Mayor Cheryl Cox confronts Sweetwater Union High School District; CVESD Supt. Escobedo needs to do a LOT MORE than work on "relationships"

Mayor takes aim at Sweetwater during speech
Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox delivers final state of the city, addresses issues at Sweetwater
By Allison Sampite-Montecalvo
SDUT
Feb. 25, 2014

CHULA VISTA — Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox delivered her final state of the city address Tuesday night to a packed city hall, using the forum to zero in on the Sweetwater school district, which she said needs to improve its relationship with the community...

Cox said the Sweetwater Union High school District's problems continue to affect the city’s reputation and students’ future. A major issue in the district has been the prosecution of four of five school board members on corruption charges. One has since pleaded guilty and resigned...

Cox said she’s done watching poor governance get worse.

[Maura Larkins comment: I see no indication at all that Sweetwater has gotten worse. Mayor Cox seems to be forgetting decades of bad behavior. Or perhaps Cox is only worried about contractor kickbacks, not the deeper corruption that affects students directly.

Does Mayor Cox think that the Mary Ann Weegar case was a result of better governance than what SUHSD has at present? And does she think Bonny Garcia gave better legal advice than Dan Shinoff does? Just over two years ago attorney Dan Shinoff took over Bonny Garcia's duties as SUHSD's lawyer for day-to-day advice. Shinoff continues, as he has done for over a decade, to defend the district when it gets sued. The board seems to think that Shinoff is good at silencing public comment about the district, but Mr. Shinoff seems to have lost his touch in that regard. He doesn't appear to have been much help to San Ysidro School District recently. Does Mayor Cox think that perenniel SUHSD Supt. Ed Brand suddenly became corrupt?]

See all SDER posts re Dan Shinoff.

“I am compelled to confront Sweetwater’s current problems through my ability to convene community members in constructive conversation,” she said. “It’s clear that the district is an asset that reflects on perceptions the city.”

In essence, she said it’s time for the district to overcome its bad reputation.

...In a statement released the following day, Sweetwater district superintendent Ed Brand said that putting learning first has been and will continue to be, the commitment of the district.

“Is the Sweetwater Union High School District going through a difficult time? Yes," Brand said. "Are there actions that we can take to improve the district? Of course there are. We appreciate the concern of Mayor Cox and welcome a dialogue on how to move forward."

Francisco Escobedo, superintendent of the Chula Vista Elementary School District, said her comments were poignant.

“I understand where she’s coming from and I look forward to improving our relationship and collaboration with Sweetwater,” he said.

[Maura Larkins' comment: Escobedo is right not to attack Sweetwater. He needs to clean up corruption at CVESD, but he has shown absolutely no interest in any such effort.]

Councilman Rudy Ramirez said he was glad to hear her weigh in on the issue.

“I like that she stepped out on Sweetwater,” he said. “It was a little uncharacteristic and edgy for her.”

[Maura Larkins' comment: Edgy? Are you kidding, Mr. Ramirez? It's about time someone made an issue of school corruption.]

Cox also discussed the concept of unifying the Sweetwater district with local elementary school districts, a proposal brought up last month by fellow Councilwoman Mary Salas.

“The idea of unifying K-12 was … in response to what I perceive to be frustration with the Sweetwater district,” she said. “First, it doesn’t address the issue of better governance, and second, minus the support of districts themselves, unification is dead on arrival.”

[Maura Larkins' comment: Good point! The unification project does NOT address the issue of better governance. Cheryl Cox knows that there are problems at CVESD. I suspect that she was pretty disgusted with CVESD by the time she left.] Cox, who will be termed out of the mayor's office in the fall, said the culture at Sweetwater should change at the top before a conversation about unification can be had.

“We’ve turned things around at city hall in the face of dire circumstances,” she said. “The same can be done at Sweetwater.”...

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

Mary Salas with Hillary Clinton

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sweetwater board member John McCann supports this idea.

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

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

Castle Park Promise Neighborhood gets a visit from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan--but has there really been a turnaround?

Less than a year ago Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced $60 million in grants to the Castle Park area.

Castle Park Elementary, the troubled school I attended as a child and taught at as an adult, certainly deserves a break. But I'm not sure that's what it's getting, even with $60 million in grants to the neighborhood.

Here's the problem: the culture of the school district and teachers union is as bankrupt as ever. Improved attendance has little impact when the dysfunctional culture of the district and the teachers union remains the same.

