CVESD still using illegal tactics to silence critics?

"...When you work for the public, as I have, you are required to be honest and serve the public..."
By Flo Samuels, Hayward, July 24, 2008 Voice of San Diego


I recently discovered what appears to be a connection between Chula Vista Elementary School District and the lawsuit by their lawyers (Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz) to stop me from publishing my website.

It is illegal for a public entity to sue for defamation.

I suspect that CVESD superintendent Lowell Billings (at left in above photo), and (next to Billings in above photo) board members David Bejarano, Pam Smith, Patrick Judd, Bertha Lopez and Larry Cunningham know this very well. So why don't they operate in an above-board manner, and file a lawsuit against me as individuals?

First, I imagine they don't want to give me a chance to prove my allegations in court.

Second, they are accustomed to having the taxpayers foot the bill for their legal representation.

Stutz attorney Ljubisa Kostic denied that he made an uncustomary and lengthy visit to my website and blogs the day after I participated in a meeting at Castle Park Elementary school. Unfortunately for Mr. Kostic, I was able to match the IP address of his laptop, which he used during my deposition, to the May 28, 2008 visit. That same laptop had made very rare, and usually very short, visits prior to that date.

To top it all off, Kostic issued a Notice of Deposition to me on the very next day (May 29, 2008). He could have done this at anytime during the previous 8 months, and there is no reason to think he would have done it on that day except to retaliate on behalf of CVESD for my public appearance.

This appears to be yet another case of illegal involvement by CVESD in the justice system (see also CVESD's bizarre and successful effort to protect Stutz law firm from obstruction of justice claims), and an effort by CVESD to use intimidation to interfere with my right to free speech.

JULY 2008: New board members for Chula Vista Educators

Chula Vista Educators Board of Directors
JULY 2008
(Here is list of members of the board that was replaced.)


President 07-09
State Council 06-09
Peggie Myers
cvepresident@yahoo.com
Full-Release CVE Office 427-1063


Vice President 07-09
Monica Sorenson
Liberty Elementary School 397-5225
VP Monica Sorenson has taken over the remainder of Allan Insko's term as PAR chair (see below).

Treasurer 07-09
Nancy Potts
npotts@cox.netValley Vista Elementary
479-7171 Ext. 5339


State Council 07-10
CTA Board
JAMES GROTH
jgroth@cta.org


Secretary 07-09
Barbara Dunwoodie
monagin@cox.net
Hilltop 422-8323 Ext.3333


State Council 08-11--NEW!!
Jennefer Porch
Juarez-Lincoln 269-3620


PAR Chair 06-09
VP Monica Sorenson
took over for Allan Insko in the middle of this term
(appointed?)


Area Director A 08-10--NEW!!
Maureen Mcnair
Veterans 479-0571


Area Director B 07-08
Norma Pacheco-Davis
pachecodavis@yahoo.com
Los Altos 690-5880 Ext. 3848


Area Director C 08-10--NEW!!
Tim Kriss
Salt Creek 397-5494


Area Director D 08-10
OPEN

Area Director E 08-10--NEW!!
Jena Ritchey
Juarez-Lincoln 269-3620


Bargaining Chair 07-09
OPEN

Executive Director Mary Ellen Berumen
[New executive director]
mberumen@cta.org
427-1063 Ext 205
[Berumen replaced Tim O'Neill, who worked closely with Jim Groth and Gina Boyd to cover up crimes at Castle Park Elementary School.]

CVESD lawyers Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz v. Maura Larkins trial February 2009

Stutz law firm asked the court on July 25, 2008 to delay the trial for their lawsuit against me for defamation.

One would think they'd be in a hurry to stop me if I'm truly defaming them.

Either my site isn't really hurting them, or Stutz law firm is tacitly admitting that what I say is true.


The November trial date selected by the court was changed to February 6, 2009.

The Stutz lawyer also said that a court-ordered settlement conference "would not be fruitful." The judge looked at him and said, "Well, then you'll just have to work it out yourselves."

CVESD case discussed in "White Chalk Crime"

A new book mentions CVESD's illegal actions against Maura Larkins.

From "White Chalk Crime" by Karen Horwitz (page 596)

"California NAPTA member Maura Larkins corroborates this point when she commented on my legal case and discussed the abuse used to silence her: If you had done what I did, which was to refuse to come back to work until there was an investigation, I guarantee you would have been dismissed for refusing to come to work. They were delighted that I wasn't at work for an entire year--UNTIL I FILED SUIT.

"Then they claimed they had wanted me to be at work for that entire year. In fact, my dismissal specifically stated that by filing grievances, tort claims and a lawsuit, I had shown myself to be "unforgiving," an "irremediable character defect"!

"Once they target you, neither the truth nor the law matters. I love having the above statement about why I was fired in writing. It's a clear violation of the Constitution as well as state law. Can you believe that they openly and brazenly fired me for filing grievances, tort claims, and a lawsuit?"

CVESD paid $100,000s of tax dollars to obtain this decision and cover up the truth in the case. Attorney Daniel Shinoff, who was in charge of litigation for CVESD in San Diego Superior Court, wanted the case decided in the Office of Administrative Hearings. Attorney Mark Bresee pulled the job off with the help of phony documents.

Second-grader Mariachis at Castle Park Elementary

See U Tube video HERE.

PETER BARRON STARK: SCHOOLS MASK PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF SOLVING THEM

In times of crisis, schools hire consultants to calm everybody down instead of addressing the basic problem: teachers who can't think straight.

Helix High School in San Diego Unified School District has suffered from a rash of teacher-student sexual encounters. Since this makes the news, the school is doing something about it: hiring an ethics advisor.

Castle Park Elementary School in Chula Vista also hired an advisor, Peter Barron Stark, a few years back, in the mid-90s, when teachers were so hostile to bilingual education that they were using staff meetings as an emotional outlet to scream at their opponents.

Peter Barron Stark's advice didn't them help much. It seems that Castle Park Elementary teachers needed help with thinking skills and basic human decency. All they learned was how to conduct a meeting without yelling at each other. In other words, problems were covered up instead of being addressed.

According to Stark's website, the following educational institutions have hired Peter Barron Stark and Associates.

It's hard to miss MiraCosta College and others with legal problems on the list; many of these problem schools use Daniel Shinoff as their lawyer.

Is the failure of consultants caused by the fact that these institutions were asking for the wrong thing? They wanted to keep everything calm and quiet, when open, honest discussion was needed. Instead of hiring PBS consulting, they should have hired ethical lawyers, teachers, and administrators. Clearly, CVESD needs new board members.


PBS Consulting's education client list:

...Butte County Office of Education
Cal Poly Pomona
Chula Vista Elementary School District
Edison Charter Academy
KPBS
MiraCosta College
National School DistrictPoway Unified School District
Project Concern
San Diego County Office of Education
San Dieguito Union High School District
San Diego State University - College of Extended Studies
San Diego Community College District
Soquel Elementary School District
Southwestern College
Southwestern Christian School
University of Phoenix

Mr. Stark says, "I view each client I have the privilege of working with as the beginning of a lifelong relationship. I am committed to providing you with a customized presentation that begins long before I take the stage and doesn't end until your expectations have been exceeded."

I think you have some work left to do at Castle Park Elementary, Mr. Stark. And while you're at it, a visit to MiraCosta College might be in order.

CVESD trustee Judd wants another term

At the CVESD board meeting on April 8, 2008 Pat Judd "announced that he will run for reelection in 2008 to assist and guide the District through this troubled time with his knowledge and expertise."

