>Many people have told me that my case is so complicated that they simply don't understand it. They have asked for a summary, and here it is.
Maura Larkins v. CVESD was the result of an odd confluence of circumstances, and at the same time it was a typical event in the system that prevails at many schools across the United States. This system values politics and personal loyalty among adults over the duty to educate and protect children.
MY EX-SISTER-IN-LAW WANTED TO BE MANAGER OF MY FATHER'S APARTMENTS
I had been teaching at Chula Vista Elementary
School District for 27 years when the problem began.
It started with a family problem: I was
co-administrator of my father's estate,
and one of my brothers was secretly
unhappy about it. He and his ex-wife decided
to use the police to remove me from my position.
MY TROUBLED EX-SISTER-IN-LAW IS TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY THE DISTRICT
I was removed from my classroom
on February 12, 2001 due to a false police report
(see "A False Police Report" on this page)
made by my mentally-ill and substance-abusing
ex-sister-in-law. However, the district didn't
want to admit this, since using the
illegally-obtained police report
(no charges were filed against me)
was a misdemeanor.
THE DISTRICT DECIDES TO COVER-UP ITS MISTAKE
There is no chance that the district
would have been charged with a crime
for its silly little misdemeanor
(Labor Code section 432.7), but the district
decided it would rather spend $100,000s
of tax dollars to pay its lawyers to cover up the mistake
than to simply admit it made a mistake.
THE DISTRICT COMES UP WITH A STORY
The reason given by the district for my removal was that
two teachers had called assistant superintendent Richard Werlin
at home on a Saturday evening and said they believed
I might be about to kill them. Oddly, the district
created NO DOCUMENT at this time to explain
the reason I was removed from my classroom,
nor did it investigate the alarming report.
THE DISTRICT CHANGES ITS STORY
Within a month, the district changed its story,
saying that only one teacher, Jo Ellen Hamilton,
had called Richard Werlin about me. Hamilton later
testified under oath that she had simply called
Werlin at his invitation to discuss a planned meeting.
THE FAX THAT CAUSED CVESD TO DO AN ABRUPT ABOUT-FACE
On April 3, 2001 I sent a
fax to the district. The next day I was abruptly
asked to return to work, and at the
same time the district belatedly
prepared a document to explain why
I had been removed from my classroom
in the first place. The document
contained a new, completely false
accusation by Richard Werlin and
never mentioned the teacher reports.
I GO BACK TO WORK
I went back to teach in April 2001 because
it seemed clear that my accusers had
been deemed unreliable (either crazy
or dishonest or some combination of the two),
and I assumed that the fabricated excuse in
Richard Werlin's document , was merely
an effort by an embarrassed human resources director
to cover up his mistake.
But I was wrong. It was more than a cover-up;
it was, in fact, a set-up.
BIZARRE NEW ALLEGATIONS
A week after returning, Linda Watson, one of the
teachers who had accused me earlier,
and a new accuser who made a written report,
came forward with bizarre allegations.
AN IMPENDING ELECTION CAUSED THE TEACHERS UNION TO ABANDON ITS OBLIGATIONS
I did not know it at the time, but the teachers
union, Chula Vista Educators, was
working with my accuser Linda Watson. CVE President
Gina Boyd had worked at my school until 1995, and
although she did not share the motivations
of her friends at Castle Park Elementary,
she was running for reelection and felt she
needed to keep them happy in order to win.
This effort was supported by California Teachers
Association Board of Directors member Jim Groth.
Richard Werlin, with the approval of the cabinet
(including Libia Gil and Lowell Billings),
had triggered an all-out hysteria at my school.
Two staff members told me that many teachers were afraid
that I was "going to come to school and shoot everybody.”
DISTRICT DOESN'T BOTHER TO INVESTIGATE MASS MURDER RUMOR THAT CAUSES HYSTERIA AMONG TEACHERS
Without making any effort to
establish that a Columbine-type
event was not in the offing, the
district demanded that I come back
to work in September of 2001. This
time I refused.
My lawyer demanded an investigation
to clear my name and cool down the crucible
that Castle Park Elementary had become, but
the district refused. It was clear that anyone
could make any accusation against me, and it
would be believed and acted on: I was not
safe at work.
SCHOOL ATTORNEY MARK BRESEE GETS HELP FROM DANIEL SHINOFF
Attorney Mark Bresee, who was then working with
Parham & Rajcic and was recently chosen as chief counsel
for Terry Grier at SDUSD, had been giving legal advice
to CVESD up to this point.
When I filed a tort claim on October 4, 2001, attorney Diane Crosier and claims adjuster Rodger Hartnett of San Diego County Office of Education Joint Powers Authority, along with their favorite attorney, Daniel Shinoff of Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz, became involved.
THE DISTRICT RETALIATES WHEN I FILE GRIEVANCES
I filed 3 grievances on November 13, 2001. The very next day the
district threatened me with dismissal. This was a violation of
the Elementary Education Relations Act (EERA) and other laws.
The district took no action on its
threats, however, until I filed a
lawsuit on March 12, 2002. On May
7, 2002 Patrick Judd, Cheryl Cox,
Pamela Smith, Bertha Lopez and
Larry Cunningham voted to dismiss
me, thus violating California Labor
Code section 1102.5 which prohibits
retaliation against employees for
reporting wrongdoing. This was also
a violation of the constitutional right
to petition for redress of grievances.
THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS SEEMS TO HAVE A GIFT FOR COMEDY
My dismissal was upheld by the
Office of Administrative Hearings.
Judge H. James Ahler conducted
a hearing that was almost as comical
as it was illegal. At one point
Judge Ahler jumped up and
ordered the panelists to join him in a
side room, where he told them to
disregard my testimony. I heard his
words because I was sitting on the
witness stand a few feet from him.
The court reporter and all the rest of us
sat at attention during the ten
minutes the panel was in the little
room, but the judge's words were
not included in the transcript
because the reporter couldn't hear
them.
The school district spent many tax
dollars, and the California Teachers
Association spent plenty of teachers'
dues, to get my lawsuit thrown out.
Perjury by employees was also
required, but the effort seemed to pay off
for the district and CTA when my lawsuit was
dismissed in 2005.
DISTRICT LAWYERS BRING THE CASE BACK TO COURT IN 2007
As fate would have it, however, my case
is back in court. CVESD’s law firm,
Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz,
brought this case back to San Diego Superior Court
in 2007 by filing a defamation suit against me
for publishing this website.
So it’s still possible that justice and sanity
will find their way back to Chula Vista Elementary
School District.
by Maura Larkins
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Following the Money Trail at Sweetwater Union High School District
If you are one of the people who has been wondering why Sweetwater Union High School District built two gyms for $10 million each while classrooms were overcrowded and inadequate, you will be happy to read SAVE SWEETWATER, a website on which one can find some hard evidence about what is going on.
SUHSD has long been famous for corruption. Chula Vista Elementary has only recently come to rival Sweetwater's reputation.
Mary Anne Weegar and Ed Brand at Sweetwater Union High School District
Sweetwater Union High School District is being faced with a hostile takeover effort by Bertha Lopez, a Chula Vista Elementary Board member and, in that capacity, a fan of lawyer Daniel Shinoff of Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz, who litigated the Mary Anne Weegar case (below). Bertha has spent $100,000s on Shinoff's firm to cover up wrongdoing at CVESD, and it appears that she can be counted on to do the same at SUHSD. Sweetwater would do well to keep current trustee Jaime Mercado, and let Bertha continue her work with the cynical incumbents at CVESD.
From the SAVE SWEETWATER website
$678,000 Worth of Wrongful Termination
Mary Anne Weegar was the head of categorical programs for the Sweetwater Union High School District until 1999. Categorical programs are programs and money allocated for specific educational purposes by both the state and federal governments. Sweetwater received over $2.5 million in categorical aid from the Federal government and over $4.5 million from the state of California in fiscal year 2001. There are stringent requirements on how categorical money can be used and Weegar attempted to see that the money was spent properly. This was not appreciated by those above her and her authority as watchdog over categorical spending was slowly eroded. A computer whiz student aide who helped Weegar with her computers noticed a form in the Superintendent’s part of the computer network called “Reacquiring of categorical funds” When it was discovered that someone had accessed this part of the network, Weegar was locked out of her office, forced to retire,and the young computer whiz was accosted in the parking lot by a well known Sweetwater sociopath and threatened with denial of graduation. The young man’s father was a cop and soon straightened that out, but Weegar was out of a job and soon filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the District.
The main witnesses called from the district were Superintendent Ed Brand and Chief Financial Officer Barry Dragon. Dragon was formerly with Arthur Anderson and when he was asked recently by a concerned citizen what the Superintendent’s annual salary was, ($200,000), since no one else at the District Office knew, he reacted as if the concerned citizen had threatened to crash a plane into the District Office. When reminded that he and the Superintendent were public servants and that their salaries were from public funds, his venom and hostility subsided and he belatedly divulged the evidently little known fact that Brand (at $200,000 per year) makes more than the Governor of California ($175,000 per year).
When Brand testified, he stated that he had a vast and thorough knowledge of all of Sweetwater’s policies and regulations, but when asked which policy gave him the authority to lock Weegar out of her office, he sat slack-jawed and speechless for over a minute and never could come up with any legal justification for locking out the 30 year veteran employee.
From the SAVE SWEETWATER website
$678,000 Worth of Wrongful Termination
Mary Anne Weegar was the head of categorical programs for the Sweetwater Union High School District until 1999. Categorical programs are programs and money allocated for specific educational purposes by both the state and federal governments. Sweetwater received over $2.5 million in categorical aid from the Federal government and over $4.5 million from the state of California in fiscal year 2001. There are stringent requirements on how categorical money can be used and Weegar attempted to see that the money was spent properly. This was not appreciated by those above her and her authority as watchdog over categorical spending was slowly eroded. A computer whiz student aide who helped Weegar with her computers noticed a form in the Superintendent’s part of the computer network called “Reacquiring of categorical funds” When it was discovered that someone had accessed this part of the network, Weegar was locked out of her office, forced to retire,and the young computer whiz was accosted in the parking lot by a well known Sweetwater sociopath and threatened with denial of graduation. The young man’s father was a cop and soon straightened that out, but Weegar was out of a job and soon filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the District.
The main witnesses called from the district were Superintendent Ed Brand and Chief Financial Officer Barry Dragon. Dragon was formerly with Arthur Anderson and when he was asked recently by a concerned citizen what the Superintendent’s annual salary was, ($200,000), since no one else at the District Office knew, he reacted as if the concerned citizen had threatened to crash a plane into the District Office. When reminded that he and the Superintendent were public servants and that their salaries were from public funds, his venom and hostility subsided and he belatedly divulged the evidently little known fact that Brand (at $200,000 per year) makes more than the Governor of California ($175,000 per year).
When Brand testified, he stated that he had a vast and thorough knowledge of all of Sweetwater’s policies and regulations, but when asked which policy gave him the authority to lock Weegar out of her office, he sat slack-jawed and speechless for over a minute and never could come up with any legal justification for locking out the 30 year veteran employee.
