School board tempers flare after teacher's resignation

By Anna Tong, San Jose Mercury, August 10, 2006

Perplexed and upset students of a popular Monta Vista High School teacher want the school board to investigate the events leading to the teacher's resignation in June.

Teacher Tim Krieger's resignation has sparked a battle on the Fremont Union High School District school board, with president Avie Katz saying other members are using the incident to get him off the board.

Krieger, 31, quit after he was asked to make amends with school counselor Cathy Katz, who is married to Avie Katz, about problems Krieger had with their daughter seven years ago.

Krieger taught advanced placement biology at Monta Vista for seven years. He also advised the school's leadership class and coached the cross-country team. Students and parents say he was a crowd-pleaser -- at a July 11 board meeting, one student called him ``the Mozart of teachers.'' Monta Vista was recently identified as the top large-size high school in the world for advanced placement biology by the College Board.

``If you can think of anything cliche about the best teachers, he had that trait,'' said Monta Vista alumnus Jeffrey Shiau, 19, a junior at the University of California-San Diego. ``Some students had heavy problems and they would stay after class until 5 or 6 to talk to him. Sometimes he would organize a class trip to Laser Quest -- he could be a kid, but he was professional as well.''

District board members, however, divided in their opinions of Krieger, didn't conceal their animosity toward each other at a July 25 board meeting.

Two board members, Nancy Newton and Barbara Nunes, staunchly support launching an investigation to determine whether Avie Katz overstepped his role as board president when he questioned the superintendent about Krieger's qualification to become a school counselor.

Misfired e-mail exposes district's political brawl

By Dana Hull, San Jose Mercury, August 24, 2006

Fired schools chief sues

DISTRICT LET HIM GO AFTER ERRANT E-MAIL

By Becky Bartindale, San Jose Mercury, November 6, 2006

Trustees clash as school starts up

Police respond to report of shoulder-bumping altercation

Staff report, Salinas Californian, August 24, 2006

A Salinas Union High School District trustee may file for worker's compensation after announcing during Tuesday's board meeting that she'd been struck by another trustee, board chairman Art Gilbert confirmed.

Salinas police responded after the meeting to a report of an earlier altercation, in which trustee Kathryn Ramirez said fellow trustee Margaret Serna-Bonetti struck her with her shoulder.

"There was nothing intentional on my part," Serna-Bonetti said late Tuesday. "There's personality conflicts on the board, but my primary focus is on the students."

Ramirez declined to comment to a reporter, as did police officers at the scene. Cmdr. Al Ruiz said he hadn't seen a report on the incident.

Trustee Lila Cann said she had no idea whether something happened between the two. "I don't believe in airing dirty laundry, even if there was," Cann said.

The board has seen tension and verbal sparring in the past, including eruptions of racial charges that came to a head during officer elections in 2004. Many of the trustees involved in that dispute remain on the board today.

Ramirez complained in 2005 about harassment from trustee Jim Reavis' supporters.

Serna-Bonetti was elected in November 2005, ousting incumbent Sandra Villarreal-Ocampo on a platform that called for an end to the board's "petty bickering."

After the meeting, Gilbert said the board will continue with business as usual.

"We're all looking forward for school to open tomorrow," he said.

Serna-Bonetti said her intention is to work with everybody on the board to address their responsibilities in the district.

"It's very important that we conduct ourselves in a professional manner and work with each other regardless of personal opinions," she said, "because we are role models for students and it impacts the whole district. I would hope we can have some board retreats and conflict resolution training in the future."

Regarding the reported conflict between Ramirez and Serna-Bonetti, Gilbert said, "We're going to do everything we can to discover what the problems are and try to resolve them as best we can."

Schools chief files claim after board fires him

DISMISSAL FOLLOWED E-MAIL MISTAKENLY SENT TO ALL TRUSTEES

By Dana Hull, San Jose Mercury, September 2, 2006

The fired superintendent of the Fremont Union High School District filed a claim against the district Wednesday, alleging violation of privacy rights, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The claim, if not settled within 45 days, will probably lead to a lawsuit.

Fremont Union trustees voted 3-2 on Aug. 22 to terminate Stephen Rowley's contract, which was not to expire until 2008. The vote, which has thrown the high-achieving district into turmoil, followed months of political infighting.

Fremont Union serves nearly 10,000 students at five high schools in Cupertino, Sunnyvale and San Jose.

Over the summer, students and parents called for an investigation into why Tim Krieger, a popular teacher, resigned after seeking a guidance counselor position and why district trustees became involved in personnel decisions. The sniping got worse after Rowley mistakenly fired off a private e-mail to the entire school board that blamed board President Avie Katz for Krieger's resignation.

``The true and correct reason for Mr. Katz's interference with Mr. Krieger's potential appointment to the position of guidance teacher was that Mr. Katz and his wife were upset with Mr. Krieger as a result of an incident involving Mr. and Mrs. Katz's daughter who had been a student of Mr. Krieger several years before,'' says the claim, made available to the Mercury News on Wednesday.

Rowley seeks unpaid salary and accrued vacation, as well as damages for ``intentional infliction of emotional distress.'' Rowley's annual salary was $221,587.

Cindy McArthur, the district's communications manager, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

School chief: Board 'out of control'

By Brian Eckhouse, North County Times, September 19, 2006

PERRIS -- Saying he has "grave concerns for the lack of control of our recent board meetings," Superintendent Dennis Murray has sent a letter to high school district trustees chastising them for conducting unsolicited dialogue with the public during meetings.

In a memo to the five Perris Union High School District trustees, Murray complained that their last meeting was continually disrupted by exchanges between board members and the public, suggesting that some were even text-messaging members of the public from the dais.

"This interaction is typically indicative of a structure beginning to lose the foundation needed for success and as shown (Aug. 16), reflects the opinions and perceptions of a small group of individuals who ... have never said much positive about any administrator, program or district official," Murray wrote in a two-page document to the five trustees.

In an interview Monday, Murray said he wants trustees to hold each speaker during the public comment period to the mandated three-minute limit, and to defer all nonagendized questions to administrators instead of addressing them immediately in public.

Murray in his letter described the meeting as "one of the most out-of-control board meetings I have attended in the past 10 years."

Board members frequently have responded to remarks or questions from audience members on matters not included on meeting agendas, occasionally prompting dialogues. Murray believes such activity violates board protocol.

Murray declined Monday to specify which board member ---- or members ---- he suspects has text-messaged while on the dais.

"I'm not making accusations," he said.

In a recent interview, Trustee Joe Daugherty alleged that Trustee Carolyn Twyman and her husband, Fred, had messaged each other during meetings. Fred Twyman, a Menifee Union School District trustee who teaches at Paloma Valley High in Menifee, was in the audience Aug. 16.

"This (text-messaging) has been pointed out by several different individuals and it is my opinion that this is certainly inappropriate behavior for any elected official," Murray wrote.

He urged the trustees to consider "the potential personal liabilities" from actions that could prompt litigation. Murray said in the interview he is concerned that trustees text-messaging during a board meeting could be "influenced by outside factors."

Carolyn Twyman didn't deny sending text messages from her mobile phone in the August meeting, but contended Monday that she and her husband did not correspond with each other. She said her children tried contacting her, so she responded by sending text messages.

"I didn't realize it (would cause) such a fuss," she said.

But reflecting back on her 10 months as a trustee, Twyman said she isn't surprised.

"I guess they're always suspicious of what I'm doing," she said.

Daugherty, in a recent interview, labeled the board as "dysfunctional."

"We're not giving direction to the (administration)," he said. "All they (other trustees) know is about their personal little agendas and pet projects. That's not the way to run a school district."

Twyman disagrees with Daugherty's assessment.

"It's easy to point fingers when you don't like what's happening," Twyman said. "I don't think we're dysfunctional; we're just responding differently than the previous board."

Trustee Bill Hulstrom said he was so angered by Murray's memorandum that he sent a missive back to Murray.

"I don't think I was out of control," Hulstrom said. "And (the meeting) didn't seem to be out of control."

School board in crisis mode

Principals' Document Made Public

By Sharon Noguchi, San Jose Mecury News, October 3, 2006

Palo Alto schools trustees are scrambling to respond to discontented principals and managers, who are talking about unionizing or forming some other alliance to press the district administration for better working conditions.

