Tax breaks in the cross hairs

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

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

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

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

Value: $1.1 billion.

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

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

Value: $100 million.

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

Value: $100 million.

Value source: Legislative Analyst’s Office.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CVESD's Francisco Escobedo and Russell Coronado were fellow employees, but Lowell Billings and Patrick Judd personally hired each other

New CVESD superintendent Francisco Escobedo


See all Francisco Escobedo posts at San Diego Education Report blog.

Once again, the SDUT fails to give the full story about Chula Vista Elementary School District. Until he was voted out of office in 2008 (and replaced by Russell Coronado), CVESD board member Patrick Judd was an employee of CVESD Superintendent Lowell Billings in another school district, The Accelerated School (TAS) in Los Angeles. At TAS, Lowell Billings was on the board that chose Patrick Judd as executive director of the school.

But here's the big difference between the two situations: Escobedo didn't personally hire Coronado. Lowell Billings, on the other hand, was personally involved in the hiring of Patrick Judd, and Judd was personally involved in hiring Lowell Billings.

The board minutes for CVESD do not indicate that Patrick Judd recused himself from voting for Lowell Billings' employment, nor does it appear that Billings recused himself from voting for Judd's employment.

See blog posts about The Accelerated School (TAS) in Los Angeles.

Shame on the San Diego Union Tribune for cherry-picking the facts it gives to readers. This story reminds me of the "Castle Park Five" story, in which the SDUT was outraged that five teachers were transferred, but never told readers that several of those teachers were deeply involved in illegal actions. The district had paid $100,000s to defend them. The teachers weren't grateful for the district's assistance in covering up their wrongdoing, however. When they were transferred, they filed a complaint against the district!


Chula Vista superintendent candidate had inside track
The president of the school board works for him at another district
San Diego Union Tribune
By ASHLY McGLONE
August 2, 2010

One candidate for superintendent of Chula Vista’s elementary school district had an inside track — one of his employees is the president of the school board.

Francisco Escobedo last week was named the sole finalist for the job, which paid its last occupant $247,000...

It wasn’t mentioned in the news release, but The Watchdog has learned that Escobedo is Coronado’s boss at the South Bay Union School District. Escobedo is assistant superintendent of educational leadership there, a post he has held since 2007. Coronado is the director of student services.

Coronado was one of two board members on a selection committee, which also included a parent, a principal, a labor representative and a taxpayer. That committee passed along three finalists to the board, which narrowed the field to one by a unanimous vote that included Coronado.

Coronado on Monday said his relationship with Escobedo at the South Bay district was not a conflict-of-interest and had no bearing on the recruitment at the Chula Vista Elementary district...

Still, Coronado said, he has decided to recuse himself from the final vote to hire a superintendent, possibly on Aug. 17, “so that there wouldn’t be any misinterpretation.”

Escobedo said he sees no conflict with applying for a job controlled in part by a subordinate.

“I wouldn’t say that is the case,” Escobedo said. “[Coronado] has two roles to play: one as the school board president when he works for Chula Vista. He does an exceptional job at differentiating what his roles are in those two positions.”

Larry Cunningham, the other board member who served on the selection committee, said the relationship between Coronado and Escobedo was “not a discussion item” but that he was aware that they worked together. Asked whether he knew that Escobedo was Coronado’s boss, he said, “I don’t know what the structure is.”

[Maura Larkins' comment: Come on, Larry. Don't be so afraid to admit the truth. If Escobedo is the superintendent, then he's the boss of every employee in the district. I wish you would start giving straight answers to questions. This evasiveness is getting to be a very bad habit.]

Jim Groth, former president of the teacher’s union for the district, said he was unaware of the connection.

“As far as my reaction to it, it’s not uncommon, but it would be proper for a board member not to vote on the process,” said Groth, now a member of the California Teachers Association board. “Everybody in leadership kind of knows everybody else in leadership. To directly supervise them though, in the state of California, I am sure it happens, but as an elected official, you need to be very careful.”

[Maura Larkins comment: But you didn't want Lowell Billings to be careful, did you, Jim? At least not regarding issues that you and he were hiding from teachers and voters, right?]

The successful candidate will replace Lowell Billings, who will retire midway through his ninth year as district superintendent in December. His salary is $247,000, although a replacement with less experience might be paid less.

At South Bay Union, Escobedo’s salary stands at $144,000, and Coronado’s is $124,000.

Escobedo, who has a doctorate in education and has worked in education for 22 years, should not be excluded from the Chula Vista job because a board member happens to work for him, Billings said.

“Do you exclude someone that you really really like because you have a history with them? He is a really good educator,” Billings said. “You have to look at the track record of the candidate that has been selected, and it is immaculate.”

Billings said there was no problem with the news release quoting Coronado praising Escobedo, without disclosing their outside relationship.

“I think you have to put it in the context of how pleased the other board members are,” Billings said. “One board member is not the board. He is not giving his sole opinion. He is voicing the consolidated opinion of the board. He doesn’t speak for himself.”...

CVESD Announces Dr. Escobedo as Finalist for Superintendent

See all Francisco Escobedo posts at San Diego Education Report blog.

Board of Education Announces Dr. Escobedo as Finalist for Superintendent
Entered By: Chula Vista Elementary School District
July 27th, 2010

Francisco Escobedo, Ed.D., has been selected as the sole finalist for superintendent of the Chula Vista Elementary School District. The Board of Education announced that Escobedo emerged as its leading
candidate after interviews of two others for the position. Pending the outcome of due diligence, including site visits, Escobedo could be recommended for hiring at the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting of August 17, 2010, or at a Special Board Meeting.

“Dr. Escobedo has the qualifications, experience, and character we were looking for to continue the academic growth expected in the Chula Vista Elementary School District,” said Board President Russell Y. Coronado. “We look forward to the next step, and look forward to the outcome of the Board’s site visits.”

Escobedo would succeed Superintendent Lowell J. Billings, Ed.D., who has announced his retirement...

About Dr. Escobedo

Currently Assistant Superintendent, Educational Leadership, in the South Bay Union School District, Imperial Beach, Calif. He supervised principals of 13 elementary schools, serving more than 8,000 students. He has served in education the better part of 22 years. His experiences include serving as a principal research analyst for the American Institute of Research, as well as serving as California Regional Vice-President of Achievement/Operations for Edison Schools. He has served as a principal in CVESD at then-Mae L. Feaster-Edison Charter (now Mae L. Feaster Charter) and in the National School District at John A. Otis School...

Schools in CVESD to start classes on Wednesday, July 21

Schools in CVESD to start classes on Wednesday, July 21 (a minimum day).

School starts on Wednesday, July 21, which is a minimum day, at schools in the Chula Vista Elementary School District. Check with your child's charter school for charter school starting dates. Note that verification of residency is an annual requirement. If you are new to the area, or have not completed these requirements, please ensure to act now to avoid last-minute crowds on the first day of school. To register your student, you need to present:
1. Birth Verification
2. Immunization records
3. Documents to verify home address (residency)

UPDATE: Chula Vista teacher sued in $7.7 million fraud

UPDATE: The husband of "Castle Park Five" teacher Robin Donlan has completed his federal prison sentence for stock options fraud, and returned to San Diego in late 2009. I am thinking he may be the person who sent me the email on this page.