For some board members at Sweetwater Union High School District, it's not about the kids
For many school board members, keeping their power and position is more important than the education of students. Few board members can hold a candle to Jim Cartmill, the favored recipient of developer dollars in Sweetwater Union High School District.
Board member Jaime Mercado has opposed the shameful use of bond money to build two gyms for $20 million instead of building classrooms, the advertised purpose of the bond.
San Diego Magazine
February 2003
Walking the Districts
By Thomas K. Arnold
...In November 2000, South Bay voters approved a $187 million bond measure to pay for improvements at 21 middle and high schools through a property tax surcharge for 25 years. But more than two years later, the only big-ticket projects that have been completed are new gymnasiums at Mar Vista High in Imperial Beach and Sweetwater High in National City.
Officials with the Sweetwater Union High School District, with nearly 38,000 students, maintain the two gyms—each costing more than $10 million—were put on the fast track at the behest of committees of students, parents, teachers and community members. But that hasn’t silenced critics like Bryan Felber, a graduate of district schools who lost his bid for a seat on the Sweetwater board in last November’s election (in which all three incumbents won).
Felber believes it’s time for an outside audit to determine where, exactly, all the Proposition BB money is going. He accuses trustees of building the gyms as a “monument” to impress the community. “Everyone sees the gyms right away, at basketball games and rallies,” he says, “while the community at large can’t go into classrooms. This way, they can point to the gyms, say, ‘Look at what we’ve done’ and pat themselves on the back.”
Meanwhile, conditions are steadily worsening at South Bay schools. Parents in the community of EastLake say their 10-year-old high school is woefully inadequate for the population explosion occurring in the area. Enrollment exceeds the school’s capacity of 2,400 by more than 1,000, and at the beginning of this school year, students were forced to sit on window ledges because there weren’t enough chairs. Sixteen classroom trailers have since been moved on campus to help alleviate overcrowding.
Similar overcrowded conditions exist at Rancho del Rey Middle School, while teachers at Chula Vista Middle School have drawn picket lines to protest the building of an administration center before a new cafeteria to replace the previous one, which had burned down. There’s also grumbling over the fact that a new high school was built in San Ysidro before one in Otay Mesa that was supposed to be built first. The San Ysidro school opened with just 576 students.
“The number-one question I heard when I was out walking precincts,” Felber says, “is ‘Where are the funds? Why aren’t they building classrooms?’”
Board member Jim Cartmill responds, “We formed community-based committees to determine priorities at each school site. Because of the logistics of moving students during construction and the needs of the schools, Sweetwater and Mar Vista opted to build their gyms first, with classrooms attached. The next phase will include additional classrooms and infrastructure improvements.”...
Board member Jaime Mercado has opposed the shameful use of bond money to build two gyms for $20 million instead of building classrooms, the advertised purpose of the bond.
San Diego Magazine
February 2003
Walking the Districts
By Thomas K. Arnold
...In November 2000, South Bay voters approved a $187 million bond measure to pay for improvements at 21 middle and high schools through a property tax surcharge for 25 years. But more than two years later, the only big-ticket projects that have been completed are new gymnasiums at Mar Vista High in Imperial Beach and Sweetwater High in National City.
Officials with the Sweetwater Union High School District, with nearly 38,000 students, maintain the two gyms—each costing more than $10 million—were put on the fast track at the behest of committees of students, parents, teachers and community members. But that hasn’t silenced critics like Bryan Felber, a graduate of district schools who lost his bid for a seat on the Sweetwater board in last November’s election (in which all three incumbents won).
Felber believes it’s time for an outside audit to determine where, exactly, all the Proposition BB money is going. He accuses trustees of building the gyms as a “monument” to impress the community. “Everyone sees the gyms right away, at basketball games and rallies,” he says, “while the community at large can’t go into classrooms. This way, they can point to the gyms, say, ‘Look at what we’ve done’ and pat themselves on the back.”
Meanwhile, conditions are steadily worsening at South Bay schools. Parents in the community of EastLake say their 10-year-old high school is woefully inadequate for the population explosion occurring in the area. Enrollment exceeds the school’s capacity of 2,400 by more than 1,000, and at the beginning of this school year, students were forced to sit on window ledges because there weren’t enough chairs. Sixteen classroom trailers have since been moved on campus to help alleviate overcrowding.
Similar overcrowded conditions exist at Rancho del Rey Middle School, while teachers at Chula Vista Middle School have drawn picket lines to protest the building of an administration center before a new cafeteria to replace the previous one, which had burned down. There’s also grumbling over the fact that a new high school was built in San Ysidro before one in Otay Mesa that was supposed to be built first. The San Ysidro school opened with just 576 students.
“The number-one question I heard when I was out walking precincts,” Felber says, “is ‘Where are the funds? Why aren’t they building classrooms?’”
Board member Jim Cartmill responds, “We formed community-based committees to determine priorities at each school site. Because of the logistics of moving students during construction and the needs of the schools, Sweetwater and Mar Vista opted to build their gyms first, with classrooms attached. The next phase will include additional classrooms and infrastructure improvements.”...
Sweetwater: The Best School Board Money Can Buy?
If you are one of the people who has been wondering why Sweetwater Union High School District built two gyms for $10 million each while classrooms were overcrowded and inadequate,
SUHSD has long been famous for corruption. Chula Vista Elementary has only recently come to rival Sweetwater's reputation.
SAVE SWEETWATER is a website on which one can find some hard evidence about what is going on.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Bertha Lopez and CVESD incumbents rely on spoilers to split the anti-incumbent vote
CLICK HERE FOR ELECTION UPDATE NOVEMBER 5, 2008
Below is a discussion that took place in the comments section of "Jaime Mercado, board member of Sweetwater Union High School District."
I am surprised that anyone connected with the CVESD board would have the nerve to bring up the subject of getting people to run to split the anti-incumbent vote.
The CVESD board incumbents and their cronies at Chula Vista Educators seem to keep Norberto Salazar on speed dial for the frequent occasions when they need a spoiler to split the anti-incumbent vote. This year they also seem to have recruited Aurora Murillo-Clark in an effort to stop Russell Coronado. I guess Felicia Starr wasn't available.
HERE IS THE DISCUSSION:
Anonymous said...
I have read a lot of your columns. While I don't always agree with your point of view, I respect it. However this action of endorsing Jaime Mercado in light of the blatant and Felonious activities he has participated in, and admitted to, you have lost all credibility in my mind that you aren't really the corruption fighter you claim, you simply have a personal vendetta against those you feel have wronged you and you are just as bad as all the others. So much for reading any more of your stuff.
You SHOULD have endorsed the campaign of Stephanie Alcaraz, who although seems to be politically naive, hasn't broken the law in the last 3 months.
10:39 PM
Maura Larkins said...
I'm willing to learn. Please tell me more about your point of view. I will consider changing my mind.
8:17 AM
[Maura Larkins adds: I've met Stephanie Alcaraz, and she is a gentle person who, I suspect, has no idea how dirty the politics are in Chula Vista Elementary School District and Sweetwater Union High School District, and is almost certainly not associated with the person who started this discussion. That person is obviously opposed to Jaime Mercado, but is not really a Stephanie Alcaraz supporter. A friend wouldn't call the candidate "naive."]
Anonymous said...
I get that you have a problem with those on CV board, including one of Mr Mercado's opponents.
From a standpoint of Integrity and Honesty, breaking the law by encouraging someone to run in his race (where there is only one winner) simply to confuse the voters is very disapointing. While it may not be purjury, it is, according to the Attorney General's office, is against Election Law. At least the stool pigeon he put up to the task turned around and admitted to what they had done. He needs to admit what he did was wrong, instead of spinning some BS about getting more people to run and then apologize to the electorate for assuming that we were idiots.
I don't want someone with that kind of disregard to the law, or our intelligence, and quite frankly other vunerable people, making descisions about the education of my children, and spending my tax dollars.
Again, I know you don't seem to have the time of day for Bertha Lopez, but to simply endorse Mercado given what he has done smacks of anything but Lopez.
1:13 AM
Maura Larkins said...
Thank you for responding. It appears that your accusation is that Mr. Mercado encouraged Trini Lopez to run in order to confuse Bertha Lopez supporters. In fact, Bertha Lopez is guilty of wrongdoing far more serious than this. She has suborned perjury and has spent $100,000s of taxpayer dollars to cover up wrongdoing at CVESD.
11:27 AM
[Maura Larkins adds: When you talk about getting someone to run to split the vote, you need to admit that CVESD board members are the worst offenders, having done precisely this time and again. They have a habit of getting someone who actually supports the incumbent to run in the race in order to split the anti-incumbent vote.
Example 1: Trying to stop the smart and passionate Archie McAllister from unseating David Bejarano, the spoiler is Norberto Salazar, who is on the ballot as an alternative to David Bejarano. Norberto spent the evening of October 1, 2008 singing Bejarano's praises. He is clearly not trying to unseat Bejarano. Norberto Salazar did the same thing in 2006, running as a spoiler to protect incumbent Larry Cunningham from outsider Steve Yagyagan. And Norberto Salazar isn't the only candidate with no apparent reason to run (except to split the anti-incumbent vote).
Example 2: Trying to stop experienced and talented educator and administrator Russell Coronado from unseating Patrick Judd, the spoiler is Aurora Murillo-Clark, an unknown who has no apparent reason for running except to protect the disreputable and longterm incumbent Patrick Judd. Judd recently left work as Superintendent of Mountain Empire School District under mysterious circumstances, and then after a few months announced his retirement. His explanation? None at all--except to say that he was not on sick leave. Judd was also absent from the candidate forum on Sept. 30, 2008.]
Anonymous said...
So you are simply going to endorse the crooked one that didn't work for the district that fired you?
Oh well, check your credibility flying out the window.
12:27 PM
Maura Larkins said...
Okay, you clearly want me to explain why I'm not supporting Stephanie Alcaraz. I know that candidates like to accentuate the positive, but Ms. Alcaraz has taken that dictum too far. She has not expressed any concern about SUHSD's relationship with corrupt lawyers. If Ms. Alcaraz has the courage and determination to refuse to bow to the pressure of those lawyers, she has kept those qualities well-hidden under a facade of docility. If Ms. Alcaraz is naive about what's going on at Sweetwater, then she is not likely to change anything. I don't have a vendetta against anyone, but I am fighting a system of corruption in schools. Bertha Lopez has supported that system with every decision she has made. Why is Lopez challenging Jaime Mercado? Clearly, because he is a challenge to her group of corrupt friends. Why is Stephanie Alcaraz challenging Jaime Mercado? Perhaps she thinks he's too liberal. She says she wants more focus on patriotism and the pledge of allegiance, which sounds nice, but why not more focus on American Government? Too many people think they are patriots, but they don't really want kids to learn too much about American history and values, because then the kids might notice that many flag-wavers are actually hostile to basic American values. Kids need knowledge, not indoctrination.