The board has called a special closed session Sunday morning to discuss how to handle the concerns of the management team, which includes 48 principals, vice-principals and midlevel managers. The board met earlier this month after receiving a document outlining management concerns.

The document, which some say was a working draft not intended to be shared, began with a scathing criticism of Superintendent Mary Frances Callan and her top administrators, according to those who have seen it.

It cited poor communication, a lack of trust and a climate of fear in the district.

The management team met Thursday and Friday afternoons to respond to the leak of the document to a local newspaper. Callan showed up at the Friday meeting but was asked to leave, board President Mandy Lowell said.

Callan could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

Several people, including principals, were surprised and angry after portions of the document were published. ``By putting it forward into a public arena, there was a controversy created that was unnecessary,'' said John Lents, principal of Addison Elementary School.

While he acknowledged concerns about communication and trust with the district administration, ``we have a system in place that had been working well'' to deal with those issues, he said.

Trustees cleared calendars and canceled vacations -- the district has a four-day weekend -- to deal with management concerns. ``There is an urgency to act,'' said trustee Dana Tom. Trustee Gail Price will be calling in from Vancouver, Canada.

``It is very important that we acknowledge how much we value, trust and respect the management team and that we address their needs,'' Lowell said.

Among the issues concerning managers, according to trustees, are pay, leaves of absence, retirement benefits and vacation. But some also are unhappy with the leadership of Callan, who joined the district five years ago after serving as superintendent in Pleasanton and Milpitas.

``They need to encourage a safe environment as they can for administrators to come and speak to them,'' said David Charleson, a parent who heard about the document.

Trustees expressed concern about claims of a climate of fear. ``A healthy organization thrives when people feel comfortable expressing different point of view,'' said trustee Barb Mitchell.

Chino Valley Unified slapped with $3,500 fine

By Monica Rodriguez, Chino Daily Bulletin, October 25, 2006

CHINO -- The state Fair Political Practices Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to fine the Chino Valley Unified School District in relation to the mailing of a newsletter earlier this year.

The commission, which met in Sacramento, approved a stipulation and approved the $3,500 fine, said Jon Matthews, spokesman for the state commission.

Under the agreement the district would pay the fine and voluntarily waived its rights to participate in an administrative hearing process. The fine stems from a newsletter dated June 1 that the district mailed out. According to FPPC documents, the newsletter contained the names and signatures of the five school board members and was sent to 50,000 district residents at a cost of $8,612.20.

In sending out the newsletter the district violated a section of the Political Reform Act prohibiting mass mailings at the public expense.

School Board President Bobby Grizzle said "we're hoping we learn from the mistake," adding that was all he wished to comment on.

FPPC documents said four criteria must be met for someone to be in violation of section 89001 of the Political Reform Act.

The item, be it a document, a videotape, a record or a button, must be sent to a resident's home, place of work or post office box; cost of the item and its distribution must be paid from public funds; more than 200 similar copies must have been sent out in a calendar month, excluding those sent out in response to an unsolicited request; and the item must "feature" an elected official connected with the organization sending the item out. According to the documents, "an item features an elected officer when the item includes, among other things, the elected officer's signature."

"There is certainly a thin line between informing the public and campaigning," said Kareem Crayton, assistant professor of law and political science at USC.

By including the names and signatures of school board members "it seems like they are personally owning the achievements versus the institution," Crayton said.

Crayton, an expert in election law, said if a newsletter is sent out close to election season, that can also play a part in the FPPC decision.

FPPC documents said the district had engaged in similar behavior before.

The district "was the subject of a previous enforcement action, which also involved the same type of mass mailing violation that is the subject of this stipulation. The previous matter was resolved with the issuance of an advisory letter in March 2001," documents said.

School board member is charged with perjury

Staff Report, Los Angeles Times, November 17, 2006

SAN BERNARDINO - Chino Valley school board member Bobby Grizzle pleaded not guilty Wednesday to three charges of perjury and one count of violating the state's conflict of interest code, at his arraignment in San Bernardino County Superior Court. All four charges are felonies.

According to the charges, district documents show Grizzle participated in purchasing office supplies for the Chino Valley Unified School District while also working for Boise Cascade, an office supply company that did business with the district.

The conflict of interest charge stems from alleged violations that began on March 6, 2002, the date he met with CVUSD staff to discuss the purchase of office supplies.

Government Code 1090 bars elected officials from having financial interest in companies with which the district conducts business.

The perjury charges result from the accusation that Grizzle failed to list all his income on his annual conflict of interest statements, required of all elected officials.

If convicted on all charges, Grizzle could face up to 12 years in prison, fines and be disqualified from holding elected office.

Judge Michael M. Dest granted the release of evidence documents requested by prosecuting Deputy District Attorney John Goritz. He also set a trial scheduling hearing for March 28.

Grizzle retained Grover L. Porter, a San Bernardino-based attorney, to represent him in the case. On Wednesday, he was represented by attorney Victor Marshall because Porter was busy in another trial.

"Mr. Porter is the main attorney on the case," Marshall said. "But there's a 99 percent chance it will be me representing Mr. Grizzle in March."

After a 3-1 vote made by board members during a special meeting Jan. 17, the CVUSD board agreed to pay for a criminal defense attorney of Grizzle's choice.

Grizzle has said he sought advice in 2000 from Jimmy Gutierrez, the district's general counsel, on whether a conflict of interest could result if he served on the school board while continuing employment with Boise Cascade.

Gutierrez explained in a letter he wrote that because Grizzle's employment qualified as remote interest, the district could continue with purchasing supplies from Boise Cascade as long as Grizzle disclosed his interest and refrained from voting on the purchasing matters.

CVUSD Board President Fred Youngblood said he voted for the district to pay for Grizzle's criminal attorney fees because of the information presented by several attorneys during the Jan. 17 meeting.

O.C. school leaders largely off hook

Decisions that Capistrano Unified officials made were 'imprudent' but didn't amount to wrongdoing, a probe concludes

By Seema Mehta and Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, January 9, 2007

A report released late Monday regarding controversies afflicting a South County school district found "ill-advised" and "imprudent" decisions that could appear improper but stopped short of actual wrongdoing.

The investigation, paid for by the Capistrano Unified School District, called on the district's leaders to consider the appearance of their actions and perhaps hold conflict-of-interest seminars.

"The conduct I have investigated points only to a lack of good judgment in various degrees by some district persons," said the 50-page report, dated Dec. 28, by retired Superior Court Judge Stuart Waldrip.

Waldrip was paid $400 an hour for his five-month look into allegations of conflicts of interest and other wrongdoing that have plagued the 50,000-student district for more than two years.

Although many of Capistrano's 56 schools are ranked among the state's best, controversies have included allegations that the board routinely violated state open-meetings law, the resignation of its longtime superintendent after accusations that he kept an "enemies list," as well as disputes over attendance boundaries, a new high school's location, portable classrooms and a costly administration center.

Angry parents unsuccessfully tried to recall all seven school trustees in 2005, but candidates they supported claimed three seats on the board in the November election.

The Waldrip report is one of several investigations into the district and its trustees. The district attorney's office raided Capistrano Unified headquarters last year, and the county grand jury has subpoenaed trustees and administrators. A spokeswoman for county prosecutors declined to comment Monday on the nature of that probe and whether it continues. Mission Viejo city officials have also called for an audit of the district's construction funding.

Waldrip's investigation was limited in scope and largely centered on the "enemies list," the employment of district leaders' relatives by district contractors and whether employees destroyed or removed documents.

Waldrip saved his harshest words for retired Supt. James Fleming and the "enemies list." According to the report, Fleming actually ordered the creation of two lists: one with the names of people who received e-mails from recall supporters and a second with the names of those who gathered signatures supporting the recall.

Both included personal information such as the schools attended by the children of recall supporters.

"No apparent nefarious use of this list was made … but its existence is unfortunate, at best," Waldrip wrote. "No one should have embarked upon this path in the first place."

Waldrip also investigated Montano Plumbing's employment of Fleming's son, the son of district facilities-maintenance chief Joe Dixon, and district construction chief Mark Bauer's wife, brother and son.

All were temporary employees except Bauer's wife, Sherry, who is a part-time office manager and once received a free trip to Fiji that the firm won from a supplier.

Waldrip wrote that he found no evidence that the company gave preferential treatment to any district employees' relatives.

