should not take direction from school personnel.

The political relationship between schools and CPS is different from the political relationship between schools and the sheriff's department. CPS does not take direction from school officials and that might be why CPS was not called in.

CPS might have done better than the sheriff. Perhaps the girl would have talked more freely in a private conversation with a civilian from CPS than in a rather intimidating and formal conference with a uniformed deputy, a principal, and the mother who had obviously failed her. If the mother had been available to take care of the problem, why would the girl have spoken about it to the principal?

I suspect that principals at CVESD have been trained as to how to fulfill the letter of the law.  

Certainly the principal was acting correctly from the point of view of the number one rule for school districts: maintain an appearance that there are no problems. One of the major tactics to achieve this goal is to silence voices of discontent, to keep problems hushed up, and to allow only favored individuals to have a voice. In CVESD and in many other districts, maintaining the political status quo is paramount. 

In my experience, school officials call the shots when law enforcement is called in--and this needs to change.  

CVESD seems to be a remarkably well-connected district.  Both the former mayor of Chula Vista and chief of police of Chula Vista had positions on the CVESD school board. This may explain why, when a wave of school embezzlements across San Diego County were being prosecuted and were receiving wide media attention, two embezzlements at Castle Park Elementary in Chula Vista received remarkably little attention from the media--and no charges were filed.

CVESD has a habit of maintaining the status quo by refusing to find out the truth about favored individuals. Sometimes the truth comes out, but I imagine there are a significant number of cases in which it doesn't.

Team 10: Father files suit, claims principal, sheriff's deputy ignored his daughter's abuse report

Suit: Abuse report should've been sent to CPS

Allison Ash

 Jul 9, 2015

Channel 10 News KGTV

SAN DIEGO - A father is suing the Chula Vista Elementary School District and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department after he claims they failed to protect his daughters from ongoing sexual abuse.

"Somebody dropped the ball," said the father, who asked that Team 10 hide his identity to protect his girls.

The civil lawsuit claims both agencies were negligent when they failed to report a child abuse allegation to Child Protective Services, allowing the fondling and inappropriate touching to continue for 18 months longer.

The father spoke only to Team 10 about the allegations, and he said in March 2012 his 9-year-old daughter told the principal of Sunnyside Elementary School that she was being sexually assaulted by an older half-brother. The father became emotional as he spoke about the principal's decision to call in a sheriff's deputy and the girl's mother. When the meeting was over, the girl was allowed to return to the home where the abuse was allegedly taking place.

"Nothing happened," said the father, who claimed that his daughter was pressured to change her story. "You just can't let it go in one ear and out the other and assume that a child misunderstood rape and wrestling."

The father, who is not married to the girl's mother, said it was during a visit with his daughters 18 months later when he first learned of the abuse allegations. His 15-year-old daughter was visiting him, and he said, "She stopped me dead in my tracks and started crying hysterically and told me she was being … that, uh, she was being molested by her brother."

He added, "I reacted like any father would react. I first got emotional, because I couldn't believe that this had actually happened to my daughter."

The father was angry and confused, and within minutes, the emotional pain was unbearable.

"It broke me. It was hard for me to process all of this because as quickly as I found out that it had happened to my oldest daughter, I found out just as fast that it had also happened to my youngest daughter," he told Team 10.

The father did what he said the school principal and the sheriff's deputy should have done more than a year earlier -- he contacted Child Protective Services.

"I was told there was never a report made in response to the school being notified and the school doing their investigation," he said.

Court documents show that within days of notifying CPS, both girls were removed from their mother's care and sole custody was given to their father.

The father claims neither the school nor the deputy followed California's Mandatory Reporting Law, and because they didn't, both his daughters continued to suffer.

"The abuse continued and it was worse," he added.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of his daughters, refers to them as Jane Doe and Jane Roe. It asks for damages "stemming from Defendants' negligence, assault, battery, and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress."

"Because of this failure, these girls suffered immense emotional and sexual abuse," explained attorney Lorraine Nisbit, who is representing the two girls and their father.

...Gilleon also questioned the principal's decision to have the girl's mother present when she was questioned by the deputy.
"When that principal called the mom, she actually called the person who the CPS eventually blames for all of this. She actually tipped off the wrong-doer herself."
Gilleon said the investigation was "bungled from the start."

...An attorney for the County of San Diego told Team 10 the deputy involved in this case is an experienced child abuse investigator who works closely with CPS. He said the deputy had no basis for any action, so there was nothing to report...

Dear [insert name of school here]: You might have won, but I still have a voice. And I plan on using it as much as I can to make things change.

Read the Devastating Letter by a Harvard Sexual-Assault Survivor
By Asawin Suebsaeng
Mother Jones
Apr. 1, 2014

On Monday, the Harvard Crimson, the university's student newspaper, posted an anonymous letter written by a student and sexual-assault survivor. The student details the aftermath of the alleged assault that occurred last year, and discusses how Harvard University administrators profoundly failed her. (This sort of thing is hardly unique to Harvard; rape and sexual assault on college and university campuses across the country is a huge problem, as is too often the administrative response to such cases.) The letter, titled "Dear Harvard: You Win," was published one day before the start of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.

Here is an excerpt (read the whole thing—which is obviously tough to get through—here):

More than anything, I'm exhausted from living in the same House as the student who sexually assaulted me nine months ago.

I've spent most of 2013 fighting the Harvard administration so that they would move my assailant to a different House, and I have failed miserably. Several weeks ago, in a grey room on the fourth floor of the Holyoke Center, my psychiatrist officially diagnosed me with depression. I did not budge, and I was not surprised. I developed an anxiety disorder shortly after moving back to my House this fall, and running into my assailant up to five times a day certainly did not help my recovery.

[…]

Dear Harvard: I am writing to let you know that I give up. I will be moving out of my House next semester, if only—quite literally—to save my life. You will no longer receive emails from me, asking for something to be done, pleading for someone to hear me, explaining how my grades are melting and how I have developed a mental illness as a result of your inaction. My assailant will remain unpunished, and life on this campus will continue its course as if nothing had happened. Today, Harvard, I am writing to let you know that you have won.