12:56 PM
[Maura Larkins adds: I think there may be something to the idea that a Bertha Lopez supporter initiated this discussion. The personal animosity of the commenter simply doesn't jibe with a Stephanie Alcaraz supporter. Alcaraz isn't desperate for my support. Bertha Lopez has been desperate for years in her efforts to silence me, going so far as to force employees to commit perjury, and paying $100,000s of tax dollars to lawyers to get my case thrown out of court. That case has recently been reopened in San Diego Superior Court; the issue being litigated is whether the facts I have presented on my website are true.
The commenter is in San Diego, and uses Cox Communications IP address 72.220.104.149. The first comment was posted on September 28, 2008 at 1:00 am. This person came to my blog by doing a google search for "jaime mercado maura larkins."
It also appears that someone who works at the Chula Vista Elementary School District Office is using a CVESD computer for political activities, recently conducting searches for Sweetwater USD trustee Jaime Mercado. IP address 209.242.141.25 visited this blog just minutes before the last anti-Mercado, anti-Larkins post was made. Previously, there have been repeated visits from this IP address, which comes from a Cox Communications server called "cox-sd.net" that is different from the regular "cox.net" server. This user regularly conducts searches about people and issues connected to CVESD, but has shown little interest in the large amount of information and opinion I have posted on my various blogs about other topics. I became convinced about a year ago that this visitor was working from the CVESD office.
On a positive note, however, this public employee seems to have read my page "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team." Let's hope he/she learned something from Patrick Lencioni's excellent analysis of dysfunctional organizations, and will stop trying so desperately to cover up wrongdoing at CVESD.
I suspect that this person is high enough in the organization to be able to come forward with the truth, and to take action to stop the deterioration of Castle Park Elementary School.]
P.S. When will the San Diego Union Tribune start telling the truth about CVESD? I suppose that will have to wait until the paper finds a buyer with some integrity, and Don Sevrens gets fired.
Below is a discussion that took place in the comments section of "Jaime Mercado, board member of Sweetwater Union High School District."
I am surprised that anyone connected with the CVESD board would have the nerve to bring up the subject of getting people to run to split the anti-incumbent vote.
The CVESD board incumbents and their cronies at Chula Vista Educators seem to keep Norberto Salazar on speed dial for the frequent occasions when they need a spoiler to split the anti-incumbent vote. This year they also seem to have recruited Aurora Murillo-Clark in an effort to stop Russell Coronado. I guess Felicia Starr wasn't available.
HERE IS THE DISCUSSION:
Anonymous said...
I have read a lot of your columns. While I don't always agree with your point of view, I respect it. However this action of endorsing Jaime Mercado in light of the blatant and Felonious activities he has participated in, and admitted to, you have lost all credibility in my mind that you aren't really the corruption fighter you claim, you simply have a personal vendetta against those you feel have wronged you and you are just as bad as all the others. So much for reading any more of your stuff.
You SHOULD have endorsed the campaign of Stephanie Alcaraz, who although seems to be politically naive, hasn't broken the law in the last 3 months.
10:39 PM
Maura Larkins said...
I'm willing to learn. Please tell me more about your point of view. I will consider changing my mind.
8:17 AM
[Maura Larkins adds: I've met Stephanie Alcaraz, and she is a gentle person who, I suspect, has no idea how dirty the politics are in Chula Vista Elementary School District and Sweetwater Union High School District, and is almost certainly not associated with the person who started this discussion. That person is obviously opposed to Jaime Mercado, but is not really a Stephanie Alcaraz supporter. A friend wouldn't call the candidate "naive."]
Anonymous said...
I get that you have a problem with those on CV board, including one of Mr Mercado's opponents.
From a standpoint of Integrity and Honesty, breaking the law by encouraging someone to run in his race (where there is only one winner) simply to confuse the voters is very disapointing. While it may not be purjury, it is, according to the Attorney General's office, is against Election Law. At least the stool pigeon he put up to the task turned around and admitted to what they had done. He needs to admit what he did was wrong, instead of spinning some BS about getting more people to run and then apologize to the electorate for assuming that we were idiots.
I don't want someone with that kind of disregard to the law, or our intelligence, and quite frankly other vunerable people, making descisions about the education of my children, and spending my tax dollars.
Again, I know you don't seem to have the time of day for Bertha Lopez, but to simply endorse Mercado given what he has done smacks of anything but Lopez.
1:13 AM
Maura Larkins said...
Thank you for responding. It appears that your accusation is that Mr. Mercado encouraged Trini Lopez to run in order to confuse Bertha Lopez supporters. In fact, Bertha Lopez is guilty of wrongdoing far more serious than this. She has suborned perjury and has spent $100,000s of taxpayer dollars to cover up wrongdoing at CVESD.
11:27 AM
[Maura Larkins adds: When you talk about getting someone to run to split the vote, you need to admit that CVESD board members are the worst offenders, having done precisely this time and again. They have a habit of getting someone who actually supports the incumbent to run in the race in order to split the anti-incumbent vote.
Example 1: Trying to stop the smart and passionate Archie McAllister from unseating David Bejarano, the spoiler is Norberto Salazar, who is on the ballot as an alternative to David Bejarano. Norberto spent the evening of October 1, 2008 singing Bejarano's praises. He is clearly not trying to unseat Bejarano. Norberto Salazar did the same thing in 2006, running as a spoiler to protect incumbent Larry Cunningham from outsider Steve Yagyagan. And Norberto Salazar isn't the only candidate with no apparent reason to run (except to split the anti-incumbent vote).
Example 2: Trying to stop experienced and talented educator and administrator Russell Coronado from unseating Patrick Judd, the spoiler is Aurora Murillo-Clark, an unknown who has no apparent reason for running except to protect the disreputable and longterm incumbent Patrick Judd. Judd recently left work as Superintendent of Mountain Empire School District under mysterious circumstances, and then after a few months announced his retirement. His explanation? None at all--except to say that he was not on sick leave. Judd was also absent from the candidate forum on Sept. 30, 2008.]
Anonymous said...
So you are simply going to endorse the crooked one that didn't work for the district that fired you?
Oh well, check your credibility flying out the window.
12:27 PM
Maura Larkins said...
Okay, you clearly want me to explain why I'm not supporting Stephanie Alcaraz. I know that candidates like to accentuate the positive, but Ms. Alcaraz has taken that dictum too far. She has not expressed any concern about SUHSD's relationship with corrupt lawyers. If Ms. Alcaraz has the courage and determination to refuse to bow to the pressure of those lawyers, she has kept those qualities well-hidden under a facade of docility. If Ms. Alcaraz is naive about what's going on at Sweetwater, then she is not likely to change anything. I don't have a vendetta against anyone, but I am fighting a system of corruption in schools. Bertha Lopez has supported that system with every decision she has made. Why is Lopez challenging Jaime Mercado? Clearly, because he is a challenge to her group of corrupt friends. Why is Stephanie Alcaraz challenging Jaime Mercado? Perhaps she thinks he's too liberal. She says she wants more focus on patriotism and the pledge of allegiance, which sounds nice, but why not more focus on American Government? Too many people think they are patriots, but they don't really want kids to learn too much about American history and values, because then the kids might notice that many flag-wavers are actually hostile to basic American values. Kids need knowledge, not indoctrination.
12:56 PM
[Maura Larkins adds: I think there may be something to the idea that a Bertha Lopez supporter initiated this discussion. The personal animosity of the commenter simply doesn't jibe with a Stephanie Alcaraz supporter. Alcaraz isn't desperate for my support. Bertha Lopez has been desperate for years in her efforts to silence me, going so far as to force employees to commit perjury, and paying $100,000s of tax dollars to lawyers to get my case thrown out of court. That case has recently been reopened in San Diego Superior Court; the issue being litigated is whether the facts I have presented on my website are true.
The commenter is in San Diego, and uses Cox Communications IP address 72.220.104.149. The first comment was posted on September 28, 2008 at 1:00 am. This person came to my blog by doing a google search for "jaime mercado maura larkins."
It also appears that someone who works at the Chula Vista Elementary School District Office is using a CVESD computer for political activities, recently conducting searches for Sweetwater USD trustee Jaime Mercado. IP address 209.242.141.25 visited this blog just minutes before the last anti-Mercado, anti-Larkins post was made. Previously, there have been repeated visits from this IP address, which comes from a Cox Communications server called "cox-sd.net" that is different from the regular "cox.net" server. This user regularly conducts searches about people and issues connected to CVESD, but has shown little interest in the large amount of information and opinion I have posted on my various blogs about other topics. I became convinced about a year ago that this visitor was working from the CVESD office.
On a positive note, however, this public employee seems to have read my page "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team." Let's hope he/she learned something from Patrick Lencioni's excellent analysis of dysfunctional organizations, and will stop trying so desperately to cover up wrongdoing at CVESD.
I suspect that this person is high enough in the organization to be able to come forward with the truth, and to take action to stop the deterioration of Castle Park Elementary School.]
P.S. When will the San Diego Union Tribune start telling the truth about CVESD? I suppose that will have to wait until the paper finds a buyer with some integrity, and Don Sevrens gets fired.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Photos from Chula Vista Peaker Plant Protest October 2, 2008
The young man in the middle drew the colorful posters his family is holding.
The Russell Coronado family
Meanwhile, inside the council chambers, the hearing was taking place. The crowd outside could be heard now and then.
Protest planner Hugo Ivan Salazar at the hearing.
After dark, a crowd waited outside while the CEC (California Energy Commission)hearing went on.
Diana Vera spoke to the crowd.
Why 91911 residents are protesting the Peaker Power Plant
The folloring excerpts were found HERE.
"...The plant was placed practically in the Otay River, which is becoming a county regional park. It is an ugly grey building visible from Montgomery High School across the river and the bridge between Chula Vista and San Diego on Beyer Way. Montgomery High School is a year round school and we observed the heat waves from this peaker every day during the warm summer months. It was used frequently until the owners went bankrupt. The plant is so inefficient that it costs more to operate than SDGE is willing to pay.
"In 2001 the owners applied to add an additional plant of 62.4 mw to the site. This was fought by the city of Chula Vista. The city sited among other concerns Cumulative Impacts. These arguments are valid for the current proposal.
"Those of us living in this section of the Southwest must deal with a large amount of diesel fumes and the particulate matter generated by Hanson's cement making operation in the river bottom. Any additional air pollution is significant in this specific location due to the cumulative effects.
"The zip code 91911 is number 3 in the county in quantity of criteria pollutants and number 7 in toxic pollutants. Our neighborhood does not deserve any more.
"It is rather odd that the city is not making the arguments they made against RAMCO again to fight this new proposal. The council authorized the sending of the RAMCO letter on June 5, 2001. Two of the current council members were on the council then. It is difficult to understand how they could now support a 100mw plant in the same spot..."
"...The plant was placed practically in the Otay River, which is becoming a county regional park. It is an ugly grey building visible from Montgomery High School across the river and the bridge between Chula Vista and San Diego on Beyer Way. Montgomery High School is a year round school and we observed the heat waves from this peaker every day during the warm summer months. It was used frequently until the owners went bankrupt. The plant is so inefficient that it costs more to operate than SDGE is willing to pay.
"In 2001 the owners applied to add an additional plant of 62.4 mw to the site. This was fought by the city of Chula Vista. The city sited among other concerns Cumulative Impacts. These arguments are valid for the current proposal.