Are you planning to remain in San Diego County, Mr. Judd?

Have you sought employment in Los Angeles Unified School District?

What caused your mysterious leave from Mountain Empire School District in February 2008, and why did you never go back to work as superintendent?

How CVESD can stop my complaints without paying a dime

Most schools use public money to improve. CVESD uses public money to make things worse. They use the money to pay lawyers to cover up wrongdoing.

But Lowell Billings and Castle Park Elementary teachers want me to stop telling the public that they have used $100,000s of taxpayer dollars to keep Castle Park Elementary circling the drain for the past seven years.

Nothing would please me more than to be able to say that Billings and the CVESD board are doing the right thing.

Here's how CVESD can stop my complaints without paying a dime:

All Billings and the board have to do is to stop the coverup and start dealing with the felony-serious problems at the district, the teachers union, and Castle Park Elementary.

Simply replace the corrupt culture at CVESD with a culture that values honesty, the rule of law, and the education of children.

And then CVESD and the teachers at Castle Park Elementary can get off the merry-go-round of lies, attacks, and dysfunction that they have been riding for the past seven years.

In Danielle Cozaihr case, CVESD has switched lawyers two times in 6 months

Why is the CVESD board (David Bejarano, Pamela Smith, Bertha Lopez, Pat Judd and Larry Cunningham) staggering around like a group of drunks searching for the next whiskey bar?

Instead of a bar, however, the board keeps searching for the perfect lawyer who will help them get away with wrongdoing.

In six months, they've fired two different law firms in the Danielle Cozaihr case. They are now back to the firm that caused them so many problems in the Maura Larkins case: Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz.

The board and Superintendent Lowell Billings seem to suffering from an inability to deal with reality. When they don't get what they want, they fire someone. Billings has placed 11 principals in 11 years at Castle Park Elementary.

Here's a suggestion for the board: obey the law. Then you will save $100,000s in litigation costs, and you won't have to corrupt entire schools the way you corrupted Castle Park Elementary with your demands that teachers and administrators commit perjury.

Why don't I put my head in the sand, too?

The teachers at Castle Park Elementary want to forget about the crime wave that happened there.

I also would forget about it except for one thing: the culture that triggered these crimes is harming students. If it were just me, I'd forget it. The fact is that I witnessed CVESD's culture of teacher politics superseding the wellbeing of children for two-and-a-half decades before I myself fell victim to that culture.

At that time I learned that the problem isn't just small-minded teachers in the classrooms. It turns out that many of these power-hungry individuals have risen to positions of influence in both the administration and the teachers union. It seems that frequently (not always, of course) those who can't teach, administrate or unionize. What else can a poor or mediocre teacher do to succeed? Politics is the only way.

POSTSCRIPT TO YESTERDAY'S "NOTE TO LOWELL BILLINGS"

Castle Park Elementary teachers don't want to deal with reality

Dear Mr. Billings,

After I wrote yesterday's post, I engaged in further discussions about what you said on June 4, 2008 at Castle Park. I believe I now understand your message better.

It seems you said that the teachers don't want to have anything to do with me. Well, of course not.

The reasons are both clear and illegal.

1) First of all, those who were my friends in 2001 were viciously attacked by guilty teachers and administrators. In 2002, Castle Park Elementary teachers were made to understand that Chula Vista Educators (the teachers union), expected them to report to Peggie Myers any contact they had with me. (At that time, Peg Myers, the current CVE president, was CVE representative for the school.)

2) The district and its lawyers wanted to make sure that I had no access to witnesses. Daniel Shinoff and Kelly Angell of Stutz law firm even asked the court to forbid me from contacting ANY AND ALL CVESD EMPLOYEES. The judge refused. He informed the lawyers that "parties are allowed to talk" and that I had a right to contact witnesses.

3) The teachers didn't want to be contacted because they were covering up crimes. Like ostriches with their heads in the sand, they were in deep denial, ignoring the consequences of a criminal cover up. They continued to punish children for lying or other transgressions, but they believed that a different morality applied to them. They were teachers, they made the law in the school, they didn't have to follow it.

4) Sadly, new teachers have been effectively inducted into the "Castle Park Family," the group of teachers that believed that they have the right to make personnel decisions for the school. This is the reason that problems are as severe as ever at Castle Park Elementary. Teachers who have left are still powerful because they stay in contact.

The culture of the school remains the same. It is a culture of anger and hostility to anyone who would question the arbitrary power of the teachers who control the school. Like you, Mr. Billings, they believe that might makes right, and the law has little force in their decision making.

A CANCER OF IRRATIONAL ANGER PERMEATES CASTLE PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND THE DISTRICT OFFICE. YOU WON'T SOLVE THIS PROBLEM WITH "STRICTNESS." CVESD NEEDS TO DEAL WITH THE REALITY OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED, TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS HONESTLY, SO THAT IT CAN FINALLY LAY THEM TO REST.

See all posts about Peg Myers.

The clever Mr. Billings undermines the demonstrators he claims to support at Castle Park Elementary

CVESD superintendent Lowell Billings has clearly failed to get the staff at Castle Park Elementary to work as a team. But it appears that this was never his goal.

Mr. Billings seems to think that Castle Park Elementary must be run with an iron hand. His constant refrain on the evening of June 4, 2008 was that Alicia Moreno, his new choice for principal at the school, will be very "strict" and will make big changes if necessary.

But that was the precise assignment that Billings gave to Carlos Ulloa, and Ulloa did it so well that the staff refused to do any work beyond the contracted hours.

Billings apparently doesn't remember that a work slowdown is also what the staff did three years earlier to get rid of principal Ollie Matos.

Billings seems to be stuck on a merry-go-round and he can't get off. He keeps hiring principals to clamp down on Castle Park teachers, and when that fails, he gets rid of the principal.

Maybe "strict" isn't the answer.

Maybe "honesty" is the answer.



NOTE TO SUPERINTENDENT LOWELL BILLINGS

Let's face it, Mr. Billings: you have no control over Castle Park Elementary because you have lost your authority. Castle Park teachers (particularly the one writing this) know better than anyone else exactly what your unprofessional and illegal actions have been.

Why can't you come up with a plan other than another cycle of brute force and clever lies?

One of those lies occurred on June 4, 2008. You announced to the families at the Castle Park Elementary parent awards ceremony that you supported the rally that started at 5:30 p.m.on June 4, 2008. At around 7 p.m. you welcomed the group of demonstrators, which included me, into the auditorium. You promised to meet with parents.

But first, you decided to undermine them. You wanted to eliminate the person in the group who knew the most about the problems at Castle Park Elementary. After you shook my hand, you told me to leave. I asked why, and you refused to say. I left immediately.

Then you set out to divide and conquer.

The demonstrators were asking for an investigation into why there have been 11 principals at the school in 11 years. Since an investigation at Castle Park would result in the exposure of illegal actions by you and the district's expenditure of $100,000s of taxpayer funds to lawyers hired to cover up wrongful actions, you were determined to snuff out that possibility at the very start.

You tried to break the strongest link in the demonstrators' chain. You told the parents that I was a bad influence on kids. That smear was clear.

I've been getting confusing feedback about the rest of what you said.

I gather that you indicated that I was trying to get money from the district. What I want, Mr. Billings, is this: (1) Reverse the damage done to Castle Park Elementary since Feb. 12, 2001; (2) Stop the corruption that persists in the CVESD school board and their allies in the administration and the union; (3) Replace the corrupt culture at CVESD with a culture that values honesty, the rule of law, and the education of children.