[…]

The last time I met with my resident dean, I told my dean about my depression, and how I thought it had been caused by the lack of validation and empathy I had received from the Harvard faculty. I said that it would be immensely helpful for me to know that my dean, not as a school official but as a human being, understood my pain and empathized with it. I asked my dean to take a step back from the situation and to admit that I had not been served well by the Harvard system. My pleas were met with a refusal to comment and an argument that it was not an administrator's role to criticize Harvard's sexual assault policy.

If my resident dean refuses to question the current policy we have in place, then I will. Dear Harvard: You might have won, but I still have a voice. And I plan on using it as much as I can to make things change.

In response to this letter, the Undergraduate Council, Harvard College's student government, announced the formation of a task force to involve students in discussion of Harvard's sexual assault policies.

Harvard University public affairs did not respond to Mother Jones' request for comment.

Mary Salas proposes unifying Chula Vista Elementary and Sweetwater Union High school districts

Mary Salas with Hillary Clinton

I'm pleased that Mary Salas and others want to clean up Sweetwater Union High School district, but simply turning the place over to Chula Vista Elementary School District isn't going to accomplish that. CVESD has ethics and performance problems, too.

Voters need to take responsibility for the way their schools are run. CVESD isn't as bad as Sweetwater, but it's performance is nowhere near what it should be. Voters don't like to think that the policemen who guard them or the educators who teach their kids are less than completely trustworthy, but citizens should screw up their courage and demand transparency from public agencies. Once problems are exposed, they can be solved, or at least prevented from becoming more serious.

Schools have too much secrecy. Wrongdoing thrives in darkness; sunshine alone will go a long way to preventing future abuses of the public trust. If CVESD and SUHSD do combine, transparency must be required of the new district.

But what if exposing CVESD and SUHSD secrets would result in too many people being exposed as corrupt? How will you run the new district if too many people must resign or be fired? Where would you find trustworthy people to take their places? Will you go to districts that are carefully guarding their secrets? That doesn't make much sense, does it? You won't have any real basis to think that those people would be any better.

It's sort of like the war in Iraq: Bush's big mistake was disbanding the Iraqi army. Instead of getting rid of everyone with a history, you keep them on board to keep doing the job, and watch them carefully. The US should have followed the advice of its own experts and kept the Iraqi army intact. Give amnesty, then keep discussions and documents out in the open, not behind closed doors.



Corruption is widespread, and most of it is in schools whose officials have NOT been indicted. There's no reason that the people of San Diego County should have to foot the bill for a slew of prosecutions. The new district should tell the voters the truth, release information and documents--perhaps redacting names--and then make sure that bad acts are not repeated.

Voters need to know exactly what went wrong when they weren't looking, so they'll know what to watch out for in the future.

Proposal: Combine Chula Vista School Districts
The proposal would place elementary schools and Sweetwater high schools in Chula Vista under one district
By Rory Devine
NBC San Diego
Jan 29, 2014

Students in Chula Vista go to schools in the Chula Vista Elementary School District for grades K through 8, then high schools in the Sweetwater Union High School District. A city councilwoman is proposing the two districts combine amid the Sweetwater scandal. NBC 7’s education reporter Rory Devine has more.

A Chula Vista City Councilmember has presented an idea that would change the way school districts in the city look.

Students in Chula Vista go to schools in the Chula Vista Elementary School District for grades K through 8, then high schools in the Sweetwater Union High School District.

Councilmember Mary Salas wants to unify elementary schools and those Sweetwater high schools located in the city of Chula Vista under one district.

“A lot of parents have expressed extreme satisfaction with the elementary school district. Yet by the time they get to middle school, then they start shopping around for different options,” Salas said.

“The continuing of education is the number one priority,” she said.

The idea of merging the school districts has come up before, but has taken on renewed importance in light of a corruption scandal brewing in the Sweetwater Union High School District.

National City Mayor Ron Morrison says the shuffling would impact schools in surrounding areas.

“That’s going to be my biggest concern, how the finances are going to work out on this,” Morrison said.

On Tuesday, Salas told the council that details of a potential merger would be worked out by the San Diego County Office of Education. But she says the process must begin, especially given the ongoing scandal in the Sweetwater Union High School District.

“I don’t think it should be looked at as a complete answer, but certainly if the high school district has been mired in conflict and dysfunction for years and years, it does affect a lot of things,” she said.

Sweetwater board member John McCann supports this idea.

The Chula Vista Elementary School District says this is a complicated process and more research is needed.

If the proposal does move forward, Salas says she thinks it could be done in a year.

HACKED CVESD GRIEVANCE: Who doesn't want you to read what's beneath the black box?

UPDATE JAN. 11, 2014:

My hacker has turned playful! He (or she) is moving black boxes around, but not hiding any information. See the story HERE.

ORIGINAL POST:

More than 10 years later, hackers are still helping to conceal the 2001 actions of CTA director Jim Groth

HACKED CVESD GRIEVANCE: Someone doesn't want you to read what's beneath the black box. (See original image below)


Yes, I've been hacked again, but things are getting better. This time the mysterious black box does not quite cover the targeted image on my related website.

More than 10 years later, hackers are still trying to conceal the 2001-2002 actions of former CVE president and current California Teachers Association (CTA) director Jim Groth, who worked on behalf of disgraced asst. superintendent Richard Werlin and board members at Chula Vista Elementary School District. Or was it the reverse? Were Werlin and CVESD working on behalf of Jim Groth? It's hard to unscramble the egg.

Jim "No response needed" Groth

In 2002 Chula Vista Educators' grievance chair Jim Groth unexpectedly came to a meeting at Chula Vista Elementary School District and announced that Chula Vista Educators did NOT support a grievance that merely asked that the district RESPOND to a teacher's grievance.

Why didn't Jim Groth (now a member of the state board of directors of California Teachers Association) insist that the district respond?

Well, that question seems to answer itself. Obviously, CTA and CVESD were covering up something. It appears that Groth's CTA directorship may be linked to his otherwise inexplicable decision to get in his car and drive to the district office to say that it was fine with him if the district ignored my June 9, 2001 grievance.