Here's a comment by a reader of the Chula Vista Star-News:

Sosocal says:
Sat, Sep 14 2013 04:30 PM

What could have been a great opportunity for honest dialogue unfortunately turned into something quite different: the Secretary of Education being spoon fed Ed Brand's scheme of the hour. Yes, principal Bleisch has created quite a stir, but what is the substance? Some might say, as long as the kids go to school and the district gets the funding, it's all ok. But is it?

We need honest answers regarding the finances of this district. We need honest answers from those who purport to represent us, but who really represent their own careerist issues.

What are the students learning from this? I hope the public is learning that they need to be involved.

I agree with the commenter. The network of corrupt officials in San Diego schools is fostered by San Diego County Office of Education. SDCOE protects officials who should be long gone. Why can't some of the $60 million in grants be used to clean up corruption in South Bay? Because the people involved in the grants are closely connected to the school districts, and they all protect each other. The public needs to know more about what's going on in schools, behind the red-painted windows.

See all posts re Castle Park Elementary School from this blog and from CVESD Reporter.


A Promise Neighborhood staff member works with students after school in the Castle Park Elementary computer lab in Chula Vista, Sept. 19, 2013. The software, paid for by the Promise Neighborhood is helping students improve their reading skills. Photo By Christopher Maue

See all posts re Castle Park Elementary School from San Diego Education Report Blog and from CVESD Reporter.

How A Federal Grant For Promise Neighborhoods Is Changing A Chula Vista Community
By Kyla Calvert
KPBS News
October 3, 2013

CHULA VISTA, CA — Ten-year-old Emily Jimenez Ayon wants to be a doctor. To do that, she knows she’ll need to go to college. And to get there she’s willing to make some sacrifices. For the moment that includes giving up her Qiunceañera, which is kind of like a coming out party that many Mexican-American families throw for their daughters’ fifteenth birthdays.

Last year, a partnership of almost 30 organizations in Chula Vista's Castle Park neighborhood received a five-year grant to provide "cradle-to-career" support for the neighborhood’s children and families.

“I want to save the money for when I get into the university," she said.

That’s right – she wants the money to go toward the cost of college. Her mother, Gladys Ayon, said this is a new outlook for her daughter that came after a few weeks of summer camps provided through a program called Promise Neighborhood.

“Before, we didn’t talk a lot about it," Ayon said in Spanish. "But the people from Promise came with the mentality of helping the mothers from the time they’re pregnant and helping them so that their children do well, and little by little, get to college.”

Castle Park’s Promise Neighborhood program is one of about a dozen Promise Neighborhoods operating across the country. The federal government has set aside about $100 million over the last three years for programs like these. Last year, a partnership of almost 30 organizations in Castle Park received a $28 million, five-year grant to provide what’s being called "cradle-to-career" support for the neighborhood’s children and families.

“We saw a lot of gaps in services and we saw a lot of what was keeping kids from being successful in school or keeping kids from going to college,” said Kathryn Lembo, CEO of South Bay Community Services, the group leading the Promise Neighborhood. “You had parents – 96 percent of the parents – saying they wanted their children to go to college and they talked to their kids about it. But then when you asked them what they were talking to them about, it was that, “we can’t afford it, you can’t go to college.”

But changing that mentality is a tall order in a neighborhood like Castle Park, where English proficiency is low, two-thirds of adults don’t have a high school diploma and more than half of households do not have a full-time breadwinner. That’s why they have to start early.

“There’s an early learning network and that has to do with preventing any gaps or getting rid of the gaps kids have even before they enter school," Lembo said.

A preschool that opened this year on the Castle Park Elementary campus where students are learning in English and Spanish is part of that network. It also includes newborn home visits by staff from family clinics and parenting classes called Universidad de Padres, or Parent University. Those classes are giving Gladys Ayon tools to get involved with her daughter’s education.

“This helped me a lot because in my daughter’s classroom everything is in English and the teacher gives me all the work in Spanish so I can explained it to her," Ayon said. "Now I communicate a lot with the teacher. It helps me with my daughter because I struggled a lot with English.”

Ayon is also spending more time on the school’s campus. Not just in classes – but planting and tending a once-neglected garden that parents took over as a result of those Promise Neighborhood classes. She says her two daughters are eating fruits and vegetables they would have refused before - or that she never would have thought to give them.

