CVESD teacher removed for requesting massages: another member of the Castle Park Family causes a scandal

Stephenie Parker-Pettit

Comments regarding this post can be found HERE.

Stephenie Pettit has been placed on administrative leave for requesting massages from students. (See Channel 10 News story below.)

No one, including the police, has found that there was any hint of wrongdoing in Ms. Pettit's classroom--only bad judgment.

(Updated Mar. 14, 2014) But a parent has made me realize that Ms. Pettit's actions could result in serious harm to students in the future because they conditioned children to touch an adult on request. Even worse, kids were given class currency to do the touching. If CVESD used my plan for master teachers, this would not have happened. Our system puts untested teachers in full and solitary control of classrooms right after getting their teaching credentials. There is no close oversight or support to guide them.

Superintendent Francisco Escobedo will need to be careful in this case. A couple of members of his administration have more to hide than a few massages.

Asst. Supt. Sandra Villegas-Zuniga and Human Resources director Peg Myers will want to go easy on Ms. Pettit. They will want to continue the district's policy of avoiding investigations. It's a good policy when the people with the most to hide are not the ones the district is targeting. Ms. Pettit might say more than they want to hear if she were pressed for information.

WHAT KIND OF INVESTIGATIONS DOES CVESD CONDUCT?

Let's compare two situations: kids giving massages in the current case versus a report that a teacher might come to school and shoot everybody in an earlier case involving Peg Myers and Stephenie Pettit. Why was there NO investigation in the earlier case, while the police were called in in the second case? Because no reporters were interested in the earlier case.

The fact is, CVESD doesn't do thorough investigations to keep kids safe. Instead, it tries to protect its reputation. Too often this means covering up truly illegal actions by staff. As soon as as a report of child molestation surfaces in any school, a district administrator runs over to the school and threatens all the teachers that they'd better keep quiet. And they do keep quiet. The public has the right to vote for board members, but clearly does NOT enjoy the right to know what's going on at school districts.

Stephenie Pettit would NOT be the target of any investigation in the earlier case, but she'd be a star witness. She knows the truth about the reports of "fear for their lives" by teachers Jo Ellen Hamilton and Linda Watson when they taught at Castle Park Elementary in 2001. Pettit knows the role that Peg Myers played in the cover-up of crimes by Robin Donlan and other teachers.

And Sandra Villegas-Zuniga and Francisco Escobedo also know, or they should know.


Asst. Supt. Sandra Villegas-Zuniga might want to review her bizarre dealings with Peg Myers.


Peg Myers at her deposition

When Myers was the site representative at Castle Park Elementary School about ten years ago, she kept a tight rein on Stephenie Pettit in order to make sure that illegal actions were kept hidden. Stephenie Pettit was not involved in the original illegal actions, but she did keep her mouth shut after she found out about them. Later, when Myers was President of Chula Vista Educators (CVE), she continued to use her position to cover-up events at Castle Park in 2000-2001.

When she was President of CVE, Myers apparently impressed Villegas-Zuniga as someone who would help the district manipulate teachers. After sitting across from Myers at the bargaining table for a number of years, Villegas-Zuniga convinced Myers to clamber across the table to the other side and accept the job of Director of Human Resources. Obviously, Peg's intimate knowledge of individual teachers, and the workings of the teacher union, have been very helpful to the district in intimidating teachers. [Yes, I know that the district website claims that Myers is in charge of "classified" staff. Don't be fooled. She spends at least some of her time intimidating teachers.]

So here's the problem in the current situation. Stephenie Pettit knows the details of who was involved, and what actions they took, during the years when a large number of violations of civil and criminal laws were committed at Castle Park Elementary School, the district office, and the teachers union. The near-destruction of a school by power-hungry teachers and administrators was just the boost Peg Myers' career needed, and she has catapulted dramatically to higher positions since she was just an ordinary teacher at Castle Park Elementary in 2001.

CASTLE PARK ELEMENTARY

The effects of the decade-long teacher meltdown at Castle Park Elementary--that resulted in the school having 11 principals in 11 years--continue to ripple through the district.

It staggers the imagination to realize how many teachers involved with Castle Park Elementary's descent into a miasma of dysfunction have continued to make news long since the Chula Vista Star-News and San Diego Union-Tribune lost interest in supporting a troublesome group of teachers, parents and administrators that brought the school to its knees during their years of arbitrary power.


Pam Smith and Larry Cunningham

Current Chula Vista Elementary board members Pam Smith and Larry Cunningham oversaw the cover-up of illegal actions by CVESD employees at the school in 2000-2001. (I was a teacher at Castle Park Elementary, with Stephenie Pettit and Peg Myers, at that time.)


Former CVE president Jim Groth wanted a replacement who would continue the teacher versus teacher culture that he had helped create. Peg Myers fit the bill perfectly. See all Jim Groth blog posts.

It should be mentioned that current member of the statewide CTA board of directors Jim Groth played a big role in the concealment of illegal actions. He was then, and still is, a member of the Chula Vista Educators board. I imagine he's already hopped in his car and driven over to the district office to remind the administration that the district and the teachers union need to continue the cover-up.

After the district paid $100,000s of taxpayer dollars in legal fees to lawyers Dan Shinoff and Mark Bresee for their successful efforts to protect teachers and administrators who had committed crimes, the prevailing teachers apparently felt invulnerable. They delighted in their arbitrary power to do whatever they wanted and get away with it. What else could the district expect when it had fired a teacher (me!) simply for demanding an investigation, and for refusing to come back to work until something was done about the relentless harassment of me by teacher thugs.

Kids are being harmed every day in CVESD classrooms by cruel and/or incompetent teachers and administrators as well as those with faulty judgment. The district needs to take steps to prevent and mitigate harm to children.


Former CVE President Gina Boyd. See Gina Boyd's deposition HERE.


Robin Donlan, notorious along with her husband for $7 million Wireless Facilities stock options fraud case. See Robin Donlan's deposition HERE.

The rogue teachers were led by Robin Donlan, a personal friend of both Peg Myers and former CVE president Gina Boyd. Gina Boyd was a member in extremely good standing of the self-styled "Castle Park Family". The self-styled "Castle Park Family" resisted all efforts by a string of principals (averaging one principal per year for 11 years) to get them to settle down and do their jobs. I myself was a target of the ruling teachers. Administrators Libia Gil and Rick Werlin did the bidding of those teachers.