The original, unhacked grievance can be seen on my website. This is what it looks like:



The CTA website says that Jim Groth "is the past chair of the CTA State Council of Education Communications Committee." Perhaps that committee is in charge of hacking teacher websites?



Teflon trustees?

CVESD board members Pam Smith and Larry Cunningham, who spent tax dollars to cover up crimes, are still on the CVESD board, although the careers of several administrators have ended.

It seems that crime pays, as the saying goes, but only for teachers, union officials and board members--apparently not so much for administrators.

But now that I think about it, I realize that school board members are no longer quite so invulnerable. Bertha Lopez, who went along with the criminal actions of Pam Smith and Larry Cunningham at CVESD, is currently charged with criminal actions by the Public Integrity Unit. Maybe I should say that WASP school board members tend to be teflon.

It should be noted that this same case was investigated by school attorney Daniel Shinoff. A large number of documents he collected at Castle Park Elementary School have gone missing, as Mr. Shinoff and his partner Ray Artiano explained in this deposition.

More than 10 years later, hackers are still helping to conceal the 2001 actions of CTA director Jim Groth

UPDATE JAN. 11, 2014:

My hacker has turned playful! He (or she) is moving black boxes around, but not hiding any information. See the story HERE.

ORIGINAL POST:

More than 10 years later, hackers are still helping to conceal the 2001 actions of CTA director Jim Groth

HACKED CVESD GRIEVANCE: Someone doesn't want you to read what's beneath the black box. (See original image below)

Yes, I've been hacked again, but things are getting better. This time the mysterious black box does not quite cover the targeted image on my related website.

More than 10 years later, hackers are still trying to conceal the 2001-2002 actions of former CVE president and current California Teachers Association (CTA) director Jim Groth, who worked on behalf of disgraced asst. superintendent Richard Werlin and board members at Chula Vista Elementary School District. Or was it the reverse? Were Werlin and CVESD working on behalf of Jim Groth? It's hard to unscramble the egg.

Jim "No response needed" Groth

In 2002 Chula Vista Educators' grievance chair Jim Groth unexpectedly came to a meeting at Chula Vista Elementary School District and announced that Chula Vista Educators did NOT support a grievance that merely asked that the district RESPOND to a teacher's grievance.

Why didn't Jim Groth (now a member of the state board of directors of California Teachers Association) insist that the district respond?

Well, that question seems to answer itself. Obviously, CTA and CVESD were covering up something. It appears that Groth's CTA directorship may be linked to his otherwise inexplicable decision to get in his car and drive to the district office to say that it was fine with him if the district ignored my June 9, 2001 grievance.

The original, unhacked grievance can be seen on my website. This is what it looks like:



The CTA website says that Jim Groth "is the past chair of the CTA State Council of Education Communications Committee." Perhaps that committee is in charge of hacking teacher websites?



Teflon trustees?

CVESD board members Pam Smith and Larry Cunningham, who spent tax dollars to cover up crimes, are still on the CVESD board, although the careers of several administrators have ended.

It seems that crime pays, as the saying goes, but only for teachers, union officials and board members--apparently not so much for administrators.

But now that I think about it, I realize that school board members are no longer quite so invulnerable. Bertha Lopez, who went along with the criminal actions of Pam Smith and Larry Cunningham at CVESD, is currently charged with criminal actions by the Public Integrity Unit. Maybe I should say that WASP school board members tend to be teflon.

It should be noted that this same case was investigated by school attorney Daniel Shinoff. A large number of documents he collected at Castle Park Elementary School have gone missing, as Mr. Shinoff and his partner Ray Artiano explained in this deposition.

Southwestern College police chief who fired gun at head level in his headquarters is back without explanation

Update: Two employees who escaped police chief's bullet are still out on stress leave, but police chief is back on the job

I was right that the investigation of Liebert, Cassidy, Whitmore would not embarrass the Southwestern College. The law firm, which represents school districts, apparently found absolutely no problem with an upset police chief pulling out his gun and letting a bullet fly in police headquarters at Southwestern College. See updated story at bottom of this post.

"After his reinstatement, Cash dropped in on the office of The Sun and said he would be willing to talk to student journalists about the episode and subsequent events. During a two-and-a-half hour interview Cash again apologized for the gunfire and said the campus community did not need to worry. He refused to say why he was holding his gun that morning, why it was pointed at head level or why he pulled the trigger, citing 'personal confidentiality.'”

"Personal confidentiality"?" I don't think it's a confidential matter when a public employee shoots a gun in his office. The Chula Vista Police Department is failing, in this case, to fulfill its duty to protect the public. It does NOT need a "request" from the college before it investigates.

ORIGINAL POST:

The firm of Liebert, Cassidy, Whitmore represents school districts. I would assume that their investigation will not embarrass Southwestern College.

Police chief on leave following gun fire in HQ
David McViker
The Southwestern College Sun
10/09/2013

Campus Police Chief Michael Cash has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of an incident at police headquarters where a gun Cash was holding discharged and a bullet narrowly missed hitting a SWCPD clerk.

College officials have released very little information about the incident, but several sources have informed The Sun that the firing of the police handgun was part of what one described as a “scary and dangerous” situation.

Sources said Cash entered the SWCPD offices and removed his district-issued service weapon from its holster for reasons unknown and the weapon discharged. A single shot penetrated the wall, narrowly missed campus police clerk Grace David and lodged itself into an adjacent wall in the campus police reception area. Sources said it was unclear whether Cash fired the weapon intentionally or whether it was an accidental discharge.

Following the incident, sources said, Cash “had to be talked down” by SWCPD officers. Cash then surrendered the gun and collapsed to the ground, sources said, demonstrating “shock-like symptoms” and was taken away in an ambulance to a nearby hospital for evaluation. He was subsequently released.

David has been placed on medical leave and has not returned to work since the incident. SWCPD Sergeant Robert Sanchez was named acting chief while an investigation is being conducted.