I got a kick out of watching Robin Donlan's interview in a video from last year's Comic-Con (or was it 2008?). She spoke of fielding complaints from customers who, in Donlan's words, thought they were "special little snowflakes." Ah, yes. Sarcasm in the right hands is a marvelous thing. But "snowflakes"? Who talks like that? It sounds like something that a cyncial elementary school teacher might say about a child who was seeking attention. My advice to Robin: try to cultivate a greater sense of respect for others.

See all Robin Donlan posts.
See Vencent Donlan posts.

Del Cerro couple sued in $7.7 million fraud
Wireless Facilities, SEC file civil lawsuits in case
By Kathryn Balint and Keith Darc�
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
May 4, 2007

In a new twist on the burgeoning stock options scandal, the former stock options manager for San Diego-based Wireless Facilities and his wife have been accused of fraudulently issuing company stock options and selling them at a profit of more than $7.7 million.

Vencent A. Donlan, and his wife, Robin D. Colls Donlan, both 44-year-old teachers in local schools, were accused in civil lawsuits announced yesterday by Wireless Facilities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Wireless Facilities is among more than 200 U.S. companies that have launched probes or are under federal investigation for backdating stock options without disclosing the practice to shareholders. It said the Donlans' “elaborate scheme” came to light during its internal review and it notified securities regulators.

The accusation that an options administrator defrauded a company of stock is unusual and suggests another avenue of wrongdoing that has, as yet, gone undetected.

“I'm pretty sure there has never been a case like this,” said Kelly Bowers, a senior assistant regional director of enforcement for the SEC.

“This is an example of a different scheme that (other) companies should take notice of,” he said. “They should make sure they have proper policies and procedures to make sure this is not happening under their watch.”

The SEC obtained a court order freezing the Donlans' assets to guard against what it said was the “imminent danger” that they would transfer or hide proceeds from the “fraudulent scheme.”

The Wireless Facilities case accusing the Donlans of “breach of duty and loyalty” was filed Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court, while the SEC case accusing them of violating federal securities laws was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in downtown San Diego.

The Internal Revenue Service, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney General's Office and the San Diego District Attorney's Office all would neither confirm nor deny any criminal investigation.

The street in front of the couple's gated, two-story house on Norman Lane in Del Cerro was busy with activity late yesterday. Two men in an idling gold Ford Crown Victoria refused to identify themselves but one held a black binder embossed with a federal seal and the words “Corporate Fraud Division.” A process server waiting to deliver Wireless Facilities' lawsuit said they had earlier identified themselves as federal agents.

Vencent Donlan, a physics teacher at the San Diego High Education Complex School of Business, and Robin Donlan, a fourth-grade teacher at Hilltop Drive Elementary School in Chula Vista, didn't return phone messages yesterday and could not be reached at home to comment.

The SEC lawsuit describes a process in which Vencent Donlan, a former Charles Schwab broker, had primary responsibility for entering Wireless Facilities' stock options data into company software.

According to the lawsuit, he fraudulently issued and transferred 728,229 shares of stock and options to himself and his wife between November 2002 and November 2003.

Donlan, who was being paid $65,000 a year when he left Wireless Facilities, hid the unauthorized transactions by creating accounts with abbreviated names of real employees' names linked to his wife's Social Security number.

The couple made at least $7.7 million through the sale of shares and exercise of options that were illegally transferred, according to the lawsuit.

The SEC said it seeks the return of the “ill-gotten gains” as well as civil penalties against Vencent Donlan.

According to court and real-estate documents, the Donlans bought the five-bedroom home in Del Cerro in 2004 for $942,000 in cash. Earlier this year, the couple paid $655,000 in cash for a three-bedroom home in Julian.

Since owning the Del Cerro house, the couple have added a pitched roof, a wide second-story deck, a security gate and wall, extensive landscaping and other additions.

“The amount of activity, financially, is incredible,” said Sal Dauria, who lives two houses down.

“I was told they were teachers,” he said yesterday. “There is a disconnect with what normal people make in income and the number of people” the Donlans have hired to work on the house.

It was not unusual to see as many as 10 laborers arriving in the morning, Dauria said.

Vencent Donlan, reportedly a former Navy pilot, and Robin Donlan, a volunteer vice president of events for Comic-Con International, are both science fiction fans. They were married in March 2002 in a “Star Trek”-themed Las Vegas ceremony that was featured in an article in Las Vegas Weekly.

Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer said yesterday that Robin Donlan has been involved with the group for many years. He said he didn't know anything about the fraud allegations against the couple...

Search committee for the new CVESD superintendent

Here's the search committee for the new CVESD superintendent:


Superintendent Search Committee

Russell Y. Coronado (Board)
Larry Cunningham (Board)
Matt Tessier (Principal)
Peg Myers (CVE)
Ernie Gutierrez (CVCEO)
Lourdes Valdez (Community Leader)
Glendora Tremper (Parent Leader)

An offer to Robin Donlan and Peg Myers

Dear Robin and Peg,
I think we should have a truth and reconciliation meeting. I believe that the truth about what happened at Castle Park Elementary will continue to extend its reach (skeletons have a habit of falling out of closets), so why not let the district and the teachers union quit spending money covering it up, and just deal with it openly and honestly? Everyone would be happier, I believe.
Maura Larkins

Cheryl Cox's supporters will do just about anything to win, it seems; Steve Castaneda cleared of charges

Castaneda cleared of charges
Campaign finance complaints against Chula Vista councilman tossed
By Tanya Sierra
San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
May 25, 2010

CHULA VISTA — An independent investigation into claims that Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Castaneda violated campaign financing laws dating back six years has found the complaints lacked merit and were politically motivated.

Julia Sylvia, the Los Angeles attorney looking into the matter, deemed the charges against Castaneda “unsubstantiated innuendo, arguments and allegations.”

Angel T. Castillo, a Chula Vista resident who once served on a homeowners association board with Castaneda, filed complaints in November and December alleging multiple campaign violations in 2004, 2006 and 2008. He claimed Castaneda should be prosecuted and forced to pay $472,679 in fines.

Castillo, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, alleged that Castaneda misreported campaign expenses in 2004; violated personal financing limits in 2005; and did not declare postelection expenses in 2006. The allegations also state that contributions from a former business partner exceeded what is allowed under campaign laws.

Castaneda, who is running for mayor in the June primary, said in a City Hall news conference that he knew he would be cleared. He charged Castillo with regurgitating issues that had been settled.

Silva agreed.

“A majority of the allegations in the complaint have been thoroughly investigated by other public agencies; namely the Fair Political Practices Commission,” she wrote. “The FPPC has concluded that there is no conflict of interest and there is not violation of the Political Reform Act by the candidate.”...