For years you allowed Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz to basically write its own checks, squandering $100,000s of taxpayer dollars. Isn't it time this stopped?

There's a way for you to win, Mr. Billings.

You don't have to give me a dime, Mr. Billings, even though you've committed and covered up crimes against me.

All you have to do is to tell the truth.

That costs ZERO dollars.

Spill the beans, admit the facts, and say you're sorry. The statute of limitations has passed, so there would be no prosecutions. Wait, what am I saying? I reporting this case to Bonnie Dumanis years ago, and she refused to investigate. There was never any danger of criminal prosecution.

If you come clean, obviously, you won't have to pay anyone to be silent.

This is exactly what Hollywood stars do when they find out the media is about to expose one of their secrets: they go to a media outlet they prefer, and tell the story. It's a perfect trick to keep profits away from the outlet that was about to expose them. Why don't you try it?


And then you and the teachers at Castle Park Elementary can get off the merry-go-round of lies, attacks, and dysfunction that you have been riding for the past seven years.

How do you cover up abuse? You ban critics from speaking.

The CVESD board tries to keep secret the harm it has done to children and the laws it has broken.

One of the ways it does this is to prevent people with direct knowledge of the problems from speaking to parents, employees and students.

The Catholic Church is similar to CVESD in this respect.

Tonight retired Catholic Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, who in the 1990s investigated abuse of children in Australian churches, will speak in San Diego, defying Bishop Robert Brom and Cardinal Roger Mahony.

Robinson is banned from speaking on church property in several dioceses in the U.S.

Church leaders don't like the fact that Robinson has questioned whether the church's policy of celibacy for priests has led to the culture that allowed child sexual abuse to run rampant.

I feel that I have something in common with Robinson.

Superintendent Lowell Billings and the CVESD board don't want me to question whether their violations of law have led to the out of control situation at Castle Park Elementary.

I believe that the policies of Billings and the CVESD board are a bad influence on kids.

I also believe that institutions--including both churches and schools--tend to operate to protect the powerful people who control them, not the people they pretend to serve.

Why are organizations like ACORN necessary in order to obtain adequate education for our children?

Teachers are simply not allowed to advocate for their students. Examples of this are the Mary Anne Weegar and Coach James "Ted" Carter cases in San Diego, and many other cases across the country.

Since teachers must be silent, it is necessary that parents and community members organize discussion groups that are independent from the schools. These groups could then advocate for students.

Richard Werlin has surfaced again

I like this story because it involves the school where I went to kindergarten and part of first grade--Washington Elementary in Point Richmond.

My old nemesis Richard Werlin seems to have some sort of weird attraction to schools where I was a student. He not only got a job in Richmond, but he also worked in Chula Vista Elementary School District, where I attended all of first grade except the first month, and most of second grade.

Werlin didn't have a lot of fans in West Contra Costa County Unified School District (WCCCUSD), but he must have pleased Kay Burnside while he was there, or she wouldn't have chosen him as auditor when she moved to a new school district, Compton Unified School District.

From the Los Angeles Wave
March 20, 2008
"...By those she worked with, Burnside’s leadership is credited for turning around Point Richmond’s Washington Elementary School. It was in 1991, when the elementary school neared closure due to its failure to meet minimum academic standards. Burnside stepped in as principal and oversaw all responsibilities — managing finances, test scores and enrollment status. Today, Washington Elementary School is flourishing and boasts a waiting list for potential students..."

If Billings and the board could go back and do things differently at Castle Park Elementary, they would

If Billings and the board (Cheryl Cox, Bertha Lopez, Pam Smith, Patt Judd and Larry Cunningham) could go back and do things differently at Castle Park Elementary, they would. But they refuse to change course even though they realize they have made terrible mistakes. They prefer to spend $100,000s of taxpayer funds to cover up those mistakes. Clearly, they care more about their own power than they care about the education of kids.

Community rallies at Castle Park Elementary

Parents, kids and grandparents of Castle Park Elementary, with the support of Chula Vista ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) rallied to ask for an investigation of the highly unusual and constant dismissals and transfers of teachers and principals from the school since 1995.

They waved signs reading "11 (eleven) principals in 11 (eleven) years" and "New principal: How long will she stay?" Clowns and a unicyclist performed. Vehicles honked their horns. Many drivers called out their support.

See all posts and pictures of this event here: link.

Lowell Billings can not fix Castle Park because the school board requires him to protect perjurers

The "Castle Park Five" teachers won the right to return to Castle Park Elementary because the Chula Vista Elementary School District board could not tell the truth about what some of them had been up to. Nikki Perez, Peg Myers, Stephenie Parker-Pettit and Robin Donlan had helped cover up wrongdoing at Castle Park--but so had Lowell Billings and the members of the school board: Cheryl Cox, Bertha Lopez, Pamela Smith, Patrick Judd and Larry Cunningham.

Lowell Billings will almost certainly keep covering up crimes as long as the board tells him to do so. He's clearly not a man who takes principled stands against the powers that be, and this is exactly why the board pays him so much, and keeps him in his position year after year. He's paid to be a front man for the board, not an individual with integrity.

Parents and ACORN stage rally at Castle Park Elementary School

Parents, kids and grandparents of Castle Park Elementary rallied with Juan Carlos Vera of Chula Vista ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) to ask for an investigation of the highly unusual and constant dismissals and transfers of teachers and principals from the school since 1995.

They waved signs reading "11 (eleven) principals in 11 (eleven) years" and "New principal: How long will she stay?" Clowns and a unicyclist performed. Vehicles honked their horns. Many drivers called out their support.

See all posts and pictures of this event here: link.

As superintendent Lowell Billings arrived, he spoke to a group of parents. I was impressed that he communicated so well in Spanish. He that they would be big changes soon among the staff. Apparently teacher Nikki Perez, the target of several parent complaints, will be tranferred out of the school next week.

Lowell Billings had transferred Perez in 2004, but she challenged him to tell her the reason for the transfer. He could hardly say, "Because you are part of a group of teachers that has committed crimes, damaged student learning, and prevented anyone other than yourselves from having control over the school." The reason he couldn't say these words was that he himself was involved in the wrongdoing and the coverup. So an arbitrator ruled that Perez should be allowed to return to the school. Lionel Richman, the mediator, is probably quite unhappy with both Lowell Billings and the teachers union for concealing the truth from him.

Tonight Mr. Billings entered the Castle Park Elementary auditorium to join a crowd of over 100 that had come to cheer parents who were to be awarded diplomas for completing "Parents Institute" classes that had been brought to the school by principal Carlos Ulloa.

Parents are unhappy that yet another principal has been pushed out of the school by the group of teachers that calls itself the "Castle Park Family." This group of teachers seems to be fully in control of personnel decisions at Castle Park Elementary. They have attacked Billings in the press quite ferociously, but he still humbly gets rid of anyone whose ouster is demanded by the "Family."

At one point parents burst out with chants of "Let him stay!" ("¡Que se quede!")

Alicia Moreno, who has been associate principal at Vista Square Elementary in CVESD, will take Carlos Ulloa's place. Billings told parents that Ms. Moreno is very strict and will be very good for the school.

Billings didn't say if Moreno would be strict with the teachers who have caused so many problems with the school. A better idea would be to sit the teachers down, talk about the real problems of dishonesty and constant battles for power. If Moreno doesn't deal with those problems, no amount of strictness will help. The dishonesty and power battles, the anger and fear of discovery, will continue.