"Those of us living in this section of the Southwest must deal with a large amount of diesel fumes and the particulate matter generated by Hanson's cement making operation in the river bottom. Any additional air pollution is significant in this specific location due to the cumulative effects.
"The zip code 91911 is number 3 in the county in quantity of criteria pollutants and number 7 in toxic pollutants. Our neighborhood does not deserve any more.
"It is rather odd that the city is not making the arguments they made against RAMCO again to fight this new proposal. The council authorized the sending of the RAMCO letter on June 5, 2001. Two of the current council members were on the council then. It is difficult to understand how they could now support a 100mw plant in the same spot..."
Friday, September 26, 2008
Don Sevrens and the SDUT help Bertha Lopez hide wrongdoing
On August 30, 2008 the San Diego Union Tribune published a sorry excuse for an editorial in its south county edition that includes the following statement:
"We have criticized from time to time Bertha Lopez, a busy individual, for failing to respond to media and public inquiries. We have never criticized her integrity."
This editorial appears to me to be the work of Don Sevrens, who regularly manages to avoid logical consistency in his opinions. In fact, Don Sevrens and the SDUT have been kept well-informed about Bertha Lopez' wrongdoing, but they have kept her secrets for many years. Even when writing about the "Castle Park Five," Sevrens and the SDUT kept quiet about the concurrent court case that involved wrongdoing by Bertha Lopez and the rest of the CVESD board as well as several members of the group of five teachers transferred out of Castle Park Elementary.
Photo taken at Castle Park High School candidate forum October 1, 20008. Bertha Lopez is at right, and candidate Stephanie Alcaraz is at left.
Jaime Mercado and Pearl Quinones October 1, 2008.
"We have criticized from time to time Bertha Lopez, a busy individual, for failing to respond to media and public inquiries. We have never criticized her integrity."
This editorial appears to me to be the work of Don Sevrens, who regularly manages to avoid logical consistency in his opinions. In fact, Don Sevrens and the SDUT have been kept well-informed about Bertha Lopez' wrongdoing, but they have kept her secrets for many years. Even when writing about the "Castle Park Five," Sevrens and the SDUT kept quiet about the concurrent court case that involved wrongdoing by Bertha Lopez and the rest of the CVESD board as well as several members of the group of five teachers transferred out of Castle Park Elementary.
Photo taken at Castle Park High School candidate forum October 1, 20008. Bertha Lopez is at right, and candidate Stephanie Alcaraz is at left.
Jaime Mercado and Pearl Quinones October 1, 2008.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Why doesn't city manager Dave Garcia claim executive privilege?
The legislative body of Chula Vista (the city council), spent the evening a couple of days ago examining what they suspected (hoped?) were pictures of Pamela Anderson and other women downloaded from the Internet by the executive branch of Chula Vista, specifically city manager Dave Garcia.
Why didn't Chula Vista's executive branch refuse to turn over the documents? Mayor Cheryl Cox is an expert at keeping secrets, a skill she developed at Chula Vista Elementary School District.
Perhaps Cox needs a review course in how it's done, so I offer the following:
Palin Claims Executive Privilege
Think Progress
Sept. 10, 2008
The Washington Post reports that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) is “being asked by a local Republican activist to release more than 1,100 e-mails she withheld from a public records request, including 40 that were copied to her husband, Todd.” Invoking a favored practice of the Bush administration, Palin has claimed executive privilege to keep the e-mails secret — despite the fact many of them were sent to Todd, who is not an elected official.
What’s more, Palin and her staff intentionally use her personal Yahoo e-mail account, perhaps to avoid document release requests:
Palin also routinely does government business from a Yahoo address, gov.sarah@yahoo.com, rather than from her secure official state e-mail address, according to documents already made public...
The lawyer filing the request pointed out that the point of government e-mail is to ensure “security and encryption.” “She’s running state business out of Yahoo?” he asked...
Palin’s move is eerily reminiscent of Bush administration ploys to dramatically increase secrecy in government, such as when White House aides switched to personal e-mail accounts to avoid subpoenas during the investigation into U.S. Attorney scandal last year:
"But just a week after E-mails in the U.S. attorneys case became a main focus of congressional Democrats probing the firings, several aides said that they stopped using the White House system except for purely professional correspondence..."
As Josh Marshall pointed out at the time, if the White House was using personal e-mails, “they can’t have even the vaguest claim” to executive privilege [regarding the emails that used the government email]...
Why didn't Chula Vista's executive branch refuse to turn over the documents? Mayor Cheryl Cox is an expert at keeping secrets, a skill she developed at Chula Vista Elementary School District.
Perhaps Cox needs a review course in how it's done, so I offer the following:
Palin Claims Executive Privilege
Think Progress
Sept. 10, 2008
The Washington Post reports that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) is “being asked by a local Republican activist to release more than 1,100 e-mails she withheld from a public records request, including 40 that were copied to her husband, Todd.” Invoking a favored practice of the Bush administration, Palin has claimed executive privilege to keep the e-mails secret — despite the fact many of them were sent to Todd, who is not an elected official.
What’s more, Palin and her staff intentionally use her personal Yahoo e-mail account, perhaps to avoid document release requests:
Palin also routinely does government business from a Yahoo address, gov.sarah@yahoo.com, rather than from her secure official state e-mail address, according to documents already made public...
The lawyer filing the request pointed out that the point of government e-mail is to ensure “security and encryption.” “She’s running state business out of Yahoo?” he asked...
Palin’s move is eerily reminiscent of Bush administration ploys to dramatically increase secrecy in government, such as when White House aides switched to personal e-mail accounts to avoid subpoenas during the investigation into U.S. Attorney scandal last year:
"But just a week after E-mails in the U.S. attorneys case became a main focus of congressional Democrats probing the firings, several aides said that they stopped using the White House system except for purely professional correspondence..."
As Josh Marshall pointed out at the time, if the White House was using personal e-mails, “they can’t have even the vaguest claim” to executive privilege [regarding the emails that used the government email]...
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Southwestern College administrators Arthur Lopez and Greg Sandoval in sexual harrassment lawsuit
School attorneys in San Diego county don't settle claims. They love the money they get from lawsuits.
By Chris Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE
September 2, 2008
A student services assistant at Southwestern College has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against three administrators, including a vice president.
Martha Jimenez alleges in a suit filed in San Diego Superior Court late last month that she “involuntarily accepted” demands for sex from Arthur Lopez, the director of financial aid. Lopez resigned in June.
According to the lawsuit, Lopez would tell Jimenez during their sexual encounters to remember that her evaluation was coming up and who got Jimenez her job.
Lopez's attorney has denied Jimenez's accusations against his client.
Greg Sandoval, vice president of student affairs, is also named in the suit...
By Chris Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE
September 2, 2008
A student services assistant at Southwestern College has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against three administrators, including a vice president.
Martha Jimenez alleges in a suit filed in San Diego Superior Court late last month that she “involuntarily accepted” demands for sex from Arthur Lopez, the director of financial aid. Lopez resigned in June.
According to the lawsuit, Lopez would tell Jimenez during their sexual encounters to remember that her evaluation was coming up and who got Jimenez her job.
Lopez's attorney has denied Jimenez's accusations against his client.
Greg Sandoval, vice president of student affairs, is also named in the suit...
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Why was a mild essay about Patrick Judd blanked from my website?
Patrick Judd has a lot of control over the media. He succeeded in keeping the story of my lawsuit against CVESD out of the Chula Vista Star-News (above) and the San Diego Union Tribune.
Now, it seems, he's managed to GET A PASSAGE REMOVED FROM MY PRIVATE WEBSITE!
I have long wondered how sentences, paragraphs and entire pages have suddenly disappeared from my Yahoo website from time to time. Attorney Ljubisa Kostic told me recently (when he was deposing me) that all someone has to do to get something removed is to complain to Yahoo. My guess is that the "someone" has to be a lawyer threatening a lawsuit for defamation. Yahoo hasn't admitted this to me, but Mr. Kostic could be right.
So the question becomes: Why did a particular paragraph or page disappear? Was it offensive? Illegal? Defamatory?
No, apparently that's not necessary. Take for example the following passage that disappeared from my "Seven Happy Clowns" page recently:
Judd says that having even one member
on the board who supports teacher unions
would destroy the board’s “collegiality.”
But what does “collegiality” mean?
In this case, it means that the current
board has agreed to hide its conflicts
from the voters. Important
differences exist between Judd and
the two board members who respect
teachers, Cheryl Cox and Bertha
Lopez. Judd's opponent, Jill Galvez,
would bring MORE collegiality to the
board because she shares the
positive attitudes of the board’s two
most forward-thinking members, Cox
and López.
[Blogger's note: Cheryl Cox and
Bertha Lopez, as it turned out, joined
Judd, Pamela Smith and Larry Cunningham
in a long series of unanimous and
irresponsible decisions. They were not
as forward-thinking as I had imagined.]
School boards who keep secrets DO
NOT benefit taxpayers or children;
they only benefit incumbents.
They conduct trade-off diplomacy: I'll
vote for yours if you'll vote for mine,
and the public will never know what
our disagreements were.
Why not do the RIGHT THING EVERY
TIME??
Probably Mr. Judd genuinely believes
in what he is doing, but his rigidity is
an obstacle to progress in Chula Vista
Elementary School District.
The five-member school board is not
smarter than all the people of Chula
Vista put together.
The decision-making process needs
to become open to all. Does
disagreement result in worse
decisions? No! It results
in BETTER decisions because more
ideas are considered. We need to
hear from educators who DON’T
PLAY POLITICS!
I honestly can't figure out how anybody could convince Yahoo to remove this mild opinion piece.
So I'm back to wondering if friends of Patrick Judd have been hacking my website.
P.S. A few months ago, part of my California Teachers Association webpage was blacked out, as opposed to being blanked out.
A note to Patrick Judd: Teachers play politics with education just like you do. They need leadership to learn collaboration. I suggest you read "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team."
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Jaime Mercado, board member of Sweetwater Union High School District
ELECTION UPDATE: NOVEMBER 5, 2008
SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
JAIME MERCADO v. BERTHA LOPEZ
SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SEAT NO. 4
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
JAIME MERCADO - 36.29%
BERTHA J. LOPEZ - 42.99%
TRINA LOPEZ - 7.08%
STEPHANIE M. ALCARAZ - 13.64%
Patrick Judd's obedient servant Bertha Lopez will apparently carry the torch to Sweetwater Union High School District. This will give Bertha Lopez' cronies on the CVESD board the opportunity to appoint her replacement, instead of allowing the voters to choose. Obviously, the voters' top choice is ARCHIE MC ALLISTER. The board should either appoint Mr. Mc Allister or hold a new election.
ORIGINAL POST:
I am well-acquainted with Jaime Mercado's most serious opponent in the upcoming SUHSD election, and that familiarity causes me to support Jaime Mercado's candidacy. Bertha Lopez has proven that she can be controlled by those in power, even to the point of agreeing to violate the law with them.
Sweetwater would do well to keep Mr. Mercado.