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

KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis




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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who destroyed Castle Park Elementary? It was a cooperative effort by the district and the teachers union

I was shocked and disappointed to learn that the school I attended as a child and worked at as an adult has gone down hill so rapidly since I left it in 2001.

Castle Park Elementary has the lowest API score in Chula Vista Elementary School District. This wasn't always the case.

When I was there, scores were well above the bottom despite the low socio-economic level of the neighborhood. Then current Chula Vista Educators president Peg Myers began clawing her way up the ladder to power with the help of a group of teachers that had been sowing discord before Peg arrived. Peg got lots of help from Jim Groth, who is now a statewide CTA director, and Beverly Tucker, the head legal counsel of California Teachers Association.

Castle Park Elementary Chula Vista Elementary 754

A small group of teachers chewed up and spit out a long string of principals and good teachers. The goal was power for their group, not education for children. The district supported Robin Donlan, Karen Snyder, Peg Snyder and their associates until it realized in 2004 that the teachers were out of control. Then the district ended up hiring lawyers to defend itself against the teachers that it had spent $100,000s of tax dollars defending. Shame on Larry Cunningham and Pamela Smith for knowingly defending teachers who had committed crimes.

I notice that the enrollment at Castle Park Elementary has gone down to 312. It appears that everyone who is able to do so finds another school to go to.

The school had 11 principals in 11 years before the current principal was asked to try to make some sense out of the wreckage. I suggest a Truth and Reconciliation Committee for the school--and the district. Problems need to be fixed, not hidden, as Lowell Billings has done.


Were teachers "blindly-led"?

Here's a quote from an AOL News article about the Tonya Craft case:
"It's divided the community between those who are intelligent and can think for themselves and those who are blindly led," local resident Harmony Lefler told AOL News. "It's horrible to say that, but it is the truth."



THE PROBLEM IS CALLED "BRIGHT-FLIGHT," AND THE ANGRY TEACHERS AT CASTLE PARK ELEMENTARY ACCELERATED IT

'Bright flight' fight
Castle Park Middle School students get help from teachers to stay there
By Chris Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 3, 2007

Smart kids grow up in Chula Vista's Castle Park area, attend the neighborhood elementary schools and then leave for other parts of town for seventh grade.

This academic diaspora is so persistent and troubling that Sweetwater Union High School District educators have given it a name: “bright flight.”

A federal law intended to help low-scoring schools such as Castle Park Middle School appears to have accelerated the brain drain. The No Child Left Behind Act gives parents the option to send their children to higher-scoring schools when their neighborhood school doesn't make the grade.

This school year, the families of 168 students used No Child Left Behind to leave Castle Park Middle School. That coincides with a plunge in the number of students in the school's advanced academic program. There are about one-third fewer seventh-graders in the school's fledgling International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme than there were last year...

Chula Vista cuts nearly 160 elementary teachers

The teachers being laid off at CVESD are not the least-capable teachers. Why not? Because neither the union nor the administration wants to evaluate teachers effectively, which would be the first step in such an endeavor. Shame on the board and Peg Myers, president of Chula Vista Educators for refusing to allow accurate evaluations of teachers' ability and performance.

Chula Vista cuts nearly 160 elementary teachers
FOX 5 San Diego
May 12, 2010

The Chula Vista Elementary School District decided Tuesday night to send pink slips to nearly 160 teachers and will cut pay for the remaining teachers by 3 percent to deal with a $15.2 million budget deficit.

In March, the district issued 422 preliminary pink slips to faculty members across the district. Later, that number was reduced to 218. Tuesday's decision reduced the number of job cuts again. District officials said they must cut positions to balance the budget.

"We're faced with 160 now, that's a 160 too many," said Anthony Millican, a spokesperson for Chula Vista Elementary School District. "However we're put in this position because of the state's budget process."

The people expected to be let go in June are Kindergarten through 6th grade teachers, along with 10 school psychologists and 10 assistant principals.

Peg Myers, the Chula Vista Educators President, asked the board Tuesday night to reconsider saving the remaining 218 pink slipped positions.

"By May 15, they have to have the final layoff notices handed out to the teachers," said Myers.

These jobs may be saved if the district receives more than $7 million in federal stimulus funds...

Top Chula Vista cop, partner in dispute; Police chief co-owns security company

Somebody's being unreasonable here, and it's hard to know who it is. Perhaps Art Moreno figured a huge windfall had ended up in his lap when Bejarano was chosen as Chula Vista's top cop. The new job means Bejarano must give up the company. Bejarano says either his partner pays for his half or the company should be dissolved.


Top Chula Vista cop, partner in dispute
Police chief co-owns security company
By Tanya Sierra
San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE
May 7, 2010

In addition to being Chula Vista’s police chief, where he earns an annual salary of $187,000, David Bejarano is involved in a number of other activities. Among them:

• Chula Vista Elementary School District trustee

• Co-owner of Presidential Security Services

• Vibra Bank board member

• South Bay Community Services board member

• Consultant for personal injury law firm Tatro & Zamoyski

CHULA VISTA — A business partner has accused Chula Vista Police Chief David Bejarano of writing fraudulent checks on the private security firm’s account, an allegation that the city forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office.

City policy prohibits police officers from owning or working for private security firms in Chula Vista, and Bejarano’s efforts to dissociate himself from Chula Vista-based Presidential Security are at the root of the business partners’ dispute.

Bejarano co-owns Presidential Security Services with former Donovan State Prison guard Art Moreno. Bejarano stepped down as president of the company in August when he became police chief. About that time, he also curtailed his duties at the firm and wanted his name removed from advertising, marketing and other public material...

Bejarano’s lawyer, Joseph Casas, said the chief is the victim of a smear campaign. He added that his client’s name was removed from bank records without proper authority...

The corporation’s board of directors is composed of Moreno and his wife, Colleen, and Bejarano and his wife, Esperanza.

Bejarano, a former San Diego police chief, has filed suit in San Diego Superior Court to disband the company. In the suit, Bejarano alleges that Moreno and his wife “repeatedly breached their fiduciary duties and wrongfully acted in their own self-interest.”...

Presidential continues to pay David Bejarano a salary. Last year, he earned $73,820 with the firm and charged about $15,000 on a company credit card, Moreno said.

City Attorney Bart Miesfeld said as long as Bejarano is trying to cut his ties with the company, and as long as his responsibilities there do not interfere with his duties as police chief, he is not violating city policy that prohibits a police officer from working for or having a financial interest in a private police agency in the city.

Simon Mayeski, a member of California Common Cause’s San Diego chapter, questioned that assessment.

“I wonder why the city attorney is trying to write around this regulation, which sounds like a reasonable and necessary restriction,” Mayeski said. “It opens up way too many questions and puts the chief in a less-than-perfect position going about his business.”

Common Cause is a nonprofit that says it strives for an “open, honest and accountable government.”

Presidential Security has a number of contracts to provide security guards for Chula Vista businesses, including two shelters run by South Bay Community Services, where Bejarano serves as a board member.

City Councilmen Rudy Ramirez and Steve Castaneda said Thursday that Bejarano should have left Presidential Security by now.

