Update 3/5/08: This post now has 2,003 comments! However, it has exceeded the capacities of our server and has been truncated recently at about 1,529 posts. But one of our readers has stepped up to the plate and painstakingly copied all of the comments into three NEW posts:
- SAUSD-Mijares corruption thread, 2008 Comments
- SAUSD-Mijares corruption thread, 2007 Comments
- SAUSD-Mijares corruption thread, 2006 Comments
We have also started a NEW open SAUSD thread, which I hope our readers will post to regarding new SAUSD news and views.
You can also go to our home page and go to the right column. Click on “SAUSD Posts” and you can get links to ALL of our past SAUSD articles.
I must say, I am amazed at the stories that have been posted on this blog in the wake of Al Mijares’ exit from the Santa Ana Unified School District. I am posting this item merely to give SAUSD bloggers a place to post their comments. Post away my friends – we have an opportunity now to finally do away with the corruption left over from the Mijares regime. Change is at hand, but we must remain resolute.
I noted that someone affiliated with the SAUSD administration recently posted a threat on this site – alleging possible legal action against SAUSD employees who post anonymously on this site. That is despicable and a form of terrorism. Do not let fear restrain any of you from revealing the truth.
The final challenge we face in Santa Ana is to replace Mijares with someone competent. We won’t have another opportunity like this anytime soon. This process must be open and focused and whatever else happens we must keep Audrey Noji out of the Superintendent’s position. As a member of the Cerritos College faculty and a member of the teacher’s union at that campus I opposed her when she tried to get a job at our campus. If she goes after the SAUSD superintendent post I will do so again. I know we can do better!
All of my children are in the SAUSD system. For their sake and that of all schoolchildren in the district, I urge those who are rebelling against the last vestiges of Mijares’ broken empire to keep the information flowing and to do whatever it takes to ensure that our next superintendent will be up to the task. Mijares certainly was over his head throughout his doomed tenure.
#1931
I would be curious myself. The story mentions 30,000 kids but isn’t that about half the population of the district enrollment? The only kids I ever see after school are out playing on the fields and I don’t think it amounted to half the enrollment of the district. Isn’t this after school thing just a baby sitting service for working parents? I agree they need it, but how much actual tutoring really goes on while a lot of kids are out playing soccer, volleyball, teatherball, and basketball?
Please correct me since all I can go on is what I have seen for the last 20 years working at the schools in a non-teaching roll. I really would like to know how many kids are tutored at each school per year after school. Is it really 30,000?
Dear #1932,
At my school site, the Think Together after-school program is more than
I’m poster #1871…..the shoe that dropped…one word DAIT
For all you folks at Santa Ana High School who have to work with the duplicitous Sylvia Molina; go to the CCTC web site, download a complaint form and ask the CCTC to yank her credential. I’m sure there are many, many people in the district who will swear to her unethical behavior. I’ve already done it!
Here’s a telling education story in the OC register. No it wasn’t by Fermin Leal possibly because it was not a feelgood story.
Out of the top 100 schools leading in drop out rates statewide only 2 from Orange County are on the list. Coming in at #4 is the Orange County Department of Education. Even though the county runs schools all over the county mostly for kids kicked out of regular school districts, it was still counted as 1 school.
Of more interest is the ONLY other OC School of the top 100 which came in at #35. The winner is Century High of SAUSD. Not one other school in the entire county was reportedly on this list of top 100. Ms. Russo, do you think just once in our lifetime you might get SAUSD out of the gutter? You still are being paid more that the city manager even with his new raise!
Of course the spin will be,”It was only one of our High Schools overloaded with disadvantaged students and could have been a lot worse”. Well actually it is. Valley High just missed the top 100 and came in at # 106. Saddleback came in at # 213. Obviously SBH is an underachiever.