CVESD Superintendent Lowell Billings spreads joy and confidence at Castle Park Elementary

A group of women listened to CVESD Superintendent Lowell Billings in front of Castle Park Elementary on June 4, 2008.



Billings told the audience inside the auditorium that he supported the demonstrators, but the look on his face said otherwise.

CVESD Superintendent Lowell Billings talks to families of students

See all posts and pictures of this event here: link.

June 4, 2008 rally at Castle Park Elementary

A student is left wondering what is going on with the adults in the school.

Parents asked, "Who will bring order to Castle Park (Elementary)?"


A man on a unicycle asked, "How many more principals?"

Robin Leon, who fought mistreatment by CVESD, wins biliteracy award

Robin Leon, who joined CVESD teacher Frank Luzzaro in challenging the district's decision to dock their pay because they left a staff meeting at the suggestion of their principal at Feaster School in the 1990s, seems to be doing very well.

Leon and Luzzaro were transferred out of Feaster School against their will.

From CVESD website:
downloaded 06/04/08

LITERARY LEADER-Teacher Robin León reads aloud to Montgomery Elementary students. León was among two Montgomery Elementary honorees for 'Leadership in Biliteracy.'

"Robin León has been a bilingual teacher for 32 years. Parent Ana Mendoza has served as chairwoman of the District English Learner Advisory Committee. León and Mendoza each are integral to the success of John J. Montgomery Elementary School. Now, they are also recipients of the 2008 “Leadership in Biliteracy” Award through the San Diego County Office of Education. The two Montgomery Elementary honorees were formally recognized at the recent 10th Annual Biliteracy Symposium.

"León has been in the Chula Vista Elementary School District for 22 years. Each fall, the bilingual kindergarten teacher goes out of her way to help parents understand the importance of their decision to opt for the bilingual program. She gives generously of her time to provide guidance to parents on how to support their child’s learning at home..."

Parents stage rally at Castle Park Elementary School

Parents, kids and grandparents of Castle Park Elementary, with the support of Chula Vista ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) rallied to ask for an investigation of the highly unusual and constant dismissals and transfers of teachers and principals from the school since 1995.

They waved signs reading "11 (eleven) principals in 11 (eleven) years" and "New principal: How long will she stay?" Clowns and a unicyclist performed. Vehicles honked their horns. Many drivers called out their support.

As superintendent Lowell Billings arrived, he spoke to a group of parents. I was impressed that he communicated so well in Spanish. He that they would be big changes soon among the staff. Apparently teacher Nikki Perez, the target of several parent complaints, will be tranferred out of the school next week.


Lowell Billings had transferred Perez in 2004, but she challenged him to tell her the reason for the transfer. He could hardly say, "Because you are part of a group of teachers that has committed crimes, damaged student learning, and prevented anyone other than yourselves from having control over the school." The reason he couldn't say these words was that he himself was involved in the wrongdoing and the coverup. So an arbitrator ruled that Perez should be allowed to return to the school. Lionel Richman, the mediator, is probably quite unhappy with both Lowell Billings and the teachers union for concealing the truth from him.

Tonight Mr. Billings entered the Castle Park Elementary auditorium to join a crowd of over 100 that had come to cheer parents who were to be awarded diplomas for completing "Parents Institute" classes that had been brought to the school by principal Carlos Ulloa.

Parents are unhappy that yet another principal has been pushed out of the school by the group of teachers that calls itself the "Castle Park Family." This group of teachers seems to be fully in control of personnel decisions at Castle Park Elementary. They have attacked Billings in the press quite ferociously, but he still humbly gets rid of anyone whose ouster is demanded by the "Family."

At one point parents burst out with chants of "Let him stay!" ("¡Que se quede!")

Billings told the audience that he supported the demonstrators, but the look on his face when he saw them said otherwise.

See all posts and pictures of this event here: link.

Castle Park Elementary's House of Cards needs a foundation in law and truth

A group of teachers and parents is working to fix Castle Park Elementary. Each of us has encountered serious wrongdoing by the group of teachers who call themselves the "Castle Park Family." Although our experiences are different, they tend to overlap, because the culture of hostility fostered by the "Family" has contaminated so many parts of the school, including some of the newer teachers who have apparently joined the group.

We want an open, honest airing of problems at Castle Park. No more secrecy. The problems have been made public by the family itself.

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.

Oops! I forgot about Lowell Billings' problems at Castle Park Elementary

I withdraw my suggestion that Chula Vista Elementary School District superintendent Lowell Billings take it upon himself to bring order to Castle Park Elementary instead of appointing yet another principal to perform as torero at the school. Obviously, Billings lost his personal standing when he came to the school a few years ago, threw around his big smile and personal charm, and ended up making things worse than ever.

Since Lowell is out at a possibility, I would like to suggest Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Tom Cruz as acting principal of Castle Park Elementary until law and order is restored.

CVESD insistió que la profesora Maura Larkins regresara

Reporte de Maura Larkins de Castle Park Elementary:

Yo fui despedida porque falté a trabajar. Mi razón era que mi escuela era peligrosa para mí por acoso en mi contra.

Yo dije al distrito escolar de Chula Vista en 2001 que era necesario que hicieran una investigación sobre el reporte de las dos maestras en mi escuela que me acusaban de que yo las iba a matar. Claro que el distrito debía de haber investigado algo tan serio. ¿Dos profesoras reportando que temían por su vida?

Pero el distrito nunca investigó.

Ahora, después de siete años, todavía hay problemas enormes en Castle Park Elementary. El problema NO es que alguien va a matar a alguien.

Eso fue mentira.

La realidad del problema es que profesores sin honestidad y sin respeto están arruinando la escuela. Han tenido 11 directores en 11 años (septiembre 1997-septiembre 2008). Los profesores están fuera de control.

Ahora el distrito CVESD debe de hacer la investigación para que Castle Park Elementary pueda funcionar normalmente.

En 2001, sin investigar nada, el distrito me invitó a regresar a trabajar. Obviamente, eso es una prueba de que no creyó a los maestros. Yo regresé y una de las mismas profesoras que mintió la primera vez, hizo otra queja falsa, y me mandaron a mi casa. El acoso continuaba.

Luego el distrito quería que yo regresara otra vez sin ninguna investigación y ninguna garantía para mí. Pero yo tuve miedo de que los maestros hicieran más mentiras contra mí, por eso no regresé.

Luego yo hice una demanda en contra del distrito.

Entonces el distrito me despidió en contra de la ley, Labor Code section 1105.2. También fue en contra de la constitución de nuestro país, que dice que todos tenemos el derecho de pedir ayuda del gobierno cuando alguíen nos hace daño en contra de la ley.

Ahora ya es tiempo de no seguir ocultanco la verdad. Es hora de resolver los problemas, y de que la verdad salga a flote. ¡Nuestros niños de Castle Park Elementary lo agradeceran! Urge una solución.

Por favor, visite mi nuevo blog en español.

Lowell Billings, you should serve as principal of Castle Park Elementary

Lowell Billings, it's clearly impossible for anyone to bring order to Castle Park Elementary when the district, the teachers union, the "Castle Park Family" and even the mayor of Chula Vista have so much invested in keeping the truth hidden.

Come to the school and deal with the situation. Don't go looking for some unfortunate person to sit in the vacant principal's office.

You should serve as principal of Castle Park Elementary until order is restored.

What does the "Castle Park Family" do when someone speaks out about problems?