“There should have been a specific timeline in which he had to divest himself from that business,” Castaneda said.

Mayor Cheryl Cox said she backs Sandoval and Miesfeld.

“I’m confident that the city manager and city attorney have done their due diligence,” she said.

[Due diligence? Does Cheryl Cox have any idea what that means? When she was a CVESD trustee, she helped make sure that no investigation was ever done regarding a 2001 report by two teachers that they believed there might be a mass shooting at Castle Park Elementary. At the same time, the district specifically claimed it had done its due diligence.]

Meanwhile, the future of Presidential Security and its 40 employees remains unclear.

After Bejarano was hired as police chief, he suggested to Moreno that they divide the company, according to an September e-mail exchange provided by Moreno.

“It can be done quickly, with minimal costs and you and your family can operate your share any way you want and my wife will operate our share,” Bejarano wrote to Moreno in a Sept. 28 e-mail.

Moreno said Bejarano should sell his interest in the company.

“Our last offer to him was $50,000, and we never heard back from him,” Moreno said.

Casas, Bejarano’s attorney, said Moreno has not made a serious offer.

“Mr. Moreno can put an offer on the table to us, which he has yet to do in any meaningful way,” Casas said.

A court date on Bejarano’s suit to disband the company has not been set.

CVESD Superintendent Lowell Billings to retire

Photo (left to right): Russell Coronado (new), Superintendent Lowell Billings, Larry Cunningham, Pamela Smith, David Bejarano (new), Doug Luffborough (new)



Chula Vista Elementary School District superintendent Lowell Billings will retire in December of this year. Here is his letter announcing his retirement.

It remains to be seen whether there will be any real changes at the district, or if this is merely a matter of personal preferences. Billings and the long time board members developed a lot of personal loyalty to each other during years when the district was involved in some expensive wrongdoing. But will the new board look for new lawyers and start obeying the law and the contract? That is what reformers hope for, of course, but political office changes people. Officials often start with the best of intentions, but end up protecting their incumbency instead of their principles.

Billings notes that Peter Baron Stark will help in the search for a replacement.

Peter Barron Stark knows CVESD pretty well. He actually was called in to help when teachers at Castle Park Elementary started going out of control in the mid 1990's (before I myself became a teacher at the school).

Mr. Stark failed to bring about any meaningful understanding or system for communication at the school. Within a few years, the district was paying $100,000s in legal bills to defend teachers who decided to destroy the school rather than give up the power their clique had achieved. The clique pretty much wagged the dog. Assistant superintendents Richard Werlin and Lowell Billings agreed to the demands of these teachers even when they demanded that the district violate the contract and the law. Then Billings tried to establish control over the school in 2004, but it was too late. The Castle Park Five got the local media to portray Billings as a power-hungry egomaniac.

Billings will be remembered for his mishandling of the Ana Stover case and the Danielle Cozaihr case, as well as my case, the Maura Larkins case. See web page.

My sympathies to Pamela Smith and Larry Cunningham, board members who worked so closely with Mr. Billings.

Recall against Southwestern College board members started

Recall against Southwestern College board members started
09 February 2010
Hundreds of Southwestern College employees are uniting against school superintendent Raj Chopra and three board members after years of financial battles between the faculty and superintendent have left the school at risk of losing its accreditation, according to the voiceofsandiego.org. A recall campaign has been started against the three pro-Chopra board members. Recall supporters have until May 3 to collect 20,000 signatures in the community college district for each board member.

Chula Vista candidates talk about jobs, bay front development and Roger Hedgecock

Roger Hedgecock is as much a political activist as he is a media figure. He is not a journalist. He's San Diego's Glenn Beck. He's not the right person to host a candidate debate. Linda Rosas should know that. She damages the Chula Vista Star-News and her own credentials as a serious news publisher with antics like dropping support of a candidate forum just because Hedgecock won't be there.

Chula Vista candidates talk about jobs, bay front development and Roger Hedgecock
BY Rose Creasman
24 March 2010

Though it was ousted moderator Roger Hedgecock who made the biggest news after Chula Vista’s candidate forum last night, the guest panelists who actually appeared made waves of their own.

With Hedgecock’s last-minute withdrawal—the former San Diego mayor said he didn’t want his presence to detract from a public forum—came the dropping out of sponsor Star-News and several panelists, including incumbent Mayor Cheryl Cox. But that didn’t stop other determined candidates from capitalizing on the event’s sudden downsizing.

“If a group of Chula Vistans wants to sit down and talk about their community, I’m going to be there,” said mayoral hopeful and councilman Steve Castaneda, one of three candidates for the office and the only one to show up at the school Monday night. “It never mattered to me whether anyone else was going to be there.”
Without his two opponents present, Castaneda took the stage for an informal, relaxed explanation of his goals in office. The councilman talked about drug violence near the border and accountability, emphasizing Scripps Hospital’s outstanding bill from the city.

“That money is owed to the taxpayers, not the mayor or council members,” he said. “We need to hold people’s feet to the fire when they come to Chula Vista and want taxpayer assistance. Scripps is no different.”

Castaneda's opponents, incumbent Mayor Cox and Southwestern College trustee Jorge Dominguez, did not attend.

City Council candidate Patricia Aguilar dedicated her two-minute opening statement to commending the audience for taking action against Hedgecock, saying that plans for the nationally-syndicated radio talk show host to moderate the forum should never have been made. Hedgecock was brought on board by the Southwest Civic Association, but was ousted hours before the forum after the MAAC Project objected.

“This represents the very best of civic engagement and community activism,” said Aguilar, who is president of the community group Crossroads II. “It gives me a warm feeling because I’ve been part of that.”

Southwest Civic Association president Theresa Acerro told the Union-Tribune in an email that Hedgecock was only invited to ensure Mayor Cox would attend.

Three of four candidates running for outgoing councilman John McCann’s seat debated solutions to Chula Vista’s saga of unfulfilled promises, including the oft-envisioned plans to capitalize on the city’s undeveloped bay front and establish a four-year university. The questions, presented by fill-in moderator and president Ken Wright of the Northwest Civic Association, covered the creation of much-needed jobs and development, lobbying of politicians and medical marijuana dispensaries.

Aguilar kept herself decidedly distinct from opponents Humberto Peraza and Larry Breitfelder throughout the forum, emphasizing her involvement at the community level...

CVESD's Jim Groth talks to Channel 6 News

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

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

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

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


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



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

Marching for California's Future

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

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

California suspended credential of Lowell Fred Kamper, who was a favorite of Mountain Empire teachers and who was defended by Patrick Judd

(The link below to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing has been fixed. The information on Mr. Kamper is on page 36 of 46 pages for the June 2007 minutes.)

It's amazing how often CTA and Patrick Judd are on the same side when it comes to protecting bad actors, even though CTA and Judd seem to despise each other the rest of the time. Corruption makes strange bedfellows.