February 25, 2005
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
Board member says he’s ‘student-oriented’
In January, Jaime Mercado began his first term at Sweetwater School District Board
Jaime Mercado knows the Sweetwater Union High School District right to its core.
He is a former student, teacher’s aid, teacher, assistant principal, principal, and, after winning a tight election in November, a board member...
But it is his new role as a board member what he considers to be his most important period at the district, because he said he now can take part in the decisions being made...
Mercado has always been critical of the district’s administration, and during his campaign he said he would always vote in favor of the interests of students, even if it meant going against the current...
Mercado said that he has three main points he would like to tackle during his term:
1. District is top-heavy with administration: Mercado proposes the reorganization of administration in order to achieve positive changes in the district.
2. Classroom space: Mercado said the district needs more classrooms, so he is in favor of building more. “I’m very vocal about this issue,” he said.
3. L Street District headquarters: Mercado said he is completely against the proposed building of the District headquarters on L Street. “As long as students don’t have a proper environment for learning and teachers don’t have the right resources for teaching, the district’s leadership doesn’t deserve the privilege to have new offices,” Mercado said. “I don’t believe it’s right to take money away from the classrooms and invest it in office space.”
SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
JAIME MERCADO v. BERTHA LOPEZ
SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SEAT NO. 4
Precincts Reporting: 100.0%
JAIME MERCADO - 36.29%
BERTHA J. LOPEZ - 42.99%
TRINA LOPEZ - 7.08%
STEPHANIE M. ALCARAZ - 13.64%
Patrick Judd's obedient servant Bertha Lopez will apparently carry the torch to Sweetwater Union High School District. This will give Bertha Lopez' cronies on the CVESD board the opportunity to appoint her replacement, instead of allowing the voters to choose. Obviously, the voters' top choice is ARCHIE MC ALLISTER. The board should either appoint Mr. Mc Allister or hold a new election.
ORIGINAL POST:
I am well-acquainted with Jaime Mercado's most serious opponent in the upcoming SUHSD election, and that familiarity causes me to support Jaime Mercado's candidacy. Bertha Lopez has proven that she can be controlled by those in power, even to the point of agreeing to violate the law with them.
Sweetwater would do well to keep Mr. Mercado.
February 25, 2005
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
Board member says he’s ‘student-oriented’
In January, Jaime Mercado began his first term at Sweetwater School District Board
Jaime Mercado knows the Sweetwater Union High School District right to its core.
He is a former student, teacher’s aid, teacher, assistant principal, principal, and, after winning a tight election in November, a board member...
But it is his new role as a board member what he considers to be his most important period at the district, because he said he now can take part in the decisions being made...
Mercado has always been critical of the district’s administration, and during his campaign he said he would always vote in favor of the interests of students, even if it meant going against the current...
Mercado said that he has three main points he would like to tackle during his term:
1. District is top-heavy with administration: Mercado proposes the reorganization of administration in order to achieve positive changes in the district.
2. Classroom space: Mercado said the district needs more classrooms, so he is in favor of building more. “I’m very vocal about this issue,” he said.
3. L Street District headquarters: Mercado said he is completely against the proposed building of the District headquarters on L Street. “As long as students don’t have a proper environment for learning and teachers don’t have the right resources for teaching, the district’s leadership doesn’t deserve the privilege to have new offices,” Mercado said. “I don’t believe it’s right to take money away from the classrooms and invest it in office space.”
Monday, August 25, 2008
Lowell Billings on board of Accelerated Charter School that hired Patrick Judd as consultant
Patrick Judd and Lowell Billings: old friendships never die?
For many months school districts all over southern California have been doing Google searches for mysteriously retired superintendent Pat Judd of Mountain Empire School District. They all decided against him--except for a small charter school in Los Angeles.
It seems there's always a charter school with interesting board members who will give a job to a guy who has left his job under suspicious circumstances.
Judd is now a consultant at Accelerated Charter School in Los Angeles.
I looked at the school's web page and was taken aback to see that one of the trustees is none other than Lowell Billings, who is superintendent of Chula Vista Elementary School District in San Diego county, where Patrick Judd sits on the board.
What is Lowell Billings doing on the board of a charter school in Los Angeles, you may ask? It turns out that the world of education is a small one, which helps explain a lot of things, including the lack of new ideas.
I was chagrined, but not surprised, to also find that Charles Oppenheim, of the law firm Foley & Lardner, is on the board. Education attorney firms are given huge amounts of money to protect the status quo in education.
Judd is being paid as a consultant, and he's acting the only way he knows how to act: lots of hostility, little insight. Judd once memorably stated that we've known for a hundred years how to educate kids. This is a man firmly planted in the early 1900's. Apparently he hasn't noticed that kids have changed.
Reports have already started coming out of Accelerated Charter School about Patrick Judd's shenanigans.
Patrick Judd causing problems at Accelerated Charter School in Los Angeles
Thank you to Jill who answered my question about Pat Judd:
"Patrick Judd has moved on to The Accelerated Charter School in Los Angeles. Quite obviously they were not one of the many who did a google search on him.
"In the first week so far he has made a horrible environment for everyone, using a strong arm approach and blaming teachers for all previous problems. He has made it clear that things will be very negative this year, and that teachers are the main cause of any problems at a pretty good school. Everything he does sets a tone for an angry staff, and I do foresee new lawsuits to arise from his inappropriate behavior.
"They must have been nuts to let this guy into another school. He is pulling a consulting fee so that he still gets his retirement package. He has no business around any school, at any time."
I was wondering how Judd got this job, and I quickly found the answer.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
No laptops, just lapdogs, for Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox
Cheryl Cox’s May 28, 2008 memo to City Manager David Garcia is chock-full of pettiness and hypocrisy. Her directives make no sense, except as an effort to harass Mr. Garcia:
Cheryl Cox: “Do not use your personal laptop in your office.”
This is nitpicking, overbearing interference. Cox sounds like she’s reverted to her days as an elementary school teacher. But was she that unreasonable when dealing with children? Show some respect, Mrs. Cox.
Cheryl Cox: “While we appreciate that you often work long hours and you are entitled to take time off, this time off should primarily be spent out of the office.”
That directive is harmful to the City of Chula Vista, Ms. Cox. When the City Manager spends time in the office when he could rightfully be on the beach, he is available to deal with emergencies and routine questions and issues that come up, whether from another employee or a member of the public.
HERE’S WHERE CHERYL COX’S HYPOCRISY GOES TO THE TOP OF THE CHART:
Cheryl Cox: “You are reminded that retaliation against any City employee... is a violation…”
Cheryl Cox is a big fan of retaliation, particularly that carried out by the Director of Human Resources as directed by the public entity’s attorney. As a Chula Vista Elementary School District board member, she violated California Labor Code 1105.2 by firing an employee for filing grievances and a lawsuit.
Cheryl Cox: “However, you should understand that your failure to abide by [the rules]… may result in the termination of your employment.”
If Cheryl Cox were held responsible for her violations of the laws of California, she’d be out of a job. Yet she wants to fire the City Manager for using his personal laptop computer in his office?
Cheryl Cox: “We share your hope that these steps will bring these matters to a close.”
I don’t believe Cheryl is telling the truth here. I think she wants to fire Garcia because he’s too honest and open, two traits she neither shares nor approves of. It seems Cheryl wants to replace a laptop with a lapdog.
Monday, August 18, 2008
When Teachers Abuse Power by Heather Johnson
When Teachers Abuse Power
"Teaching is a noble profession, one that demands a great deal of patience and flexibility. A teacher plays different roles in the lives of students; besides giving them an education, they also act as guides and mentors. Children spend most of their waking hours at school, which is why it’s important for teachers to be accessible to the students not just as educators but also as a friend. While there are some teachers who live in your memory as the ones that did make a huge positive impact, there are others who are remembered for reasons that are both shameful and a disgrace to the field of education as a whole.
"Teachers are given a degree of power over the students they teach – they are trusted by both the school authorities and the children’s parents to use that power judiciously and for the general good of the children. But there are some bad eggs who give the entire teaching fraternity a bad name; they’re the ones who use their position and authority for their own purposes, some more horrendous than others.
"We routinely hear of teachers sexually abusing children in their care; some of them are so perverted that they film their dirty deeds and sell them for profits. As if this were not enough, they hold the threat of bad grades over their students’ heads if they tell anyone what happened. Statistics state that around 5 percent of teachers and coaches abuse minors, but this is not a true reflection of the state of events. The number of incidents that are unreported are much more than those that are. Most students are afraid to come out in the open fearing the repercussions – the ostracism from their peers, the future of their education and the effect the media impact would have on their lives and that of their loved ones.
"Abuse need not be sexual to be detrimental to the well-being of students – some teachers send children on the wrong path by encouraging them to smoke, drink and do drugs. Others play favorites in a blatant manner, with the students who are affected being powerless to do anything to bring the offenders to book.
The reason that such incidents are widespread is that most students look up to their teachers and are willing to go to any lengths so that they are not disappointed in them. A subtle word here and a small hint there are enough to make these immature minds fall prey to the more cunning brains of their educators. The only way to prevent this from happening to your child is to educate him/her in the ways of the world and warn them of the dangers that could befall them if they are not careful. Parents must play an active role in every aspect of their children’s lives and encourage them to report any untoward incident, no matter how trivial it may seem."
This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of BestCollegesOnline.com. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.
"Teaching is a noble profession, one that demands a great deal of patience and flexibility. A teacher plays different roles in the lives of students; besides giving them an education, they also act as guides and mentors. Children spend most of their waking hours at school, which is why it’s important for teachers to be accessible to the students not just as educators but also as a friend. While there are some teachers who live in your memory as the ones that did make a huge positive impact, there are others who are remembered for reasons that are both shameful and a disgrace to the field of education as a whole.
"Teachers are given a degree of power over the students they teach – they are trusted by both the school authorities and the children’s parents to use that power judiciously and for the general good of the children. But there are some bad eggs who give the entire teaching fraternity a bad name; they’re the ones who use their position and authority for their own purposes, some more horrendous than others.
"We routinely hear of teachers sexually abusing children in their care; some of them are so perverted that they film their dirty deeds and sell them for profits. As if this were not enough, they hold the threat of bad grades over their students’ heads if they tell anyone what happened. Statistics state that around 5 percent of teachers and coaches abuse minors, but this is not a true reflection of the state of events. The number of incidents that are unreported are much more than those that are. Most students are afraid to come out in the open fearing the repercussions – the ostracism from their peers, the future of their education and the effect the media impact would have on their lives and that of their loved ones.
"Abuse need not be sexual to be detrimental to the well-being of students – some teachers send children on the wrong path by encouraging them to smoke, drink and do drugs. Others play favorites in a blatant manner, with the students who are affected being powerless to do anything to bring the offenders to book.
The reason that such incidents are widespread is that most students look up to their teachers and are willing to go to any lengths so that they are not disappointed in them. A subtle word here and a small hint there are enough to make these immature minds fall prey to the more cunning brains of their educators. The only way to prevent this from happening to your child is to educate him/her in the ways of the world and warn them of the dangers that could befall them if they are not careful. Parents must play an active role in every aspect of their children’s lives and encourage them to report any untoward incident, no matter how trivial it may seem."