Sources said the college originally planed to ask the Chula Vista Police Department to investigate the discharge, but CVPD spokesperson Captain Gary Wedge said the college has not requested CVPD assistance. Lillian Leopold, SWC Chief Public Infrmation and Government Relations Officer, said the college has asked the law firm of Liebert, Cassidy, Whitmore to conduct the investigation.

Leopold said college officials are not able to discuss the incident while the investigation is pending.

“We want to make sure that there is a thorugh investigation and that both the campus community, and any personnel matter involved with it, are looked at as thoroughly as possible to ensure that there is no attempt to hide any information. Once the investigation is over, it will depend on what we can and cannot release (due to privacy issues.)”

Some college employees, however, expressed frustration that a dangerous incident has been dealt with so quietly and without sharing information with the public. A number of college employees said they have been ordered not to discuss the episode.

“We literally dodged a bullet on this,” said a source that asked not to be identified. “We are very lucky no one was hit by gunfire that day. That was a very serious situation.”

A number of sources said that they felt it was important that a full accounting of the events that preceded and followed the shooting be made public. Sources also said that the event was “highly irregular” as district policy stipulates that weapons are to remain holstered when in an officer’s possession, except in the case of a threat.

“Police at all levels are carefully trained about gun safety,” said a source who asked not to be identified. “That’s like the first lesson on the first day of police academy. For an officer to discharge a weapon, that’s bad news.”

SWC campus police officers carry .40-caliber Glock handguns issued by the college. Glock handguns contain the “Safe Action” system, a fully-automatic safety system consisting of three passive, independently operating, mechanical safeties, which sequentially disengage when the trigger is pulled and automatically reengage when the trigger is released, according to information provided by the Glock Corporation. A Glock’s safety serves as a “drop safety” to discourage accidental discharge.

“To make a Glock fire you pretty much have to pull the trigger,” said a law enforcement professional who asked not to be identified. “I mean, guns are dangerous and things can go wrong, but we are trained to make sure things don’t go wrong.”


Secrecy surrounds return of police chief
Lina Chankar / Senior Staff Writer
The Southwestern College Sun
12/03/2013

Campus Police Chief Michael Cash was reinstated to his position by the college following a pair of investigations of an Aug. 23 incident where a handgun he was holding in police headquarters fired at head level and narrowly missed three employees in an adjacent room.

A preliminary investigation conducted by SWCPD Sgt. Robert Sanchez concluded that Cash was negligent and that the discharge of his district issue Glock handgun was not accidental. A subsequent investigation conducted by a retired San Diego Harbor Police chief called the gunshot an accident and recommended that Cash be reinstated. SWC president Dr. Melinda Nish announced in an Oct. 30 campus email that she was reinstating Cash.

“We are pleased to have Chief Cash returning to work today,” Nish wrote. “The district fully supports the return of Chief Cash as the head of the police department.”

Scores of campus employees and many students said they did not support the return of Cash. Many expressed surprise and “shock” at the decision to reinstate Cash and to allow him to carry a loaded weapon. Professor of Anthropology Dr. Mark Van Stone said the episode “doesn’t make any sense.”

“The story demands details, I want more details,” he said. “Why are the details a secret?”

Professor of Philosophy Alejandro Orozco agreed.

“Our administration is not being clear and forthcoming, and that is creating anxiety on the campus,” he said. “Our employees and the public need an explanation.”

Nish and other campus leaders refused to provide any information about the shooting and the chain of events that multiple eyewitnesses have called “bizarre,” “frightening” and “a very serious situation.” Some employees said they were ordered not to discuss the situation and were compelled to sign non-disclosure agreements. Public Information Officer Lillian Leopold acknowledged that was true.

Though neither the college nor investigator Betty P. Kelepecz will release any information about what happened the morning of the gunfire, several eyewitnesses have recounted virtually the same version of events. Only one of the employees, carpenter Billy Brooks, was willing to speak on the record.

Brooks said he arrived just before 10 a.m. Aug. 23 for an appointment with Cash. The chief was not in his office, Brooks said, so he stood in an adjoining waiting room. Campus Police Officer Jesse Osuna was sitting in the room and SWCPD Clerk Grace David was using a copy machine when they heard gunfire and a bullet whizzing through the room. Brooks said the bullet penetrated the wall and flew “head level” two feet behind him as he stood waiting for his appointment. The bullet flew about three feet behind the head of David, he said.

Brooks said he took a few steps toward the door so he could go into the locker room to see what had happened when Cash burst into the room.

“He was hysterical and kept hollering ‘Accidental discharge! Accidental discharge!’” Brooks said. “He became more and more hysterical and soon couldn’t hardly talk. He just kind of stuttered and went ‘da, da, da, da, da, da, da.’ He looked freaked out like he was going to faint.”

SWCPD employees told Cash to put down his gun, witnesses said, and he did. Cash then “went to the floor” on his hands and knees, Brooks said, and then rolled over on his back, apparently hyperventilating.

“He looked really sick and just kept trying to talk but all he did was stutter,” Brooks said. “Grace and the cops in the room were asking him ‘Are you alright, Chief? Are you alright?’ Someone called an ambulance and they took the chief away.”

Witnesses described Cash as demonstrating “shock-like symptoms” and looking like he was having an epileptic seizure. Leopold said Cash was examined at a local hospital and released. Nish put Cash on administrative leave for what turned out to be about five weeks.

Following the incident Chula Vista Police Department officials said they were “standing by” to study the situation and conduct an investigation. It is illegal to fire a gun within the city limits of Chula Vista or on a school campus anywhere in the state of California. SWC, however, never contacted CVPD about conducting an investigation, according to CVPD spokesperson Capt. Gary Wedge.

Leopold said Wedge was correct and that the college wanted to “avoid the appearance of the brothers in blue protecting one of their own.” Nish authorized SWC’s law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore to hire an independent investigator. Kelepecz, a retired police chief with a law degree, was selected.

Brooks said he was interviewed by Kelepecz and surprised by something she said during the course of the conversation.

“I asked Betty about the possibility of the chief coming back and she said, ‘Oh he’s coming back, that’s for sure. The chief is definitely coming back,’” Brooks said. “I thought it was weird that she had already made up her mind before the investigation had ended.”