Action
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
KAMPER, Lowell F, Jr. Campo, CA. All certification documents under the jurisdiction of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing are suspended for a period of thirty (30) days for misconduct pursuant to Education Code section 44421, effective immediately.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

School Districts Push For Teacher Pay Cuts During Contract Talks

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Demoted Sweetwater Schools Official Karen Janney Could Run

See all Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) posts.

Demoted Sweetwater Schools Official Could Run
February 3, 2010
Voice of San Diego

A popular school official who was jilted by Sweetwater Union High School District may vie for a spot on its board -- a move that could put her in charge of the superintendent who demoted her.

Karen Janney, formerly an assistant superintendent in Sweetwater, was demoted to a lower position which she declined, costing her job at Sweetwater last year. Her exit brought an outpouring of anger from longtime employees who praised her as a smart and caring leader and criticized Superintendent Jesus Gandara for the move.

Now she is exploring a run for the school board this fall. Janney filed an official statement of her intent to run at the end of January. She was reluctant to talk about her potential run.

"It's just so early," Janney said. "But I'm very strongly considering it. I feel like I could make a difference."

Sweetwater trustees are elected at large and can choose which seat to run for; Janney said she has not decided which school board member she wants to run against. Board members Jim Cartmill, Arlie Ricasa and Greg Sandoval are up for re-election this fall.

-- EMILY ALPERT

New Years Resolution for Mayor Cheryl Cox

Bonnie Dumanis just got through insisting that the tax dollars wasted on her preposterous prosecution of Steve Castaneda were NOT spent to help her pal Cheryl Cox.

It looks like Cheryl and her friends have decided to use the resources of the City of Chula Vista to try to start a new prosecution. Angel Castillo and Jenna Anderson seem to be the pawns of some mystery person.

TEZOZOMOC SPEAKS
Jan 8, 2010
La Prensa
Es tiempo por New Year’s Resolutions:

For Mayor Cheryl Cox: the resolve to run for re-election based on her accomplishments and not on some out of town attorney digging up dirty on her main opponent… by the way, what is the running total on that bill. The LA attorney has been reviewing those Castañeda files for some time now… what is it, $200 dollars an hour??? Nothing brings a smile to an attorney, or a consultant, like an open check book.



Investigation of Castaneda moves forward
By Tanya Sierra, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 8, 2010

CHULA VISTA — An outside attorney hired to look into allegations that Chula Vista Councilman and mayoral candidate Steve Castaneda violated campaign laws in 2004, 2006 and 2008 said yesterday she has verified proper procedures were followed to file the complaint and will now analyze the merits of the case.

Julia Sylva, who has been investigating the Castaneda complaint since November, said she verified that the man who filed the complaint is a Chula Vista resident.

The Chula Vista municipal code requires that a campaign contribution complaint be filed in writing and by a resident of the city. Now that the Los Angeles attorney has verified those details, she will delve into the allegations.

“It’s pretty complex,” she said yesterday without citing specifics. “I’m going to need at least a month.”

On Nov. 18, Angel T. Castillo, who once lived in the same Chula Vista condominium complex as Castaneda, filed a thick complaint against him.

Castillo has not returned multiple calls seeking an interview about his complaint, and the city has not released a copy.

Castaneda said he has not spoken with Castillo since 2003 and does not know why six years later he would file a complaint. “I don’t think I’ve even ever run into him since I moved out of that place,” Castaneda said.

He said he and Castillo were at odds over landscaping of the condominium complex they both lived in.

According to the city, there is no record of Castillo ever having made a public records request for Castaneda’s campaign statements or for any other public documents on file with the city.

One name that popped up seven times this year seeking information on Castaneda is Jenn Anderson of Chula Vista.

The only Anderson in Chula Vista of similar name in the same ZIP code is 23-year-old Jenna Anderson. When reached by phone yesterday, she denied that she was the one who made records requests.

“I’m just a college student,” she said.

Peg Myers makes interesting claims; CTA continues to oppose use of scores to evaluate teachers

What is Peg Myers talking about? She relied on a tiny group of parents to justify the power of a tiny group of teachers to control principal after principal at Castle Park Elementary. CVESD Superintendent Lowell Billings reported at a board meeting that when he transferred Peg Myers, Robin Donlan, Nikki Perez and other members of the "Castle Park Family" out of the school, scores went up greatly.

Local Schools Weigh In On Reform Bill
January 6, 2010
Channel 10 News

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego school system could be getting a major overhaul as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign a bill that would give parents more power to control what happens in their child's school.

While the state Senate approved a bill that could qualify the state for $700 million in federal stimulus money, some educators and experts feel the changes may not be worth the money.

At a glance, Lincoln High School does not measure up to other schools in San Diego County. The school's overall academic performance rating is at 587.

"It's not until you crack the 750, 800 mark can you be considered one of the elites in the city," said Lincoln High School Principal Mel Collins.,

Lincoln High could be one of the schools targeted by a new bill aimed at reworking state schools. The bill would give parents the power to petition to make sweeping changes, including having a principal removed or closing a school if its performance is not up to certain standards.

Sweetwater Union High School District Superintendent Jesus Gandara told 10News, "If you give one group all that power to say, 'we want this principal out,' without teachers having a say, without management having a say, there's a problem there."

"It should be a collective decision made by a number of different entities," said Collins.

Peg Myers of the California Teachers Association said, "We actually have great results in our schools, and that's because we do work with the parents."

The California Teachers Association opposes the state's plan, which would also make it easier for parents to transfer their children to another school...

Ex-Chula Vista Elementary Aide To Be Sentenced For Molestation

Ex-Chula Vista Elementary Aide To Be Sentenced For Molestation
Channel 10 News
Jan. 4, 2010

A former instructional aide with the Chula Vista Elementary School District who pleaded guilty to molesting a teenage girl was scheduled to be sentenced Monday.

Vincent Matthew Lopez, 47, is expected to be sentenced to a year in jail. The defendant was arrested in February after a 15-year-old relative called police to report that Lopez had sexually assaulted her.

Lopez was subsequently also charged with molesting another girl of similar age, said Deputy District Attorney Vanessa Duvall. Last month, he pleaded guilty to one count of committing a lewd act on a child.

Lopez, a part-time employee for the school district, was placed on administrative leave following his arrest. There were no indications that any of the assaults occurred at Halecrest and Tiffany elementary schools, where Lopez worked, authorities said.

In addition to 365 days in jail, Lopez will be ordered to have no contact with either victim for five years, Duvall said.

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

Dean Vogel

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

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

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

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

25 Chicago middle school students jailed after food fight; lounge food fight by Chula Vista teachers

A comparison of two food fights, a recent brawl by students in Chicago and a 1999 outburst by teachers belonging to the "Castle Park family":

It took two janitors over a week to clean walls and shampoo rugs and upholstered furniture in the teachers lounge at Castle Park Elementary School after a small group teachers went wild after the students left on the last day of school in 1999. (The teachers never reimbursed the taxpayers.) The teachers brought the leftovers from class parties to the lounge, including lots of fruit punch and whipped cream.

