Rick Werlin, Libia Gil and Francisco Escobedo are still pals; the culture of silence continues at CVESD

See all Francisco Escobedo posts.

An open letter to Pam, Larry, Rick, Libby, and Francisco:

Pamela B. Smith
Larry Cunningham
Francisco Escobedo
Rick Werlin
Libia Gil

Congratulations to board members Pamela B. Smith and Larry Cunningham. You have done an excellent job of socializing new board recruits into CVESD's culture of silence. It seems Chula Vista Elementary School District maintains many of the policies of administrators Libia Gil and Rick Werlin all these years after they left under cloudy circumstances.

I found this on Rick Werlin's Facebook page:


Rick Werlin recently got me thinking about CVESD's culture of silence when I noticed the above image on Rick Werlin's Facebook page. It says, "Everyone comes with baggage. Find someone who loves you enough to help you unpack."

I have a sneaking suspicion that Rick Werlin's pals helped him haul all his baggage up to the attic, and now Rick tries not to think about all that stuff mouldering away just above his head.

Here's the problem, educators.

Even with a pal like new superintendent Francisco Escobedo, whom you can trust to maintain your system of secrecy, your issues aren't resolved.

In fact, even with your pal Daniel Shinoff using the taxpayer-funded courts in his five-year effort to shut down my website, your issues still aren't resolved. (That pesky Constitution is the problem. You thought being VIP educators trumped the Constitution, didn't you? Sorry, that only works within your school district.)

I would suggest that all of you unpack that baggage again in the context of a truth and reconciliation meeting.

Yours truly,
Maura Larkins

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. 

CVESD hired a teacher profiled in the Reader as a child pornographer

CVESD is still getting fallout from Rick Werlin's years as Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.

Officials claim to be angry that they did not know in 2000 about John Raymond Kinloch's involvement in a 1998 child pornography case that was described in the San Diego Reader. Kinloch was recently arrested for child pornography.

But the truth is that current Superintendent Francisco Escobedo is pals with Rick Werlin, the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources responsible for hiring Mr. Kinloch, and Maria Guasp, who helped Mr. Werlin implement his policy of concealing the truth about teachers who committed crimes.

When Mr. Werlin was running Human Resources, Board Members Pamela Smith and Larry Cunningham were more than willing to allow Mr. Werlin to ignore the law. Then they managed to quash subpoenas to testify about their actions. They supported a criminal cover-up of the actions of administrators, union leaders and Castle Park teachers.

The district managed to unload Werlin, and when West Contra Costa County asked for information about Werlin, CVESD didn't breathe a word about the $100,000s in legal expenses that Werlin incurred. One wonders how much CVESD officials actually care about children.

CVESD seems to have more than its share of child pornographers. October, a another CVESD teacher was arrested for child porn.

See all Francisco Escobedo posts.

Chula Vista teacher arrested in child porn case
By Pauline Repard and Susan Shroder
UTSD
Dec. 5, 2012

...Chula Vista Elementary School District officials are angry that they did not know about the case when they hired John Raymond Kinloch in 2000, spokesman Anthony Millican said.

Kinloch, 41, was taken into custody Friday following an investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. He was booked into jail on counts of possession of child pornography, using a minor in an obscene manner and luring a minor for a sex offense, according to the jail website.

The charges do not involve students in Kinloch’s class or in the district, Millican said.

He said Kinloch has taught at Wolf Canyon Elementary School since 2009 and was currently teaching first grade. Kinloch previously taught at Feaster Charter School.

He is on administrative leave and will not be on campus while the legal proceedings continue, Millican said.

Millican said the San Diego Reader published a story in June 1998 that said Kinloch, then a San Diego State student, was going to England to testify in the criminal trial of Christopher Wrigley, a college student accused in trafficking in child pornography. Wrigley’s files contained information that led investigators to Kinloch, and he was offered immunity by federal officials in the United States and England to testify, the Reader reported. He testified during the trial that he exchanged pornographic images of young boys with Wrigley, according to the Birmingham Post & Mail, a British newspaper.

Debra McLaren, principal at Wolf Elementary, sent a letter to parents Friday informing them of the arrest...