Photo: Chula Vista Educators President
Peg Myers














The morning after the May 27, 2008 meeting at Castle Park Elementary, one of the parents who spoke out at the meeting took her children in to the school, and came back to find that someone had thrown cereal and milk on her car.

Children are not normally allowed to leave the school cafeteria with milk and cereal, where breakfast was being served at the time of the vandalism. At least one adult who is connected to the "Family" was in the cafeteria.

What interest would a child have in someone else's mother who spoke at a meeting? The speaker's own children are too young to come to the attention of kids old enough to pull a stunt like this.

But several staff members and teachers at Castle Park Elementary have demonstrated out-of-control hostility in recent years, attacking fellow teachers and principals with shocking malice. The current leader of the Castle Park Family is Peg Myers, the president of Chula Vista Educators. Two of the last three CVE presidents (Peg Myers and Gina Boyd) have come to the CVE presidency directly from Castle Park Elementary, and the other one, Jim Groth, aided the cover-up of wrongdoing at the school.

Note to Superintendent Lowell Billings: It's time to end this before somebody gets hurt. It's impossible for anyone to bring order to Castle Park Elementary when the "Family" has so much invested in keeping the truth hidden. Come to the school and deal with the truth. Don't go looking for some unfortunate person to sit in the vacant principal's office. You should serve as principal of Castle Park Elementary until order is restored.

What is going on with CVESD board member Patrick Judd?

UPDATE: This question was finally answered HERE.

I'm wondering why so many people are doing searches for Pat Judd, the recent Mountain Empire School District superintendent who retired under mysterious circumstances.

My access logs tell me the most common searches that bring people to my website and blogs, and "Pat Judd" is right up there at the top, along with "CTA lawyers" and "Cheryl Cox" and a few others.

I assume that many of the searches are related to Sue Sherbondy's lawsuit against Judd. (Her allegations may have played a part in his leaving Mountain Empire.)

But that doesn't explain all the searches by Los Angeles Unified School District. Has Judd applied for a job in Los Angeles?

The upside of a Judd move to Los Angeles would be that he would have to resign from the CVESD board. But I'm saddened by the thought that LAUSD might not be able to find someone better. On the other hand, perhaps Judd is exactly what they want. After all, they have a reputation to live up to: a graduation rate for Latino males below 30%. For that, you need someone who likes to make life miserable for those who are different from himself.

CVESD tries to keep Castle Park Elementary parents off-balance

On May 27, 2008 Castle Park Elementary parents spoke of their frustration with CVESD's plans to lay off low seniority teachers while protecting hostile veteran teachers who were causing problems for children.

I listened as two different groups of parents announced concern to district represenative Leonard Hernandez. (Each of five tables in the Castle Park auditorium served approximately ten parents who formed a group; one member of each group announced the group's conclusions.)

I wondered why it was that Dr. Leonard Hernandez kept listening to these worries without telling parents the truth: the layoffs had been ruled out 5 days earlier.

I had read the news in Voice of San Diego:


"Chula Vista Teachers Saved"
by EMILY ALPERT
May 22, 2008
"Chula Vista Elementary School District plans to cancel layoffs of all 274 educators who were slated to be terminated due to state budget cuts...the district faces a $7.5 million cut -- $3.5 million smaller than originally expected, said district spokesman Anthony Millican."

I began to wonder if the pink slips were a way to intimidate teachers and take parents' minds off their other concerns about school performance in Chula Vista.

I raised my hand and told Dr. Hernandez that the parents apparently didn't know that the pink slips were a thing of the past.

Hernandez immediately developed an urge to share the good news with the crowd. The parents applauded vigorously.

I wonder what the district won't do to keep parents from knowing what is really going on at some schools?

On May 30, 2008 another interesting article appeared in Voice of San Diego. Emily Alpert wrote about one teacher who had already accepted a job in the technology sector before his layoff was reversed.

People who can get better jobs are perhaps not the teachers we want to lose. I think we need a two-tiered teacher work force, master teachers and regular teachers. The master teachers should have more responsibility and be better paid, and not be among the first to be laid off.

Quotes from VOSD article:

..."It's a crazy way of doing business," said Anthony Millican, spokesman for the Chula Vista Elementary School District, which cancelled 274 planned layoffs for classroom teachers, but is still planning to slash more than 140 other positions. Its budget gap narrowed somewhat, from $11 million to $7.5 million, based on Schwarzenegger's revision...

Chula Vista Elementary School District spent about $40,000 on substitute teachers during a two-day hearing, said Millican. Like San Diego Unified, its legal costs have not yet been totaled. The school district hired the firm Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, whose partners and senior associates charge $210 an hour.

Dr. Leonard Hernandez continues CVESD's policy of hiding Castle Park Elementary secrets

On May 27, 2008 Dr. Leonard Hernandez from the CVESD office asked a group of about fifty Castle Park Elementary parents what kind of person they wanted as their twelfth principal in under fifteen years, and then told them that the district would make a decision within about two weeks.

He told parents he didn't want to discuss why yet another principal is leaving Castle Park.

He also didn't want to discuss the group of teachers that holds power at the school. Of the five teachers that the district transferred from the school in 2004, one has returned (Nikki Perez), and others exert great influence from outside the school, particularly from the teachers union office (Chula Vista Educators).

The teachers who control the school call themselves the "Castle Park Family," and they have been able to call the shots at the district office for seven years now.

After the district and its lawyers (Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz) made the serious mistake in 2001 of covering up crimes committed by some of these teachers, the district ended up paying $100,000s of dollars to the lawyers.

Then the district found, to its surprise, that the teachers were not grateful at all. Instead, the teachers were determined to keep calling the shots, making it impossible for the district to transfer trouble-making teachers out of Castle Park Elementary.

I believe that Castle Park Elementary (which I attended in the fifties, and worked at from 1997-2001) will never return to normal function until the district engages in some open and honest discussion, modeled on South Africa's "truth and reconciliation" committees.

The district and Castle Park Elementary teachers should quit hiding the crimes and other wrongdoing, say they're sorry for the harm done, and start some honest discussions about human decency and appropriate professional behavior for teachers. Then instead of worrying about how to keep their secrets hidden (as Dr. Leonard Hernandez demanded at the meeting), they could put all that energy into helping children become healthy, strong, honest, law-abiding, well-educated citizens.

Felicia Starr, former school board candidate, involved once again in Castle Park Elementary principal attack

Felicia Starr (in pink sweatshirt), former CVESD board candidate, Chula Vista ethics committee member, Castle Park Elementary PTA president and site council chairperson who worked closely with Kim Simmons to attack the previous principal Ollie Matos in 2004, showed up at the meeting on May 27, 2008 at which parents discussed the traits they wished to find in their next principal.

Many of the approximately 50 parents at the meeting told district representative Dr. Leonard Hernandez that they want someone just like Carlos Ulloa, the current principal (who will be leaving next month).

But Felicia Starr and the "Castle Park Family" (a group of teachers and union honchos who have chewed up and spit out one principal after another for the past fifteen years, and forced many excellent teachers to leave, as well) made it impossible for Carlos Ulloa to stay.

Cheryl Cox has to keep CVESD's secrets for 18 more years to beat this record

I really thought that Cheryl Cox, Pamela Smith and Bertha Lopez, board members of Chula Vista Elementary School District, would do the right thing in my case. I didn't expect much from Patrick "Pat" Judd and Larry Cunningham. But I was wrong. The three women were as bad as the men. They all paid $100,000s of taxpayer money to Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz to cover up wrongdoing at Castle Park Elementary. They knew that this required intimidating witnesses and pressuring employees to commit perjury.