These teachers ruled the roost at the school, getting rid of principal after principal that didn't do what the "family" wanted. One principal acceded to so many demands for spending that he plunged the school deep into debt and was fired. Another allowed teachers to engage in so many jailable actions that the district ended up in court for years defending those teachers. Principal Ollie Matos was hired to get the teachers under control, but the teachers union, Chula Vista Educators, prevented him from doing so.

25 Chicago Students Arrested for a Middle-School Food Fight
New York Times
By SUSAN SAULNY
Published: November 10, 2009

CHICAGO — The food fight here started the way such bouts do in school lunchrooms most anywhere: an apple was tossed, a cookie turned into a torpedo, and an orange plunked someone in the head. Within minutes, dozens of middle-school students had joined in the ruckus, and spattered adults were ducking for cover.

By the end of the day, 25 of the students, ages 11 to 15, had been rounded up, arrested, taken from school and put in jail. A spokesman for the Chicago police said the charges were reckless conduct, a misdemeanor.

That was last Thursday afternoon. Now parents are questioning what seem to them like the criminalization of age-old adolescent pranks, and the lasting legal and psychological impact of the arrests.

“My children have to appear in court,” Erica Russell, the mother of two eighth-grade girls who spent eight hours in jail, said Tuesday. “They were handcuffed, slammed in a wagon, had their mug shots taken and treated like real criminals.”...

Chula Vista Elementary School District Aid Asks To Withdraw Guilty Plea In Molestation Case

It's lucky this girl called the police. At Castle Park Elementary in 2001, two teachers reported a possible school shooting, and the district never investigated.

School Aid Asks To Change Plea In Molestation Case
Vincent Matthew Lopez Was Arrested In February
10 News
October 28, 2009

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A judge Wednesday appointed a new attorney for an ex- Chula Vista Elementary School District instructional aide who indicated he wants to withdraw his guilty plea to a charge of molesting a teenage girl.

South Bay Judge Timothy Walsh granted the motion by Vincent Matthew Lopez to replace his lawyer and scheduled a status conference for Tuesday.

A different judge was supposed to sentence Lopez to a year in jail.

The defendant was arrested last February, after a 15-year-old relative called police to report that Lopez had sexually assaulted her. Lopez was subsequently also charged with molesting another girl of similar age.

Last month, Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of committing a lewd act on a child.

The defendant, a part-time employee for the school district, was placed on administrative leave following his arrest. There were no indications that any of the assaults occurred at Halecrest and Tiffany elementary schools, where Lopez worked, authorities said.

If the defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea is denied, he will be sentenced to 365 days in custody and ordered to have no contact with both victims for five years, according to prosecutors.

Sandra Villegas Zuniga has replaced Tom Cruz as CVESD human resources director

Matt Osborne analyzes the San Diego ACORN videos

The following article includes videos of Juan Carlos Vera, Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe

ACORN San Diego: Mucha Dificultad Sobre Nada
by Matt Osborne
September 24, 2009

Today, I finally got around to watching the San Diego videos, and once again there's a Faux Edit™ going on. Apparently, that's a habit with filmmaker James O'Keefe, the "pimp" in these videos. The first minute is going to make you squirm, but then the video will start at the beginning and you'll get a completely different sense of context...

What ACORN worker Juan Carlos Vera really said: full transcript

See all ACORN posts in this blog.
See all ACORN posts in San Diego Education Report blog.

In the dozen pages at the beginning of the transcript of the Giles-O'Keefe-Vera conversation at the National City ACORN office, the fake pimp-prostitute pair did all the talking about prostitution, and ACORN employee Juan Carlos Vera responded with "yeah" and "okay", as if he were taking it all in. But Juan Carlos' English isn't so great, and when he finally seemed to understand what was going on, he said he would consult with lawyers and contact the visitors by email. He even mentioned that he worked with prosecutors.

Throughout most of the conversation, Juan Carlos spoke at cross-purposes to the visitors, giving information about ACORN seminars.

On page 12 O'Keefe prompts Juan Carlos with suggestions about tax fraud. Juan Carlos continues to say "yeah", but his understanding of the questions is in doubt because he clarifies the issue by saying, "Because you need a house."

O'Keefe tries again to get Juan Carlos to agree that O'Keefe's tax fraud ideas are good, and Hannah also tries to get Juan Carlos to repeat what James has said. Juan Carlos responds, "I think it's good, too, because we have two lawyers working for our program--and if you're interested come to our seminar" (pages 12-13) Clearly, Juan Carlos is not on the same page as James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles.

On page 13 Juan Carlos goes on, "If you have your own business you need to prove your income."

On page 13 O'Keefe to Hannah, "...and the tax form is something so I'm explaining to him [Juan Carlos] is something you can classify not as prostitution but as performing arts. That way we can clear that first hurdle. We can declare all income."

Juan Carlos, as is his habit, responds with "yeah." But did he understand? Did he agree? Or was the "yeah" actually a reflex response to acknowledge that O'Keefe had said something and Juan Carlos was trying to keep up with the conversation? Fortunately, Juan Carlos explains his position clearly in the next exchange.

O'Keefe: Do you think that's something we can do?

Juan Carlos: The problem first time buyers is good because you never have a house before.

Clearly, we now know what Juan Carlos is trying to tell O'Keefe. He's trying to tell him how to buy a house.

Page 14

O'Keefe: Can this be a legitimate business? This prostitution?

Juan Carlos: You need to check...You need to check. You need to check. Because the program for first time buyers is for the people that never have a house.

O'Keefe says there will be 12 underage girls. [I doubt that a limited speaker is going to understand the word "underage." It's not usually found in your beginning English instruction. The word was probably Greek to Juan Carlos. Also, I don't remember seeing the word "prostitution" in beginning English instruction.]

Juan Carlos says: they gonna be probably 4 or 5 persons. [Juan Carlos is clearly not in sync with the idea of twelve girls.]

Hannah asks, "Could they be like my sisters or something like that?" [Of course your sisters can live with you, Hannah!]

O'Keefe: Could we get a child tax credit for them? Claim them as dependents?

Juan Carlos: Yeah. [My guess is that Juan Carlos thought they were talking about actual siblings.]

For the next few pages Hannah and O'Keefe do all the talking again, and Juan Carlos responds with his usual rote response of "okay."

Page 19

Juan Carlos understands that El Salvadoran girls are coming: "What day are they coming?" He is told they'll come on Saturday.

But Juan Carlos has a feeling that these people have wandered into the wrong office.

Juan Carlos: So you never heard for this organization? ACORN?...Okay, let's do this. Let me see, let me see anything about it. See and let me contact to you. Because this program is, this Saturday happen?

But O'Keefe doesn't want to be contacted later, he wants to talk about it now. Juan Carlos tries to get an email address, but doesn't succeed until page 23.

On page 21 the talk turns to where each of them comes from. O'Keefe is from back east, which, Juan Carlos notes, is too cold. Juan Carlos is from Mexico City, and he is a lawyer in Mexico.

On page 24 Juan Carlos says, "...I want to call you tomorrow." [I think that's what I'd say, too, in an effort to get rid of these bizarre people.]