Before my lawsuit was even finished, five teachers were transferred out of the school during the summer of 2004. Stephanie Pettit was one of the "Castle Park Five" group that included the notorious Robin Donlan, Peg Myers, and Nikki Perez.

This district keeps finding that its favored employees have big problems. Perhaps an effective evaluation system for teachers would help? But no, that would interfere with the politics that currently guides employment decisions at the district. And the district wouldn't have hired Peg Myers if it didn't want to keep politics in the forefront of district decisions.

I doubt that the district will try to fire Mrs. Pettit. She knows too much about criminal actions by teachers and administrators. I predict a settlement.

And as far as the parent who says Stephanie should not teach again, I don't see how voluntarily giving a massage to a teacher could seriously harm a child. The situation is no more serious than if Stephanie were rewarding kids to fan her. The problem with the behavior is that the students are being asked to treat the teacher like a queen rather than a professional. The touching was clearly NOT sexual. It's only wrong because kids shouldn't be performing personal services for teachers--like combing hair, cutting hair, shining shoes, etc. Of course, Stephenie used poor judgment, but she's been taught by the district and the teachers union that she and other teachers with political connections are free to indulge any whim without repercussions.

A more important issue is that kids are being damaged by teachers every day in CVESD classrooms. There is psychological damage being done by cruel, rigid teachers who take pleasure in causing pain. Stephanie did not cause pain to the kids who volunteered to give her massages.

It would be interesting to know what else was happening when the kids were giving the teacher a massage. Was she teaching them at the same time? This could very well be the case. But there are so many classrooms where teachers spend huge amounts of time NOT interacting with their students that it would be very dangerous for anyone to criticize Stephanie even if she had not been teaching while receiving a massage. She could easily get plenty of witnesses to talk about the time wasted in classrooms while teachers are doing something other than teaching. I could write a book about it.

Stephanie deserves the due process than she herself helped to deny to me. Lawyer Dan Shinoff of Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz took tax dollars for his successful efforts to keep Stephanie from being deposed in my case. I would be happy to deposed in any case she might file--which is exactly why I think that the district won't try to fire her. Here's my deposition in the current defamation lawsuit against me by Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz. Stutz is quite miffed, it seems, that the Court of Appeal says I have a constitutional right to discuss the lawyers who act on behalf of public schools.

Though I was not able to depose Stephanie, I was able to take the depositions of Castle Park Family members Gina Boyd, Peg Myers and Robin Donlan. (I recommend clicking on these links for these depositions if only to see the hilarious expressions on the faces of teachers who don't like being asked to tell the truth.)

NEWS COVERAGE

Channel 10 News and San Diego Union-Tribune have covered this story. Let's see if Channel 10 will investigate further the failure of school districts to do meaningful evaluations of teachers. The SDUT has been covering up for CVESD for years. I hope they will start to cover the real stories instead of only the sensationalistic ones.

EVALUATING TEACHERS

Researches say that 10% of teachers are doing a bad job, failing to add value to their students' academic abilities. Many teachers have serious personality problems. But the fact is that CVESD really doesn't know its teachers. I never met a principal who really observed and really talked to staff members to find out what they were up to.

It's time that ALL teachers in CVESD were properly evaluated.

Chula Vista teacher removed from job, accused of soliciting massages from students
Kandiss Crone
10 News
02/13/2014

CHULA VISTA, Calif. - Some parents at a South Bay elementary school told 10News they couldn't believe what their kids said went on inside their third-grade classroom.

"This behavior, to my son, has become so normalized that he did not report it to me," said parent Andy Stumph.

Some parents say Salt Creek Elementary School teacher Stephanie Petitt solicited massages from the students during reading time in exchange for $10 in class money. The parents also say Petitt also encouraged the third graders to give each other massages.

"The most children I've heard at any one time that was massaging the teacher was seven -- one on each leg, one on each arm, one on each shoulder, one playing with the hair," Stumph said.

The parents voiced their concerns at a school board meeting Wednesday night but weren't happy with the outcome, so they contacted 10News.

Chula Vista Elementary School District Superintendent Francisco Escobedo said Chula Vista police were called in to investigate but did not find any criminal wrongdoing.

"This behavior is absolutely not acceptable. We have professional standards at Chula Vista," Escobedo said.

Escobedo said Petitt is no longer teaching at the school, but is still employed with the district.

"She's on administrative leave; these allegations we take very seriously and we have to do due process to investigate," Escobedo said.

Parents say that's not enough, and they worry the teacher's actions could have a lasting impact on their kids.

"If there's a goal to be had ... Mrs. Petit would never be able to teach again," parent Samantha Trickey said.

Three parents pulled their children out of the school, 10News learned.

The district says a long-term substitute will replace the teacher.

Teacher on leave over massage claims
U‑T San Diego
Feb. 14, 2014 - She reported back to work Monday and taught her class after investigations by the Chula Vista Elementary School District and the Chula Vista ...

My Happy Hacker: he (or she) takes orders from lawyers, but also seems to have a sense of humor

I'm awarding good humor points to my hacker, who has become quite playful during the past week. He (or she) is having fun, but doing no harm.

Less than a week ago I discovered that this page in my related website had been hacked.

HERE IS THE HACKED IMAGE OF A GRIEVANCE I SUBMITTED TO CVESD:



I published this blog post, which the hacker must have read. In the post I wrote that California Teachers Association (CTA) director Jim Groth, who had been Chula Vista Educators (CVE) grievance chair at the time, had turned up unexpectedly at the grievance meeting and said that the union did NOT support the grievance. The grievance merely asked that the district RESPOND to an earlier grievance. It appears that CTA was quite desperate to cover up illegal actions of pals of CVE President Gina Boyd.


Former CVE President Gina Boyd at her deposition.
This blogger has awarded to Gina the Alberto Gonzalez
CRS award for her amazing lack of knowledge and
substantial memory loss: "I don't know"--25 times and
"I don't remember (or recall, etc.)--35 times;
total cognition lapses: 60.

Sometime during the past few days, someone went to work on my grievance image again. But this time, my hacker did NOT hide any information. He (or she) just moved black boxes around! It's actually quite entertaining to examine his (or her) handiwork.

He (or she) enlarged the black box to cover EMPTY SPACE on this page:




and moved the black box sideways on this page!