But he wrote that Fleming should have known better than to suggest that his son work for a district contractor, and Bauer should distance himself from any discussions of contract renewals involving Montano.

The district's contracting with Culbertson, Adams & Associates, where Trustee Marlene Draper's daughter serves as a vice president, was not preferential either, Waldrip wrote, but Draper should abstain from any future votes involving the firm.

The investigation also found that former district spokesman David Smollar, who disclosed many of the allegations against the district to the media, probably deleted computer documents and files in violation of state law.

Smollar declined to be interviewed by Waldrip, who called the evidence of destroying records "circumstantial."

"I will leave it to the law enforcement officials to decide whether the evidence warrants further action," he wrote.

The Board of Trustees, which received the report Monday, declined to comment on it through President Sheila Benecke. "The Board looks forward to utilizing this report as a tool to refocus our full attention on the mission of educating students," she said in a written statement.

Longtime Trustee Duane Stiff said he hoped the strife was ending. "We just have to get all this behind us," he said.

Tom Russell, a recall backer who helped bring many allegations to light, dismissed the report as tainted, noting that Waldrip once worked for the same law firm as the district's longtime counsel.

"The reality is there was clearly, clearly a scheme of activities which were unethical and probably illegal," Russell said.

Ex-schools chief in O.C. indicted

An assistant superintendent is also charged in a case of election wrongdoing and keeping 'enemies lists' at Capistrano Unified

By Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2007

An indictment unsealed Thursday accuses the former superintendent of one of Orange County's top school districts of using public funds to meddle in an election and create enemies lists.

At a news conference Thursday, Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said Fleming was the highest-ranking education official ever prosecuted in Orange County.

"It's a shame that resources were shifted away from students to create an unlawful list of political enemies," he said. "I've never seen anything quite like this…. There is absolutely no legitimate educational purpose for it."

The prosecution is a watershed moment in a vitriolic three-year battle between district critics and its administrators and longtime trustees.

The charges, filed under seal May 14, stem from a failed attempt to recall the district's seven trustees, all Fleming allies, in 2005.

If convicted, Fleming could get four years in prison. Fleming, 64, declined to comment after a court hearing Thursday morning.

Former Assistant Supt. Susan McGill was charged with perjury and conspiracy to commit an act injurious to the public, and could get nearly five years in prison. Attempts to reach McGill, 64, were unsuccessful.

Fleming's attorney, Ronald G. Brower, noted that a school district investigation by a retired judge found that Fleming had not broken any laws.

A famous lawyer "once said a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich," Brower said. "There's great, great truth to that."

Fleming and McGill are scheduled to be arraigned June 15. Fleming was released on his own recognizance Thursday. Prosecutors have been unable to get in touch with McGill and said a warrant would be issued for her arrest if she did not attend the arraignment.

Although many of Capistrano Unified's 56 schools in southern Orange County are among the state's best, the district's school board and administrators have been beset by a string of controversies.

The 50,000-student district is blessed with many parents who have the will, time and money to ensure the best for their children's education. Those qualities come into play when parents clash with the Board of Trustees, which until November consisted of longtime trustees who almost always voted unanimously. Three new trustees came aboard with that election.

Parents have loudly protested a threat to close three elementary schools, the conversion of an elementary school into a K-8, and the location of a new high school and its attendance boundaries. They also criticized the construction of a $35-million administration complex while hundreds of classes were being held in aging portables.

These controversies resulted in parents coalescing in spring 2005 for a recall drive against the district's seven trustees and an attempt to force Fleming's departure.

In June 2005, parents began gathering signatures at shopping centers and back-to-school nights. On Nov. 8, they submitted petitions with about 25,000 signatures per trustee. A month and a half later, the county registrar of voters deemed so many signatures invalid that no trustees were forced into a recall election.

The bitterness over the recall effort exploded last summer, when a disenchanted former district spokesman released district documents that, he said, showed Fleming kept an enemies list of parents, teachers and others who had received e-mails from recall organizers. The former spokesman, David Smollar, who quit in June, also disclosed that the registrar allowed him and McGill to view signatures on recall petitions, which is illegal.

Those allegations prompted Fleming, who was well-regarded in state education circles and oversaw sharp growth and academic gains in his 15 years with the district, to announce his resignation in July.

"I leave with my head high, proud of the achievements that I have been part of," Fleming said at the time.

Nearly four weeks later, investigators from the district attorney's office raided the school district's headquarters.

According to the indictment, Fleming is accused of twice ordering the creation of enemies lists.

The first is the list Smollar mentioned. The indictment says that when recall proponents announced their drive, Fleming ordered a secretary to create a list of recall supporters and their spouses, schools their children attended and other personal information.

After the recall failed, Fleming in January 2006 allegedly ordered Assistant Supt. McGill to review petitions at the registrar's office and to gather names of signature collectors. "Per your request, attached are the lists of individuals who were listed as petition signature-gatherers along with the information on whether they have children in CUSD and which schools those children attend," McGill wrote to Fleming. Much of that information was culled from confidential student databases.

McGill, who worked at the district for 25 years before retiring last summer, was also charged with perjury because she lied under oath before the grand jury, Rackauckas said.

Fleming invoked his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination before the grand jury, Brower said.

Brower said Fleming's targeted actions were justified. The first list, he said, was created when the superintendent was investigating whether a hacker had broken into the district's databases. And the visit to the registrar's office was prompted by an invitation from Registrar Neal Kelley, he said.

He also said recall proponents had threatened to sue the registrar over the invalidated signatures, so Fleming needed to learn more about the signature-gathering process and planned to use the names on the second list to conduct an independent investigation.

"That seems to me prudent planning," Brower said.

Board President Sheila Benecke declined to comment.

Trustee Duane Stiff said he was not surprised Fleming was indicted but was taken aback to hear about McGill.

"She's a very great lady," he said. "I have never known her to get involved in anything like this. I think she was doing what she was told to do."

Recall proponents were jubilant. "It's vindication," said Kevin Murphy, one of the original recall organizers.

Tom Russell, spokesman for the CUSD Recall Committee, called on the four longtime trustees who weren't replaced in November's election — Benecke, Stiff, Mike Darnold and Marlene Draper — to resign and threatened to launch another recall.

Rackauckas added that his office's investigation was not complete and that prosecutors would investigate potential violations of the state's open-meeting laws.

Fleming asks district to pay his legal fees

An assistant superintendent is also charged in a case of election wrongdoing and keeping 'enemies lists' at Capistrano Unified

By Times Staff and Wire Reports, Los Angeles Times, July 24, 2007

Former Capistrano Unified School District Supt. James Fleming, who has been indicted for allegedly creating "enemies" lists of critics, has asked the district to pay his legal fees, officials announced Monday.

During an Orange County Grand Jury investigation of various district controversies in September, the school board voted to pay for his legal fees but rescinded the decision in March. In a July 9 letter to acting Supt. Suzette Lovely, Fleming requested that the matter be revisited.

Fleming was charged in May with felony counts of misappropriating public funds, using public funds to influence an election and conspiracy.

Teachers want say on their next boss

By Alisha Wyman, Union Democrat, February 1, 2007

Teachers in the Twain Harte-Long Barn Union School District want a 50-percent vote in who becomes the district's next superintendent.

This comes as the district and its teachers union — Twain Harte Federation of Teachers — are deadlocked in negotiations over salaries and retirement benefits, and as the district considers staff reductions.

The federation's request to have a significant say in who takes over the top district post follows Superintendent Mike Brusa's recent announcement that he won't be asking for a new contract next year.

The district is struggling with declining enrollment — to which state funding is tied — and the trend is expected to continue next year. It expects to lose $407,906 in revenue from this year to next, including the loss of funding from still-dropping student numbers and the end of certain one-time revenues it is now receiving.

In turn, district officials are considering measures such as moving students at Black Oak School to the Twain Harte Middle School campus and sharing administration with another district.

The federation has outlined in a letter to district trustees its desire to help choose Brusa's replacement.

"We are the front line who must work with the new person and feel that our perspective is valuable," the letter states.

The board discussed the letter at a special meeting Tuesday and responded that the final call will rest with board members.

The first roll of a school board is to hire a superintendent, Board President Joy Meyer said this morning.

"We appreciate and encourage every single bit of input from teachers, community members, everyone, but we will make the final decision," she said.