Evidence of Promise Neighborhood programs is everywhere on campus, from in-class and after-school tutors to an after -school computer lab where students catch up on reading skills.

The school’s resource teacher, Kim Callado, said they're also getting a direct connection to important services.

“We had a family that needed immediate help with shelter, so we went through the Promise Neighborhood, we ask them if they could do a referral then they helped them through the whole process,” she said.

Those connections have only been in place since school started at the end of July, but Callado said they’re starting to pay off.

“We’re still working on it, but yes, we’ve already seen a difference because we’re getting so much support on calling parents, asking them why they’re absent," she said. "So last week we were celebrating that we did really well with our attendance.”

But being on campus isn’t enough to make the Promise Neighborhood idea work.

On a recent afternoon the Promise Neighborhood’s Promotoras were getting ready to go knocking on doors to recruit for one of their programs. Cyndi Gonzalez became a Promotora after years of volunteering at her son’s school, Castle Park Middle, which is one of the four other schools that are part of the Promise Neighborhood.

“We are the eyes, the ears and especially the voice of the community," she said. "We’re there to inform the community of everything that we’re learning and we’re also there to navigate them through all of the programs.”

The Promotoras are neighborhood residents – so Gonzalez believes parents trust them in a way they may not trust school administrators. If parents are more comfortable, they’ll open up and let Promotoras know what services they may really need.

Gonzalez saw first hand what the influx of support and extended school day programs meant at her son's school.

“I would hear every morning, ‘I don’t want to go to school, I don’t want to go to school.’ And it was a struggle,” she said.

But – along with Promise Neighborhoods came a new philosophy.

“It holds them accountable for not going to school, for not doing their homework," she said. "And he would have to make up his days on Saturdays. I stopped hearing that every morning 'I don’t want to go to school,' because he knew – there’s consequences.”

Now, he’s in high school outside the neighborhood, but he knows college is in his future. Gonzalez's family is planning for him in ways they didn’t for his older sister.

“We didn’t have all the information," she said. "I’m sure the school had it, but it wasn’t accessible, readily accessible to us at the time and I think that’s one of the reasons why I got involved also, because I wanted to share that information with the community also.”

When the five-year grant ends, the schools and organizations will have to find other ways to keep the successful programs running, Lembo said.

They’ll be gauging success in a lot of different ways -- tracking things like how many infants and toddlers have access to medical care somewhere other than an emergency room, asking parents how much they read to young children and harder data like high school graduation, college enrollment and test scores...




Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to hold town hall forum in Chula Vista
Forum held at Castle Park Middle School
Channel 10 News
09/13/2013

SAN DIEGO - Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and senior U.S. Department of Education staff are scheduled to conduct a town hall forum on education Friday morning in Chula Vista.

The event at Castle Park Middle School will conclude the officials' fourth annual back-to-school bus tour, which has included 15 events in 11 cities in the southwestern United States.

Duncan is scheduled to kick off the forum with a pep rally at 9 a.m., when he's expected to make remarks on the role communities plays in educating children.

"The strength of America's economy is inextricably linked to the strength of America's education system," Duncan said before beginning the bus tour.

The town hall topic will be "Promise Neighborhoods," which the Department of Education describes as "cradle-to-career initiatives that call on the entire community to provide comprehensive place-based supports such as high-quality early learning, rich after-school activities, health and wellness services, and crime prevention."

Breakout sessions on a variety of topics will follow.

Castle Park Middle School is one of four schools in Chula Vista that belongs to the Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood, which received a federal grant last year of almost $5 million.


Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood

South Bay Community Services provides the most comprehensive range of services and programs for families, children and individuals in South San Diego County. Our programs are for everyone at anytime in their lives when they need it the most. With the continuous support from community members and generous sponsors, we are able to respond to the overwhelming needs of our community . . . touching the lives of more than 50,000 annually.

South Bay Community Services (SBCS) has been part of the community since 1971 providing the most comprehensive range of services and programs for families, children and individuals in South San Diego County. Our programs are for everyone at any time in their lives when they need it the most.