I actually like my hacker now, but I'm still not terribly fond of the lawyers who ordered the hacking.


It should be noted that CTA isn't the only party trying to hide these events. Current CVESD board members Pam Smith and her faithful ally Larry Cunningham were involved in the criminal actions, and they also have paid tax dollars to lawyers to support efforts to shut down my website.

Update Jan. 14, 2014


Robin Donlan relied on the help of attorney Kelly Angell Minnehan to avoid answering deposition questions.
I just discovered that a section ofmy webpage containing Robin Donlan's deposition had been deleted. Part of the transcript in which Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz attorney Kelly Angell (now known as Kelly Minnehan) stopped Donlan from answering a question about how Donlan felt when the principal discontinued programs without the approval of the staff was removed. Ms. Angell then proceeded to question the witness herself! I suspect there are other deletions in the deposition that I am not yet aware of.

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.

Chula Vista Elementary teachers once again require loyalty to the Castle Park Family at election time for CVE president

Former Castle Park Elementary teachers Robin Donlan and Peg Myers.

The self-titled Castle Park Family seems to have run Chula Vista Educators for over a decade.


Gina Boyd was the first CVE President who was a member of the Castle Park Family

Since Gina Boyd was CVE president, every person who has held the office has been loyal to the group of teachers who rallied to conceal the illegal actions of teacher Robin Donlan and her power-hungry cohort at Castle Park Elementary from 2000 to 2005.

Once CTA and CVESD make up their minds to cover-up problems, they stick to their guns. Fixing mistakes is not on the agenda. Doing the right thing is not a priority. Protecting themselves and their organizations (in that order) is their goal, even when they have to break the law and violate the contract to do it.

Jim Groth and Peg Myers worked hard to keep the lid on things after Castle Park Elementary teachers went out of control. But when Peg Myers fell into disgrace after a few years as CVE President, apparently due to some type of scam, and clambered clumsily across the bargaining table to work with the district, her followers claimed to be shocked and dismayed that she would do such a thing. I guess they forgot why they were following her in the first place.

Jennefer Porch was president for a while, obediently falling in step behind Jim Groth.

But now teachers have rallied behind Manuel Yvellez, who's major difference with Ms. Porch is that he is livid about teachers being asked to implement Common Core standards.



Mr. Yvellez' CVE election victory was made possible by his PERB complaint about election irregularities. Here is a partial decision from the PERB board that includes a mention of this and other CVE problems, including the bizarre mid-term exit of Peg Myers.

I do applaud Manuel Yvellez for having the courage to challenge the corrupt hierarchy of CTA. But Mr. Yvellez actually boasts of having worked at Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz law firm, which has worked behind the scenes with CTA to conceal events in schools, including Castle Park Elementary, so he can hardly claim to be a breath of fresh air for CVESD.

Interestingly, Mr. Yvellez leaves out the name of Dan Shinoff when he refers to the Stutz law firm, calling it "Stutz Gallagher and Artiano." But Mr. Shinoff was a partner at the firm well before Mr. Yvellez was employed. Mr. Yvellez is correct that Robert Gallagher still allowed the firm to use his name at the time Mr. Yvellez was employed. It would appear that Mr. Yvellez was wise to use Mr. Gallagher's name to recall a better time in the firm's history. But how can Mr. Yvellez distance himself from Dan Shinoff when he is so closely connected to individuals who helped Mr. Shinoff conceal events at Castle Park Elementary?

Isn't there any candidate for CVE president who cares about kids, teachers, the rule of law and transparency in government?

Were CVESD and Chula Vista Educators negligent in Kinloch child molestation case?

It seems that CVESD and California Teachers Association were more interested in protecting powerful teachers than in conducting serious investigations of extremely urgent allegations. When a teacher was accused of being likely to "come to school and shoot everybody," the district never did an investigation, and the teachers union never insisted on an investigation.

I recall listening to former Chula Vista Educators grievance chair Frank Luzzaro a few years ago complaining that the district had placed a male teacher on administrative leave due to unproven allegations of child abuse.

John Raymond Kinloch might been that teacher--unless perhaps there were TWO suspected child molesters at CVESD at the same time!

It seems to me that it was around 2003 or 2004, but the District Attorney's office says a child at Feaster was molested in 2004 or 2005. It seems we're both zeroing in on the same time period. Obviously, the school district knows exactly when the teacher was placed on administrative leave, and it knows if the teacher was John Raymond Kinloch.

CVESD HAS LONG HAD A CULTURE OF SECRECY AND CRONYISM

Superintendent Lowell Billings, Asst. Supt. for Human Resources Richard Werlin, and Asst. Supt. Dennis Doyle were in charge when the critical events occurred in the Kinloch case and in other cases in CVESD covered-up wrongful actions and falsified and concealed various documents.

Asst. Supt. Maria Guasp and Superintendent Libia Gil seemed to rubber-stamp whatever the three men decided on. Libia Gil chose covering-up events rather than investigating serious allegations.

Rick Werlin claimed to have "lost" all his notes about a teacher who was accused of being likely to come to school and "shoot everybody." CVESD's lawyer, Dan Shinoff, says he lost about half of the documents he collected at Castle Park Elementary. He lost a few pages here and a few pages there from a single set of about 87 documents. Here are some of the documents that were produced. Those missing pages about a possible mass shooting at Castle Park Elementary would be very interesting to see!

Chula Vista Educators, particularly Jim Groth, who is now on the Board of Directors of CTA, also seemed to support district decisions, especially when the goal was to conceal crimes by teachers who were favored by the administration. (Of course, it was different when one of Jim's pals got in trouble. CVE paid $17,000 in legal fees to contest a district decision to dock Frank Luzzaro one day's pay.)

A 1998 San Diego Reader story revealed Kinloch's connection to an English child pornographer, and Kinloch's admitted attraction to young boys.

An important part of this picture is the fact that California Teachers Association is quite reliable in protecting child molesters such as Albert Truitt.

Obviously, Mr. Kinloch was not fired. CVESD and CVE have a bad habit of protecting the guilty. Perhaps CVESD and CVE don't like effective investigations because facts might interfere with their political goals.