The real secret here and every teacher knows it, is the old expulsion trick. Another story recently in the OC Register reported that SAUSD expelled 150 students just for drugs or violent crimes. I am not even going to bother to look for the actual expulsion total. Where do these kids go when expelled? They go right to the County department of Education where they can drop out from there. This makes SAUSD and all other districts appear to be improving while the county DOE takes the big hit on the list at # 4. Talk about playing 3-card monty with kids lives.
Hey Ralph when will you get back to work and quit blogging on here. You should have taken a note from history “Remain silent and let them think you the fool rather than speak and remove all doubt”……….
#1937
I am not sure who you are addressing with your comments but if it is #1936, I did not make up the numbers. Read the Register and check the links to the summary reports. I am not Ralph and you should know that because Ralph is not smart enough to know how to research anything.
Santa Ana tops in dropouts in Orange County
Now with all the construction is done in Santa ana with schools being built they (Admin) trying to justify their exsistence and special projects trying to float a bond for the schools for refurbishing etc? We havn’t even opened up Heros yet. Please I hope the state takes us over and saves us from this out of control Admin. They place a hiring freeze on the pleebs but management positions are continued to be filled. Oh by the way my comment on earlier was on 1927 not 1936
http://www.sausd.us/sausd/cwp/view.asp?A=3&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&Q=300016&C=53680
Willard Intermediate School Principal Challenges Parents to Get Fit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2008
Contacts:
Angela Burrell, SAUSD Public Information Officer (714) 558-5555
Teresa Vazquez, Chair, Willard PTA (714) 972-0990
Willard Intermediate School Principal Challenges Parents to Get Fit
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, FEBRUARY 22, 2008 — At a special Family Fitness Night on Monday evening, February 25, 2008, Willard Intermediate School Principal, Jeff Bishop will welcome William M. Habermehl, Orange County Superintendent of Schools, to join him in issuing a Principal
http://www.redcounty.com/orange-county/2008/02/a-better-use-of-donald-brens-n/
A Better Use Of Donald Bren’s Next $8.5 Million Gift
Posted by: Jubal | 02/21/2008 9:39 PM
I first spotted the story of Irvine Company jefe Donald Bren’s $8.5 million gift to help Santa Ana students while scanning Orange Juice, in which it was characterized as a gift to the Santa Ana Unified School District. While admiring Bren’s beneficence, giving SAUSD a check for $8.5 million seemed not unlike giving money too a wino: while it satfisies the altruistic impulse, the gift itself is almost sure to be wasted.
Fortunately, it turned out the money was given to a non-profit called THINK Together. According to the LA Times:
The gift will bolster Santa Ana-based THINK Together, an after-school program that extends the school day for children who need extra coaching with classwork or homework help, often because their parents are working or lack English skills. The program provides an additional hour of schooling, homework assistance and physical education.
I’m sure THINK Together will put Bren’s gift to good use, and Santa Ana students will benefit.
But it made me think about other instances when foundations and of rich individuals bestow multi-million dollar gifts directly on public school districts. While not detracting from the admirable philanthropy of the donors, is writing checks to inefficient, wasteful, bureaucratic school districts that failed to make good use of their tax revenues the best way to improve the education of children in those districts?
And I’m not talking about parent fund-raising to help their teachers buy supplies, but big money like Bren’s gift that can be leveraged to effect real education change.
A good example is the Children’s Scholarship Fund, which offers tuition assistance for needy families. The CSF is active in Orange County, where it enables a number of children to attend St. Anthony Claret School in Anaheim. I posted about it on the FlashReport Blog two years ago. CSF started in Anaheim in 2004. Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle serves as honorary chair (and personally donated $10,000), and Newport Beach businessman David Steffy donated a matching grant of $400,000.
If philanthropists like Donald Bren really want to effect positive education change and open up opportunities for poor families, they should emulate CSF’s example.
Say Bren had instead decided to use the $8.5 million to create the Donald Bren Opportunity Scholarship Fund (or some such name). That money pay for eight years of Catholic elementary tuition for close to 300 Santa Ana children to attend eights years of Catholic elementary school in Santa Ana, where they’d receive a better education than what’s available to them at SAUSD (at least, for majority who aren’t fortunate enough to get into a fundamental school).