Pages 25-26

Juan Carlos wants to explain that lawyers will be involved: "...dis is you say private...I ah because we work before with the lawyers."...

O'Keefe: You're working with the prosecutors?

Juan Carlos: Yeah.

O'Keefe: Well then that's not good.

Juan Carlos:...I think we want to send an email to you.

Hannah: Honestly I don't feel very comfortable right now. I just gave you a bunch of information and I don't know if we trust you like...

Juan Carlos: No, we help people. [Juan Carlos is trying to get information about Hannah and O'Keefe, not scare them away.]

Page 27

Juan Carlos tries to get a location for where the girls will be on Saturday. He recommends that the girls go to Tijuana where Juan Carlos has a lot of contacts. [My guess is that he wants to help the girls, to prevent them from falling under the control of unscrupulous people like Hannah and O'Keefe.]

Page 28

[Now we find out how much Juan Carlos understood of the earlier conversation.]

O'Keefe: There's twelve girls but they're like there's like thirteen to fifteen years old.

Juan Carlos: Oh, yeah?...I want to contact you now only for email.

Hannah and O'Keefe keep talking, but Juan Carlos no longer responds with his reflexive "yeah". Instead he repeats, "I going to contact you by email."

O'Keefe apples pressure: Just give me your cell phone number.

Juan Carlos complies, but says, "Well it's better I can send you an email."

Minister Doug Giles is a proud dad to pretend-prostitute Hannah Giles

Doug earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Texas Tech University and studied for his Master of Arts in Christianity and Culture from Knox Theological Seminary.


See all ACORN posts.

See all ACORN posts in San Diego Education Report blog.

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

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

See all posts about Peg Myers.

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


Vice President 09-11
Tim Kriss
Salt Creek Elementary


Treasurer 09-11
Kathleen Fernandez
Rosebank


Secretary 09-11
OPEN POSITION

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

Area Director A 08-10
Maureen McNair
Veterans

Area Director B 08-10
Norma Pacheco Davis
Los Altos


Area Director C 08-10
OPEN POSITION

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


Area Director D 08-10
Jayme Rodgers
Liberty


Area Director E 08-10
Jenna Ritchey
Juarez-Lincoln


Bargaining Chair
Susan Skala
Vista Square
State Council 08-11


Jennefer Porch
Juarez-Lincoln
State Council 07-10


Jim Groth
CTA Board

ACORN says that Hannah Giles and pal O'Keefe committed a felony; videotaping pair seems confident of large defense fund from conservatives

A lawsuit filed by ACORN?

“Bring it on,” secret videotaper James O’Keefe said on Fox News. It sounds like he's already got a large war chest to help him get away with a crime.

See detailed analysis of transcript of Juan Carlos Vera/Giles/O'Keefe.


ACORN mulls suit against Fox News
By MICHAEL FALCONE
Politico
9/14/09

Facing intensifying scrutiny after the release of several disturbing hidden camera videos, the community organizing group, ACORN, is threatening to sue Fox News, the website Breitbart.com and the two conservative activists who produced the exposes.

ACORN is alleging that the filmmakers committed a felony by shooting the footage of ACORN employees in the act of providing advice on how to falsify tax forms and set-up a child prostitution business—to a man and a woman posing as a pimp and a prostitute.

A lawyer for ACORN said Monday that statutes in Maryland and the District of Columbia made the undercover filming illegal and that the same laws should prohibit the rebroadcast of the tapes by the Web site BigGovernment.com, where they were first posted last week, and on Fox News, which aired clips of the videos.

BigGovernment.com, which launched last Wednesday, is a project of Andrew Breitbart, the founder of Breitbart.com. The videos show James O’Keefe, a conservative activist, and Hannah Giles, who is listed as a contributor on the right-leaning website, TownHall.com, visiting ACORN offices in Baltimore and Brooklyn and an ACORN Housing Corporation branch in Washington, D.C.

“It is clear that the videos are doctored, edited, and in no way the result of the fabricated story being portrayed by conservative activist ‘filmmaker’ O’Keefe and his partner in crime,’ ACORN chief organizer Bertha Lewis said in a statement over the weekend. “And, in fact, a crime it was—our lawyers believe a felony—and we will be taking legal action against Fox and their co-conspirators.”

After the videos surfaced two ACORN employees in Baltimore and two others at the Washington office of the off-shoot housing corporation, a separate organization, were fired.

“I cannot and I will not defend the actions of the workers depicted in the video,” Lewis said in her statement. She added that the “scam,” was also attempted but failed at other ACORN offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Philadelphia.

Breitbart said Monday that the release of a new video from Brooklyn disproved ACORN’s claims that the activists made failed attempts in other cities.

“ACORN was wrong in their initial defense that it succeeded in only one place because obviously it worked in a second and third place,” he said. “Their defense is as hapless as the behavior witnessed on those videos. This is clearly an organization in internal turmoil over James and Hannah’s exposure. The longer that the mainstream media ignores this massive story, the more that ACORN has to accumulate data in order to form a line of attack to annihilate the messenger.”

Arthur Schwartz, a lawyer for ACORN, said he planned to file a lawsuit in federal court in Baltimore on Thursday against O’Keefe and Giles that would “probably” also include Breitbart.com and Fox News...

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27139.html#ixzz0Rs6AuekK

This couple didn't set up Newt Gingrich, but were criminally charged for secret recording

See all ACORN posts.

Florida Couple Are Charged In Taping of Gingrich Call
New York Times
By JERRY GRAY
April 24, 1997

The Justice Department today filed charges against a Florida couple who said they had intercepted and recorded a conference call last December among Speaker Newt Gingrich and other Republican leaders.

The Federal authorities in Jacksonville, Fla., announced this afternoon that the couple, John and Alice Martin, had been charged with an infraction, violating the Communications Privacy Act by using a radio scanner to intercept the radio portion of the conversation. It is the mildest criminal charge the couple could face in the case and carries a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine.

The Government said the Martins had agreed to plead guilty to the charges, and said the couple would cooperate with a continuing investigation into how a recording of the conversation wound up in the hands of a New York Times reporter.

The conversation the Martins taped took place on the same day Mr. Gingrich admitted he had violated House ethics rules by failing to get adequate legal advice on the use of tax-exempt money and then giving the House ethics committee inaccurate information in its investigation. During the call, the Speaker and several colleagues discussed how best to handle the political fallout of the ethics charges.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/24/us/florida-couple-are-charged-in-taping-of-gingrich-call.html

Hello to turnaround guru Harborside principal Matthew Tessier...Goodbye to Union Tribune reporter Chris Moran

Tessier has done exactly what I have long suggested: carefully evaluated teachers. This is a terrific reform, but it could be abused. I suggest that evaluations be supplemented with observations by out-of-district professionals.



Principal gets credit for turning schools around
Chula Vista's Tessier got one out of U.S. sanctions
By Chris Moran
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
September 19, 2009


Chula Vista's Harborside Elementary was in pieces when he arrived as its principal two years ago. The school next to a mobile-home park in an impoverished neighborhood had failed to reach federal benchmarks for so long that the menu of remedies included shutting it down.