DEPOSITIONS PROVED THE TRUTH

At the same time that it flubbed the Kinloch investigation, CVESD administrators, with the approval of CVE's Jim Groth and other CVE officials, flat-out refused to investigate anonymous allegations against another teacher. Depositions later proved that the allegations against the "dangerous" teacher were false, but that teacher had already been fired. Depositions also proved that teachers who made the anonymous accusations were covering up their own crimes!

THE CASTLE PARK FIVE

The district then realized too late that the accusers, who called themselves "The Castle Park Family," had become out of control. The "Castle Park Five" were prominent members of the Family. The Family felt that it, not the administration, should be in charge. They can't be blamed for thinking this since they had successfully demanded that CTA and the district help them by violating longstanding policies as well as the law, to defend Family members in court. The district spent $100,000s of taxpayer dollars on lawyers to conceal the truth.

Coincidentally, both Frank Luzzaro and his wife work for the Reader, which had profiled John Raymond Kinloch in 1998 as a child pornographer. I have noticed that the Reader avoids delving into problems at CVESD. I have provided information directly to Frank Luzzaro and the Reader, but neither has expressed any interest.

Longtime CVESD board member Pamela Smith

Longtime CVESD board member Larry Cunningham

The school board in 2004 consisted of Pamela Smith, Larry Cunningham, Cheryl Cox, Patrick Judd (who was successfully sued for sexual harassment by a female principal) and Bertha Lopez. All five of these individuals supported the hiring and firing tactics of the administrators named above.









Arraignment for suspect in child porn and molestation case
CBS8.com
Dec 06, 2012

CHULA VISTA (CNS) - A South Bay elementary school teacher accused of molesting a student and possessing child pornography to get boys to expose themselves online is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

John Raymond Kinloch, a first-grade teacher at Wolf Canyon Elementary in Chula Vista, was initially arrested last Friday after agents with the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force served a search warrant at his home. He was released on bail that evening.

Authorities began looking into the online activities of Kinloch based on tips received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said San Diego police sex-crimes Lt. Anastasia Smith.

The investigation allegedly showed that the 41-year-old Kinloch, while posing as a girl on a website called "MeetMe," had persuaded boys to disrobe during live one-on-one webcam interactions, according to Smith.

Kinloch, a San Ysidro resident, was re-arrested Wednesday on suspicion of 11 counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts on a child under age 14 after the alleged victim came forward, according to San Diego police.

The accusations involve sexual contact that allegedly occurred several years ago, when Kinloch was teaching at Feaster Charter School in Chula Vista, Smith said.

The defendant was being held in lieu of $1.15 million bail pending arraignment.



Teacher facing porn charges arrested in molestation
Pauline Repard
UTSD
Dec. 6, 2012

CHULA VISTA — A Chula Vista elementary school teacher arrested last week on suspicion of child pornography is facing new charges alleging he molested a student several years ago, authorities said Thursday.

John Raymond Kinloch, 41, was jailed Wednesday on 11 counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14, and one count of an attempted lewd and lascivious act on a child age 14 or 15.

His bail is set at $1.1 million, jail records show.

“This is a case many years delayed in reporting,” said San Diego police Lt. Anastasia Smith. “It appears this victim was previously a student of his.”

She said the student attended Feaster Charter School. Kinloch taught there from 2000 to 2009, then transferred to Wolf Canyon Elementary School, where he was teaching first grade, school district officials said.

Kinloch has been placed on administrative leave, district spokesman Anthony Millican said.

“This new case raises the question of whether there are other students involved,” Millican said Thursday.

Kinloch was investigated by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for allegedly posing online as a girl and soliciting young boys to send him pictures of themselves naked, Smith said. The task force is a joint effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

Federal authorities arrested Kinloch on Friday on suspicion of possessing child pornography, using a minor in an obscene manner and luring a minor for a sexual offense. He was booked into jail, then released on bail. Authorities said earlier in the week that no Chula Vista students were involved in the pornography.

On Wednesday, a former student reported being molested, and Kinloch was arrested about 9 p.m. as he was leaving his South Bay home.

“Our hearts go out to the child,” Chula Vista Superintendent Francisco Escobedo said Thursday in a statement. “The allegations raised in the charges against Kinloch are appalling. For a teacher to betray a child in this manner is very upsetting. We are very dismayed by this.”

School district officials were upset that a federal background check on Kinloch when he was hired failed to turn up his connection to a 1998 child pornography case in England.

Millican said the San Diego Reader published a story in June 1998 that said Kinloch, then a San Diego State University student, went to England to testify in the criminal trial of a college student accused in trafficking in child pornography. That student’s files contained information that led investigators to Kinloch, and he was offered immunity by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego to testify, the Reader reported. He testified during the trial that he was attracted to young boys, the Reader said.

The district is investigating how the past case was not flagged during Kinloch’s background check and plans to work with the state’s Teachers Credentialing Commission on how to improve the process.

Photo: December 13, 2006 , Chula Vista,- Second grade teacher John Kinloch at the Feaster Edison Charter School in Chula Vista. — John Gibbinsng Commission on how to improve the process.



Teacher accused of child porn, molesting a student in court: John Kinloch pleads not guilty 10 News 12/07/2012

CHULA VISTA, Calif. - A South Bay elementary school teacher accused of repeatedly molesting a former student and possessing child pornography to get boys to expose themselves online pleaded not guilty Friday to 20 charges, including 18 counts of child molest.

John Raymond Kinloch, 41, was ordered held on $1.9 million bail.

Kinloch, a first-grade teacher at Wolf Canyon Elementary in Chula Vista, initially was arrested last Friday after agents with the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force served a search warrant at his home. He was released on bail that evening.

Authorities began looking into the online activities of Kinloch based on tips received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, San Diego police sex crimes Lt. Anastasia Smith said...

The accusations involve sexual contact that allegedly occurred when Kinloch was teaching at Feaster Charter School in Chula Vista, Smith said.

Deputy District Attorney Enrique Camarena told reporters that the first alleged molestation happened around 2004 or 2005, when the student was about 8 or 9 years old.

Camarena said the alleged victim, a boy, had a close relationship with Kinloch, both inside and outside the school.

Some of the molestations occurred on school grounds, the prosecutor alleged.

Besides the child molest charges, Kinloch is charged with one count of attempted child molest of a person 14 or 15 years old and one count of possession of child pornography. The named victim is not the subject of the child pornography charge, Camarena said.

Kinloch faces 43 years and six months in prison if convicted.