Feb. 15, 2011 board meeting will mark 10 years since Chula Vista teacher was removed on suspicion she would "come to school and shoot everybody"

Photo: Clowns came to Castle Park Elementary to protest bizarre events at the school

Feb. 15, 2011 board meeting will mark 10 years since Chula Vista teacher was removed on suspicion she would "come to school and shoot everybody." The district asked the teacher to return without doing any investigation. Then the whole scenario repeated itself. The second time the teacher refused to return without an investigation.

Any day now the board should begin its investigation into Castle Park Elementary teachers and their remarkable claims. Two current board members, Pamela Smith and Larry Cunningham, have presided over the bizarre sequence of events that has brought Castle Park Elementary to near ruin over the past ten years.

The accusers, several of whom became widely known in the media as members or supporters of "The Castle Park Five," refused to answer questions at their depositions in the lawsuit of the teacher who was removed. (The teacher who was removed is the author of this blog.)

See Peg Myers deposition.
See Gina Boyd depostion.

But the district itself has never done an investigation to find out the truth. It has instead spent $100,000s of tax dollars covering up the facts. Bate-stamped documents are still missing, even though a related case is now in the California Court of Appeal.

Compton parents pull parent trigger

Chula Vista has something in common with Compton--Richard Werlin, the administrator who made a mess out of Castle Park Elementary School.

Compton parents pull parent trigger
Parents demand to bring in charter operator
12/07/10
By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Today, parents at a Compton Unified elementary school will become the first in the state to use a new “parent trigger” law. They will demand that an outside charter school operator be brought in to take over their low-performing school. Organizers predict that parent groups in other districts, fed up with poor achievement and unsuccessful district reforms, will follow the lead of McKinley Elementary parents.

Confident that they have more than the majority of families’ signatures needed to exercise their right, the parents plan to drop off their petitions at the Compton Unified’s central office. The petition asks the board specifically to bring in Celerity Educational Group, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that runs four charter schools, starting next fall.

The Legislature passed the “parent trigger” law in January as part of legislation to strengthen the state’s unsuccessful Race to the Top application. The provision was pushed by Los Angeles Sen. Gloria Romero and opposed strongly by the California Teachers Assn. A half-dozen other states are considering adopting California’s law.

Under parent trigger, a majority of parents within a school can request one of four reform options similar to models that the Obama administration is requiring for failing schools: closing it down, transforming it through a longer day and other changes, restarting it with mostly new teachers and a new principal, and converting to a charter school. Most parents are expected to pursue the latter option, and the burden will be on district trustees to justify why they shouldn’t agree to that choice.

Schools that have failed to make targets under the federal No Child Left Behind law four consecutive years qualify for the parent trigger – about 1,300 of the state’s 10,000 schools. The law capped the number of parent trigger schools at 75. Getting enough signatures, amid expected opposition of teachers and districts, could prove daunting in many cases.

Last month, the Little Hoover Commission endorsed the parent trigger in a report on charter schools, saying: “This latest development expanding opportunities for parents to petition to convert existing schools into charter schools is another step in the right direction, … The Commission believes that parents should have the opportunity to petition to convert poor-performing schools into charter schools.”

Parents at the 500-student McKinley Elementary have been organizing since the summer, according to Ben Austin, a member of the State Board of Education and a leader of Parent Revolution, a non-profit organization that that lobbied for the law and has sought out parents to take advantage of it. Austin said he’s confident McKinley leaders have gathered signatures of 62 percent of parents. Under temporary regulations adopted by the State Board of Education, parents are entitled to one signature per student.

“It’s been an uphill fight,” Austin said. “The district holds all the cards. Only it knows the enrollment numbers and controls contact information for parents.” Organizers had to counter lies by opponents, Austin said, that a charter school would charge tuition and exclude special education students.

McKinley Elementary, with low-income minority children, scored in the bottom 10 percent of schools statewide, with an API score of 684, an increase of 26 points from 2009. African-American children’s scores dropped seven points to 635.