And even larger number of students would gain the opportunity for a superior education if this Bren Opportunity Scholarship Fund awarded partial scholarships to help poor and working families bridge the gap between what they can afford and what private or parochial school tuition is. Tuition at St. Joseph School in Santa Ana, for example, is $3,500 a year. There are working families who can’t afford the entire amount, but a partial scholarship of $1,000, !,500 or more can enable them to put send their children to a school like St. Joseph.
That’s what the Lu
UPDATE:
Attendance Tech At Santa Ana High School , Ms. Rosa Castro she was so tired of her duties that she had to take another week.Can you believe poor Ms. Castro?. Maybe she really needs a vacation with everything paid by Santa Ana Unified School District , in any event that is how the administration rewards LAZY workers , but the ones that really fulfill and go above and beyond are ignore.Lets see what is the list of all those employees at Santa Ana High School that do basically nothing.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
………..Write to you all next week.
SAUSD School Board to try to put another bond on the ballot!
As usual the Register misrepresents a lot of the truth about SAUSD. To begin with the mess with the measure C money was widely known. Ask Nativo Lopez. In the Register this was mentioned as “other issues”.
The article also mentions the refurbishing of the many schools over 80 years old. To my knowledge only SAHS and Franklin Elementary are that old. Both underwent major renovation with the measure C funds.
The truth is a large number of other schools underwent asbestos removal and remodeling. Roosevelt, Lincoln, and Jackson schools each had identical 24 class room buildings built to replace some of the bungalows. Valley High, Lathrop Intermediate, Sierra Intermediate, Edison Elementary and several others went through major renovations.
Factor in the building of Segerstrum, Godinez, Esqueda, Thorpe, Griset, Community Day and Independent Study. Also include the new warehouse on Fairview next to the Community Day and Independent study complex.
Finally lets not fail to mention Heroes which is complete but standing vacant for teachers training use until Fall.
How much is your house worth? 200,000 or more? At just the $200,000 value this bond would raise your taxes anywhere from $48-$56 per year.
Do you think SAUSD earned the right to this additional money while admitting they have a declining enrollment? One new school is not even being used. Other schools such as Segerstrum and Godinez are not even full.
It doesn’t matter if several of these schools are called Fundamental or not. If there is room coupled with a declining enrollment, this district does not deserve to tax you another $50.00 a year until they start using what they already have. NO WAY!
I agree wholeheartedly with the last post and with that said the board as we type is being presented with a plan to cut employees pay by 1months salary. Declining enrollment, vacant schools, failing schools, over crowded classes and for that they want to cut pay and raise taxes????????????????????????
Well Fermin “Feelgood” Leal is getting a little better in his reporting of SAUSD. In his latest attempt of reporting the passage by the board of another bond measure he, at least, added that the last bond passed was mismanaged. In fact he even included a couple of quotes by the two dissenting voters, Avila and Palicio which I thought were very interesting. When a board member admits that they were not provided enough information by the district to know exactly where this new bond money was going to go, I have to say “what?”. Then how could anyone vote to pass this thing? Could they not table it and get further information?
Of course “Feelgood” still can not quite get Don Trigg’s title right, but he is trying.
Sadly he didn’t mention the pay cut proposal at the meeting posted on this blog by someone attending, but I’m not surprised. Actually noting a contradiction is not part of “Feelgoods” job. Just writing the press releases and positive spin is. At the moment the story is hidden in the education section of the online paper but as usual I am sure it will be moved over to the Santa Ana section after the events of the board meeting are further reported by the Times or the blogs.