SBCS began as “Our House”, opened by the City of Chula Vista in an effort to combat the groups of “long-hair” teens who were using and dealing drugs in Memorial Park. Our House was a drop-in center where teen drug users could go for counseling and drug rehabilitation. Its success brought about the need for growth and a board of directors. And grow we did. Soon, Our House came to be called South Bay Community Services and has been growing with the needs of the community ever since. Today, we have a staff of more than 400 with many stationed throughout South San Diego County at shelters, clinics, police departments, schools, affordable housing facilities and family resource centers. SBCS is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) with a main office located at 1124 Bay Blvd.

There have been many notable milestones reached throughout the years...

1982 Kathryn Lembo takes role of Executive Director...

Bertha Lopez fit in perfectly at Sweetwater Union High School District

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sweetwater legal fees effort fizzles

Shame on the teachers union for not calling a halt to corruption years earlier. There were articles for years in the San Diego Union Tribune about the strange legal fees paid to Bonny Garcia. Why was CTA silent? Because CTA gets cooperation behind the scenes from corrupt board members in most districts.

Sweetwater legal fees effort fizzles
Proposal to fund them for 3 current and one former official dies
Ashly McGlone
UTSD
Jan. 31, 2012

An effort to have the Sweetwater school district pay up to $1.3 million in legal fees for current and former officials ran into trouble Tuesday as the idea lacked support from the community and the school board.

Items on the agenda to fund the legal defense of former board member Greg Sandoval and current board members Pearl Quinones and Arlie Ricasa did not move forward, as no one on the board moved the items for action.

Quinones, Sandoval and Ricasa are charged by the District Attorney’s Office with accepting gifts from contractors, failing to report them on required state forms and then voting for contracts for the donors. They have pleaded not guilty. All three were on the agenda for $400,000 in fees.

Board member Bertha Lopez, whose home was raided but she was not charged, was on the agenda for a $100,000 of legal fees. She withdrew the request around 12:45 a.m. Tuesday at the end of a seven-hour meeting.

As the district laid out the agenda, board members would be able to recuse themselves from the vote on their own legal fees, but approve the expense for colleagues.

Attorneys Cory Briggs, from a citizens group suing for return of payments to contractors, told the board that recusal would not work to cure a conflict of interest for board members voting.

The meeting was the first since Jan. 4, when District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis issued the charges.

More than 700 people gathered in the gymnasium at Hilltop High School for varying reasons. A group of about 30 people in attendance supporting board member Arlie Ricasa wore blue ribbons.

At least 200 held signs reading "Recall or Resign."

Mar Vista High School teacher Lauren McLennan served three members --Ricasa, Jim Cartmill and John McCann -- with recall notices.

McLennan, a leader of the newly created "Occupy Sweetwater" movement, said trustees must be recalled because they "have let scandal after scandal occur on their watch because they are more focused on their political careers than their duties as school board members."

"We are not recalling them simply because of the felonies and misdemeanors,” McLennan said. ‘’This is for years and years of neglect."

Craig Miles, teacher and varsity tennis coach at Montgomery High School, said, "You have to be here because this is about the future of the district, not only for the board members but about the bond money and how it is being used and who is trying to control it."

Miles cautioned the public to reserve judgment.

"The turnout is good and this process will play out but the legal issues have to be respected and they often take time and everyone is innocent until proven guilty, not just accused."

Many members of the public expressed ardent opposition to the proposed payment of legal fees.

Sofia Reyes, 11, took to the podium Monday to urge board members to not approve the legal fees.

"That money shouldn't be used to pay for the board member's attorneys. It should go towards improving the schools," Reyes said. "Clean up your act. Next year when I enter middle school I want to be proud of my district, not ashamed by what they have done and hidden from us."

When the Trouble Started for Sweetwater Schools

Bond money seems to have gone up in smoke in other school districts, but Bonnie Dumanis focuses on Chula Vista Democrats. Why?

When the Trouble Started for Sweetwater Schools
January 23, 2012
By Rob Davis

The construction company's website implicitly acknowledges the potential for public officials to abuse their posts. But the Seville Group says it stands above that. Integrity isn't just a buzzword, its About Us page says. Ethics are at the core of the company's existence. Without ethics, there is only failure.

Click on the company motto — Edge, Execute, Excel — and its principles appear.
"We have a simple test," it says. "Before you make any decision on behalf of the company ask yourself these questions: Is it illegal? Is it immoral? Is it unethical? Is it stupid? Most public officials who get into trouble should have answered ‘yes' to one of these questions. The same is true for companies that work for public agencies."