Kelepecz was contacted multiple times for comment, but has not returned phone calls to her Orange County office. Multiple attempts by The Sun to obtain a copy of the report have been rejected or ignored by Nish and the college governing board. In a letter to Nish, Sun Editor-in-Chief David McVicker wrote that he and the editorial board rejected the college’s assertion that the information related to the gunfire was a confidential personnel matter.

“It is our belief that Southwestern College is now in violation of California Public Access and Media Law by refusing to divulge basic, routine information about the Cash incident and by covering up evidence, applying a gag order on employees and refusing to share reports paid for with public funds with the public that paid for them,” read the letter. “It is our position that the college is misinterpreting the ‘Personnel, medical and similar files’ clause of the Government Code section 6254(c) as justification for hiding the investigator’s report from public view.”

In an email to McVicker, Nish denied the college had ignored requests for the report and said she had turned the letter over to the college’s legal counsel.

Cash has been the center of controversies in previous positions. In 1987, while he was a member of the San Diego Police Department, Cash was suspended after a Municipal Court judge ruled that he had used excessive force during an arrest. Cash acknowledged the charge and said he was trying to help his partner arrest a suspected drug dealer named Terry Garrett.

“I’m trying to get in close to help my partner,” Cash recalled. “I slugged him (Garrett) right in the face, broke his nose, blood was everywhere. He had a bag of cocaine in his mouth.”

Cash reflected on the episode.

“Did I not punch anybody in the face after that?” he said in an interview with The Sun. “I don’t know. I have to be honest with you. I may not have for a while.”

In 2007 Cash was fired from his position as Director of Security of the San Diego Chargers when several players were determined to have been out past curfew prior to a game against the Minnesota Vikings. Cash also worked security for the NFL and had a leadership role in preparing for the last San Diego Super Bowl in 2003. Spokespersons for the NFL would not comment on Cash’s performance or why he left his position.

Cash said he was very sorry about the gunfire in campus police headquarters and wrote a Letter to the Editor to The Sun.

“I take full responsibility for the action, for it was I who accidently discharged my duty weapon, he wrote. “I am upset with myself for the events of that day, and I want to apologize to the entire Southwestern College community.”

After his reinstatement, Cash dropped in on the office of The Sun and said he would be willing to talk to student journalists about the episode and subsequent events. During a two-and-a-half hour interview Cash again apologized for the gunfire and said the campus community did not need to worry. He refused to say why he was holding his gun that morning, why it was pointed at head level or why he pulled the trigger, citing “personal confidentiality.”

Cash said he did not have any medical conditions, including diabetes or epilepsy, that may have caused him to fire his gun. He insisted he is in good health.

Two college employees who were in the room [WHEN] the bullet passed through are out on medical stress leave. Campus Police Officer Jesse Osuna and Clerk Grace David are on leave and neither has a scheduled return date. Former SWC Vice President of Human Resources Albert Roman said the cases of Osuna and David were confidential under Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). When challenged that HIPAA did not apply in Cash’s case, Roman said that he “did not feel comfortable” commenting on the findings of the internal and external investigations or the whereabouts of Osuna and David. Roman also declined to comment on possible lawsuits.

Brooks said he had no plans to ask for stress leave. As a former United States Marine, he said, he grew used to being around gunfire.

With contributions by David McVicker

What to do if the public might not approve spending for new offices for Ed Brand? Call in Plan Nine Partners

See all Ed Brand posts.

Dear Ed Brand: If you're afraid the public wouldn't approve spending tax dollars on new offices for district administrators, maybe you should just stick with what you can afford.

Latest plans for ill-fated L Street land deal
Who can say no to soccer?
By Susan Luzzaro
April 9, 2013

During public comment at the March Sweetwater Union High School board meeting, Jacqueline King, a resident of Chula Vista who has worked in real estate development for 36 years, addressed the trustees regarding the district’s quirky surplus property deal on L Street.

King asserted that the district has “an abominable record of managing property” and regarding L Street transactions, “the layers of ownership and the crazy financial deals that you [Sweetwater] put together…are being looked at not only by the state but by the federal government as well.”

In 2004-05 the Sweetwater school district, with superintendent Ed Brand at the helm, concocted a complex real estate scheme to purchase property on L Street in Chula Vista—ostensibly to build a new district office and corporate/bus yard.

On February 1 2005 the loan agreement for L Street was signed. The property was purchased for $25,415, 000 in variable bonds, with another $8,235,000 in variable bonds to finance the payments and interest for subsequent years. But the name on the loan documents is not Sweetwater Union High School District, rather Plan Nine Partners LLC. (The property is now said to be worth $12 million.)

On the same day, February 1, 2005 the district signed a lease agreement to lease back the property from Plan Nine.

In 2004, in anticipation of the land acquisition deal, the district tied several pieces of surplus property (Third Avenue, Fifth Avenue and Moss Street) to the ill-fated L Street property in a land exchange agreement signed by Ed Brand and Marc Litchman of Plan Nine Partners LLC/California Trust for Public Land.

Regarding these elaborate transactions, one source suggested the point was to circumvent the education code and public participation: “The district could have gone by the high road — they picked the low road.”

The high road — or what normal California school districts do, is dispose of surplus properties (like L Street in Chula Vista or Third Avenue) in accordance with California Education Code (Section 17388), often referred to as the 7-11 plan.

This means that an advisory committee of no fewer than 7 and no more than 11 parents, students, and members of the business community meet and decide the best use of the district property and take their recommendations to the trustees.

In a recent interview, Litchman of Plan Nine Partners/California Trust gave his interpretation of the logic behind this byzantine deal-making.

Litchman said that initially, in 2004-2005, the district wanted to develop district headquarters on L Street. However, district offices cannot be built with school bond construction money.

So the idea was to develop condos or apartments on some of the district’s surplus land and use the capital generated to build district headquarters on L Street.

The district, according to Litchman, brought him into the deal because they wished to avoid the 7-11 education code process which would have made the district’s surplus property available for other public entities to purchase. Litchman also said the process is lengthy and expensive...