All I lost was a job--at a sick school. I've watched as my fellow teachers have become more ill over the past seven years. I was not the only one harmed. The teachers who told falsehoods under oath, and the teachers who were silent, were harmed, too. But the kids were hurt even more.

Alton Logan (story below) was damaged by the same kind of people who damaged Castle Park Elementary. People who present false testimony to a court, and tell the public, as Cheryl Cox did, that their life is "an open book." The truth is 180 degrees to the contrary.

If I had been in the shoes of these two lawyers who kept the secret of Alton Logan's innocence, I believe I would have come forward with the truth, and risked being disbarred. But then, I'm not a lawyer. I think 90% of lawyers have lost their sense of right and wrong, which is why our justice system so frequently helps the guilty and punishes the innocent.

26-Year Secret Kept Innocent Man In Prison
May 25, 2008
60 Minutes (CBS)
Lawyers Keep 26-Year Secret

...This is a story about an innocent man who languished in prison for 26 years while two attorneys who knew he was innocent stayed silent...

Alton Logan was convicted of killing a security guard at a McDonald's in Chicago in 1982. Police arrested him after a tip and got three eyewitnesses to identify him. Logan, his mother and brother all testified he was at home asleep when the murder occurred. But a jury found him guilty of first degree murder...

Alton Logan's story cuts to the core of America's justice system.

Simon met Alton Logan in prison, where he's spent almost half of his life.

Asked if he still counts the months and days, Logan told Simon, "There’s no need to count the months and the days. Just count the years."

Logan said that during the first five or six years he was "consumed" by anger. "Then I come to the realization that 'Why be angry over something you can't control?'"

Logan, who maintains he didn't commit the murder, thought they were "crazy" when he was arrested for the crime.

Attorneys Dale Coventry and Jamie Kunz knew Logan had good reason to think that, because they knew he was innocent. And they knew that because their client, Andrew Wilson, who they were defending for killing two policemen, confessed to them that he had also killed the security guard at McDonald's - the crime Logan was charged with.

"We got information that Wilson was the guy and not Alton Logan. So we went over to the jail immediately almost and said, 'Is that true? Was that you?' And he said, 'Yep it was me,'" Kunz recalled.

"He just about hugged himself and smiled. I mean he was kind of gleeful about it...

"How did you interpret that response?" Simon asked.

"That it was true and that he was tickled pink," Kunz said.

"He was pleased that the wrong guy had been charged...

"Well, ...we have to maintain client confidentiality, just as a priest would or a doctor would...

Asked if they contemplated doing something about it, Coventry told Simon, "We wrote out an affidavit. We made an affidavit that we had gotten information through privileged sources, that Alton Logan was not in fact guilty of killing the officer, that in fact somebody else did it..."

"But the minute he was not sentenced to death, the minute he was sentenced to life in prison, you decided to do nothing?" Simon asked.

"Yes," Kunz said. "I can't explain it. I don't know why that made the difference but I know it did."

"There is no difference between life in prison and a death penalty. None whatsoever. Both are a sentence of death," Logan told Simon...

(CBS) "What did you do to see if there might be some loophole to get everyone out of this fix?" Simon asked the attorneys.

"I researched the ethics of attorney-client privilege as much as I could. I contacted people who are involved in making those determinations. I know Jamie did the same thing," Coventry said.

"I could not figure out a way, and still cannot figure out a way, how we could have done anything to help Alton Logan that would not have put Andrew Wilson in jeopardy of another capital case," Kunz added.

"Couldn’t you have leaked it to somebody? To a reporter, to an administrator, to the governor, to somebody?" Simon asked.

"The only thing we could have leaked is that Andrew Wilson confessed to us. And how could we leak that to anybody without putting him in jeopardy?" Kunz replied. "It may cause us to lose some sleep. But, but I lose more sleep if I put Andrew Wilson’s neck in the in the noose."

"He was guilty and Logan was not. So, yes his head should be in the noose. And Logan should go free. It's perfectly obvious to somebody who isn’t a lawyer," Simon pointed out. "Andrew Wilson was guilty, was he not?"

"Yes. And that's up to the system to decide. It's not up to me as his lawyer to decide that he was guilty and so he should be punished and Logan should go free," Kunz said.

"Do you think you might have been disbarred for doing that, for violating attorney-client privilege?" Simon asked.

"I don't think I considered that as much as I considered my responsibility to my client. I was very concerned to protect him," Coventry explained.

"But here is a case where two men, you two were caught up in this bind. And chose to let a man rot away in jail," Simon remarked.

"In terms of my conscience, my conscience is that I did the right thing. Do I feel bad about Logan? Absolutely I feel bad about Logan," Coventry admitted.

The attorneys say they were so tormented over Logan's imprisonment that they convinced Wilson to let them reveal that Wilson was the real killer after Wilson's death. Late last year, Wilson died. The two attorneys finally took their affidavit out of the lockbox, and they called Logan's lawyer, pubic defender Harold Winston.

Winston had already been trying to get Logan a new trial. He'd found two eyewitnesses who swore Logan was not the killer. Now, with Kunz and Coventry's affidavit, he thinks Logan will finally go free.

[Blogger's note: From what I've seen and read over the years, prosecutors hate to admit they've prosecuted an innocent person. More often than not, they prefer to let the innocent rot in jail.]

"...Everything that was dear to me is gone," Logan, who missed his mother's funeral, told Simon.

His brothers Eugene and Tony told 60 Minutes they've shared Alton's pain, and they always knew that he was no killer. "My brother ain’t got the nature to do nothin' like that in his soul. He ain’t gonna take nobody else's life. We weren't raised like that," Tony said.

"Your brother is 54 now. Can he start again at the age of 54?" Simon asked...

But Alton Logan is still behind bars. "They are quick to convict but they are slow to correct they mistakes," he said...




Cheryl Cox's prosecutor pal Bonnie Dumanis is one of the prosecutors Alton Logan was talking about when he said they are slow to correct mistakes:

Marine Wife Murder Case Still Active
05-30-2008
Cox Communications

(San Diego, CA) -- A judge ruled he still has the authority to completely dismiss the case of Cynthia Sommer who was found guilty of killing her husband and spent a few years in jail, but later had the charges dismissed "without Prejudice". Judge John Einhorn says he may dismiss the case "with prejudice" which means the case could not be re filed, "without" means the prosecution could re file murder charges against Sommers who was alleged to have poisoned her husband in 2002.

Chula Vista Teachers Saved

Chula Vista teachers have been saved from Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget cuts. But who will save them from their union, Chula Vista Educators?

Voice of San Diego
EMILY ALPERT
Thursday, May 22 2008

Chula Vista Elementary School District plans to cancel layoffs of all 274 educators who were slated to be terminated due to state budget cuts. Under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised budget proposal, the district faces a $7.5 million cut -- $3.5 million smaller than originally expected, said district spokesman Anthony Millican...
There are no current plans to reverse layoffs for other employees, he said...

Ethics Complaint Forbidden Against CVE President

Why is the root of Chula Vista Educators' constant problems? Possibly the main cause of strife is the result of CTA lawyers helping CVE leaders to stifle complaints.

CTA lawyers help the presidents and executive directors of local affiliates to silence complaints--in Long Beach and Chula Vista, and in other school districts in California.