Trouble started for the Sweetwater Union High School District on a spring evening in 2007, with what seemed like a routine decision on an innocuous agenda item involving Seville. Months earlier, voters had approved borrowing $644 million to modernize the South Bay school district's buildings. Now, the public agency overseeing the South Bay's middle and high schools had to choose someone to oversee all that spending.
The selection process had been exhaustive, board members were told. Then-Superintendent Jesus Gandara recommended what he said was the top firm: a joint venture of Seville Group and another company, Gilbane. The board hired the venture and handed it $7.5 million in work.

But Gilbane/Seville hadn't initially been the top firm. The district's internal ratings were tossed out. That happened routinely.

The district's decision to hire Gilbane/Seville — and later to give it even more work — brought instant criticism, even allegations of corruption. Now, five years later, it has led to criminal charges, in what District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis says was a pervasive pay-to-play scheme.

At the same time Gilbane/Seville leapfrogged another company ranked higher, it bestowed its largess on officials handing out tens of millions in contracts. Court records show that Gandara, who recommended the company, saw "Jersey Boys" with a Gilbane contractor and was treated to expensive dinners at restaurants across the region.

When Gandara's daughter competed for the title of Miss Texas, where they lived previously, the contractor, Henry Amigable, stepped forward with a $1,000 sponsorship, court documents say. When then-board member Greg Sandoval's daughter vied to become Miss South County, Amigable wrote a $500 check, records show. Gandara, Sandoval and two current Sweetwater board members — Pearl Quiñones and Arlie Ricasa — all face felony charges of failing to report numerous gifts from contractors.

The case strikes at the heart of the South Bay political establishment. Beyond those charged, investigators have searched the home of Bertha Lopez, a Sweetwater trustee whose husband, Jose, is the Otay Water District's president. They've also searched the homes of two former Southwestern College officials, Nicholas Alioto and John Wilson.

Investigators have interviewed the mayors of Chula Vista and National City, county supervisors and a San Diego city councilman. Jaime Bonilla, another Otay Water District board member, is also mentioned in search warrants; Bertha Lopez and Seville employees had an appointment to dine at his house.

The case has widely been publicized as a bribery investigation. Dumanis has said the officials accepted "what amounted to bribes." But only one person faces a bribery charge, Gilbane's former employee, Amigable.

Prosecutors haven't charged anyone with receiving bribes. School officials instead are charged with failing to report gifts and filing false gift disclosure forms, both felonies. Prosecutors have also leveled lesser misdemeanors, alleging the school leaders had a personal financial interest in their decisions.

The circumstances speak to the unseemly side of politics, a world where gift-giving, influence peddling and campaign donations are all routine and legal — to a point. Politicians across the county regularly receive campaign funding from lobbyists and contractors doing business with their agencies. It's how the system works.
California law allows public officials to accept up to $420 in gifts annually from businesses and people working with their agencies. The gifts have to be disclosed, and they can't be explicitly traded for someone's vote. Prosecutors say the Sweetwater officials far exceeded gift limits, taking thousands without reporting it on state forms submitted under penalty of perjury.

The case also shows how a typically unseen influence game is played. One example: Prosecutors say Southwestern College's Wilson fed inside information to one construction company, recommended the firm for a job, retired a month later and then went to work for it. No charges have been filed related to it, though Dumanis has said more charges could be forthcoming in the case.

Prosecutors haven't disclosed everything that they uncovered while executing search warrants in December. But the evidence they have released so far connecting the gifts to favorable votes is largely circumstantial.

Weeks before Gilbane/Seville got that Sweetwater contract, Quiñones went to Seville's president for a favor. Quiñones was prepping for a bigger political stage and wanted a resume builder.

She asked Rene Flores Sr. to contact then-Assemblyman Joe Coto, D-San Jose, on her behalf, court records show, and sent Flores her resume. "[H]ope you can help me with this... it is really important to me," she wrote.

Flores forwarded the resume to Coto, according to emails released by prosecutors, telling the assemblyman he hoped he would find Quiñones "an appropriate compensated commission where she might serve the State of California." Quiñones was considering running for state office, Flores said, and hoped to raise her profile and make more public appearances.

As the vote on Gilbane/Seville neared, court records show Flores emailed Quiñones to say he was trying to set up a meeting with Coto. "And again, I want to thank you very much for your support," Flores wrote.