This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of BestCollegesOnline.com. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Education in Chula Vista is a game for insiders like Greg Sandoval
The story excerpted below comes from Southwestern College, but there was a story recently in Voice of San Diego about a similar situation at San Diego Unified School District. It seems that education is lucrative for insiders all over San Diego county.
3 college trustees boycott over Sandoval agenda item
By Chris Moran
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 15, 2008
"Greg Sandoval, the college vice president, resigned after an employee filed a sexual harassment claim against him. He tried to rescind his resignation days later but was rebuffed by the community college district's superintendent and president, Raj Chopra.
"A proposal to extend a Southwestern College vice president's job through January – which would qualify him for lifetime medical benefits – was rushed onto the board's agenda this week so quickly that the college president wasn't informed.
"While Chopra was out of town last weekend, board President David Agosto put an item on Wednesday's agenda that, if approved, would have extended Sandoval's job through January, after he turns 55, and would qualify him for lifetime medical benefits from the college.
"The extension was not acted on because three trustees boycotted the meeting at which it was to be discussed over concerns about how the item made it on the agenda. They asked for a formal report on the matter by next month.
"“In my 35 years as an administrator, I have not seen one time an agenda item changed the way (this) did,” Chopra said.
"Sandoval has worked for Southwestern for 32 years, and he resigned in June after he was accused of sexual harassment in a claim filed against the college by an employee. The board rejected the claim. Sandoval's resignation is effective Sept. 30...
"College policy calls for the superintendent/president to prepare the agenda in consultation with the board president..."
3 college trustees boycott over Sandoval agenda item
By Chris Moran
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 15, 2008
"Greg Sandoval, the college vice president, resigned after an employee filed a sexual harassment claim against him. He tried to rescind his resignation days later but was rebuffed by the community college district's superintendent and president, Raj Chopra.
"A proposal to extend a Southwestern College vice president's job through January – which would qualify him for lifetime medical benefits – was rushed onto the board's agenda this week so quickly that the college president wasn't informed.
"While Chopra was out of town last weekend, board President David Agosto put an item on Wednesday's agenda that, if approved, would have extended Sandoval's job through January, after he turns 55, and would qualify him for lifetime medical benefits from the college.
"The extension was not acted on because three trustees boycotted the meeting at which it was to be discussed over concerns about how the item made it on the agenda. They asked for a formal report on the matter by next month.
"“In my 35 years as an administrator, I have not seen one time an agenda item changed the way (this) did,” Chopra said.
"Sandoval has worked for Southwestern for 32 years, and he resigned in June after he was accused of sexual harassment in a claim filed against the college by an employee. The board rejected the claim. Sandoval's resignation is effective Sept. 30...
"College policy calls for the superintendent/president to prepare the agenda in consultation with the board president..."
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Parents wrestled control of Locke High School away from the teachers union
Los Angeles Unified School District and the UTLA teachers union fought hard against Green Dot charter schools taking over Locke High School in Watts.
But the parents won.
Locke will open its doors this fall as a Green Dot charter school.
Parents Force Charter Takeover of L.A. High School
by Claudio Sanchez
Morning Edition
December 17, 2007
Locke High School is, by all accounts, among the worst high schools in Los Angeles. It's in Watts, one of the city's most treacherous, gang-infested neighborhoods. The school is overcrowded and on the brink of an academic melt-down.
Earlier this year, parents and half of the school's faculty revolted, forcing the school district to do something it has never done before: turn over Locke High to a private group of reformers. When that takeover happens next summer some teachers know they won't be rehired. Others don't plan to stay...
But the parents won.
Locke will open its doors this fall as a Green Dot charter school.
Parents Force Charter Takeover of L.A. High School
by Claudio Sanchez
Morning Edition
December 17, 2007
Locke High School is, by all accounts, among the worst high schools in Los Angeles. It's in Watts, one of the city's most treacherous, gang-infested neighborhoods. The school is overcrowded and on the brink of an academic melt-down.
Earlier this year, parents and half of the school's faculty revolted, forcing the school district to do something it has never done before: turn over Locke High to a private group of reformers. When that takeover happens next summer some teachers know they won't be rehired. Others don't plan to stay...
A loss for Beverly Tucker and California Teachers Association: child-molesting teachers lose credentials
The California Teachers Association's efforts to protect child molesting teachers from losing the right to teach have come to nothing. Beverly Tucker, the chief counsel for CTA, has lost her long battle.
Calif. lawmakers close teacher license loopholes
By JULIET WILLIAMS - Associated Press
August 12, 2008
SACRAMENTO
The state Assembly approved two bills Tuesday designed to close loopholes in California's teacher licensing laws that had allowed some teachers accused or even convicted of serious crimes to remain in the classroom.
The legislation would allow the state to revoke licenses from teachers who plead no contest to certain sex crimes or drug offenses or have had their licenses revoked in another state.
The bills by Sen. Bob Margett, R-Arcadia, and Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, were prompted by an Associated Press investigation last year into sexual misconduct by teachers.
The AP's investigation in California confirmed at least 313 cases in which teachers were punished for sexual misconduct from 2000 to 2005.
That included dozens involving pleas of no contest, a common legal agreement that allows a defendant to avoid a trial or civil liability but still leads to conviction.
An analysis by the California Teacher Credentialing Commission following AP's report found that about two-thirds of the educators who face revocation or other serious action are convicted following a plea of no contest to a serious offense.
That triggered a discretionary review by the commission rather than the mandatory loss of teachers' licenses, a process that can sometimes take two or three years.
Margett's bill also targets another problem. Under current law, the results of misconduct allegations are sealed by the credentialing commission after one year. That restricts the ability of school administrators to confirm a teaching candidate's complete record if they learn later that the applicant lied about his or her background.
Margett's legislation makes the records available for five years instead of one...
Calif. lawmakers close teacher license loopholes
By JULIET WILLIAMS - Associated Press
August 12, 2008
SACRAMENTO
The state Assembly approved two bills Tuesday designed to close loopholes in California's teacher licensing laws that had allowed some teachers accused or even convicted of serious crimes to remain in the classroom.
The legislation would allow the state to revoke licenses from teachers who plead no contest to certain sex crimes or drug offenses or have had their licenses revoked in another state.
The bills by Sen. Bob Margett, R-Arcadia, and Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, were prompted by an Associated Press investigation last year into sexual misconduct by teachers.
The AP's investigation in California confirmed at least 313 cases in which teachers were punished for sexual misconduct from 2000 to 2005.
That included dozens involving pleas of no contest, a common legal agreement that allows a defendant to avoid a trial or civil liability but still leads to conviction.
An analysis by the California Teacher Credentialing Commission following AP's report found that about two-thirds of the educators who face revocation or other serious action are convicted following a plea of no contest to a serious offense.
That triggered a discretionary review by the commission rather than the mandatory loss of teachers' licenses, a process that can sometimes take two or three years.
Margett's bill also targets another problem. Under current law, the results of misconduct allegations are sealed by the credentialing commission after one year. That restricts the ability of school administrators to confirm a teaching candidate's complete record if they learn later that the applicant lied about his or her background.
Margett's legislation makes the records available for five years instead of one...
Friday, August 08, 2008
Some light reading for Lowell Billings: Teachers who bully
For many years CVESD superintendent Lowell Billings has known that bilingual students at Castle Park Elementary were abused by a group of teachers that was hostile to the bilingual program.
Billings has covered up the truth about those teachers.
A new study by Alan McEvoy comes to a worrisome conclusion:
"Perhaps the most troubling finding of this investigation is perceived institutional collusion through inaction when bullying incidents are known. The apparent absence of policies and procedures to address the problem should give us pause. The many caring educators who must tend to the casualties of abusive colleagues whose egregious conduct goes unchecked can only place a serious damper on school climate and morale..."
Billings has covered up the truth about those teachers.
A new study by Alan McEvoy comes to a worrisome conclusion:
"Perhaps the most troubling finding of this investigation is perceived institutional collusion through inaction when bullying incidents are known. The apparent absence of policies and procedures to address the problem should give us pause. The many caring educators who must tend to the casualties of abusive colleagues whose egregious conduct goes unchecked can only place a serious damper on school climate and morale..."
Saturday, August 02, 2008
China, CVESD and Stutz law firm have similar ideas about freedom of speech
As I have explained elsewhere in this blog, CVESD and Stutz, Artiano Shinoff and Holtz are trying to hide the truth about themselves. So is China:
Journalists Say China Is Not Living Up To Openness Pledge
By Maureen Fan
Washington Post
Sunday, August 3, 2008;
"...Chinese authorities and the Western news media apparently have different understandings of "complete freedom." Sun Weida, a spokesman for Beijing's Olympic organizing committee, and Liu Jianchao, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, suggested recently that reporters did not actually need to visit blocked Web sites to do their jobs. Sun was surrounded by a mob of reporters after a news conference, and when he insisted that the Internet was free and open in China, some of them shouted, "That's not true!" ...
Journalists Say China Is Not Living Up To Openness Pledge
By Maureen Fan
Washington Post
Sunday, August 3, 2008;
"...Chinese authorities and the Western news media apparently have different understandings of "complete freedom." Sun Weida, a spokesman for Beijing's Olympic organizing committee, and Liu Jianchao, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, suggested recently that reporters did not actually need to visit blocked Web sites to do their jobs. Sun was surrounded by a mob of reporters after a news conference, and when he insisted that the Internet was free and open in China, some of them shouted, "That's not true!" ...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Is Pat Judd coming or going?
Someone at the San Diego County Office of Education asked yesterday, "Where did Pat Judd go?"
The answer seems to be "nowhere," although it's not for lack of trying. At the same time that Judd claims to be preparing to run for yet another term as CVESD trustee, he seems to be applying for jobs in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Would he commute from Bonita if he got one of those jobs? Not likely.
Today the folks in Trabuco Canyon were checking up on him. Trabuco Canyon is in Orange County, and is served by Saddleback and Capistrano school districts. Maybe these folks are considering Judd for this position:
Capistrano Unified School District
Executive Director I, Fiscal Services
Posted: 6/20/2008 - Deadline: Until Filled
Classified Staff
6/20/2008 Capistrano Unified, San Juan Capistrano
Orange County $103,385 to $125,665 depending on experience and background
Whoa! I just went back to the job posting, and it's been removed! Maybe they decided on Pat Judd as soon as they read all about his exploits. Who wouldn't love an administrator who spends $100,000s of tax dollars to cover up wrongdoing? This is a man who will protect the status quo and the people in power come hell or high water. And whose business is it why he stopped working at his old job? Pat Judd is too discreet to go around passing out that kind of information. Good luck on the pay scale, Pat. We're rooting for you.
The answer seems to be "nowhere," although it's not for lack of trying. At the same time that Judd claims to be preparing to run for yet another term as CVESD trustee, he seems to be applying for jobs in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Would he commute from Bonita if he got one of those jobs? Not likely.