Job well done at the DAC/DELAC meeting on 02/25/08 District Office:
She never seems to surprise me more Victoria Zaragoza prepping the parents a handful of them that basically now , about the politics and style of the District Board Members.They are there to serve and protect a handful of people.For one minute Victoria is not going to tell parents she is only after her own benefits. They want us to bank roll another BOND excuse me another BOND? For what? So the FAT CATS at the district keep their jobs and several thousands dollars salary ; so now is going to be FAT CAT his secretary plus the receptionist to the secretary plus assistant , and that is only one of them imagine how many FAT CATS are at the district? Victoria is approving of all the jobs that are going to be lost at each school site? By the way , school site is were kids go to school for your information, your preocupation is to please your masters yes,,,,,the ones that protect you as well. My question how on G-D green hearth you manage to be on the DAC/DELAC board? Who elected you? When was the elections or who created that policy that only you can be appointed by WHOM? higher authority? And now that you are at the front of convincing parents that this new BOND is for the benefit of our children’s . HOGWASH.Thank G-D there will be a vote.
I now my is NO.
The district wants the taxpayers to approve a bond. If this is because they care so much about kids and want the best for them, my question is this: Why did you use your money to remodel the district office and install a state of the art security system? Meanwhile, the sites that need remodeling stagnate while you chose to take care of yourselves first. Shame on you.
You should list the newest first and then older, oldest…
#1951
I agree especially since the links to the newest and oldest posts do not show up on the main blog page and all you get are the first 200 posts. That seemed to start when this access page called Post a comment was broken down into sub pages.
Scum always rises to the top i.e. Carrig, Jones, Bola, Molina, Gomeztrejo, and that pilar of justice Juanito Cagoncito Lopez. While people are writing to complain to the CCTC over Molina why can’t they include the rest of the losers?
Sorry folks! The Mijares thread has at last overwhelmed our server. I have created a new open thread, “New SAUSD corruption open thread“, for you to post on. I invite all our readers to keep on posting about SAUSD corruption on the new thread.
By the way, you can read just over 1,500 of the old posts at this link.
One more note, if you go to our home page, you can go to the right column, and click on “SAUSD Posts,” to get links to every single SAUSD story we have posted.
A reader has found yet another link that you can use to read ALL the Mijares posts. Click here.
Art. You have to straighten this out. Most people that have contributions have known this posting location for 2 years. Again the problem seems to have started when the webmaster tried to break up the pages but didn’t put links to newest posts on the first page. Besides the posts should be from the newest to the oldest but if it can’t be done that way, at least the webmaster can add the newer, newest links to the main page so people can continue to post at this location.
Hello everyone!
test
Since this thread appears to be going down due to poor websmanship, let’s hope the district falls just as fast. Or perhaps they have won again. CUSD’s Dixon was hired without a whimper here. His creditentials are less than superior probably not even qualified for the job. His track record at CUSD puts him up with the league of leaders recalled, indicted or left in a frantic hurry there. Dixon retired but obviously is not done boosting his final retirement. Meanwhile he can screw up another district already so mired in muck that no one will notice. SAUSD is the perfect choice. The story went unnoticed and with no easy way to comment here it just flew under the radar. This thead kept track of SAUSD problems. Too bad it has become so messed up people don’t bother to post unless they know how. The fact posts can still be made here tells me the problem is at Art’s webmasters end.
Who know’s if district people will find another voice.
1:33 p.m.,
Ouch! That is a rather harsh assessment. My webmaster and I have tried everything, but this post is now just too big for the comments to appear on one page. That just means you have to click back to see the older posts.
By the way, this blog DID cover the Dixon story, at this link:http://www.theorangejuice.com/2008/03/sausd-hires-capo-reject-to-oversee-new.html.
If you go to this blog’s home page, at http://www.orangejuiceblog.com, and look on the right column, there are links there, including one that is labeled “SAUSD Posts.” Click on that and you can access every single SAUSD post we have ever put up. There are quite a few.
This blog is a labor of love for me. I hope you can appreciate how much time I put into it. I greatly appreciate all of our readers and I hope you will continue to be one of them.
Art
I wasn’t trying to put a smack down on you or even your webmaster, but it seems strange to me that we can still post here from wherever if the thread is full.