Federation president Mike Calbert, who teaches at Black Oak School, said he understands the district's response and noted a 50 percent vote in the hiring process was perhaps asking too much.

"Our main goal is that we would like to have some say in the new superintendent," he said.

The district has had high turnover in its leadership positions — it's had four superintendents and five principals in the past 10 years.

"Mike Brusa has been a stabilizing force — at least I feel that way — but he is leaving, and we don't want to take steps backward," Calbert said.

Brusa, in his fifth year with the Twain Harte district, will remain as superintendent until the end of the school year. The district is in talks with neighboring Summerville Union High School District about having Summerville Superintendent John Keiter double as the Twain Harte district leader.

The teacher union is also concerned with layoffs the district is considering.

During negotiations for this current school year's salaries, the federation proposed that the district offer retirement incentives so that veteran teachers — who are more expensive to employ than newer ones — leave. This will help avoid the need to layoff younger teachers, Calbert said.

"If we keep having to drop the bottom teachers, it's a bad situation for everyone," he said, referring to the teachers without seniority who are often the target of layoffs.

The teachers also want a 4.5 percent salary increase. The district has countered with an offer of about 2 percent.

The federation's request is much less than what teachers unions at some surrounding districts have asked for — and received, Black Oak School teacher Dan West said.

"Our proposal is in the spirit of help trying to solve the problem," he said.

Meyer said she is not allowed to discuss negotiations while they are still ongoing. She did express regret at the impasse.

"It's not that we don't want to give them what they're asking," she said. "We don't have the resources in our budget to do that."

Brusa also declined to comment on the teachers' proposal.

"You negotiate at the table," he said. "You don't negotiate in the newspaper."

He noted that he didn't think the federation's proposal would necessarily save money.

The district will bring in a mediator to help resolve the disagreement.

Layoffs of both teachers and classified support staff members are part of a plan district trustees are considering.

By law, the district must give layoff notices to certificated staff members by March 15. It can rehire teachers if budget conditions improve by the start of the school year.

Brusa is unsure how many layoffs may be necessary. District leaders are still looking at the seniority list and considering how best to go about reducing the staff, Brusa said.

"None of this is sure because we're working on these things constantly," he said.

School district settles sexual harrassment claim

By Bethania Palma , Orange County Register, March 12, 2007

BALDWIN PARK - A woman who accused a Baldwin Park Unified School District board member of years of sexual harassment received a $50,000 settlement from the district last week. Olivia Ambriz, a secretary in the district's Maintenance Department, accused board member Anthony Bejarano Sr. of intimidation and inappropriate behavior over the past few years.

The school board member referred all questions to his son, Anthony Bejarano Jr., an attorney, who is also a Baldwin Park councilman. The younger Bejarano said the allegations are false and slanderous.

He said his father was unpopular with district employees because he "made it his mission to make sure people were doing what they were being paid to do."

"He may not be directly responsible for supervising employees, but if the board's directions or policies are not being followed, the buck stops with them," said Bejarano Jr. "If he has to go down there to make sure it's happening, that's a good thing."

District Superintendent Mark Skvarna disagreed.

"When you hire a superintendent, you let them run the district," he said. "If you find out you don't like it, you replace them. It's that simple."

Bejarano Jr. said Ambriz's allegations were timed to thwart his father's attempts to investigate alleged misappropriation of public funds by the maintenance department. Skvarna said he believes nothing inappropriate was done by that department.

Bejarano Jr. added that he thought the timing of Ambriz's complaints was also suspicious because his father is up for re-election in November.

Ambriz said she first complained in August and denied that the timing had anything to do with politics.

Ambriz said Bejarano Sr. visited her office frequently until a memo from the district was issued in May that district policy stated individual board members do not have authority over employees. She said she then felt safe enough to come forward with her complaints.

In a report by an outside attorney, Karen Meyers, who was hired by the district to investigate the claims, it was concluded that "Bejarano engaged in a pattern of sexual comments and innuendo directed toward Ms. Ambriz. ... He made comments to Ms. Ambriz about her weight."

According to the findings, Meyers found Ambriz credible and that there were witnesses backing the secretary's claims.

"I did not find Mr. Bejarano credible," the attorney wrote.

Bejarano Sr., according to the report, denied the allegations and "asserted that the Board President, Jack White, is responsible for this investigation; he said Mr. White is upset with him for past political disagreements."

White said Bejarano would threaten that he had three out of five board votes - his plus two others - in his pocket as a method to get people to comply with him.

"He called himself a hands-on board member," White said. "He wanted to personally visit and get involved in day-to-day operations. That was very well known."

Ambriz said Bejarano would visit her work location at least three times a week and stay for hours.

"He made life miserable when he was back in my office," she said. "Any chance he got, he just tried to make me feel cheap."

In August, she made her first complaint, stating in a letter that Bejarano had told maintenance employees that they should "watch their backs" and that he spoke to her in an "inappropriate way."

She said details about the sexual harassment came out when Meyers interviewed her about her claims.

Ambriz's settlement was finalized in early February after she wrote a letter informing the board she had retained a lawyer.

"I wasn't out to see what I could get, I just wanted it to stop," she said.

Skvarna and Ambriz both said they were satisfied with the outcome.

"I think it was handled the best way you can handle things like that, because you need to limit the district's financial liability and exposure," Skvarna said. "When things go to court, they tend to cost a lot more money."

BPUSD official investigated

DA reviewing alleged misuse of funds

By Caroline An, Orange County Register, August 8, 2007

BALDWIN PARK - The District Attorney's Office is reviewing allegations of misuse of public funds by a school board member, a school official said Tuesday.

Baldwin Park Unified School District Board President Jack White said he filed the complaint in June against board member Anthony Bejarano Sr., accusing him of using a maintenance department fund for campaign and personal litigation costs.

A spokeswoman for the DA's Public Integrity Division said they had "opened an inquiry" into Bejarano Sr. but would not comment further.

Other board members could not be reached and the superintendent declined to comment.

Bejarano referred all questions to his son, Anthony Bejarano Jr., an attorney and a Baldwin Park city councilman.

"My father stirs the pot and is continually requiring and demanding that people be more responsible," said the younger Bejarano. He said allegations against his father are a result of people "not liking the light shined on the dirty laundry."

Bejarano Jr. said his father had been trying to get the school board to examine a maintenance department fund for about a year because he was concerned the money wasn't being properly used.

Maintenance Supervisor Mike Atkisson told the school board in a June 13 letter that the money for the "slush fund," which had been part of the department for 50 years, came from the sale of used copper left over from district construction projects.

Special tools, copies of blueprints and miscellaneous parts from vendors were purchased with money from the fund, which was closed in July 2006, according to Atkisson.

In the letter, Atkisson said that Bejarano Sr. took $600 from the fund in two separate incidents in 2003 and 2005.

The money was used for Bejarano's campaign and for litigation against fellow Board member Blanca Rubio, according to the letter.

Bejarano brought the suit against Rubio because he believed there was a conflict of interest for holding seats on the school board and the Valley County Water District. A court ruled in October 2005 that Rubio could keep both seats.

White said he did not know the fund existed until it was closed, but said he does not believe the money was used inappropriately by employees.

The school board is also conducting an internal investigation, district officials said.

On July 10, the board approved a $25,000 contract with the investigative firm of Curie and Associates Inc. that will focus on the conduct of the department and Bejarano Sr., said school officials.

Once completed, the report will be forwarded to the District Attorney's office, White said.

This is the second incident involving Bejarano Sr. and the school district's maintenance department.

School board votes to censure trustee Mike Dunn

Member reprimanded over e-mail

By Marjorie Hernandez, Ventura County Star, June 6, 2007

The Conejo Valley Unified School District school board voted to censure one of its own members at a special meeting Tuesday and said that his actions caused the district to lose a candidate for a top position.

In a 4-1 vote, the board decided to censure trustee Mike Dunn for violating three board protocols. Dunn voted against the censure.

The board's decision was an official reprimand, but it will not limit Dunn's work as a board member.

According to a three-page report by Superintendent Mario Contini, Dunn violated protocols when he e-mailed a candidate who had recently accepted the position of assistant superintendent of instruction.

In an e-mail dated May 18, Dunn wrote the candidate about several options regarding housing in the district and surrounding areas. The name of the candidate was withheld from the report, which was distributed during Tuesday's meeting at the district office at 1400 E. Janss Road.