Bertha Lopez fit in perfectly at Sweetwater Union High School District

I always suspected that Bertha wanted to move to Sweetwater Union High School District because there was even more corruption there than at CVESD. SUHSD has long been home to attorney Bonny Garcia and other cronies of Jaime Bonilla of Otay Water District. One of those cronies was Bertha's husband, Jose Lopez, so she must have known what she was getting into.

Someone asked me the other day about my reaction when Bertha got indicted.

"It wasn't altogether surprising," I said. "I knew that when she was on the CVESD board she supported the policy of violating the law to cover-up crimes and other wrongdoing."

Bertha Lopez was on the CVESD board that fired me for reporting wrongdoing. I was specifically fired for filing grievances and a lawsuit. This is a violation of California Labor Code Section 1102.5.

Patrick Judd, another one of the board that fired me for filing grievances and a lawsuit, was found liable for sexual harassment.

Sadly, the system of mutual support between contractors and board members continues at both CVESD and SUHSD. CVESD even named a school after Corky McMillan. The students don't benefit just because the board members change; the system stays the same.

See San Diego Rostra to get information about Bertha Lopez' campaign donations from contractors.


Lopez: 'We are singing in the rain, all of us together!'
Aaron Burgin
North County Times (owned by San Diego Union Tribune)
January 5, 2013

Bertha Lopez, first elected to the Sweetwater board in 2008, won re-election in November when she defeated former Chargers defensive lineman Burt Grossman in a heated race. She works for the National School District where she has served as a bilingual teacher and reading/language arts specialist.

District Attorney’s investigators raided Lopez’s home on Dec. 20, 2011, though she was not initially charged with her board colleagues Ricassa and Quiñones.

Lopez has long contended that she came forward as a whistle-blower early in the investigation. Pokorny reiterated this earlier this week.

Court documents make numerous mentions of Lopez, including lunch and dinner meetings with officials from SGI Construction and Gilbane Construction. The partnership won a coveted contract to manage Sweetwater’s $644 million Proposition O building campaign.

July 13, 2008: Lopez, then a Chula Vista Elementary School District board member, was one of several people who went to Morton’s Steakhouse for an event for the group La Raza. The $1,700 meal was paid for by Henry Amigable, a construction executive who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in May and is cooperating with county prosecutors.

July 29, 2008: According to search warrant affidavits, SGI executive Jaime Ortiz emailed company President Rene Flores stating that Gandara suggested SGI and Gilbane should donate $10,000 each to Lopez’s campaign for school board. Lopez previously told The Watchdog that she had no knowledge of Gandara’s solicitation on her behalf.

Oct. 2, 2008: SGI donated $15,000 to the “Yes on Prop X” campaign on Lopez’s behalf, according to court documents. Proposition X was a $17 million bond measure passed in the South Bay Union School District. Lopez previously told The Watchdog that she wasn’t aware of the donation.

April 1, 2009: SGI donated $2,000 directly to Lopez’s campaign.

June 8, 2009: According to an email from Sweetwater school board clerk Sandi Smith sent to Flores, Lopez requested that Flores attend an award ceremony hosted by the YWCA. Flores agreed to attend and paid for a $1,500 table and gave the rest of the seats to Lopez and her guests, court documents say.

Oct. 14, 2009: Ortiz emailed Arlie Ricasa telling her he was trying to set up a meeting with Flores and Lopez at El Vitral downtown the next day.

Dec. 2, 2009: SGI hosted a holiday party at El Vitral Restaurant. In attendance were Ricasa and her husband, Lopez, Ortiz and Flores, among others.

Feb. 11, 2010: Flores emails Sweetwater general counsel Bonifacio “Bonny” Garcia to confirm dinner with Otay Water District board member Jaime Bonilla and Lopez. Garcia was working for the water district at the time.

Aug. 30, 2011: In an email conversation between Flores and Bertha Lopez, Flores says, “You looking on spending in the low 20?” She replies, “Yes! Remember my husband just retired. I need to send him to get another job! HA! HA! Thanks for help.” Two other emails, Lopez said, were about $55 million in state matching money given to the district for construction purposes — and a district plan to temporarily use it for other purposes. “The cookie monster eat the 55 million,” Flores wrote. Lopez responded, “Don’t worry I’ll take care of the 55 million dollars! Yes, we are singing in the rain, all of us together! HA HA.” Lopez said the “spending in the 20” was in reference to her search for a car to buy and that she had asked Flores if he knew of any good dealerships in his area. She said the $55 million refers to $55 million in state matching money given to the district for construction purposes that the district then proposed using to pay other bills due to shortfalls in funding from the state.

Bertha Lopez and CVESD incumbents rely on spoilers to split the anti-incumbent vote

CLICK HERE FOR ELECTION UPDATE NOVEMBER 5, 2008


Below is a discussion that took place in the comments section of "Jaime Mercado, board member of Sweetwater Union High School District."

I am surprised that anyone connected with the CVESD board would have the nerve to bring up the subject of getting people to run to split the anti-incumbent vote.

The CVESD board incumbents and their cronies at Chula Vista Educators seem to keep Norberto Salazar on speed dial for the frequent occasions when they need a spoiler to split the anti-incumbent vote. This year they also seem to have recruited Aurora Murillo-Clark in an effort to stop Russell Coronado. I guess Felicia Starr wasn't available.

HERE IS THE DISCUSSION:

Anonymous said...
I have read a lot of your columns. While I don't always agree with your point of view, I respect it. However this action of endorsing Jaime Mercado in light of the blatant and Felonious activities he has participated in, and admitted to, you have lost all credibility in my mind that you aren't really the corruption fighter you claim, you simply have a personal vendetta against those you feel have wronged you and you are just as bad as all the others. So much for reading any more of your stuff.

You SHOULD have endorsed the campaign of Stephanie Alcaraz, who although seems to be politically naive, hasn't broken the law in the last 3 months.

10:39 PM


Maura Larkins said...
I'm willing to learn. Please tell me more about your point of view. I will consider changing my mind.