I read the story on Dixon from the main blog and the dozen or so comments, some of which should have shown up here where district employees have gone for almost 2 years. But not a word was written until I wrote something
This thread turned into an easy access place where district employees could enlighten each other about what is going on through out the district while interested local residents and parents could read and comment for themselves on the good, bad and outright ugly.
What made this thread so widely interesting was it defeated the district divide and conquer attitude. Until this thread started I don’t think most employees had any idea what was actually going on at other schools in the district. This thread provided a place to compare lies, so to speak.
I don’t have the answer but one must exist.
SAUSD never fires their administrators:
http://www.theorangejuice.com/2008/03/school-district-fires-98-administrators.html#comments
Board of Education member Rosie Avila is running for Congress, again:
http://www.theorangejuice.com/2008/03/rosie-avila-running-again-for-congress.html
This SAUSD Corruption thread was broken and unaccessible for a time. Art created a “new” open thread, but it only created a sense of discontinuity and confusion. Here is that thread of comments, until Art finally reconstructed the old thread:
http://www.theorangejuice.com/2008/03/new-sausd-corruption-open-thread.html#comments
SAHS’s principal Dan Salcedo is retiring this year after a grazillion years with the district.
Anyone know who his replacement will be?
I agree. This is NOT the time to let this entire thread of almost two thousand posts about the school district, go broken. You’ve done a great job Art. Don’t let your work go to waste! Things are going to heat up again and you’ll have a lot of people wanting to vent and expose.
Anonymous Says:
3/08/2008 1:06 PM
Yes it is true Dan Salcedo’s last year has been announced .
Now is for Santa Ana High School parents to demand the Board Members our next principal to be someone that fit the community that knows the challenges that face every day , and to be well aware how high the spectations are , some that will have the brains as well.
Anonymous Says:
3/08/2008 7:31 PM
I’m so sorry #10. The SAUSD administrator selection process completely excludes principals of the type your describing.
Anonymous Says:
3/10/2008 9:49 AM
Will Jeff Bishop be considered for the job at Santa Ana High? I think he has earned it. He is one of the best principals in the district.
Anonymous Says:
3/10/2008 8:01 PM
Yes, Jeff Bishop would be perfect for Santa Ana High! Please take him! (PBIS!!!!) Remove the knife from Willard’s back. There is no doubt (nor surprise for those who know the school) that test scores will be at an all time low this year. It is time to *promote* Jeff Bishop!
Anonymous Says:
3/10/2008 9:04 PM
Perhaps there really isn’t any budget crisis at Santa Ana USD.
SAUSD decided to create yet another administrative position because the current administrators were incompetent.
SAUSD doesn’t expect its administrators to do their job, they just create another admimistrative position (probably with accompanying support staff) to “solve” the problem.
Last year, SAUSD couldn’t count/keep track of how many students were in a certain number of classrooms and correlate how they are complying with state regulations…SO the ONLY answer is NOT to expect administrators already in place to DO THEIR JOBS, it is to
HIRE YET ANOTHER ADMINISTRATOR!
The new position:
Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Governmental Relations
Anonymous Says:
3/10/2008 9:29 PM
Art, I am pleading with the OC Juice blog to do a whole article dedicated to investigating Dr. Tracy Brennan at Saddleback HS. She is a racist that thinks the kids at Saddleback are “animals” This plague that has been thrusted onto SHS has a long history of discriminating against Latino students and parents ie. AUHSD. I have had to sit through meetings and listen to her insult the people who live in this community and even makes analogies saying the challenges we are being forced to face here in educating “this” population to what the south faced in educating their post-civil war “negros”. YES, she actually used the term NEGRO!!! Please give our community justice and expose this bruja!!!
Anonymous Says:
3/11/2008 6:21 AM
#17 – The hiring of Dr. Brennan reveals the most basic of flaws in SAUSD. By simply googling her name, one would have discovered that she was not administrative material. The buck stops with Ms. Russo, but what is the culpabiity of Juan Lopez and Dr. Olsky in this hiring fiasco?