The district itself has struggled for years. Only 47 percent of students graduate, and only 3 percent of seniors – one tenth of the statewide average – have passed enough courses with high enough grades to qualify for a four-year public university.

In a scathing evaluation of the district this fall, a state District Assistance and Intervention Team concluded, “We remain deeply concerned about the commitment to student achievement across the district, and have grave reservations at this time, about the capacity of the District to make significant gains for students.” The report cited a focus on “adult issues as a priority before student needs;” a lack of civility and respect for people in meetings and during school visits; and a failure to hold adults accountable for their work and for unethical behavior.

Gail Mendes, who asked boss Richard Werlin to punish a fellow teacher, elected Secretary-Treasurer of CTA

A few days ago I wrote about Gail Mendes, the former president of United Teachers of Richmond, who has been elected as secretary-treasurer of California Teachers Association in an unusual challenge to a sitting executive officer.

The reaction among many CTA members has been negative.

Apparently, many votes for Mendes were cast to "send a message" to the CTA bigwigs; these voters didn't think that Mendes would actually be elected. They expected incumbent Daniel Vaughn to keep his seat.



Christy Marquez commented on Intercepts, a fine blog about education politics:

"...[I]t was a complete shock when the results were announced that she won by a very small margin. In fact, when her name was announced, not a single person in the room applauded. Instead, many were fighting back tears of sadness and anger that such a thing could happen to such a good man who has devoted many years to the union. Everyone agrees that nothing personal was intended and that the outcome was a complete fluke. Unfortunately, not a lot can be done about it now. Gail is completely unqualified for the position and does not have the experience nor support to succeed. She will most likely be challenged in two years for the position of vice president, and hopefully will lose to a more qualified and well-liked candidate..."





Diane Brown, a UTR teacher who contributes to the excellent blog "Progressive Teachers," wrote:

Gail Mendes' tenure as President of UTR was counter to principles of union democracy. Rank and file and UTR board members' rights were trampled on (a UTR board member described her leadership at rep council as "fascistic").

During a UTR election a first time candidate was running for a position on the executive board. This candidate's name was left off the ballot. Mendes went to the candidate's school site unannounced and strongly suggested that the candidate withdraw from the race. Unsuspecting any foul play the candidate agreed.

Some UTR members wrote letters to then-Vice President David Sanchez about Mendes' undemocratic hostile leadership. A UTR member at Mendes school described her as "dangerous."

I filed a complaint with the Public Employees Relations Board (PERB) charging Mendes with these abuses of office. November 30, 2006, Mendes reported me to Rick Werlin, WCCUSD Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, demanding that he discipline me for an alleged contract violation. Mendes' action, asking a boss to punish a fellow teacher and an Association member would be universally reviled and condemned by any class conscious union member. I met with the UTR Executive Board and asked that she resign her position as President.

On another occasion Mendes interfered with members right to elect a site representative of their choice. She had the election overturned.

When CTA members learned Mendes had been elected Secretary-Treasurer, one member said, "It's time to get out." CTA members who decided to "send a message" and vote for Mendes, made a mistake that they will live to regret. The only way to correct this mistake is through a RECALL campaign. I would not wait two years.

Diane Brown, CTA Member






Another teacher backs up Diane Brown's statements:

"...[Gail Mendes] initiated a grievance against a UTR member with the District Superintendent, Rick Werlin. This is ratting out a fellow union member. A former WCCUSD school board member has described Mendes as “vindictive” and said that she cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars for second parcel tax vote..."

Margaret Browne


[Maura Larkins' note: Of course, not all teachers voted for Mendes by accident. CTA director Jim Groth from Chula Vista worked well with the very same Richard Werlin who palled around with Gail Mendes. I'll bet that Jim Groth was an enthusiastic supporter of Mendes. Am I right, Jim? Clearly, some teachers truly believe that it's appropriate to get ahead in teacher union politics by trampling on teachers and students.]


[Maura Larkins' post script: A coincidence that makes this story more fascinating for me is that I attended kindergarten in Richmond schools (now known as WCCUSD) before returning to Chula Vista, where I went to 1st and 2nd grades in Chula Vista Elementary School District.]

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..."