According to Contini's report, the candidate also received a voice message encouraging him to check his e-mail. A caller, who at first refused to identify himself, also spoke to the candidate's mother-in-law, urging the candidate to check his e-mail.

When the mother-in-law pressed the caller for his name, the caller only identified himself as "the Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education" and hung up, Contini said.

The next day, the candidate called Contini and rescinded his decision to accept the position.

"In my several discussions with the candidate, he indicated that he was unwilling to risk moving his entire family for a position in a school district where this type of contact would occur and feared it would only get worse if he accepted the position," Contini said.

"He confirmed multiple times that he was impressed with the district and the staff he met ... and he was quite optimistic about the housing situation, but decided not to accept the position based primarily on those three contacts. From their point of view, it was overly aggressive."

In response, Dunn reread the e-mail he sent to the candidate and said he decided to contact him only after learning that he would not accept the position.

Dunn said he has not been allowed to speak to the candidate since the appropriateness of the e-mail came into question. He said the board has denied him his right to call witnesses in his defense.

"I do not believe he decided to withdraw based upon my e-mail," Dunn said.

"If he had indeed confirmed it with me ... then I would admit my error and submit myself to admonition to the district. I am being denied my rights. I am being tried based on hearsay evidence that no judge in this country would allow a jury to hear to decide guilt or innocence."

Trustee Patricia Phelps said all board members have agreed to make decisions together as a board.

"It's not your opinion that we are challenging," Phelps said to Dunn.

"This is not a trial. This is the board trying to figure out what we can do to make you a part of this board."

Several members from the audience spoke during public comment in support of Dunn and said board members Dolores Didio, Dorothy Beaubien, Tim Stephens and Phelps were conducting a "witch hunt" against Dunn.

Others said Dunn's action has continually disrupted the board's ability to conduct business and has caused friction in the community.

Many also criticized the board for scheduling a special board meeting at 2 p.m. when most people were at work or had to pick up their children from school.

This is the second time in two months the board admonished Dunn for his actions. At the board meeting May 8, board president Dolores Didio also admonished Dunn for soliciting opinions about possible school closures.

In his three years as a board member, Dunn has found himself in other controversies, including a health textbook that uses the word "partners" when talking about marriage, polling teachers about winter break and allegedly interfering with labor negotiations.

Comments
Posted by KatieTeague on June 6, 2007

I was at this meeting. What this article doesn't talk about is the religious fervor that was palpable in his audience defense. Or the fact that his e-mail to the potential candidates talked about Mrs. Dunn "praying". Perhaps this is what scared him off - the mix of personal religious beliefs into the day to day issues of running a school district.

He also made quite a show of saying that he broke no laws. He broke a number of campaign filing laws - FPPC - but neglected to mention this fact.

Time for a recall. His personal political and religious agenda is apparently taking precedence over what is good for students and parents.

Trustee accused of bullying teacher

El Cerrito educator, volunteer say the West County school board member verbally attacked, threatened them

By Kimberly S. Wetzel, Contra Costa Times, July 5, 2007

A teacher and volunteer who say longtime West County school board member Charles Ramsey verbally attacked and threatened them in May are exploring legal options against him and the district.

El Cerrito High School art teacher Steven Temple and school volunteer Marcia Osborn say Ramsey bullied them May 31 and shouted at them in front of other school workers and students.

Ramsey called the encounter an argument between adults and said he did not threaten or verbally attack anyone.

Temple filed a police report and said he hopes the school board will consider taking disciplinary action against Ramsey. El Cerrito police Chief Scott Kirkland said the report was filed for documentation purposes only, and there is no criminal investigation.

Both Temple and Osborn said they are speaking with attorneys.

"I feel that Mr. Ramsey was out of line, rude, belligerent and egotistical," Temple wrote in a report submitted to the El Cerrito Police Department, school board President Karen Pfeifer, the United Teachers of Richmond and El Cerrito High Principal Vince Rhea. "I believe that he tried to use his school board authority along with his aggressive physical demeanor to intimidate me."

Ramsey was investigated by fellow board members a couple of years ago after threatening and cursing at a sound technician during a board meeting. He was criticized in the fall for confronting and cursing at a fellow school board candidate, also during a board meeting.

This week, he said the May incident was "unfortunate."

"Of course I regret it any time two people get into an argument," Ramsey said. "Yeah, it got loud, but they got loud back."

Temple said Ramsey confronted him in the El Cerrito High office about 2:45 p.m. after overhearing Temple say something about the ongoing contract dispute between the teachers union and the district.

Ramsey, who was in the back of the office talking to a secretary, approached Temple and told him he didn't know what he was talking about, Temple says.

"I had no idea who he was, so I asked him," Temple said. "He curtly replied, 'You don't know me? I'm Charles Ramsey, a school board member.'"

Ramsey, who stands more than 6 feet tall, then became angry and started shouting at Temple, who is 5 feet 6 inches tall, Temple said.

"He then walked around the corner, glared down on me from a few inches away, pointed his finger at my chest and said 'You don't talk to me that way,'" Temple said in his report, adding that Ramsey shouted that Temple was "ignorant" and "out of line."

The shouting continued until Osborn, who was talking with a school employee, noticed that students and staff had gathered to watch. She said she then told Ramsey to keep it down.

"He then turned on me and started yelling and screaming at me," Osborn wrote in her complaint to the district, adding that Ramsey told her to "shut up" and said she was "nobody" as he backed her against a window.

"I was afraid, you'd better believe it," Osborn told the Times. "I'm 5-11, and I'm not very intimidated. But I was scared. I thought, 'Oh, my God, this guy is going to hit me.'"

According to Osborn and Temple, Ramsey continued to shout until El Cerrito Assistant Principal Elizabeth Watson entered and asked Ramsey to calm down and leave. Watson recently left the district but did file a written report that concurs with Temple and Osborn's version of events.

Ramsey maintains the incident was an argument, nothing more, and that he did not threaten or attack anyone. He said he apologized to Osborn but has not apologized to Temple because Temple initiated the police report against him.

Ramsey said he was upset because he had received about 100 calls from teachers regarding the contract dispute between the union and district. A union flier had circulated accusing the school board of reneging on a tentative agreement and encouraging teachers to call members to complain.

The flier was inaccurate, Ramsey said, and he hoped to clear up the misconceptions. He said that Temple accused the school board of stealing teachers' money, which is what upset him.

Temple, a 32-year district employee, said he never made the comment about the district stealing money and that the incident caused him stress and made him concerned for the security of his job. He said he saw Ramsey on campus again the next day.

"It was almost debilitating," Temple said. "I was in a knot. This guy could get me fired."

Temple and Osborn said they believe Ramsey should take anger-management classes or resign.

"You can't do this to people," Osborn said. "Especially when you're in the public eye. It's not acceptable under any circumstances."

Pfeifer, the board president, said she has no plans to initiate an investigation.

"It's been a difficult time, and I'm sorry that Charles lost his temper," Pfeifer said. "I've been told that he has apologized to all the people involved in the incident. My statement about this incident is it seems very small compared to the huge amount of good work Charles Ramsey does for the district. And I would be very sorry to see that good work overshadowed."

E-mail stirs up school district

DA is asked to probe North Sacramento board's conduct

By Laurel Rosenhall , Sacramento Bee, June 14, 2007

DA won't file charges in school board's job discussion

By Laurel Rosenhall , Sacramento Bee, October 17, 2007

After investigating possible wrongdoing by board members of the North Sacramento School District in a personnel action, Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully has decided not to file any charges.

The district attorney found there wasn't enough evidence to prove that the school board violated open meeting laws in its discussions this spring about firing former Superintendent Dennis Tillett.

Scully also found insufficient evidence to prove that trustee Linda Fowler acted criminally in her communication with fellow trustee Francisco Garcia.

In May, Fowler sent Garcia an e-mail saying she would help his wife with a district job if he changed his mind about firing the superintendent.

Garcia's wife was in her first year as a preschool teacher at Hagginwood Elementary.

Because she was a probationary teacher, there was no guarantee that her job would continue.

"Although Linda Fowler's choice of words in the e-mail was unwise and may have aroused suspicion, we did not find credible evidence that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that she acted with corrupt intent," Donald Steed of the District Attorney's Office wrote in an Oct. 9 letter about the investigation.

"Corrupt intent" is required to prove a bribery allegation, said Lana Wyant, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office.