Jane, show that you are a leader and resolve this situation immediately. Saddleback staff, students and community deserve better.
http://www.theorangejuice.com/2008/03/2000-teachers-face-axe.html
2,000 Teachers face the Axe.
Anonymous Says:
3/10/2008 7:35 PM
SAUSD may not have enough money for teachers. But apparently they have enough money to create a new administrative position.
Why is yet another administrative position created when the administration was found deficient?
SAUSD couldn’t count/keep track of how many students were in a certain number of classrooms and correlate how they were complying with state regulations…SO their ONLY answer is NOT to expect administrators already in place to DO THEIR JOBS, it is to
HIRE YET ANOTHER ADMINISTRATOR!!!!!!!
Don’t you bet that this new position:
Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Governmental Relations
will “require” additional support staff!
It doesn’t seem fair that teachers who can’t seem to get the SAUSD students to stop being “left behind” can’t go out and hire additional support providers for the students. Hey, if administration can’t do their job(s) and they can go spend even more money, why can’t teachers too?
SAUSD hires a CAPO reject to oversee the new bond:
http://www.theorangejuice.com/2008/03/sausd-hires-capo-reject-to-oversee-new.html
“The Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education has approved the appointment of Joe Dixon to the Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Governmental Relations post overseeing the recently updated District facilities master plan designed to improve the quality of schools and relieve critically overcrowded classrooms,” according to the SAUSD website.
This is the same guy who built that “Taj Mahal” down in the Capistrano Unified School District – and ran up all those cost overruns that broke the CAPO budget! I would hate to think that SAUSD is running around picking up everyone else’s rejects. That would however be par for the course for the SAUSD.
Here are some more excerpts from the SAUSD press release:
Dixon will also have purview over the $200 million general obligation bond the District will place on the June 3, 2008, election ballot for voter approval.
Prior to joining Santa Ana Unified, Dixon was Executive Director II – Facilities Services at Capistrano Unified School District in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., where he was employed since 1984. In this capacity he was responsible for facility planning, construction, modernization, maintenance, operations and transportation functions.
Dixon received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in 1988, and a School Business Management Certificate from California State University, Fullerton in 1999.
This guy has NO education in construction! And no Master’s degree. SAUSD loves to hire and overpay undereducated managers who don’t know what they are doing (think Jane Russo). This bodes ill for the new bond…
Anonymous Says:
3/05/2008 8:16 AM
And the hits just keep on coming! If this district was serious about improving its own image would it hire a guy from the CUSD? Why would a guy from CUSD leave after working there 24 years? A bachelor of Science degree from the University of Phoenix in 1988? Since the university didn’t have on line classes then, did they even have classes in So. Calif. or was it purely a correspondance school? What is a certificate in business management from CSUF? It is obviously less than a degree. Certificates are generally given by community colleges. I would think that if he had his 2 year degree they would have listed it first then said he went on to a four year college to get his certificate. I wonder who at SAUSD or City council this guy is in with.
Anonymous Says:
3/05/2008 9:12 AM
How long will it be Art in your opinion before the State of California takes over Santa Ana Unified school district like they did in Compton? It can’t be very long can it?
Gila Says:
3/05/2008 9:41 AM
I’m no apologist for CUSD’s management, but I know Joe Dixon and I think he’s a very competent administrator who did a good job running his department at CUSD. Those who I know who have worked in his department have echoed this assessment.
Dixon’s department had little or nothing to do with the building of the Taj Mahal and the cost overruns there.
Anonymous Says:
3/05/2008 10:21 AM
Yes, It’s great to know that SA Unified hires from the top elite correpondence schools, University of Phoenix.
Is this that same school that advertising on channel 13, offering courses in auto mechanic, paralegal, medical assistant, and high school diploma.
Is there anyboby else scratching their head, wondering why someone would go from high schieving school district to a low achieving school district. That’s like a police officer transfering from Irvine to Santa Ana.