Quiñones replied that she could meet a couple of weeks later. "Please let me know..." she said, "and also I support those that support me!"

Questions about impropriety arose from the moment the deal with Gilbane/Seville was struck in 2007.

Nick Marinovich, a contracting expert who served on an earlier construction oversight committee, publicly questioned the school board's decision to hire Gilbane/Seville.

Marinovich had spent nearly three decades overseeing public construction projects for San Diego County. He knew how contractors were supposed to be selected — with a process free of political influence, without top executives getting involved.
But Gandara had participated and recommended Gilbane/Seville, even though another venture, Harris/Gafcon, ranked higher and was drawing good reviews as the district's current construction overseer. So Marinovich went to the board and lodged his criticism. The reaction? "Indifference," Marinovich said.

"It didn't pass the smell test," he said in a recent interview. "It was really just a gut level reaction."

Community concerns persisted. A 2008 San Diego County Taxpayers Association report urged more transparency for Sweetwater's construction hiring, noting that any questions about Gilbane/Seville could've been avoided if the district had been open about its reasons. The report noted that at least one unnamed community member was worried about possible corruption.

Gandara had repeatedly intervened in the district's selection process for construction companies. A 2009 voiceofsandiego.org investigation found that lower-ranked firms were routinely picked. One law firm, Garcia, Calderon & Ruiz, was hired even though it rated last out of four firms. The internal rankings were often disregarded, the investigation concluded, making it difficult to determine why the district hired the firms it did. Both Seville and the law firm have since had their work suspended. Seville says it isn't a target of the D.A.'s investigation.

Concerned parents routinely went to board meetings throughout 2009 and 2010, criticizing the board for its oversight of construction spending and for accepting campaign donations from companies working for the district. One parent, Stewart Payne, said he thought the board's behavior was strange enough that he went to the FBI in early 2011. Then he and other parents went to the district attorney.

"I just said: Something's wrong here, I don't know what it is, but something's not making sense," Payne said. "Something was just wrong."

DA: 5 Charged in School Corruption Case

Skimming money does undermine an agency, but often it's a small potatoes operation. The folks who don't skim from the agencies, but subvert the entire agency for their personal goals take vastly larger sums legally.

For example, Diane Crosier and Dan Puplava at the San Diego County of Education benefit from a corrupt system, and the SDCOE board and Superintendent Randy Ward do not even require Diane Crosier to report gifts.

SDCOE is protected by the news media in San Diego ever since Emily Alpert was forced to stop her investigation of SDCOE.



Investigators call it a corrupt, "pay-to-play" bribery scheme
By Sarah Grieco
NBC San Diego
Jan 4, 2012

Charges have been filed against five current and former Sweetwater school officials in a South Bay corruption case, according to District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.

Former Superintendent Jesus Gandara, former board member Greg Sandoval, current board members Pearl Quinones and Arlie Ricasa and construction contracting executive Henry Amigable have all been charged with crimes.

Felony charges include bribery, perjury and influencing elected officials. Misdemeanor charges were also filed

If convicted, the maximum sentence would be four to seven years.

Gandara had the most charges with seven counts of felony and three misdemeanors. Amigable, whose company also allegedly made campaign contributions to board members, received two felony charges.

The yearlong investigation began when the DA office received multiple anonymous tips on the behavior of the past and present school board members.

Investigators are calling it a corrupt, "pay-to-play" bribery scheme, involving South Bay schools and college boards.

Dumanis said the case is believed to be the largest of its kind in San Diego County.

"For years, public officials regularly accepted what amounted to bribes in exchange for their votes on multi-million dollar construction projects," she said. “This case is outrageous and shameful.”

There are allegations of lavish meals, $1,000 bottles of wine, Southwest airline tickets, Lakers and Rose Bowl tickets that helped win multi-million dollar contracts for school construction.

Investigators from the DA’s office searched seven homes, including those of Quinones, Ricasa and Board Member Bertha Lopez. Investigators took computers, calendars and other records.

Dumanis repeatedly said during a press conference that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges or defendants could be possible.

The arraignment for Gandara, Sandoval, Ricasa, Quinones and Amigable is scheduled for Jan. 13


School Officials Accepted Thousands in Gifts: DA
Lavish meals, sporting events tickets and more given to school board officials
By Paul Krueger
NBC San Diego
Dec 28, 2011

The homes of three school board members were raided Dec. 20 by DA investigators.
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Investigators are calling it a corrupt, "pay-to-play" bribery scheme, involving South Bay schools and college boards.