"When a teacher commits a crime, especially of this nature on school grounds that is about the most extreme violation we can have," Camarena said.

Defense attorney Dan Greene told South Bay Judge Katherine Bacal that Kinloch had no prior record and had a master's degree, without being specific...

The attorney said community members have come forward to praise Kinloch as a great person and educator...

[Maura Larkins comment: I've noticed that people often say that teachers and parents know who the good teachers are. In fact, they don't. Effective evaluations are needed, but many principals don't bother doing observations, and simply rely on school politics to decide who's good and who's bad.] 10News reporter Michael Chen asked, "If he's attracted to young boys, why did he petition to be a teacher?"

Greene answered, "I can't [answer] that for you right now ... It's unfair to rush to judgment before going through due process."

School district officials said they were upset that a federal background check on Kinloch failed to turn up his connection to a child pornography case in England in 1998.

District spokesman Anthony Millican said the San Diego Reader published a story in June 1998 that said Kinloch, then a San Diego State student, testified in the trial of a fellow college student accused in child pornography trafficking.

Kinloch was granted immunity and testified that he was attracted to young boys, the Reader reported...

See also: Darren Chaker, in violation of the conditions of his release from federal prison, stalks Maura Larkins and impersonates Scott McMillan, the lawyer who beat him in the Mateo case. 

Vote No on Prop. 32, It's Not What It Seems

Opinion: Vote No on Prop. 32, It's Not What It Seems
October 15, 2012
By JIM GROTH
(Former CVESD teacher and member of the Board of Directors of the California Teachers Association)
Voice of San Diego

There are many kinds of schemes. Some kinds make it onto statewide election ballots and it’s up to voters to see through them and reject the damage they would cause. Proposition 32 on November’s ballot claims to be about campaign finance reform, but it’s really a gross deception financed by wealthy corporate special interests. The rich and powerful donors behind this scheme want to weaken the political voices of working people and the middle class so they can write their own rules. San Diego County voters should ask themselves why leading campaign reform organizations like the League of Women Voters and California Common Cause have come out against this measure.

Nearly every major newspaper in California is against Prop. 32, which they condemn with words like “fraud” and “sham.” The Los Angeles Times urged a no vote, calling it a “deceptive measure” that will have only a “trivial impact on corporate spending” on politics in the state. One professor calls it a “bill of rights for billionaires.”

Disguised as reform, Prop. 32 does nothing to limit the out-of-state business super PACs that are undermining our democracy. Millionaires can give these secretive political action committees unlimited donations, and these kinds of PACs aren’t subject to the same contribution limits as political campaigns themselves. In fact, the Yes on 32 campaign received a $4 million donation from a mysterious out-of-state super PAC linked to the billionaire Koch Brothers.

Prop. 32 doesn’t solve Sacramento’s problems because it exempts many kinds of companies — such as Wall Street investment firms, hedge funds, oil and insurance companies — from its restrictions.

In fact, many of the same companies and other corporate interests that are backing this “Special Exemptions Act” are the same ones that are exempt. And many donors to this fraud own companies that are exempt. How convenient.

This is hardly the balanced reform that proponents claim. It stops corporations and unions from collecting political funds through payroll deductions, but 99 percent of California corporations don’t use payroll deductions for political lobbying – they use their profits. Unions rely solely on these contributions, and union members already have the legal right to opt out of having these funds used for politics.

If our teachers, firefighters, police and nurses can no longer fight for more school and public safety resources, or hospital patient protections, the middle class and our communities will pay the price. Vote no on 32.

New CVE president Jennefer Porch is as secretive as Peg Myers

The annual CTA Presidents' Conference is taking place at Asilomar State Beach (see photo) near Monterey.

New Chula Vista Educators president Jennefer Porch is up at Asilomar this week at the annual CTA Presidents' Conference, but she left instructions with her staff not to release the names of new CVE officers.

Perhaps CTA President Dean Vogel can give Jennefer some tips about how to run CVE. I myself had a nice chat with Mr. Vogel at the conference a few years ago. (I was a lowly CTA member, not a chapter president, but Mr. Vogel was very nice.)

Jennefer may have replaced Peg Myers as president of CVE, but she doesn't seem to have replaced Peg's policies regarding secrecy. Furtiveness has been in force since 2001 when former presidents Gina Boyd and Jim Groth and executive director Tim O'Neill decided to cover up crimes by Gina's friend Robin Donlan at Castle Park Elementary.

Jennefer held her first meeting as president on July 10, 2012. It was advertised as the meeting when a decision would be made as to who the new vice-president would be. Elections don't seem to be the method of choice for choosing either CVESD board members of CVE officers. Three years ago vice president-elect Barbara Dunwoodie chose to resign right after winning election. What kind of politics is going on behind closed doors on Landis Avenue in Chula Vista?

CTA advertises itself as a democratic institution, but it is actually hierarchical, and the power structure is decided through back room politics, not elections.

Jim Groth and Imperial Valley locals on California State of Emergency rallies

Imperial Valley locals to attend California State of Emergency rallies
By ROMAN FLORES
Imperial Valley Press
May 10, 2011

...“(Monday) was the kickoff of the state of emergency and there were more than 300 current teachers and retired teachers, counselors and librarians to kick off the week,” said Jim Groth, CTA board member, Imperial County representative and Chula Vista teacher, on Monday on his way out of Sacramento.

Groth said CTA representatives met at the state Capitol for interfaith prayer services and a march around to the Capitol building.

“We broke off and had teams of teachers go to the legislative offices and talk to them about passing the next fiscal budget for our students,” he said.

“The Legislature has the authority to extend the taxes that are going to expire June 30,” Groth said.

“It’s going to take two Republicans in the Assembly and two Republicans in the Senate to meet the two-thirds requirement to pass a budget that would include the tax extensions,” he said.

“The issues remain very separated by party lines,” he said. “We’re asking Republicans to do the right thing for the students of California and pass a budget including the tax extensions.”

“What we hope to do is bring awareness of this issue (of budget cuts),” said local CTA chapter president Gaylla Finnell. “During this week, CTA’s hope is that people will contact their representatives and let them know to not cut education.

“We need to take action and put pressure on our representatives,” Finnell said.