"We're looking at it from a strictly legal standpoint and we didn't find evidence of corrupt intent," Wyant said.

The investigation stemmed from the school board's discussions this spring about whether to fire then-Superintendent Tillett.

Fowler and another board member wanted to keep him; Garcia and two other board members wanted to let him go.

On May 10, Fowler sent Garcia an e-mail saying: "I am willing to work with the Administration to find a way to offer your wife a contract for the coming school year in exchange for your vote to fire Dennis being rescinded.

"I firmly believe that I can be successful in getting that agreement for you. I know the law and I know our staff."

Suspecting the offer was an illegal act of bribery, Garcia forwarded Fowler's e-mail to board President Maxine Pepper, who forwarded it to county schools chief David Gordon.

Gordon submitted the e-mail to the district attorney.

"I just felt obligated to turn it over to them because it seemed very questionable to me," Gordon said this week.

"The district attorney has chosen not to bring charges so the matter is now closed."

Fowler said the investigation "really put a cloud over our district that was unnecessary."

"I have been completely vindicated," she said.

"I had no harmful intent whatsoever except to save Francisco's wife's job, save Mr. Tillett's job, and save the district over a half a million dollars" in attorneys fees and the cost of buying Tillett out of his contract.

The school board voted 3-2 in June to oust Tillett, and agreed to pay him nearly $300,000 to leave.

Fowler, who has served on the North Sacramento school board for 36 years, and Garcia, who joined the board last year, are running against each other in the Nov. 6 election.

Measure B asks voters in the North Sacramento, Del Paso Heights, Rio Linda and Grant school districts if they want the four districts to merge into a unified K-12 school system.

On the same ballot, voters will also choose seven people to govern the new district if it is approved.

Fowler and Garcia are running for the seat representing Area 7 on the potential new school board.

Fowler is on a slate of candidates backed by teachers unions. Garcia is on a slate of candidates backed by companies that do business with the Grant Joint Union High School District.

Deer Valley High expulsions appealed

School district didn't give teens due process, lawyers will tell county board

By Andrew Becker, Contra Costa Times, July 17, 2007

ANTIOCH -- The curtain recently came down on expulsion hearings for seven high school students involved in an after-school melee with Antioch police, but the final act has just begun.

The first of what could be several appeals to the Contra Costa County Board of Education will be heard Wednesday in an open hearing. At least two other appeal hearings will be held in early August, said Peggy Marshburn, a spokeswoman for the county Office of Education.

Attorneys for several Deer Valley High students involved cite procedural errors, conflicts of interest and other alleged unfair practices as their reasons for the appeals. Jivaka Candappa, an attorney who represents three students, has accused school officials of civil rights violations.

The school district counters that the expulsion hearings were run according to state education law and are not like court proceedings.

The question of impartiality will be at the forefront of any appeal decision the county board may make, said Ray Penning, associate superintendent for the Contra Costa County Office of Education.

"We are very conscientious that school districts followed due process, that there's no real or perceived partiality," Penning said.

The county board could ultimately remand the cases back to the Antioch school district, overturn the decision or uphold it.

Seven teens were expelled because of their involvement in the March 7 incident at a gas station near Deer Valley, one of the Bay Area's largest high schools. Police say 50 students were involved, while other witnesses testified that fewer than half that many were present. Parents said police use of pepper spray was excessive force, while police counter that it was necessary as students resisted arrest.

Nearly two months after the hearings began, the Antioch school board expelled the final student in the group late last month. What was initially scheduled for a day or two of hearings, with each case expected to last about an hour, turned into a marathon.

The families of two students made the rare request to open the hearings to the public, but that was not the only unusual occurrence. Whether it was political operatives in attendance, the many roles assumed by a district official in the course of the proceedings or the appearance of a former Deer Valley High principal as a result of a questionable subpoena, the public hearings raised eyebrows.

David Kopperud, a state Department of Education consultant, said that in nearly 15 years of being involved in expulsions, he hasn't heard of a more complex case than Antioch's.

"There are some very unusual things going on here that in hundreds of expulsions I have never seen before," he said. "It will be interesting to see how the county board of education responds to some of these things as it goes through the record of the hearing."

Few attorneys are familiar with expulsion proceedings, said Jack Funk, an assistant public defender for Contra Costa County who has been the juvenile delinquent case supervisor. Nor is there an abundance of case law that guides school districts or attorneys, Penning said.

Anthony Ashe, a criminal law specialist who has represented several students facing expulsion, said the proceedings are set up by state law so schools can get through the formal process.

"The feeling of bias is pervasive, or overwhelming, with someone unfamiliar with the system," he said. "Everyone knows each other and appears to be on the same side and you go out feeling like you never got a fair shake."

Antioch school Superintendent Deborah Sims declined to comment on the expulsions, but that she had "total confidence" in her staff's actions.

"They were very diligent in terms of working with experts to make sure the i's were dotted and the t's were crossed," she said.

But Jeff Bornstein, an attorney representing one of the students, said there is a wide chasm between what police officers involved said occurred and what other witnesses say they saw. He added that his client did not get a fair hearing.

"The process is extremely unfair," said Bornstein, who served for about 20 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in San Francisco. "There have been substantial violations of any notion of due process."

Ron Leone, a coordinator in the Antioch district's Student Services Department who helped prepare the expulsion cases and also facilitated the proceedings as hearing officer, acknowledged that it was an unusual process.

Leone said there were some awkward moments when he was called to testify as a witness and had to make evidentiary rulings at the same time.

"It's worked well I think," Leone said of the procedure, adding that while state law has general guidelines on expulsion hearings, "I think we're writing new chapters."

Trustee is a target of left and right

Anaheim school board appointee Harald Martin is unpopular for his immigration views and a comment about a molestation victim

By Jennifer Delson and Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, August 3, 2007

They rarely agree, but this week, a striking mix of conservatives and liberals, community activists and politicians joined to support the ouster of a recently appointed Anaheim schools trustee who once proposed billing Mexico for educating illegal immigrants and suggested that a teenage girl who was molested by a teacher was partly to blame for keeping it secret.

Opponents of Harald Martin include Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, who is a former Republican speaker of the Assembly, and liberal activist Nativo Lopez, whose Mexican American Political Assn. has committed $1,000 to a campaign that he agreed attracted "strange bedfellows."

Michael Schroeder, former California Republican Party chairman, agreed.

"It's definitely unusual," he said. "To see the groups that are working together in forming such an unusually strong coalition — typically someone doesn't face a coalition like this unless they so completely burned down all of their relationships and political bases."

Martin, 52, a retired Anaheim police officer, served on the Anaheim Union High School District board for eight years, losing his reelection bid in 2004.

He was appointed July 19 by a 3-1 vote to the board seat left open by the death of Trustee Denise Mansfield-Reinking.

Messages left on Martin's answering machine were not returned Thursday.

Martin first garnered headlines in 1995, when he proposed that the district sue Mexico to recover the cost of educating illegal immigrants in the district.

Four years later, after a teenager who was sexually abused for years by a Cypress High School teacher was awarded $2.5 million in damages, Martin said the size of the award stunned him.

"If both parties kept it secret … I think there's some culpability on the victim's part," he said at the time.

In 2001, Martin proposed requiring new students in the district to produce a U.S. birth certificate or proof of residency — or face being turned over to immigration officials

Board member Katherine Smith, who nominated Martin to fill the vacancy, has known him for 15 years. She said he was the most qualified for the post, based on his past experiences, including creating the district's 2.0 GPA graduation requirement, increasing after-school sports programs and doing community policing work that turned dangerous slums in Anaheim into family-friendly neighborhoods.

"I would rather have Harald Martin running this district than some of the people opposing him. They're all politically motivated. It has nothing to do with kids," she said. Martin "is good for education…. We have to move forward, and we need to continue to raise our standards."

But this week, the effort to oust Martin encouraged liberals such as Amin David, who heads civic group Los Amigos of Orange County, to shake hands with conservatives such as local blogger Art Pedroza, a former county GOP official, as they announced their support for a petition drive that could lead to a special election to fill the seat.

Critics have less than a month to gather about 2,300 signatures from registered voters in the district.

The county would have a month to verify the signatures, and if enough are valid, a special election would be held within four months.

The group already has gathered about 800 signatures, David said. If they fail to gather enough signatures, Martin will be up for reelection as an incumbent in November 2008.