8:17 AM

[Maura Larkins adds: I've met Stephanie Alcaraz, and she is a gentle person who, I suspect, has no idea how dirty the politics are in Chula Vista Elementary School District and Sweetwater Union High School District, and is almost certainly not associated with the person who started this discussion. That person is obviously opposed to Jaime Mercado, but is not really a Stephanie Alcaraz supporter. A friend wouldn't call the candidate "naive."]


Anonymous said...
I get that you have a problem with those on CV board, including one of Mr Mercado's opponents.

From a standpoint of Integrity and Honesty, breaking the law by encouraging someone to run in his race (where there is only one winner) simply to confuse the voters is very disapointing. While it may not be purjury, it is, according to the Attorney General's office, is against Election Law. At least the stool pigeon he put up to the task turned around and admitted to what they had done. He needs to admit what he did was wrong, instead of spinning some BS about getting more people to run and then apologize to the electorate for assuming that we were idiots.

I don't want someone with that kind of disregard to the law, or our intelligence, and quite frankly other vunerable people, making descisions about the education of my children, and spending my tax dollars.

Again, I know you don't seem to have the time of day for Bertha Lopez, but to simply endorse Mercado given what he has done smacks of anything but Lopez.

1:13 AM


Maura Larkins said...
Thank you for responding. It appears that your accusation is that Mr. Mercado encouraged Trini Lopez to run in order to confuse Bertha Lopez supporters. In fact, Bertha Lopez is guilty of wrongdoing far more serious than this. She has suborned perjury and has spent $100,000s of taxpayer dollars to cover up wrongdoing at CVESD.

11:27 AM

[Maura Larkins adds: When you talk about getting someone to run to split the vote, you need to admit that CVESD board members are the worst offenders, having done precisely this time and again. They have a habit of getting someone who actually supports the incumbent to run in the race in order to split the anti-incumbent vote.

Example 1: Trying to stop the smart and passionate Archie McAllister from unseating David Bejarano, the spoiler is Norberto Salazar, who is on the ballot as an alternative to David Bejarano. Norberto spent the evening of October 1, 2008 singing Bejarano's praises. He is clearly not trying to unseat Bejarano. Norberto Salazar did the same thing in 2006, running as a spoiler to protect incumbent Larry Cunningham from outsider Steve Yagyagan. And Norberto Salazar isn't the only candidate with no apparent reason to run (except to split the anti-incumbent vote).

Example 2: Trying to stop experienced and talented educator and administrator Russell Coronado from unseating Patrick Judd, the spoiler is Aurora Murillo-Clark, an unknown who has no apparent reason for running except to protect the disreputable and longterm incumbent Patrick Judd. Judd recently left work as Superintendent of Mountain Empire School District under mysterious circumstances, and then after a few months announced his retirement. His explanation? None at all--except to say that he was not on sick leave. Judd was also absent from the candidate forum on Sept. 30, 2008.]



Anonymous said...
So you are simply going to endorse the crooked one that didn't work for the district that fired you?

Oh well, check your credibility flying out the window.

12:27 PM


Maura Larkins said...
Okay, you clearly want me to explain why I'm not supporting Stephanie Alcaraz. I know that candidates like to accentuate the positive, but Ms. Alcaraz has taken that dictum too far. She has not expressed any concern about SUHSD's relationship with corrupt lawyers. If Ms. Alcaraz has the courage and determination to refuse to bow to the pressure of those lawyers, she has kept those qualities well-hidden under a facade of docility. If Ms. Alcaraz is naive about what's going on at Sweetwater, then she is not likely to change anything. I don't have a vendetta against anyone, but I am fighting a system of corruption in schools. Bertha Lopez has supported that system with every decision she has made. Why is Lopez challenging Jaime Mercado? Clearly, because he is a challenge to her group of corrupt friends. Why is Stephanie Alcaraz challenging Jaime Mercado? Perhaps she thinks he's too liberal. She says she wants more focus on patriotism and the pledge of allegiance, which sounds nice, but why not more focus on American Government? Too many people think they are patriots, but they don't really want kids to learn too much about American history and values, because then the kids might notice that many flag-wavers are actually hostile to basic American values. Kids need knowledge, not indoctrination.

12:56 PM

[Maura Larkins adds: I think there may be something to the idea that a Bertha Lopez supporter initiated this discussion. The personal animosity of the commenter simply doesn't jibe with a Stephanie Alcaraz supporter. Alcaraz isn't desperate for my support. Bertha Lopez has been desperate for years in her efforts to silence me, going so far as to force employees to commit perjury, and paying $100,000s of tax dollars to lawyers to get my case thrown out of court. That case has recently been reopened in San Diego Superior Court; the issue being litigated is whether the facts I have presented on my website are true.

The commenter is in San Diego, and uses Cox Communications IP address 72.220.104.149. The first comment was posted on September 28, 2008 at 1:00 am. This person came to my blog by doing a google search for "jaime mercado maura larkins."


It also appears that someone who works at the Chula Vista Elementary School District Office is using a CVESD computer for political activities, recently conducting searches for Sweetwater USD trustee Jaime Mercado. IP address 209.242.141.25 visited this blog just minutes before the last anti-Mercado, anti-Larkins post was made. Previously, there have been repeated visits from this IP address, which comes from a Cox Communications server called "cox-sd.net" that is different from the regular "cox.net" server. This user regularly conducts searches about people and issues connected to CVESD, but has shown little interest in the large amount of information and opinion I have posted on my various blogs about other topics. I became convinced about a year ago that this visitor was working from the CVESD office.

On a positive note, however, this public employee seems to have read my page "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team." Let's hope he/she learned something from Patrick Lencioni's excellent analysis of dysfunctional organizations, and will stop trying so desperately to cover up wrongdoing at CVESD.

I suspect that this person is high enough in the organization to be able to come forward with the truth, and to take action to stop the deterioration of Castle Park Elementary School.]


P.S. When will the San Diego Union Tribune start telling the truth about CVESD? I suppose that will have to wait until the paper finds a buyer with some integrity, and Don Sevrens gets fired.

Why was a mild essay about Patrick Judd blanked from my website?

Patrick Judd has a lot of control over the media. He succeeded in keeping the story of my lawsuit against CVESD out of the Chula Vista Star-News (above) and the San Diego Union Tribune.