Today the folks in Trabuco Canyon were checking up on him. Trabuco Canyon is in Orange County, and is served by Saddleback and Capistrano school districts. Maybe these folks are considering Judd for this position:
Capistrano Unified School District
Executive Director I, Fiscal Services
Posted: 6/20/2008 - Deadline: Until Filled
Classified Staff
6/20/2008 Capistrano Unified, San Juan Capistrano
Orange County $103,385 to $125,665 depending on experience and background
Whoa! I just went back to the job posting, and it's been removed! Maybe they decided on Pat Judd as soon as they read all about his exploits. Who wouldn't love an administrator who spends $100,000s of tax dollars to cover up wrongdoing? This is a man who will protect the status quo and the people in power come hell or high water. And whose business is it why he stopped working at his old job? Pat Judd is too discreet to go around passing out that kind of information. Good luck on the pay scale, Pat. We're rooting for you.
CVESD teachers who are lawyers want to know: "Can I use esquire after my name?"
Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Carr had no trouble deciding that she would sign her name with an "Esquire" at the end, but other CVESD teacher-lawyers aren't so sure. Here's some authoritative information for them.
The Straight Dope Science Advisory Board says:
ESQUIRE
Now you might ask: what allows one to use this title? Is there a ceremony? Is it conferred by a university? Is it just some affectation that snob-nosed folks use? Can I be Joe Blow, Esq. just because I like the ring to it? Or do I need to get authorization, and if so from what? from where?
The answer is that any snob in the world (or at least in the U.S.) can use the title...
Now of course in England there's this whole business about hereditary nobility and getting knighted and all that, so it might be a little risky to start calling yourself esquire there. (Although what's going to happen? The Snob Cops arrest you?)
But we're not in England, we're in America! The land of the free, the home of the brave! You can call yourself anything you want ... although you do take the risk that you will be thought a snooty jerk.
Since this has never bothered lawyers, they have gotten into the habit of calling each other esquire. This is a little like elected officials addressing each other as "honorable," which to me seems a classic case of advertising something after it's gone. But I digress.
Among lawyers, it's thought pretentious if you sign yourself "Esq." in written communications but you are supposed to dignify other lawyers with the appellation... even if you never saw the inside of a law school there's nothing to prevent you from calling yourself esquire ... except the fact that you might be thought a lawyer.
The Straight Dope Science Advisory Board says:
ESQUIRE
Now you might ask: what allows one to use this title? Is there a ceremony? Is it conferred by a university? Is it just some affectation that snob-nosed folks use? Can I be Joe Blow, Esq. just because I like the ring to it? Or do I need to get authorization, and if so from what? from where?
The answer is that any snob in the world (or at least in the U.S.) can use the title...
Now of course in England there's this whole business about hereditary nobility and getting knighted and all that, so it might be a little risky to start calling yourself esquire there. (Although what's going to happen? The Snob Cops arrest you?)
But we're not in England, we're in America! The land of the free, the home of the brave! You can call yourself anything you want ... although you do take the risk that you will be thought a snooty jerk.
Since this has never bothered lawyers, they have gotten into the habit of calling each other esquire. This is a little like elected officials addressing each other as "honorable," which to me seems a classic case of advertising something after it's gone. But I digress.
Among lawyers, it's thought pretentious if you sign yourself "Esq." in written communications but you are supposed to dignify other lawyers with the appellation... even if you never saw the inside of a law school there's nothing to prevent you from calling yourself esquire ... except the fact that you might be thought a lawyer.
CVESD still using illegal tactics to silence critics?
"...When you work for the public, as I have, you are required to be honest and serve the public..."
By Flo Samuels, Hayward, July 24, 2008 Voice of San Diego
I recently discovered what appears to be a connection between Chula Vista Elementary School District and the lawsuit by their lawyers (Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz) to stop me from publishing my website.
It is illegal for a public entity to sue for defamation.
I suspect that CVESD superintendent Lowell Billings (at left in above photo), and (next to Billings in above photo) board members David Bejarano, Pam Smith, Patrick Judd, Bertha Lopez and Larry Cunningham know this very well. So why don't they operate in an above-board manner, and file a lawsuit against me as individuals?
First, I imagine they don't want to give me a chance to prove my allegations in court.
Second, they are accustomed to having the taxpayers foot the bill for their legal representation.
Stutz attorney Ljubisa Kostic denied that he made an uncustomary and lengthy visit to my website and blogs the day after I participated in a meeting at Castle Park Elementary school. Unfortunately for Mr. Kostic, I was able to match the IP address of his laptop, which he used during my deposition, to the May 28, 2008 visit. That same laptop had made very rare, and usually very short, visits prior to that date.
To top it all off, Kostic issued a Notice of Deposition to me on the very next day (May 29, 2008). He could have done this at anytime during the previous 8 months, and there is no reason to think he would have done it on that day except to retaliate on behalf of CVESD for my public appearance.
This appears to be yet another case of illegal involvement by CVESD in the justice system (see also CVESD's bizarre and successful effort to protect Stutz law firm from obstruction of justice claims), and an effort by CVESD to use intimidation to interfere with my right to free speech.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
JULY 2008: New board members for Chula Vista Educators
Chula Vista Educators Board of Directors
JULY 2008
(Here is list of members of the board that was replaced.)
President 07-09
State Council 06-09
Peggie Myers
cvepresident@yahoo.com
Full-Release CVE Office 427-1063
Vice President 07-09
Monica Sorenson
Liberty Elementary School 397-5225
VP Monica Sorenson has taken over the remainder of Allan Insko's term as PAR chair (see below).
Treasurer 07-09
Nancy Potts
npotts@cox.netValley Vista Elementary
479-7171 Ext. 5339
State Council 07-10
CTA Board
JAMES GROTH
jgroth@cta.org
Secretary 07-09
Barbara Dunwoodie
monagin@cox.net
Hilltop 422-8323 Ext.3333
State Council 08-11--NEW!!
Jennefer Porch
Juarez-Lincoln 269-3620
PAR Chair 06-09
VP Monica Sorenson
took over for Allan Insko in the middle of this term
(appointed?)
Area Director A 08-10--NEW!!
Maureen Mcnair
Veterans 479-0571
Area Director B 07-08
Norma Pacheco-Davis
pachecodavis@yahoo.com
Los Altos 690-5880 Ext. 3848
Area Director C 08-10--NEW!!
Tim Kriss
Salt Creek 397-5494
Area Director D 08-10
OPEN
Area Director E 08-10--NEW!!
Jena Ritchey
Juarez-Lincoln 269-3620
Bargaining Chair 07-09
OPEN
Executive Director Mary Ellen Berumen
[New executive director]
mberumen@cta.org
427-1063 Ext 205
[Berumen replaced Tim O'Neill, who worked closely with Jim Groth and Gina Boyd to cover up crimes at Castle Park Elementary School.]
JULY 2008
(Here is list of members of the board that was replaced.)
President 07-09
State Council 06-09
Peggie Myers
cvepresident@yahoo.com
Full-Release CVE Office 427-1063
Vice President 07-09
Monica Sorenson
Liberty Elementary School 397-5225
VP Monica Sorenson has taken over the remainder of Allan Insko's term as PAR chair (see below).
Treasurer 07-09
Nancy Potts
npotts@cox.netValley Vista Elementary
479-7171 Ext. 5339
State Council 07-10
CTA Board
JAMES GROTH
jgroth@cta.org
Secretary 07-09
Barbara Dunwoodie
monagin@cox.net
Hilltop 422-8323 Ext.3333
State Council 08-11--NEW!!
Jennefer Porch
Juarez-Lincoln 269-3620
PAR Chair 06-09
VP Monica Sorenson
took over for Allan Insko in the middle of this term
(appointed?)
Area Director A 08-10--NEW!!
Maureen Mcnair
Veterans 479-0571
Area Director B 07-08
Norma Pacheco-Davis
pachecodavis@yahoo.com
Los Altos 690-5880 Ext. 3848
Area Director C 08-10--NEW!!
Tim Kriss
Salt Creek 397-5494
Area Director D 08-10
OPEN
Area Director E 08-10--NEW!!
Jena Ritchey
Juarez-Lincoln 269-3620
Bargaining Chair 07-09
OPEN
Executive Director Mary Ellen Berumen
[New executive director]
mberumen@cta.org
427-1063 Ext 205
[Berumen replaced Tim O'Neill, who worked closely with Jim Groth and Gina Boyd to cover up crimes at Castle Park Elementary School.]
Monday, July 28, 2008
CVESD lawyers Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz v. Maura Larkins trial February 2009
Stutz law firm asked the court on July 25, 2008 to delay the trial for their lawsuit against me for defamation.
One would think they'd be in a hurry to stop me if I'm truly defaming them.
Either my site isn't really hurting them, or Stutz law firm is tacitly admitting that what I say is true.
The November trial date selected by the court was changed to February 6, 2009.
The Stutz lawyer also said that a court-ordered settlement conference "would not be fruitful." The judge looked at him and said, "Well, then you'll just have to work it out yourselves."
One would think they'd be in a hurry to stop me if I'm truly defaming them.
Either my site isn't really hurting them, or Stutz law firm is tacitly admitting that what I say is true.
The November trial date selected by the court was changed to February 6, 2009.
The Stutz lawyer also said that a court-ordered settlement conference "would not be fruitful." The judge looked at him and said, "Well, then you'll just have to work it out yourselves."
Saturday, July 12, 2008
CVESD case discussed in "White Chalk Crime"
A new book mentions CVESD's illegal actions against Maura Larkins.
From "White Chalk Crime" by Karen Horwitz (page 596)
"California NAPTA member Maura Larkins corroborates this point when she commented on my legal case and discussed the abuse used to silence her: If you had done what I did, which was to refuse to come back to work until there was an investigation, I guarantee you would have been dismissed for refusing to come to work. They were delighted that I wasn't at work for an entire year--UNTIL I FILED SUIT.
"Then they claimed they had wanted me to be at work for that entire year. In fact, my dismissal specifically stated that by filing grievances, tort claims and a lawsuit, I had shown myself to be "unforgiving," an "irremediable character defect"!
"Once they target you, neither the truth nor the law matters. I love having the above statement about why I was fired in writing. It's a clear violation of the Constitution as well as state law. Can you believe that they openly and brazenly fired me for filing grievances, tort claims, and a lawsuit?"
CVESD paid $100,000s of tax dollars to obtain this decision and cover up the truth in the case. Attorney Daniel Shinoff, who was in charge of litigation for CVESD in San Diego Superior Court, wanted the case decided in the Office of Administrative Hearings. Attorney Mark Bresee pulled the job off with the help of phony documents.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
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.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
CVESD trustee Judd wants another term
At the CVESD board meeting on April 8, 2008 Pat Judd "announced that he will run for reelection in 2008 to assist and guide the District through this troubled time with his knowledge and expertise."
Are you planning to remain in San Diego County, Mr. Judd?
Have you sought employment in Los Angeles Unified School District?
What caused your mysterious leave from Mountain Empire School District in February 2008, and why did you never go back to work as superintendent?
Sunday, June 22, 2008
How CVESD can stop my complaints without paying a dime
Most schools use public money to improve. CVESD uses public money to make things worse. They use the money to pay lawyers to cover up wrongdoing.