County Board of Education member Alexandria Coronado, a Republican, and state Sen. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) are among the leaders who have planned breakfasts for volunteers who will walk door to door Saturday gathering signatures.

"It's a very unusual coalition," Correa said. "People from extreme ideological points of view agree … Harald Martin should not be on that school board."

Critics say the board ignored the voters' wishes.

After losing his seat in 2004, Martin came in seventh of eight candidates in the November election.

"It's a slap in the face for them to pick who they wanted and ignore what the community was telling them," said Anna L. Piercy, the lone trustee to oppose the appointment.

"That is being out of touch with the people you're supposed to represent. That's wrong."

Pringle said he plans to sign a petition supporting a special election because trustees should not have named someone "with a history that did not bring stability to that board."

"It was disappointing that they [decided to] bring in someone who did not have public support," he said.

One group that decided not to support the effort is the Anaheim Secondary Teachers Assn. The teachers' union opposes a special election because it would cost the district hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Trustee Brian O'Neal initially supported another candidate, but after it became clear that Martin had Smith's and Thomas "Hoagy" Holguin's votes and would receive the appointment, he said, he switched his vote.

"I wanted to show I was there to work with whoever came in," he said. "I don't regret my vote."

Last week, Holguin said Martin apologized for the controversy his proposal to bill Mexico had created.

"We need to give people a chance to redeem themselves," Holguin said.

He said Thursday he had no comment about the petition drive.

Oakland school board member dated girl, 17, is urged to quit

By Marisa Lagos, San Francisco Chronicle, August 24, 2007

Two Jurupa trustees accuse school board president of discrimination

By Sandra Stokley, Riverside County Press-Enterprise, September 18, 2007

GLEN AVON - Jurupa Unified School District trustees Michael Rodriguez and John Chavez lashed out at board President Carl Harris at Monday night's meeting, saying his decision to exclude Rodriguez from committee appointments amounted to nothing more than discrimination.

"You do not have the authority to discriminate," Chavez said. "Your actions have created a board of mistrust."

Rodriguez said that an agenda item explaining that Harris' decision stemmed from Rodriguez's "improper, unprofessional and unacceptable" conduct was harassment and violated board policy.

Rodriguez threatened to take action, which he did not specify, if Harris' alleged harassment continued.

"You go ahead with what you need to do," Harris shot back.

Board members voted 3-2 last January to censure Rodriguez on allegations that he had sexually harassed school district employees and created a hostile work environment.

Jurupa schools trustee Michael Rodriguez challenged board President Carl Harris on Harris' decision to limit comments.

Harris and trustees Mary Burns and Dawn Brewer voted for the censure. Rodriguez and Chavez cast the dissenting votes.

In the wake of that action, Harris refused to appoint Rodriguez to any district committees for the school year that commenced earlier this month.

Harris has said he was trying to hold his colleague accountable for his behavior and to protect district employees.

Committees work on district issues such as school safety, budget and facilities planning.

Chavez and Rodriguez challenged Harris' decision to limit board member comments to five minutes, suggesting that Harris' action was a ploy to muzzle them.

Referring to comments Harris made earlier in the meeting about the right of freedom of speech that allowed students to address the board, Rodriguez commented, "Free speech is wonderful as long as you're controlling it."

Chavez also blasted Harris' open support of a recall effort being mounted by critics of Rodriguez. Harris signed the "Notice of Intention to Circulate a Recall Petition" that was served on Rodriguez two weeks ago.

"By signing recall papers, you disqualify yourself as a fair and uncommitted board member," Chavez said.

He called on Harris to resign.

Tensions on the five-member board began building after reports surfaced that Rodriguez had grabbed and pulled aside a female assistant superintendent of personnel during a July 3, 2006, board meeting and chastised her for being confrontational.

An independent investigation later concluded that Rodriguez had engaged in improper, unprofessional and unacceptable behavior with female district employees.

The 20,540-student district serves the unincorporated western Riverside County communities of Mira Loma, Glen Avon, Pedley, Sunnyslope and Rubidoux.

Jurupa school board's open hostilities dismay public

By Sandra Stokley, Riverside County Press-Enterprise, December 25, 2007

GLEN AVON - In September, Rachel Lopez, campaign director for a Glen Avon-based environmental group, attended a meeting of the Jurupa Unified School District board of trustees.

She went there seeking support for closing a gate to dozens of big rigs every day at the Union Pacific Railroad auto yard across the street from Jurupa Valley High School.

Lopez said the verbal clashes she witnessed between board President Carl Harris and Trustee Michael Rodriguez left her shocked and dismayed.

"I couldn't believe they were doing this at a school board meeting where there were parents, students and teachers present," Lopez said recently.

Lopez and others over the past year have come away wondering if the trustees' constant bickering and outright hostility has diverted board members from their primary mission of educating children and making them responsible citizens.

"These are our leaders," said parent Robert Garcia, "and they can't behave themselves. It's kind of discouraging."

Harris said he agrees with the perception, to an extent.

"It's been a major distraction for the board," Harris said.

But others say that while board members argue among themselves, the work of educating children continues.

"This district has wonderful teachers, great principals, great administrators doing good things for kids," said Ed Hawkins, superintendent of the Jurupa district from 1969 to 1987 and then a consultant for the Riverside County Office of Education and the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools.

"I don't think the fighting impacts the schools so much as it makes them (trustees) look foolish," he said.

Trouble Brews

For more than a year, since allegations surfaced in 2006 that Rodriguez had accosted and threatened a female district employee, Jurupa school board meetings have been a battleground -- racked by arguments, name calling and allegations of religious intolerance.

Rodriguez, who did not return calls seeking comment for this article, has repeatedly denied that he did anything wrong.

But two independent investigations ordered by the district concluded that Rodriguez had sexually harassed a district employee and created a hostile work environment. In January 2007, Rodriguez was censured by his colleagues.

In the wake of the censure, Harris excluded Rodriguez from committees, a move Trustee John Chavez -- a Rodriguez ally -- termed "discrimination."

Last month, Harris confirmed reports that two board members had verbally attacked him and his Mormon faith in a closed session of the board.

He recently identified Chavez and Rodriguez as those members.

"They referred to my religion in a term that doesn't give it legitimacy," Harris said.

Chavez and Rodriguez denied they ever made such comments, calling Harris' accusation "nonsense" and "childish."

"My brother is a Mormon. Why would I even think of ridiculing the faith?" Chavez said.

At a meeting in November, Robert Bier, a board regular, waved handcuffs at Rodriguez, prompting a request by Chavez that a video camera be aimed at audience members to assure trustee safety.

That request was approved.

Trustee Mary Burns, who is second only to Chavez in years on the board, said she disagrees with the depiction of the school board as dysfunctional.

"The board is not so bad," she said.

"If a board is one voice, you don't get any diversity."

Trustee Dawn Brewer declined to comment except to say "I believe in educating students and that's our job."

Why Hostilities Occur

Molly McGee-Hewitt, who as an employee of the California School Boards Association trains new board members, said they bring their own set of issues and concerns with them, so it is not unusual for boards to have difficulties.

"A troublesome part for me is that sometimes when it starts, it gets very difficult to end it," McGee-Hewitt said.

Seminars for new board members show them how to set ground rules and learn how to agree to disagree.

"Board members should be debating issues, not personalities," McGee-Hewitt said.

A Hope for Peace

Harris said his hope is that the worst times have passed: the Dec. 10 meeting was relatively strife-free, he said.

But that may not last.

Robert "Bobby" Hernandez said paperwork to recall Rodriguez has been sent to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters and is awaiting approval.

"He's setting a poor example, and examples are important to our community," Hernandez said.

Hernandez, who is a director of the Jurupa Area Recreation and Park District, said he is working on the recall as an individual and not as a representative of the park board.

Bier, who has been unstinting in his criticism of Rodriguez's and Chavez's behavior, said he doesn't plan to stop.

"I'm trying to get Mike to resign," Bier said.

"He's done a lot of damage to that school district."

Jurupa Unified asks board member to pay almost $32,000 in legal fees

By Sandra Stokley, Riverside County Press-Enterprise, May 28, 2008

RIVERSIDE - The Jurupa Unified School District wants board member Michael Rodriguez to pay more than $31,000 in legal fees that the district ran up while defending itself against his lawsuit.