Though Imperial County Teachers’ UniServ staff couldn’t comment on exactly who will be attending, UniServ did say two busloads are expected to attend a state of emergency rally Friday in San Diego with others traveling on their own. About 125 to 150 teachers, students and others from Imperial County expect to be in attendance.

Groth also said some school board members from Imperial County will attend Friday’s rally in Sacramento.

National City Elementary Teachers Cautiously Optimistic About Jan. 25 Return to Bargaining Table

National City Elementary Teachers Cautiously Optimistic About Jan. 25 Return to Bargaining Table
Jan 21, 2011
Strike Plans Proceed Until Fair Contract Achieved

“National City’s teachers welcome the opportunity to return to the bargaining table with the district on Tuesday, Jan. 25” said National City Elementary Teachers Association (NCETA) President Linda Cartwright. “We’re hopeful that the school board is willing to bargain a fair contract now, which will include restoration of the five student instruction days so important to our students’ learning. But NCETA’s strike plans proceed, pending the achievement of a fair contract.”

NCETA members will picket in support of a fair contract at their individual school sites Tuesday morning from 7:30 to 8:00 a.m., with California Teachers Association President David A. Sanchez and CTA Board of Directors member Jim Groth joining the teachers at two nearby schools, Rancho de la Nación, 1830 E. Division Street and El Toyon, 2000 E. Division Street in National City.

Contract talks that began in National City last February broke down in July after the district refused to follow suit with the teachers in accepting a neutral fact finder’s settlement recommendations. The school board then cut five student instruction days and enacted an additional six days of pay cuts for teachers pleading fiscal necessity as justification.

Tax breaks in the cross hairs

Battle is joined over business tax breaks
By Michael Gardner
San Diego Union-Tribune SACRAMENTO BUREAU
August 10, 2010

A battle is brewing over proposals to delay or repeal three corporate tax incentives:

Single sales factor: Allows selected multistate corporations, such as those in the biotech and high-tech sectors, to choose to have their corporate income taxes based solely on sales within the state starting in 2011. This policy is used in various forms in a number of other states.

Current law bases corporate income taxes on a percentage of sales, payroll and property.

Value: $1.1 billion.

Net operating loss: Two parts of this tax code section are included. The first allows businesses that make a profit one year to reduce their tax liability by writing off losses that go back up to two years. For example, a business could deduct a 2011 loss against a 2009 profit by amending its return.

The second extends the number of years companies have to carry losses forward, to 20 from 10 years. This allows companies with little immediate profit potential to pursue long-term projects knowing early, heavy losses can be recouped when balanced out against eventual profits from breakthroughs years down the road.

Value: $100 million.

Tax credit sharing: Allows a business entity to transfer tax credits to one of its related companies all within the same group. For example, a California-based company can earn a research and development tax credit for a new high-tech product. If that company earns more tax credits than it owes the state, it can spread some of those credits to other companies within its group, such as the business arm that makes the sale.

Value: $100 million.

Value source: Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Proposition 24 on the November ballot would repeal a series of tax benefits for California corporations that were set to begin taking effect next year.

Pro: Lost tax revenue will magnify cuts to education and social services, which threaten the jobs of teachers and providers of child care and health care for the poor. Large business is the primary beneficiary.

Con: High tax rates are a major contributor to California’s job losses and threaten to slow recovery. Without the incentives, more companies will shrink or move to states that offer better tax incentives.

SACRAMENTO — Battles over tax breaks for businesses will be waged on two fronts this year, in the Capitol and at the ballot box.

A campaign is under way to repeal or suspend an estimated $1.3 billion annually in promised tax credits for businesses approved as part of past budget compromises. That money has become an attractive target given another year of gaping deficits, this one $19 billion.

Powerful opposing interests, from the California Chamber of Commerce to the California Teachers Association, are immersed in the legislative budget negotiations over the tax breaks with eyes cast toward the November election.

That’s when voters will decide Proposition 24, an initiative sponsored by the teachers association that would permanently repeal the pro-business tax policies.

The San Diego County life-science and high-tech industries have been eagerly anticipating the tax benefits, which are scheduled to begin taking effect over the next two years. They argue the incentives are needed to create jobs and support emerging technologies in California.

But teachers, social services advocates and their allies say the more immediate need is to use that money to soften budget cuts to schools, health care and other services.

The experience of Genentech , a large biotech company with a plant in Oceanside, underscores the need for the tax credits, according to supporters. Four years ago, frustrated with California’s tax laws, Genentech expanded in Oregon, bringing a $400 million facility and 300 jobs to Hillsboro despite having available land in California. One influencing factor: Oregon offered some of the same tax breaks California didn’t have at the time and may now repeal.

“California’s tax structure didn’t support in-state growth,” said Caroline Pecquet, a Genentech spokeswoman. The company opposes Proposition 24, saying “the tax reforms that would be revoked are “important economic incentives that support job growth and encourage innovative companies like Genentech to make investments and expand operations.”

Jim Groth, an elementary school teacher in Chula Vista, said those policies favor larger companies with no guarantee of a return to the state.

“They get the tax breaks but they don’t have to create or protect any jobs,” said Groth, who is also a representative of the California Teachers Association. “They can continue to outsource outside of California or outside the U.S.”

He said that deep budget cuts are costing “real jobs” now, particularly in schools, local governments and among those who provide health care and child care services for the poor...

Good news for 160 Chula Vista teachers: they're not going to be fired after all !

KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis




I'm guessing that in the story below Ana Tintocalis meant to say that Jim Groth is on leave from his job as a teacher in CVESD. In fact, Mr. Groth works full time for the teachers union. But perhaps he didn't make this clear to Ms. Tintocalis.

Chula Vista Teachers Keep Jobs But Others Not So Lucky
By Ana Tintocalis
KPBS
May 19, 2010

Chula Vista Elementary School District officials told about 160 of its teachers they were out of a job at the end of the school year. But school officials rescinded all those pink slips on Monday.

School officials say the district's budget improved based on the Governor's May Revise released last week.

Jim Groth is with the California Teachers Association. He's also a teacher in Chula Vista.

"Obviously it's good news for the students of Chula Vista because they will be having their teachers return to the classroom. And that's what we're all about." Groth said.

But other teachers in San Diego County will get official pink slips this month. They were first notified that they could lose their jobs in March.

The California Teachers Association says Oceanside Unified is laying off 60 teachers. The Sweetwater Union High School District in the South Bay will layoff about 30 teachers. And San Ysidro will layoff more than 20 teachers.