But Lowell Billings and Castle Park Elementary teachers want me to stop telling the public that they have used $100,000s of taxpayer dollars to keep Castle Park Elementary circling the drain for the past seven years.
Nothing would please me more than to be able to say that Billings and the CVESD board are doing the right thing.
Here's how CVESD can stop my complaints without paying a dime:
All Billings and the board have to do is to stop the coverup and start dealing with the felony-serious problems at the district, the teachers union, and Castle Park Elementary.
Simply replace the corrupt culture at CVESD with a culture that values honesty, the rule of law, and the education of children.
And then CVESD and the teachers at Castle Park Elementary can get off the merry-go-round of lies, attacks, and dysfunction that they have been riding for the past seven years.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
In Danielle Cozaihr case, CVESD has switched lawyers two times in 6 months
Why is the CVESD board (David Bejarano, Pamela Smith, Bertha Lopez, Pat Judd and Larry Cunningham) staggering around like a group of drunks searching for the next whiskey bar?
Instead of a bar, however, the board keeps searching for the perfect lawyer who will help them get away with wrongdoing.
In six months, they've fired two different law firms in the Danielle Cozaihr case. They are now back to the firm that caused them so many problems in the Maura Larkins case: Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz.
The board and Superintendent Lowell Billings seem to suffering from an inability to deal with reality. When they don't get what they want, they fire someone. Billings has placed 11 principals in 11 years at Castle Park Elementary.
Here's a suggestion for the board: obey the law. Then you will save $100,000s in litigation costs, and you won't have to corrupt entire schools the way you corrupted Castle Park Elementary with your demands that teachers and administrators commit perjury.
Instead of a bar, however, the board keeps searching for the perfect lawyer who will help them get away with wrongdoing.
In six months, they've fired two different law firms in the Danielle Cozaihr case. They are now back to the firm that caused them so many problems in the Maura Larkins case: Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz.
The board and Superintendent Lowell Billings seem to suffering from an inability to deal with reality. When they don't get what they want, they fire someone. Billings has placed 11 principals in 11 years at Castle Park Elementary.
Here's a suggestion for the board: obey the law. Then you will save $100,000s in litigation costs, and you won't have to corrupt entire schools the way you corrupted Castle Park Elementary with your demands that teachers and administrators commit perjury.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Why don't I put my head in the sand, too?
The teachers at Castle Park Elementary want to forget about the crime wave that happened there.
I also would forget about it except for one thing: the culture that triggered these crimes is harming students. If it were just me, I'd forget it. The fact is that I witnessed CVESD's culture of teacher politics superseding the wellbeing of children for two-and-a-half decades before I myself fell victim to that culture.
At that time I learned that the problem isn't just small-minded teachers in the classrooms. It turns out that many of these power-hungry individuals have risen to positions of influence in both the administration and the teachers union. It seems that frequently (not always, of course) those who can't teach, administrate or unionize. What else can a poor or mediocre teacher do to succeed? Politics is the only way.
I also would forget about it except for one thing: the culture that triggered these crimes is harming students. If it were just me, I'd forget it. The fact is that I witnessed CVESD's culture of teacher politics superseding the wellbeing of children for two-and-a-half decades before I myself fell victim to that culture.
At that time I learned that the problem isn't just small-minded teachers in the classrooms. It turns out that many of these power-hungry individuals have risen to positions of influence in both the administration and the teachers union. It seems that frequently (not always, of course) those who can't teach, administrate or unionize. What else can a poor or mediocre teacher do to succeed? Politics is the only way.
POSTSCRIPT TO YESTERDAY'S "NOTE TO LOWELL BILLINGS"
Castle Park Elementary teachers don't want to deal with reality
Dear Mr. Billings,
After I wrote yesterday's post, I engaged in further discussions about what you said on June 4, 2008 at Castle Park. I believe I now understand your message better.
It seems you said that the teachers don't want to have anything to do with me. Well, of course not.
The reasons are both clear and illegal.
1) First of all, those who were my friends in 2001 were viciously attacked by guilty teachers and administrators. In 2002, Castle Park Elementary teachers were made to understand that Chula Vista Educators (the teachers union), expected them to report to Peggie Myers any contact they had with me. (At that time, Peg Myers, the current CVE president, was CVE representative for the school.)
2) The district and its lawyers wanted to make sure that I had no access to witnesses. Daniel Shinoff and Kelly Angell of Stutz law firm even asked the court to forbid me from contacting ANY AND ALL CVESD EMPLOYEES. The judge refused. He informed the lawyers that "parties are allowed to talk" and that I had a right to contact witnesses.
3) The teachers didn't want to be contacted because they were covering up crimes. Like ostriches with their heads in the sand, they were in deep denial, ignoring the consequences of a criminal cover up. They continued to punish children for lying or other transgressions, but they believed that a different morality applied to them. They were teachers, they made the law in the school, they didn't have to follow it.
4) Sadly, new teachers have been effectively inducted into the "Castle Park Family," the group of teachers that believed that they have the right to make personnel decisions for the school. This is the reason that problems are as severe as ever at Castle Park Elementary. Teachers who have left are still powerful because they stay in contact.
The culture of the school remains the same. It is a culture of anger and hostility to anyone who would question the arbitrary power of the teachers who control the school. Like you, Mr. Billings, they believe that might makes right, and the law has little force in their decision making.
A CANCER OF IRRATIONAL ANGER PERMEATES CASTLE PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND THE DISTRICT OFFICE. YOU WON'T SOLVE THIS PROBLEM WITH "STRICTNESS." CVESD NEEDS TO DEAL WITH THE REALITY OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED, TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS HONESTLY, SO THAT IT CAN FINALLY LAY THEM TO REST.
See all posts about Peg Myers.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The clever Mr. Billings undermines the demonstrators he claims to support at Castle Park Elementary
CVESD superintendent Lowell Billings has clearly failed to get the staff at Castle Park Elementary to work as a team. But it appears that this was never his goal.
Mr. Billings seems to think that Castle Park Elementary must be run with an iron hand. His constant refrain on the evening of June 4, 2008 was that Alicia Moreno, his new choice for principal at the school, will be very "strict" and will make big changes if necessary.
But that was the precise assignment that Billings gave to Carlos Ulloa, and Ulloa did it so well that the staff refused to do any work beyond the contracted hours.
Billings apparently doesn't remember that a work slowdown is also what the staff did three years earlier to get rid of principal Ollie Matos.
Billings seems to be stuck on a merry-go-round and he can't get off. He keeps hiring principals to clamp down on Castle Park teachers, and when that fails, he gets rid of the principal.
Maybe "strict" isn't the answer.
Maybe "honesty" is the answer.
NOTE TO SUPERINTENDENT LOWELL BILLINGS
Let's face it, Mr. Billings: you have no control over Castle Park Elementary because you have lost your authority. Castle Park teachers (particularly the one writing this) know better than anyone else exactly what your unprofessional and illegal actions have been.
Why can't you come up with a plan other than another cycle of brute force and clever lies?
One of those lies occurred on June 4, 2008. You announced to the families at the Castle Park Elementary parent awards ceremony that you supported the rally that started at 5:30 p.m.on June 4, 2008. At around 7 p.m. you welcomed the group of demonstrators, which included me, into the auditorium. You promised to meet with parents.
But first, you decided to undermine them. You wanted to eliminate the person in the group who knew the most about the problems at Castle Park Elementary. After you shook my hand, you told me to leave. I asked why, and you refused to say. I left immediately.
Then you set out to divide and conquer.
The demonstrators were asking for an investigation into why there have been 11 principals at the school in 11 years. Since an investigation at Castle Park would result in the exposure of illegal actions by you and the district's expenditure of $100,000s of taxpayer funds to lawyers hired to cover up wrongful actions, you were determined to snuff out that possibility at the very start.
You tried to break the strongest link in the demonstrators' chain. You told the parents that I was a bad influence on kids. That smear was clear.
I've been getting confusing feedback about the rest of what you said.
I gather that you indicated that I was trying to get money from the district. What I want, Mr. Billings, is this: (1) Reverse the damage done to Castle Park Elementary since Feb. 12, 2001; (2) Stop the corruption that persists in the CVESD school board and their allies in the administration and the union; (3) Replace the corrupt culture at CVESD with a culture that values honesty, the rule of law, and the education of children.
For years you allowed Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz to basically write its own checks, squandering $100,000s of taxpayer dollars. Isn't it time this stopped?
There's a way for you to win, Mr. Billings.
You don't have to give me a dime, Mr. Billings, even though you've committed and covered up crimes against me.
All you have to do is to tell the truth.
That costs ZERO dollars.
Spill the beans, admit the facts, and say you're sorry. The statute of limitations has passed, so there would be no prosecutions. Wait, what am I saying? I reporting this case to Bonnie Dumanis years ago, and she refused to investigate. There was never any danger of criminal prosecution.
If you come clean, obviously, you won't have to pay anyone to be silent.
This is exactly what Hollywood stars do when they find out the media is about to expose one of their secrets: they go to a media outlet they prefer, and tell the story. It's a perfect trick to keep profits away from the outlet that was about to expose them. Why don't you try it?
And then you and the teachers at Castle Park Elementary can get off the merry-go-round of lies, attacks, and dysfunction that you have been riding for the past seven years.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
How do you cover up abuse? You ban critics from speaking.
The CVESD board tries to keep secret the harm it has done to children and the laws it has broken.
One of the ways it does this is to prevent people with direct knowledge of the problems from speaking to parents, employees and students.
The Catholic Church is similar to CVESD in this respect.
Tonight retired Catholic Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, who in the 1990s investigated abuse of children in Australian churches, will speak in San Diego, defying Bishop Robert Brom and Cardinal Roger Mahony.
Robinson is banned from speaking on church property in several dioceses in the U.S.
Church leaders don't like the fact that Robinson has questioned whether the church's policy of celibacy for priests has led to the culture that allowed child sexual abuse to run rampant.
I feel that I have something in common with Robinson.
Superintendent Lowell Billings and the CVESD board don't want me to question whether their violations of law have led to the out of control situation at Castle Park Elementary.
I believe that the policies of Billings and the CVESD board are a bad influence on kids.
I also believe that institutions--including both churches and schools--tend to operate to protect the powerful people who control them, not the people they pretend to serve.
One of the ways it does this is to prevent people with direct knowledge of the problems from speaking to parents, employees and students.
The Catholic Church is similar to CVESD in this respect.
Tonight retired Catholic Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, who in the 1990s investigated abuse of children in Australian churches, will speak in San Diego, defying Bishop Robert Brom and Cardinal Roger Mahony.
Robinson is banned from speaking on church property in several dioceses in the U.S.
Church leaders don't like the fact that Robinson has questioned whether the church's policy of celibacy for priests has led to the culture that allowed child sexual abuse to run rampant.
I feel that I have something in common with Robinson.
Superintendent Lowell Billings and the CVESD board don't want me to question whether their violations of law have led to the out of control situation at Castle Park Elementary.
I believe that the policies of Billings and the CVESD board are a bad influence on kids.
I also believe that institutions--including both churches and schools--tend to operate to protect the powerful people who control them, not the people they pretend to serve.
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