When the CTA-chosen executive director of the Teachers Association of Long Beach, Scott McVarish, misused funds in 2007, CTA wouldn't let the TALB board of directors fire him. Instead, CTA paid for a lawyer to defend him when he slandered one of the directors.

Finally CTA realized too much money was being lost, but instead of turning over power to the directors, it took over the union itself and gave control to ex-CTA president Barbara Kerr.

The directors have filed suit to get their union back.

This all familiar to those of us who know about the actions of Barbara Kerr and CTA head counsel Beverly Tucker in Chula Vista Elementary School District.

Tim O'Neill the executive director chosen by CTA for South County Teachers United (CTA), informed Chula Vista Educators member Maura Larkins in December 2002 that she was forbidden from making a complaint to her union affiliate Board of Directors or Representative Council about unethical behavior on the part of the president. Why was she forbidden? Because president Gina Boyd herself refused to allow a complaint to be made about her.

You can't expect much in the way of ethics from an organization like this.

An open letter to CTA head counsel Beverly Tucker's sidekick at the CTA Santa Fe Springs legal office

Hi Mike:
I just noticed that someone hacked my CTA webpage that had the quote of you saying that you and the rest of the public don't care if my due process rights were violated.

You shouldn't be any more ashamed of your attitude than Beverly Tucker or Carolyn Doggett or the officers of CTA should be ashamed of their attitudes. I hope they aren't making you feel bad about it. They should be nothing but grateful to you for doing what they paid you to do.

Ironically, your hostility was actually a measure of your humanity.

You couldn't have done the job that you were assigned to do if you hadn't dehumanized me. You had to believe that I didn't deserve the protection of the law or my union. You had to believe this, or it would have been impossible for you to help your clients get away with their multiple crimes against me. So hold your head up high when you are in the presence of CTA bigwigs--or 90% of lawyers. You might, however, want to bow your head in the presence of children.

Maura Larkins

P.S. You shouldn't be any more ashamed than Chula Vista Educators (CVE) officers Gina Boyd, Tim O'Neill, Jim Groth, or Peggie (Peg) Myers.

Greg Cox fails to address question of how the Steve Castaneda case was initiated--and why the investigation of Cheryl Cox wasn't.

Bob Castaneda, the brother of Chula Vista Councilman Steve Castaneda, raised important questions about the two prosecutions carried out by the San Diego District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit.

Bonnie Dumanis appointed Peter O'Toole to bring in two political opponents of Chula Vista mayor Cheryl Cox for questioning. Both of them were charged with lying during these odd investigations. How did these investigations get initiated? Why were two men prosecuted for felony perjury even though the investigations uncovered no crimes?

Why has a complaint about Cheryl Cox and her agents at Chula Vista Elementary School District been ignored by this "Public Integrity Unit"?

Supervisor Greg Cox has written a letter that does absolutely nothing to answer the questions that have been raised. Of course Cox protests that he has done nothing wrong. But how will he restore the credibility of the District Attorney's office? He makes no effort to do so.

My website has a comparison of the letters by Bob Castaneda and Greg Cox.

The question remains: was the PIU tipster a friend of Cheryl and Greg Cox?

The answer seems sort of obvious, doesn't it?

Chula Vista Educators is no longer missing in action

Chula Vista Educators has long been oddly silent on the Internet. But that has changed. CVE has unveiled a new website at chulavistaeducators.com.

Apparently, secrecy is a thing of the past for CVE president Peg Myers and her loyal supporters Jim Groth, longtime accomplice Joyce Abrams, the perennially faithful Monica Sorenson, and the rest.

They have published the results of the last election, revealing exactly how many people voted, and who got the votes. NO, JUST KIDDING ABOUT THIS LAST BIT.

But seriously, I will continue to post news on this blog and on this website.

Otay Elementary is off the watchlist!

Principal reveals steps to success
By David Berlin
May 1, 2008
San Diego Union Tribune

This year, Otay Elementary was one of three schools in Chula Vista to come off the "program improvement" list, a watch list for schools that fail to meet federal testing requirements two years in a row.

Otay Elementary School Principal Francisco Velasco is all about the numbers...

To Velasco, the numbers represent his students and the charts show exactly how the school in southwest Chula Vista is making the grade...

Otay Elementary also received a California Association for Bilingual Education award for excellence...
Seventy percent of students at Otay speak another language at home and are learning English at school.

“It's a huge challenge because we start testing in second grade and those kids will take the test in English,” Velasco said.

“So you have to provide some sort of transition program that fast-tracks English. Studies have shown that it takes five, six, seven years to be able to acquire that language and to be able to really function at a good level. But we don't have that much time.”

...Every hour of every school day at Otay Elementary is spent teaching basic English and other skills like reading and math. That means no music class, no art class and no gym class, which instead are offered as after-school clubs.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20080501-9999-1sz1otay.html

Patrick O'Toole needs to prosecute serious perjury offenses

Tanya Mannes of the San Diego Union Tribune wrote on June 20, 2007:

"Patrick O'Toole, a Public Integrity Unit prosecutor, spent months investigating Jason Moore, who had been an aide to former [Chula Vista] Mayor Steve Padilla... He concluded that Moore ultimately took the two hours off. But he believed Moore lied about the timing of when he turned in a request for personal leave... Yesterday, Moore, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of contempt of court, a misdemeanor."

“People can't come into the grand jury, swear to tell the truth, and then lie,” O'Toole said.

Well, yes. And they can't obstruct justice, suborn perjury, falsify court documents, or violate the Labor Code. But that is exactly what current Chula Vista mayor Cheryl Cox has done.

Which makes it all the stranger that Bonnie Dumanis has refused to investigate Richard Werlin and other Chula Vista Elementary School District figures who have sworn to tell the truth, and then lied--about more important issues than two hours off work.

Ironically, Moore was accused of taking two hours off work to spy on Cheryl Cox and David Malcolm at a Cox fundraiser. The irony is particularly heavy in this case because Cheryl Cox herself pressured a whole slew of public employees at Chula Vista Elementary School District to commit perjury. Much of the perjury was done to cover up falsification of documents, which Cheryl Cox, Patrick Judd, Larry Cunningham, Pamela Smith and Bertha Lopez made necessary when they voted to cover up crimes by dismissing a teacher. The dismissal was itself a violation of Labor Code section 1102.5

The Chula Vista Elementary School District board chose lawyers, Parham & Rajcic, and Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz, who could be depended upon to use illegal tactics to cover up the board's wrondoing. Obstruction of justice is all in a day's work for these law firms.

The fact that Cheryl Cox has more power now than when she was a CVESD board member makes it all the more important that she be answerable for her crimes.

Steve Castaneda found not guilty, is reelected

ELECTION UPDATE
NOVEMBER 5, 2008

STEVE CASTANEDA

Steve Castaneda has been reelected as Chula Vista City Councilman, but Patrick O'Toole has disappeared from the Public Integrity Unit.

CITY OF CHULA VISTA CITY COUNCIL - SEAT NO. 4
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
SCOTT VINSON - 46.88% (24876)
STEVE CASTANEDA - 53.12% (28183)




ORIGINAL POST:

After the jury came back with a "not guilty" verdict yesterday in the case of Chula Vista city councilman Steve Castaneda, who was accused of hiding his "intent" to buy a condo while testifying during a grand jury investigation that found no wrongdoing, prosecutor Patrick O'Toole said, "It was a case from our end that we thought had to be brought -- that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is one that we're going to fight for."