But Tessier, 35, is a turnaround specialist.

Before he arrived at Harborside, Tessier had done what only a few dozen principals in the county had ever done: He led a school — Loma Verde Elementary — safely out of federal sanctions with two consecutive years of dramatically improved test scores...



Profile Matthew Tessier

Age: 35

Education: Bachelor's in communicative disorders and a master's in educational leadership from San Diego State University

Experience: Teacher, five years; assistant principal, two years; principal, four years

Family: Wife, Alma; daughters — Gabriela, 8, Alixandra, 5, and Tristan, 2




GOODBYE TO CHRIS MORAN, EDUCATION REPORTER AT SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

What is it about Houston?
Voice of San Diego
by Emily Alpert

...Chris Moran, longtime education reporter at the Union-Tribune, is leaving the paper after 12 years to go to Houston. He's not following Superintendent Terry Grier -- he's following his wife, who got a new job.

Moran did some remarkable reporting in his time with the newspaper, where he was most recently assigned to cover schools and colleges in the South Bay. He has an amazing human touch with complex stories -- and I hear he is also a superstar mentor.

Good luck Chris.

Juan Carlos Vera Says Statements In Video Were 'Taken Out Of Context'

See details of actual transcript of Giles-O'Keefe-Vera conversation.

Hannah Giles, 20, (left) apparently does a very convincing imitation of a prostitute. And the most fun part of Hannah's illegally-videotaped deception was that she managed to drag several ACORN workers into her fantasy. She elicited the sympathy of Juan Carlos Vera by telling him she "needed to escape her controlling pimp, who wouldn't let her start a new life."

See all ACORN posts in this blog.
See all ACORN posts in San Diego Education Report blog.

One commenter notes:

Playing devil's advocate, I could see the man wanting to collect as much information as possible if he had the intention of turning James and Hannah in to law enforcement. He did get James' cell phone number, collected details about times and places, and could have easily set them up. So it should be a simple matter to determine if the man reported the trafficking James and Hannah were attempting to engage in to the responsible authorities (he does, after all, make a claim about working with the district attorneys)...

Maura Larkins' response:

It turned out that Mr. Vera did report the incident to the police.

Furthermore, I just watched the videos, and it looks to me that Mr. Vera is trying to get information about the location where the "underage Salvadoran girls" will be so that the police could get involved. If you look at Mr. Vera's body language as he talks to the couple, you can see that he is feeling very uncomfortable with them, and seems to be reluctant to talk to them. However, as they are leaving and they ask if he will tell the police about them, he tries to be more friendly, to get them to come back or at least stay in touch. He urges them to trust him. Afterward, he went to the police and reported the incident. He also clearly states that he is not interested in being Hannah's client. It seems clear that he is interested in helping her and the Salvadoran girls, not helping the pimp. He seems to be trying to get the pimp arrested.


ACORN Worker Fired After Appearance In Undercover Video
Juan Carlos Vera Says Statements In Video Were 'Taken Out Of Context'
September 17, 2009
10news.com

SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego ACORN employee who appeared to give human-smuggling advice to a pimp and prostitute in an undercover video made by conservative filmmakers has been fired, 10News' Juliette Vara reported.

ACORN's David Lagstein issued the following statement regarding Vera:

After release of the second San Diego video by the unscrupulous partisan videographers, we have reevaluated our assessment of the incident that occurred last month. No paperwork was filed, but the video reflects unacceptable conduct that contradicts the earlier statements of ACORN Organizer Juan Carlos Vera. He has been terminated. San Diego ACORN and ACORN offices around the country are continuing to halt our service programs pending the results of the evaluation of the independent Advisory Council and we are continuing to fight on our campaigns: stopping foreclosures, affordable, accessible health care, and a strong education for all children.

In a press conference Thursday at ACORN's National City headquarters, Vera said statements he made in the video were taken out of context.

The now-former ACORN worker said he was merely trying to help the pair because he thought they were in danger.

"I never done anything wrong in my life," Vera said. "They destroyed my family."

In the footage filmed in July, filmmaker James O'Keefe and his partner, Hannah Giles, posed as a pimp and prostitute, and asked Vera for housing help.

O'Keefe is heard in the video saying, "I want to buy a house and this is my girlfriend, and she's a prostitute."

Vera said he was told the woman needed to escape her controlling pimp, who wouldn't let her start a new life.

Immediately, Vera said he offered to call the police but the filmmaker quickly stopped him.

"Don't call the police because I'm gonna be a lawyer," O'Keefe said in the video...




James O'Keefe

James O'Keefe [James E. O’Keefe III, 25] is an activist filmmaker. He credits include the "Bailout Prize Patrol" produced for Right.Org in 2009. He also directed, scripted, produced and acted in a series of undercover videos showcasing racism and statutory rape at Planned Parenthood in 2007 and 2008.

Before that he served as Publications Coordinator at the Leadership Institute, where he helped initiate 22 independent newspapers and magazines on college campuses nationwide. He also gave lectures on campus strategy and fundraising, preaching the gospel of Saul Alinsky...

His work has been featured on CNN and Fox News...



[Maura Larkins comment: Apparently anti-ACORN forces are outraged that Mexican nationals were buying homes in the U.S. It's okay if Chinese, Russian and Saudi Arabian citizens buy homes and property here, but not Mexicans?]

New principal Lee Romero at Montgomery High School in Otay is under pressure to raise scores

The Battle for Montgomery High
By EMILY ALPERT
Aug. 30, 2009
Montgomery High School does not feel like a school in trouble. It is a seemingly ordinary school south of the Otay Valley Park, ringed by modest homes and big box stores...

And yet Montgomery has become a battleground for Sweetwater Union High School District. It had the lowest test scores among all the South County high schools last year, even lower than neighboring schools with far higher poverty levels than Montgomery, where roughly one-third of students are impoverished and one-third are learning English...

The pressure is on to turn Montgomery around. It has been under the microscope for the last three years to ramp up its state scores this year or face added penalties. Montgomery was one of six Sweetwater schools to accept state money in exchange for extra accountability for its test scores. It is the only school that faltered, its scores essentially flattening over the past four years.

That could have big consequences. If the scores do not rise, the state board of education could decide to take over the school, sending someone to work alongside or replace the principal. Teachers invoke the idea that Montgomery could transfer them away...

[Maura Larkins' comment: Why do do many teachers abhor the idea of a transfer? Because teaching staffs are often similar to high school cliques. There is the fear of not fitting in.]

So Sweetwater made some big changes. It yanked the principal and brought in a new one, Lee Romero, to turn the school around this year. He is pushing teachers to make common tests and to stay at the same pace. And it scrapped the old schedule of four quarters with four classes each and replaced it with a more traditional schedule, arguing that the old calendar sometimes hurt struggling students who only took English or math for half of the school year or ended up spending less time at school entirely.

That, in turn, angered the teachers union, which contends that the schedule needed to be negotiated. Romero said that Montgomery had no time to wait. The tests and penalties hang over his mind...