Anonymous Says:
3/05/2008 11:04 AM
#3
I appreciate your opinions. After 24 years at CUSD a person might wonder why that district would let such a valuable asset get away. A person might also wonder why after 24 years such a valuable person would jump ship into another one that also appears to be sinking.
Anonymous Says:
3/05/2008 11:20 AM
Sounds like Gila may be on the take as well! Would be interesting to know what her relationship is to Dixon. Hey Art, Is there a group formed to stop this bond? What can the residents of the district do to help you make sure it does not pass?
Anonymous Says:
3/05/2008 4:57 PM
Thanks for weighing in, Gila.
How do you know what kind of job he has done? His position doesn’t seem like it would be commonly discussed. What do you know?
This appointment is baffling for sure. I certainly hope he does not represent the worst in SAUSD or Capo has to offer.
~Shiver!~
Anonymous Says:
3/06/2008 8:56 AM
#3
Contrary to your comment it seems Joe Dixon’s name pops up quite often regarding misuse of funds to build the school district office. In some blogs he is nicknamed “Adolph” and retired under fire for his management skills. Just what SAUSD needs, another power hungry money grabber.
Why in God’s name would SAUSD even touch this guy?
Anonymous Says:
3/06/2008 1:35 PM
#8
Why? Answer the same with these two:
Brenan at Saddleback. Gomeztrejo at Valley.
Are all these clowns the chosing of Juan Lopez or is Jane Russo trying to stack the deck with misfits and the dismissed/early retired administrators?
And just where are the major administration cuts for the district budget? This is the most top-heavy school district in Orange County. And we cannot afford it.
Anonymous Says:
3/06/2008 5:17 PM
#9
Good point. You could add Bishop of Willard to that list as well.
Until Art gets the SAUSD thread fixed all these comments will be washed away by other current events within a day. Too bad.
Anonymous Says:
3/10/2008 7:16 PM
Let’s get to the point.
Why is yet another administrative position created when the administration is found deficient?
SAUSD can’t count/keep track of how many students are in a certain number of classrooms and correlate how they are complying with state regulations…SO the ONLY answer is NOT to expect administrators already in place to DO THEIR JOBS, it is to
HIRE YET ANOTHER ADMINISTRATOR!!!!!!!
Don’t you bet that this new position:
Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Governmental Relations
will “require” additional support staff!
It doesn’t seem fair that teachers who can’t seem to get the SAUSD students to stop being “left behind” can’t go out and hire additional support providers for the students. Hey, if administration can’t do their job(s) and they can go spend even more money, why can’t teachers too?
Is SAUSD worse than LA Unified:
http://www.theorangejuice.com/2008/03/sausd-worse-than-la-unified.html
SAUSD approves cuts to school police
by Thomas Anthony Gordon
In yet another effort to cut cost, the SAUSD school Board approved cutting 10% from the budget of SAUSD school police.
By a vote of 3-2, Jos
Anonymous Says:
3/12/2008 8:57 AM
If the Chief of School Police states that services would neither be impacted or diminished by cutting a half million dollars from his budget, that is paramount to saying he never needed it to begin with. What has he been doing with all this extra money all this time?
Anonymous Says:
3/12/2008 9:56 AM
This should be folded back into SAPD. District never needed their own “police force”. This is a macho/ego thing. Let the city pay for police.
Anonymous Says:
3/12/2008 12:46 PM
This is where the district should be cutting job, with lazy administrators like Brenda, principal at Sierra Intermediate school. She forces school kids to walk her dog during class time. she is really putting kids first. What ever happened to EDUCATION 1ST.
Get rid of Administrators who pull kids out of class, great job, Brenda!
Check the link below!!!
It will blow your mind!
highlight and paste in your browser address bar…
http://s250.photobucket.com/albums/gg260/freemoney666/
Anonymous Says:
3/12/2008 12:57 PM
The idea that a SAUSD prinicpal is exerting influence over a Classified employee and a student to walk her dog should be a concern.
Is this a regular practice or is this an isolated incident?