Allegations of lavish meals, $100 bottles of wine, and Rose Bowl tickets that helped win multi-million dollar contracts for school construction.

According to search warrants made public today, one school board member got tickets to Padres, Chargers, Angels and Lakers games -- sometimes in the stadium's private suite -- plus two nights at the Biltmore Hotel in Pasadena and tickets to the Rose Bowl.

Last week, investigators from the District Attorney's office searched seven homes. The targets include three members of the Sweetwater Union High School District: Pearl Quinones, Bertha Lopez and Arlie Ricasa.

Investigators took computers, calendars and other records, but would not disclose the reason for those raids.

These search warrants, unsealed Tuesday in Superior Court, provide new details about an alleged felony bribery scheme involving a construction company executive who pursued school administrators and board members with gifts, in return for their approval of school construction projects.

One investigator calls it a "corrupt pay-for-play culture" that tarnished the Sweetwater Union School District, and Southwest College, in Chula Vista.

At the center of the alleged scam is Henry Amigable, who worked for Gilbane/SGI construction management.

Investigators say he spent thousands of dollars on food and wine for school board members, including a $1,700 restaurant meal.

Amigable's company also allegedly made campaign contributions to board members, to get the inside track on business, and spent more than $2,000 on theater tickets and dinner for South Bay board members and administrators, including former Sweetwater superintendent Jesus Gandara.

Gilbane Construction also allegedly paid a $1,000 beauty pageant fee, for Gandara's daughter, and a $500 beauty pageant scholarship for the daughter of former Sweetwater board president, Greg Sandoval.

Sandoval allegedly got those tickets to sporting events in San Diego and Los Angeles, and the New Year's eve hotel stay in Pasadena.

According to the search warrant, Sandoval "had his hand out for gifts so often, even employees from the construction company remarked that he has no shame."

Schools chief charges meals despite allowance; Meals went mostly to Sweetwater school board

Jesus M. Gandara

Over three years, Gandara billed $11,500 to his district credit card for 303 meals...Sweetwater cut $11 million from its budget this year and is facing a $25 million deficit next year.

Schools chief charges meals despite allowance
Gandara gets $800 a month for expenses, but still uses district credit card to eat out
By Tanya Sierra and Ashly McGlone
SDUT
April 4, 2011

South County schools Superintendent Jesus Gandara receives an $800-a-month allowance for expenses in addition to his $250,000 salary, but has charged hundreds of meals on top of that on a district credit card.

Over three years, Gandara billed $11,500 to his district credit card for 303 meals, according to documents obtained under the California Public Records Act...

“It is my duty to make myself available to the community,” Gandara said in a statement. “These meetings are held with board members, community members and parents, and I make myself available on their schedules. Oftentimes that is before and after work hours, and during meal times.”

Since business is discussed, he charges the meals to the public agency, Gandara said.

...Gandara’s contract to run the Chula Vista-based district with 41,454 students and 5,257 employees grants him a $750 a month auto allowance and $800 a month for other expenses.

...San Diego Unified’s Bill Kowba brings his lunch to work almost every day, a district spokesman said, and has billed no meals in the past six months.

The same holds true at the Grossmont Union School District in East County. Superintendent Ralf Swenson charged fewer than five meals in the eight months he has been with the district, spokeswoman Catherine Martin said.

In Poway, Superintendent John Collins expensed fewer than five meals since arriving in the district in July, schools spokeswoman Sharon Raffer said...

Sweetwater cut $11 million from its budget this year and is facing a $25 million deficit next year. In recent years officials threatened to lay off teachers, expanded class sizes and cut a number of programs to make up for cash shortfalls. No teachers were laid off this year; last year, six teachers were let go.

Sweetwater board president John McCann, a former Chula Vista councilman who is expected to run for mayor, would not talk about Gandara’s expenses.

“We have found $33 million in budget savings which has enabled us to not layoff any teachers and are still scrutinizing every budget item to find additional savings,” McCann wrote.

Board members Arlie Ricasa, Jim Cartmill and Pearl Quinones did not respond to requests for an interview. Board member Bertha Lopez, who has been a frequent critic of Gandara, did agree to discuss the matter.