Hundreds of temporary teachers around the county will not get their contracts renewed. The CTA reports 112 temporary teachers in the San Diego Unified District will not return.

CVESD's Jim Groth talks to Channel 6 News

Jim Groth didn't alway look and sound like a robot. He had a normal level of affect at one time. But apparently there's a price you pay for power.

For quite a few years now he's been spouting whatever California Teachers Association (CTA) tells him to say, even if it's illegal or dishonest.

JIM GROTH TO CVESD: DON'T BOTHER FOLLOWING THE CONTRACT

He actually went to the CVESD district office in 2002 to attend a grievance meeting, just to announce that CVE was NOT supporting the grievance. What was the grievance about? (It looks like friends of CTA may have hacked my website again. I notice there's a black box over the grievance on my web page.) It was simply a demand that the district respond to an earlier grievance. Why didn't CTA want the district to even respond to a teacher's grievance? Because the CTA was helping the district cover up crimes against that teacher. After the meeting, Jim said to me that Rick Werlin just kept digging himself in deeper and deeper. I pointed out that Jim was right down there in the hole with Werlin, shoveling as fast as he could.


Link to video: CVESD's Jim Groth talks to Channel 6 News
March 4 Helix TA, Jim Groth, John Geary
Stand Up for Schools
# Added by Bill Guy on March 4, 2010 at 12:47pm



Here's a march I might join. California Federation of Teacher is a far more democratic group that CTA:

Marching for California's Future

March 5, 2010 at 10am to April 21, 2010 at 12pm –

Beginning at CSU Bakersfield and continuing north through Central Valley The California Federation of Teachers will be joined by the Community College Association, CTA and a diverse coalition of labor, business, education and faith groups on a 48-day "March for California… Organized by California Federation of Teachers and other labor groups

Chula Vista Educators board of directors becomes an ever smaller club; Jennefer Porch is now Secretary

Jennefer Porch, a teacher at Juarez Lincoln Elementary, was already on the board of directors of Chula Vista Educators when Barbara Dunwoodie mysteriously (perhaps on principle?) resigned her position as Secretary of the corrupt organization. Instead of allowing new blood into the secretive group, Jennefer Porch added the position of Secretary of CVE to her portfolio. Porch joined the board as representative to the State Council in 2008.

Jim Groth, who sits on the statewide CTA board of directors, and Peg Myers, his loyal sidekick, seem to be consolidating their power.

The position of director for CVE Area C seems to remain open ten months after the CVE elections. What's the matter, Jim and Peg? Why is democracy not working at Chula Vista Educators anymore? There was a time when CVE elections resulted in a full slate of officials.

Calexico union members join in rally denouncing state budget cuts to education

Calexico union members join in rally denouncing state budget cuts to education
By SILVIO J. PANTA, Staff Writer
Imperial Valley Press Online
March 5, 2010

CALEXICO — Members of the Calexico Teachers Association joined scores of educators statewide Thursday to denounce state budget cuts to education.

Wearing yellow “unity” shirts and listening to impassioned speeches about the need to protect education, the CTA members, along with Calexico Unified School District board members Ruben De La Rosa and Gloria Romo, staged their rally behind the Enrique Camarena Memorial Library.

[Maura Larkins comment: Unity is a good thing, but only when it's organized around a good cause. Unity isn't a virtue in itself; after all, one of the best ways to achieve unity is through a dictatorship in which followers are kept ignorant of many essential facts, and intimidated into agreement. (Hmmm. That sounds like the way Jim Groth and Peg Myers run Chula Vista Educators.) Unfortunately, CTA also invokes the need for unity when the cause is to cover up the illegal actions of a group of teachers acting only for their own personal advancement, such as at Castle Park Elemtary in Chula Vista. CTA director Jim Groth has been involved in covering up the teacher actions that led to a $20,000 PTA embezzlement, $100,000s of tax dollars spent on defending teachers, and then a big scandal when the Castle Park Five were transferred out of the school.]

Carmen Durazo, CTA president, said that California is “at a crossroads” for education and said the statewide call asks people to step up and demand that the cuts to education stop.

“It is cutting into the future of our state,” Durazo said.

Last year, 16,000 teachers were laid off statewide, Durazo said. “This year we anticipate another round of layoffs,” Durazo said.

In the past two years, $17 billion was cut from schools and colleges, eliminating art, music and physical education programs in their entirety, according to literature by the California Teachers Association.

Also, 74 percent of school principals surveyed in a University of California, Los Angeles study said they have seen class sizes increase, said Jim Groth, board president of the California Teachers Association.

“California has to reinvest in education,” Groth said.

[Maura Larkins comment: Jim Groth and I are in 100% agreement on this.]

School Districts Push For Teacher Pay Cuts During Contract Talks

Are teacher unions the same as other unions? No. Public entity unions need to achieve a balance between the wishes of teachers and the wishes of their employers, the public. Most labor unions don't have such a conflict; they are negotiating with private corporations.



School Districts Push For Teacher Pay Cuts During Contract Talks
By Ana Tintocalis
February 17, 2010

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego and Vista unified school districts are trying to negotiate new labor contracts with their teachers unions while they push for teacher pay cuts.

Crowds of teachers have disrupted San Diego and Vista school board meetings recently because of stalled contract negotiations and proposed budget cuts.

Teachers in both districts are angry officials want to cut their salary as their unions struggle to hammer out new labor contracts.

Vista Unified wants teachers to take a 2 percent pay cut and five furlough days. San Diego Unified is calling for an 8 percent pay cut.

The proposed cuts are making contract negotiations even more hostile. In fact, a state mediator is now leading talks in Vista.

Jim Groth is with the California Teachers Association. He says an increasing number of school districts are offering aggressive contract proposals so they can balance their budgets.

“Yes, we (teachers unions) are very aware of the economy and what is going on out there. But we want the districts to look at all options before they are going to make those cuts to the classroom.”

The Chula Vista Elementary School District is also considering pay cuts. All public school districts have to finalize their budgets by summer.

Jim Groth and Peg Myers avoid Castle Park Elementary when they welcome CTA vice president Dean Vogel to Chula Vista

Dean Vogel

Former Chula Vista Educators president Jim Groth (now on CTA board of directors), and current CVE president Peggy Myers avoided Castle Park Elementary, where they had been involved in illegal actions that cost CTA a lot of money to cover up, when they took CTA vice president Dean Vogel on a guided tour of CVESD schools.