I've been waiting for a long time to hear someone in Bonnie Dumanis' office say "the obligation to tell the truth under oath is one that we're going to fight for."

I'm pleased to hear that O'Toole is finally going to do something about Chula Vista Elementary School District trustees and administrators who obstructed justice and committed or suborned perjury. The District Attorney received my complaint in 2005.

Here is the story from Fox News:

Councilman Found Not Guilty of Perjury in Condo Charges
Last Update: 4/23/2008

A Chula Vista city councilman accused of lying to the county grand jury regarding his personal interest in an apartment complex that was being converted into condominiums was acquitted Wednesday of six of 10 perjury counts.

Prosecutors will decide later whether to retry Steve Castaneda on the remaining four counts on which jurors deadlocked.

"I'm very happy that I'm vindicated. I'm very happy about the fact that I can now go on with my life," Castaneda told reporters outside the courtroom.

Defense attorney Marc Carlos said jurors gave it their best shot -- deliberating for five days after a two-week trial -- before coming to a decision.

"They've had hundreds of exhibits and thousands of pages of grand jury testimony, and that's as good as they can do and there's nothing there," Carlos told reporters. "I think (District Attorney) Bonnie Dumanis should do the right thing and step up and dismiss the remaining counts. They've spent a lot of money on this case and it's gone nowhere."

Prosecutor Patrick O'Toole said: "It was a difficult case. Everybody knew that going in. It was a case from our end that we thought had to be brought -- that the obligation to tell the truth under oath is one that we're going to fight for."

[Blogger's note: This is apparently Mr. O'Toole's way of saying, "If we want to go after someone for political reasons, a perjury charge is a perfect way to do it. You can always say someone is lying, no matter what the facts are. Hardly anyone gets charged with perjury even when they do it in a case where a crime has been committed, but, hey, the law is there so why shouldn't I have some fun with it?"]

10,000 years of Chula Vista History by one of our favorite educators

Click HERE for original story about one of our Chula Vista educators.

Peter Watry, Hero in Education

On July 31, 2004, Bill Brochtrup presented Peter Watry, a retired economics professor, with the California Lottery's “Heroes in Education” award on “The Big Spin®” show.

A year ago, Watry created a presentation, entitled “10,000 Years of Chula Vista History,” for local students. Several times each week, he delivers this presentation to third and fourth graders throughout the Chula Vista School District.

At these presentations, Watry teaches the students about the diversity in the people who have called Chula Vista home over the years, and describes, in great detail, what life must have been like for each of them. Watry captivates the students with the assortment of visual aids that bring history lessons to life. He shows the students artwork and pictures, and allows them to handle historic artifacts like Indian arrowheads, hats and flags. At the end of each visit, he reminds the students that Chula Vista is constantly evolving and that they should appreciate the history being made around them every day.

On hand to honor Watry was Bill Brochtrup who has starred in such television shows as Dharma & Greg, Murder She Wrote and Picket Fences. Brochtrup is best known for playing the extremely efficient public administrative assistant, John Irvin, on the popular television series NYPD Blue.

The California Lottery’s “Heroes in Education” award has been presented monthly on “The Big Spin®” show, since 1999. The Lottery partners with celebrities to present these awards which recognize special individuals who volunteer time and resources to their schools and communities.

The Current Chula Vista Educators Board of Directors

SEE JULY 2008 UPDATE

PEG MYERS
Peggie Myers
cvepresident@yahoo.com
President 07-09
State Council 06-09
Full-Release CVE Office 427-1063

Monica Sorrenson
Vice President 07-09
Liberty Elementary School 397-5225

Nancy Potts npotts@cox.net
Treasurer 07-09
Valley Vista Elementary 479-7171 Ext. 5339

Barbara Dunwoodie
Secretary 07-09
State Council 05-08
monagin@cox.net
Hilltop Elementary 422-8323 Ext.3333

JAMES GROTH
James Groth
jgroth@cta.org
State Council 07-10
CTA Board

Allan Insko
PAR Chair 06-09
Sunnyside 479-0571 Ext. 5051

Joyce Abrams
Area Director A 07-08
nautilus@san.rr.com
Chula Vista Hills 482-7066 Ext. 2341
Click HERE to see Ms. Abrams PERB complaint.

Norma Pacheco-Davis
[new member--NOT involved in wrongdoing 2001-2005]
Area Director B 07-08
pachecodavis@yahoo.com
Los Altos 690-5880 Ext. 3848

Penny Martinez
[new member--NOT involved in wrongdoing 2001-2005]
Area Director D 07-08
Valle Lindo 421-5151 Ext. 5254

Andra Johnston
Area Director E 07-08
Salt Creek 397-5494

Executive Director Mary Ellen Berumen
[New executive director--not involved in decisions of former executive director Tim O'Neill]
mberumen@cta.org
427-1063 Ext 205

OPEN
Area Director C 07-08

OPEN
Bargaining Chair 07-09

The teachers of CVESD aren't told the truth about their union, Chula Vista Educators

See all posts about Peg Myers.

You wouldn't know it from the stories in the San Diego Union Tribune over the years, but Chula Vista Elementary School District works closely behind the scenes with the leaders of its teachers union, Chula Vista Educators.

Peggie Myers, CVE president, and her close friend Robin Donlan, have even used the same law firm as CVESD. Not just that, but CVESD paid the law firm on their behalf. The district recently went back to this law firm when it discovered that illegal tactics were necessary to get what it wanted in the Danielle Cozaihr case and other cases.

It should be noted that Chula Vista Educators did not help Danielle Cozaihr, who was awarded $1 million in a recent San Diego Superior Court case. Peggie Myers, Jim Groth and the rest of the CVE board have generally worked to help the district when it is violating the law against teachers.

You might have thought that former CVE president Jim Groth was out of the picture now that he's on the Board of Directors of the California Teachers Association. But, no. He's still on the CVE board of directors.

It should be noted that two teachers on the board of directors had NOTHING to do with the wrongdoing from 2000-2005. I'm hoping that Norma Pacheco-Davis and Penny Martinez will help usher in a new era of honesty and openness for Chula Vista Educators. Perhaps they can bring back Robyn Higginson, who wasn't supportive of CVE's violations of the Labor Code.

It was obvious all along that Lowell Billings didn't believe in site-based management

Chula Vista Elementary School District's Superintendent Lowell Billings apparently watched closely and learned from his predecessor Libia Gil, who promoted a system she called "site-based management." Billings continues to promote the system.

But the system as implemented at CVESD always involved top-down decisionmaking, never democracy at the school site.

It also involved laziness and neglect. So things would often get out of hand at various schools, and then the district office would swoop in and fire people, or, if they were political allies, bring them back to the district office for their own protection.

But now Lowell has a new problem. The school that is trying to make its own decisions is a charter school. They don't seem to think that principal Erik Latoni should make all the decisions.

Once again, Lowell wants to swoop in and take control. He is threatening to to terminate the charter of Feaster Elementary School because the people who run the school actually work at the school. Instead of "site-based decisionmaking," this is now being called "a conflict of interest" by Mr. Billings.

It's not ideas that matter at CVESD, it's words. And the meaning of the words changes whenever the people in charge feel it's necessary.

It's probably worthwhile to note that CVESD recently rehired Daniel Shinoff of Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz. Apparently the board was impressed with Shinoff's work at MiraCosta College. I notice a striking similarity in the arguments used to attack Feaster Elementary and the arguments used to justify the actions of the majority-bloc of trustees at MiraCosta.