Now, it seems, he's managed to GET A PASSAGE REMOVED FROM MY PRIVATE WEBSITE!

I have long wondered how sentences, paragraphs and entire pages have suddenly disappeared from my Yahoo website from time to time. Attorney Ljubisa Kostic told me recently (when he was deposing me) that all someone has to do to get something removed is to complain to Yahoo. My guess is that the "someone" has to be a lawyer threatening a lawsuit for defamation. Yahoo hasn't admitted this to me, but Mr. Kostic could be right.

So the question becomes: Why did a particular paragraph or page disappear? Was it offensive? Illegal? Defamatory?

No, apparently that's not necessary. Take for example the following passage that disappeared from my "Seven Happy Clowns" page recently:

Judd says that having even one member
on the board who supports teacher unions
would destroy the board’s “collegiality.”

But what does “collegiality” mean?

In this case, it means that the current
board has agreed to hide its conflicts
from the voters. Important
differences exist between Judd and
the two board members who respect
teachers, Cheryl Cox and Bertha
Lopez. Judd's opponent, Jill Galvez,
would bring MORE collegiality to the
board because she shares the
positive attitudes of the board’s two
most forward-thinking members, Cox
and López.

[Blogger's note: Cheryl Cox and
Bertha Lopez, as it turned out, joined
Judd, Pamela Smith and Larry Cunningham
in a long series of unanimous and
irresponsible decisions. They were not
as forward-thinking as I had imagined.]

School boards who keep secrets DO
NOT benefit taxpayers or children;
they only benefit incumbents.

They conduct trade-off diplomacy: I'll
vote for yours if you'll vote for mine,
and the public will never know what
our disagreements were.

Why not do the RIGHT THING EVERY
TIME??

Probably Mr. Judd genuinely believes
in what he is doing, but his rigidity is
an obstacle to progress in Chula Vista
Elementary School District.

The five-member school board is not
smarter than all the people of Chula
Vista put together.

The decision-making process needs
to become open to all. Does
disagreement result in worse
decisions? No! It results
in BETTER decisions because more
ideas are considered. We need to
hear from educators who DON’T
PLAY POLITICS!

I honestly can't figure out how anybody could convince Yahoo to remove this mild opinion piece.

So I'm back to wondering if friends of Patrick Judd have been hacking my website.

P.S. A few months ago, part of my California Teachers Association webpage was blacked out, as opposed to being blanked out.

A note to Patrick Judd: Teachers play politics with education just like you do. They need leadership to learn collaboration. I suggest you read "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team."

Half a million dollars spent on lawyers didn't fix Castle Park Elementary; how about trying honesty and respect?

Why has Castle Park Elementary had 11 principals in 11 years?

Because past is prologue.

Hiding a seminal event, such as the moral collapse that occurred in 2001, serves only to exacerbate its causes.

He who fails to learn from history is fated to repeat its mistakes.

Teachers and administrators and board members have relied on their lawyer, Daniel Shinoff, to do whatever is necessary to hide the truth about Castle Park, regardless of the cost to the taxpayers. It's time to stop charging the taxpayers for the wrongdoing of public officials and public employees.

The learning curve of those who control Castle Park Elementary has been flat for more than 11 years. When things don't go well, they just get rid of their principal.

But principals aren't the only people they get rid of.

The serious problems at Castle Park Elementary started when the bilingual program was introduced in 1994. Many teachers were furious that the school had a new kindergarten teacher that year-a bilingual teacher named Heather Smith. They got rid of her that very year; she was dismissed by the district. (The district does not make any effort to determine why teachers have been targeted for dismissal; district administrators allow school politics to make those decisions.)

The bilingual program added a teacher a year until it had a final total of four bilingual teachers in September 1997.

Many teachers refused to allow bilingual classes into their teaming arrangements.

Rae Correira, a district administrator who tried to arrange teaming in the 1997-1998 school year was suddenly transferred to a different job in the middle of the year. The teachers ran the school. The principal did exactly what teacher leaders told her to do. And that included dismissing another bilingual teacher--Maura Larkins.

Other excellent teacher forced out of the school for political reasons only include Luci Fowers, Heather Coman, and principal Ollie Matos. Matos was clearly targeted for allowing ELAC parents to have a voice in the school.

Unfortunatley, the teachers committed crimes to achieve their goal, and the district and teachers union also committed crimes at the teachers' request. Then the district spent roughly half a million dollars for Daniel Shinoff's work in covering up the crimes. The teachers became drunk with power. They felt untouchable.

Castle Park teachers seem to think they live in some country where they can silence public discussion of public issues.

It's time to start dealing with reality. I offer to have an open and honest discussion with the Castle Park teachers. It's the only way to solve the problem. Hiding wrongdoing is rarely the best way to bring peace. It's time for the truth dodgers to deal with the problems they have caused.

Castle Park Elementary teachers want to hide their heads in the sand while a Superior Court Case is going on regarding crimes committed at the school.

I've started a new blog in Spanish about these issues.

Investigation shows CVESD is hiding information

Lowell Billings, CVESD Superintendent

For years I've been trying to get Chula Vista Elementary School District to follow the law regarding release of public information.

At last I've got some help.

A non-profit law firm called Public Advocates examined twenty school districts in California and found that nineteen of them were ignoring the law. Public Advocates has threatened to sue CVESD and the seven other scofflaws who were most blatantlly out of compliance with the law.

Lowell Billings, Superintendent of CVESD, used the time-honored "I was unaware" excuse.

Right, Lowell. And you were unaware of my public records requests, too, I suppose.

"It's so blatantly out of compliance that it just drew our attention," said Guillermo Mayer, Public Advocates attorney.

But I still haven't found anyone to help find out how much CVESD has spent on lawyers.

Randall Ward, SDCOE Superintendent
San Diego County Office of Education Superintendent Randolph Ward has many good traits, but openness isn't one of them. Oakland Unified, the district he headed until he came to San Diego a year ago, has been sued by Public Advocates. Randy Ward has ignored the public records requests I have sent to SDCOE.