I met Dean Vogel a few years ago at Asilomar. He seems like a nice guy, but then Jim Groth also is a nice guy. In CTA, unfortunately, nice guys have to do what head counsel Beverly Tucker wants them to do, and that sometimes involves some pretty nasty stuff.

Who's in charge at CTA? Not the elected officials. I had to laugh a few years ago when Barbara Kerr, president of CTA, was named as the third most powerful person in California. Barbara ran herself ragged doing what she was told. She even changed her political party registration. It should have been Beverly Tucker who got the title. By contrast, the California Federation of Teachers actually has democratic elections for top officials.

At the October 20, 2009 board meeting Superintendent Lowell Billings thanked Peg Myers for conducting the limited-purpose tour.

Jim Groth and Peg Myers antics continue at Chula Vista Educators; bizarre election results announced more than 3 months late

Now I understand why Peg Myers and Jim Groth didn't want to release the Chula Vista Educators election results in June. What kind of election is it when you end up with two empty positions before you even announce the results?

See all posts about Peg Myers.

President 09-11
State Council 09-12
Peggie Myers
Full-Release


Vice President 09-11
Tim Kriss
Salt Creek Elementary


Treasurer 09-11
Kathleen Fernandez
Rosebank


Secretary 09-11
OPEN POSITION

[Barbara Dunwoodie ran unopposed for this position. What's up with the open position? Dunwoodie is still teaching at Hilltop Elementary with Robin Donlan.]

Area Director A 08-10
Maureen McNair
Veterans

Area Director B 08-10
Norma Pacheco Davis
Los Altos


Area Director C 08-10
OPEN POSITION

[The above position was held by Tim Kriss, who is now vice-president. When I heard a rumor that a close friend and Salt Creek Elementary colleague of Tim Kriss was going to replace him, I wrote to Peg Myers asking if this were true. Instead of answering me, Peg apparently got her pals up in Burlingame to demand that Google censor my blog. Why is this such a touchy subject?]


Area Director D 08-10
Jayme Rodgers
Liberty


Area Director E 08-10
Jenna Ritchey
Juarez-Lincoln


Bargaining Chair
Susan Skala
Vista Square
State Council 08-11


Jennefer Porch
Juarez-Lincoln
State Council 07-10


Jim Groth
CTA Board

CTA's Jim Groth asks to slow down educational reform as Schwarzenegger visits Chula Vista Learning Center

Jim Groth, my former colleague at Chula Vista Elementary School District, should be suggesting effective methods for evaluating teachers instead of nixing Obama's efforts to allow schools to include student scores in teacher evaluations.

But apparently the California Teacher Association is taking a page from extreme right-leaning Sarah Palin and Mark Sanford in thumbing its nose at stimulus funds.

CTA doesn't want California to participate in the Race to the Top at this time because it wants to protect the current inadequate teacher evaluation system. Longtime loyal Democrats are getting sick of CTA's opposition to school reform.

Sarah Palin and Mark Sanford were overruled by their legislatures. But who will overrule CTA?


Chula Vista Teachers Protest Schwarzenegger Visit
Voice of San Diego
Emily Alpert
Aug. 27, 2009

The Chula Vista teachers union used a visit from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a platform to protest his education plans, chiefly the push to link standardized test scores to teacher evaluation so that California is eligible for added stimulus dollars from the federal government.

Schwarzenegger was scheduled to visit Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School this morning. The union held a press conference at the school to explain their opposition to his plans. I couldn't make it to their meeting, but I phoned Jim Groth, a Chula Vista teacher and a board member of the statewide California Teachers Association, to talk about their announcements.

"What we are saying is, 'Let's slow down,'" Groth said as he left the Chula Vista school. "Changing the laws at the state would affect all districts. We're talking about local control. Local school boards would not have that control -- it would be dictated by Washington, D.C."...



JIM GROTH AND SARAH PALIN AREN'T THE ONLY PROPONENTS OF REFUSING STIMULUS FUNDS; SOUTH CAROLINA'S GOVERNOR SANFORD ALSO REFUSED $700 MILLION

Embattled South Carolina governor vows to finish term
Aug 26, 2009
Reuters

Republican South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, a conservative once seen as a possible presidential candidate in 2012, rejected a call from his deputy to resign Wednesday in the wake of a sex scandal...

Sanford was a prominent opponent of Democratic President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill and rejected $700 million of South Carolina's portion of the funds on grounds it would undermine the state's fiscal stability...the state Supreme Court later overruled his opposition...





CHULA VISTA EDUCATORS' OFFICIALS SEEM TO BE CHANNELING SARAH PALIN


Sarah Palin won't stop complaining that the media has portrayed her unfairly. Apparently this is because the media talks about things that Palin herself would prefer not to discuss, such as Palin's using the fact that Russia is within sight of Alaska to prove that she is ready to handle international foreign policy.

Chula Vista Educators' Peg Myers won't stop complaining that this blog has portrayed her unfairly. Again, this seems to be because this blog talks about things that Peg herself would prefer not to discuss, such as her actions against teachers at Castle Park Elementary when Peg was working on behalf of administrator Richard Werlin and some of her other friends.

Come back to fight the good fight, Jimmy Groth, Jimmy Groth

Jim Groth is the former CVESD teacher who went from president of Chula Vista Educators to the state board of directors for California Teachers Association. Jim is also currently on the board of directors for CVE.

Jim seems to have quit writing his monthly column for San Diego Education Association; no new columns have appeared during the past nine months. Here's his last post (March 2008).

Jim has, fortunately, left us with some wise words that we would do well to take to heart:

1. "Solutions used since 2001 will no longer work."

[I'm wondering if perhaps Jim took his own advice, and he's off trying to figure out a new approach to his job as a union official. The approach he came up with in 2001, and stuck with for the last seven-and-a-half years, has not worked particularly well.]

2. "Together we must educate the public about.. the need for leadership to find a better way."

[I'm 100% behind you on this one, Jim. I hope my website has helped let the public know that leadership--in Sacramento and Burlingame (headquarters of CTA)--has shortchanged the public in a catastrophic way, and needs to start looking for a better way. Have you made any progress, Jim?]