Attorneys for the school district, who were successful last month in getting the district dismissed as a defendant in the suit, filed a motion this month in Riverside County Superior Court seeking $31,795.05 from Rodriguez.

That amount represents the time it took attorneys to research, prepare and argue the motion that resulted in the dismissal, said Riverside attorney Michael Marlatt.

While making that decision, Court Commissioner Paulette Durand-Barkley also ruled that Rodriguez should pay the district's attorney fees.

A hearing on the motion is set for June 23, Marlatt said.

Michael Sands, one of Rodriguez's attorneys, said an appeal is being prepared.

Rodriguez, 49, sued the district Jan. 22 alleging violations of due process, equal protection and the establishment clause of the U.S. and California constitutions, as well as discrimination. His suit seeks damages of not less than $25,000.

Superintendent Elliott Duchon and board president Carl Harris are named separately in the lawsuit.

Rodriguez's lawsuit stemmed, at least in part, from his January 2007 censure by the school board.

Earlier this month, Riverside Judge Mac Fisher threw out two of the causes of action against Duchon and Harris, but allowed three others to proceed.

Fisher awarded attorney fees to Duchon and Harris for the two matters on which he ruled. Attorney Christopher Keeler said a separate motion seeking attorney fees for Duchon and Harris will be filed soon.

Bulk of school board against law shielding gay, lesbian students

By Leonel Sanchez, December 13, 2007

EAST COUNTY – A majority of the Grossmont high school district board is working with conservative groups trying to overturn an anti-discrimination law that aims to tighten protection for gay, lesbian and transgender students.

Last month, four of the five board members joined a federal lawsuit challenging the new law as unconstitutionally vague and a violation of privacy rights.

The law is expected to go into effect next month.

Despite joining the lawsuit, the trustees haven't taken an official position as a board on the law. Tonight, they will consider a resolution to request a legal interpretation of the legislation and its use from state justice and educational officials.

The Grossmont Union High School District oversees 11 high schools and some alternative schools in East County.

Grossmont boards have had heated debates about homosexual issues over the years. In 1999, the board approved expanding the district's anti-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation. Board President Priscilla Schreiber – who wasn't on the board at the time – led an unsuccessful attempt to recall a board member who voted for the policy.

Schreiber and trustees Jim Kelly, Larry Urdahl and Robert Shield are plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed by the California Education Committee and Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a religious-liberties group.

State education law bans all forms of discrimination but doesn't specifically mention discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. The new law, signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October, will remove the term “sex” as a classification and add “gender” and “sexual orientation.”

Opponents take issue with the state's definition of gender because it includes gender-identity and gender-related appearance. They argue that teachers will have a hard time knowing who's who in the classroom, and that boys could pretend to be girls to gain entry into their locker rooms and restrooms.

They also oppose changing the wording in state law to ban any teaching or activity that “promotes a discriminatory bias.” State law now bans classroom instruction or school-sponsored activities that “reflect adversely” on gays, lesbians or other protected classes.

Opponents argue that under the new law, if a teacher discusses a traditional family, it could be considered discriminatory unless alternative relationships are also covered.

“It's a form of indoctrination when you bring that into the schools,” Schreiber said. “It's social engineering.”

Supporters of the law dismiss opponents' arguments as scare tactics. They say teachers won't be forced to teach anything outside state-approved curriculum, and that the new law simply clarifies anti-discrimination language in the education code.

“I'm surprised they are making a big deal over this,” said Geoff Kors, director of Equality California, which sponsored the legislation.

Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of schools, has said the new law simplifies and clarifies civil rights protections for California students.

Trustee threatens to 'boycott' board

By Kimberly S. Wetzel, Contra Costa Times, December 15, 2007

West Contra Costa school board member Dave Brown is considering "boycotting" the board after walking out of this week's contentious meeting, the culmination of more than a year of squabbling that some in the community say hampers district progress.

"It's gotten to the point that sitting in that seat, I've not been able to make any change in this district," Brown said Friday. "And the only solution to possibly make a difference and a statement would be to boycott the school board."

He did not elaborate, saying only that "the details of the boycott will be revealed in due time."

Brown e-mailed board President Karen Pfeifer on Friday to say he no longer will serve as the district's liaison to the city of Hercules and on the district's Safety Committee. He walked out of Wednesday's meeting early after trading barbs with member Charles Ramsey over whether the district should pay IBM computers $5 million it owes the company and which parcel tax consultant the district should hire.

Brown said he left because he thought the choice of consultant by Pfeifer, Ramsey and Madeline Kronenberg was "the most idiotic decision that the three of them have ever made."

Although relations are sometimes strained, Pfeifer said Brown's decision to boycott seems counter-productive.

"More than anything, Dave is letting down the people who voted for him," Pfeifer said. "I can't imagine what he means by boycotting the school board. He holds a seat that thousands of people gave to him. I think he has a responsibility that needs to be honored."

Charles Cowens, chairman of the district's Budget Advisory Committee and spokesman for the Bayside Council of PTAs, said "it would be nice if there was a reboot button for our school board."

"It's not unusual for people to have disagreement or have different sides, but it's kind of bizarre that it's been reduced to junior high school levels," he said.

Brown said he's frustrated because he's in the minority of most of the board's 3-2 and 4-1 votes since member Audrey Miles and Kronenberg took office in November 2006. Pfeifer, Ramsey and Kronenberg often vote as a block, while Brown and Miles often vote together.

Kronenberg said Brown is taking things too personally and suggested that if he decides not to show up to meetings, he should consider resigning.

"That's like saying I want to collect the check but I'm mad at my boss so I don't want to work anymore," Kronenberg said.

Miles said she doesn't condone a Brown boycott but understands his frustration.

"The way things are done is not equitable," Miles said. "It's almost like you don't have a say in anything because they have three votes."

Pfeifer said she is "dismayed" by the board's apparent inability to get along and said she has attempted to hold retreats and individual conversations with members with little success. Somehow it becomes personal when they discuss their goals for the district, she said.

"I think that the most important thing here is the education of our kids," Pfeifer said. "And I'm really sorry that we're not able to move more in concert and reach consensus on that goal. I'm really sorry that it's come down to name-calling because I don't want to teach that to our children."

Pfeifer said she questions whether Brown's heart is in the district. He has left meetings early three times in the past few years, including a closed-session meeting earlier this year after becoming angry. He often skips closed-session and committee meetings.

Brown said he feels the board majority does not respect and consider his ideas.

"They keep asking me and Audrey to be team players, but it's their way or the highway," Brown said. "Unless you're one of their cronies and groupies, it's an exercise in futility to get something done in this district."

Kronenberg and Ramsey acknowledged they often vote together, but they don't see any cause for concern because they share the same vision for the district.

"Neither side is really acting very well," Cowens said. "There's something far more profound than just some team-building event going on. It calls for desperate measures."

Grand jury calls for action on enrollment

Sequoia Union High School District advised to clarify its policies, adhere to capacities

Shaun Bishop, San Mateo Times, December 20, 2007

REDWOOD CITY — The Sequoia Union High School District failed to enact controls on its open enrollment policy in order to prevent Carlmont High School's population from going over capacity, according to a grand jury report released Wednesday.

The second report of the 2007-08 term of the San Mateo County civil grand jury also found that the district's Board of Trustees should clarify its policies for the benefit of students, parents and the public.

Carlmont, with more than 2,300 students this year, is over its official capacity of 2,100 students. Administrators say the district's open enrollment, which allows students to choose a school outside the one designated by attendance boundaries, along with Carlmont's popularity has caused the shift.

The district reviewed the school's enrollment capacity in June and found that Carlmont's classroom capacity is actually only about 1,960 students and that the other three high schools are well below their capacities of 2,130 to 2,230.

The grand jury recommended that the district's board clearly define the school capacities and take steps to stick to them, by moving attendance boundaries or increasing capacity at the schools.

Superintendent Pat Gemma said he had not yet read the grand jury's report, and he did not comment directly on its specifics. However, he said the district would be changing open enrollment in an attempt to balance the school populations.

For starters, the district plans to allow only about 80 open-enrollment transfers to Carlmont for the freshman class that will start next fall, compared with about 220 transfers that were let in this fall, Gemma said. Students with siblings at the school will have the highest priority, followed by those who chose Carlmont after making a docum