“I didn’t know he was doing this,” she said. “I knew he had an $800 expense account. That’s where I would expect the money for the meals to come from.”

In addition to the meals, Gandara spent $5,730 on airline tickets, $4,745 in hotel charges and $7,360 for conferences and other expenses between November 2007 and December 2010, the review of his bills shows.



Seated: Arlie Ricasa, Pearl Quinones, Bertha Lopez; standing: unknown individual (even the district website does not identify him), John McCann, Jesus Gandara (superintendent), Jim Cartmill
Meals went mostly to Sweetwater school board
Superintendent had cited community outreach when credit card issue arose
By Ashly McGlone
SDUT
May 13, 2011

...Some $12,560 was charged to Gandara’s district credit card for 366 meals from November 2007 to March 16, when he stopped using it.

The most common meal partners for Gandara were members of the school board, who took part in 238 of the meals.

Trustee Arlie Ricasa dined with the superintendent 92 times, followed by trustee Pearl Quinones at 49 times. Former trustee Greg Sandoval met with Gandara 41 times, according to the records, while trustee Jim Cartmill met with him 38 times and Bertha Lopez met with him 11 times.

Newly appointed board member John McCann appears seven times, including once as a Chula Vista councilman before his job on the school board.

Gandara’s credit card paid for 27 meals for staff members, ten for union representatives and six for superintendents from other school districts.

Twenty-five meals totaling $863 were missing documentation to indicate who Gandara ate with, if anyone. Another 25 meals were purchased for Gandara with no indication that anyone accompanied him.

The remaining 35 meals were purchased for community members including parents, area city council members or chamber of commerce leaders, among others...

PETER BARRON STARK: SCHOOLS MASK PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF SOLVING THEM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


PBS Consulting's education client list:

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

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

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

Steve Castaneda found not guilty, is reelected

ELECTION UPDATE
NOVEMBER 5, 2008

STEVE CASTANEDA

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

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




ORIGINAL POST:

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

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

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

Here is the story from Fox News:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grade tampering at Preuss School is minor dishonesty compared to SDCOE

Academic honesty policies are a joke compared to deep corruption at top of education system.

San Diego Union Tribune Columnist Gerry Braun wrote on December 16, 2007, "It's only appropriate, then, to award a big "F/U" to whoever is responsible for the unconscionable failure of ethics at the Preuss charter school...Frankly, I'm not optimistic that justice will be served...Victoria Munoz Richart transformed her bumbling tenure as president of MiraCosta College into a pot of gold, a $1.6 million severance package."

San Diego County Office of Education-Joint Powers Authority deserves an F/U for its dishonesty policy. The SDCOE-JPA is administered by Superintendent Randolph Ward and his assistant superintendent Lora Duzyk. They have seen fit to keep Diane Crosier as director of the JPA, even though they have long known that Crosier keeps unethical lawyers on her approved lists of lawyers. Crosier helps her insurance broker Keenan and Associates make money by short-circuiting the justice system to help school districts get away with wrongdoing.

Compared to this, the big brouhaha of changed grades at UCSD's Preuss School seems like child's play to me.

The real scandal in schools is not the grades that are given, but the fact that so few students get a good education. With insurance companies, bogus repackaged education program businesses, and conservative religious leaders on the right, teachers unions on the left, and politicians on the right and left jockeying for personal power, the entire system is at a complete standstill.

Former "Principal of the Year" Doris Alvarez is apparently the unethical administrator in the Preuss grade scandal, but I don't think she's any less ethical than many other popular principals.

One of the straightest paths to popularity in school administration is to be a people pleaser, especially to people higher up than you. Personal politics is one of the driving forces in education.

The cure? A lot more openness and honesty. Especially when required by a court of law, SDCOE-JPA lawyers need to start revealing the truth about what's happening in schools. Instead, they hide behind the stone wall set up by SDCOE, insurance companies, and school districts. Sadly, this stone wall is respected by the California state courts, whose judges, particularly in the court of appeal, think schools should not have to answer to the law.

This arbitrary power is the enemy of a meritocracy, and is one of the reasons that schools are not meritocracies, but rather political arenas where far too many teachers, administrators, and board members spend their time jockeying for money and personal power instead of honestly dealing with problems.

San Diego County's school system needs to get rid of Diane Crosier and her stable of lawyers and school superintendents who ignore the law.