Anonymous Says:
3/12/2008 1:49 PM
#3
It seems a lot of questions are in order. If this is class time, why are so many kids out and about in these pictures? As #4 asked, is this a regular practice? Is the dog actually the principals and if so does she bring it to school every day? Why are you posting this information here where the topic is about school police instead of on the SAUSD corruption thread?
Finally #4, I read no where in #3’s comment that classified employee’s were being forced to walk this dog, just students. Where did you read that?
http://s250.photobucket.com/albums/gg260/freemoney666/
Click on the pictures to enlarge and there is commentary about each of them as school staff and students are tasked to walk the dog of the principal at Sierra Intermediate School.
She grooming them to come and cut her hedges and paint her home next?
Good job, Jane. Here’s your next candidate for “Administrator of the Year”.
New Campaign Exposes Teachers Unions
America’s teachers unions have a lot to answer for.
An international comparison study found that the United States gets the least bang for the bucks it spends on education, putting the U.S. at 18th in reading (behind countries like Japan and Poland) and a dismal 28th in math.
While they’re always the first (and loudest) ones to demand more money for schools that don’t teach kids anything, when it comes to promoting quality schooling or offering ideas for reform, the unions are nowhere to be found.
Blocking education reform: Teachers unions will do anything to stop education reforms that might threaten their own power. Anything that gives parents more power over their children’s education or allows teachers to distinguish themselves on individual merit is obstructed and blocked at every turn.
Unions protect bad teachers and hold back good teachers: Unions enforce the policy of teacher tenure, which makes public school teachers basically impossible to fire, no matter how bad they are. At the same time, they fight to keep schools from rewarding good teachers for good work. As a rule, union contracts don’t recognize teacher quality, whether high or low.
Unions take teachers’ money and give it to left-wing politicians and activist causes: The national teachers unions give money to practically every left-wing group in America. Teachers are actually more conservative on average than the typical American, but from the way their unions act, you’d think it was the opposite. Between 1990 and 2008, 93 percent of donations made by National Education Association political action committees and individual officers went to Democrats.
So what is the Center for Union Facts doing about it? We’ve exposed the facts that teachers unions don’t want you to know and we’re letting the public know about it with national newspaper and cable ads! We’ve also announced the “Ten Worst Union-Protected Teachers” contest, where we will pay the ten worst union-protected teachers $10,000 a piece to get out of the classroom-for good. Visit TeachersUnionExposed.com today to learn more!
#1972
See how easy it is when you present more of the information. The problem here is I don’t know if these are facts or your opinions. Do any kids complain about walking the dog or claim they are forced to do it? Is walking the dog possibly a treat to the kids? On an educational basis wouldn’t this also serve to teach kids how to clean up and take care of a dog? Kids love dogs and this one looks very lovable. If this is a weekly thing what is the big deal?
#1972
Since you posted on the OC police cut thread about the principals dog at Sierra, maybe we should talk about the school police dog while we are at it. Not that I don’t understand your concerns, but it might be more on target to mention that school police bought a dog from SAPD several years ago.
The dog was virtually ‘fired’ from the city police because it was not up to snuff when it came to catching bad guys or doing what you would expect most police dogs to do. On the other hand the dog did have a good nose for drugs, which on face value seemed like a good idea.
Of course when a police dog is purchased a lot of training with the officer goes with it. About $5000 worth. A car has to be outfitted to drive the dog around in. Kennels have to be purchased and built both at the district and at the officers home because the dog lives with the officer.
Since the purchase of the police dog, two officers have had to be trained, two police cars had to be converted because the first one wore out. To this day I have yet to hear that the school police dog has created even one school related drug arrest. As I am told, the dog is taken from campus to campus for demonstrations and has been called to help out other police departments. Yet for SAUSD I have not heard of anything the dog has done to justify his job.
This is where part of that $500,000 dollar cut should go along with the expense.
Regarding the comments about unions:
Unions are political animals, no doubt about it. Our current SAEA office is much better under David Barton than it was under Tom Harrison who literally threw all the teachers under the bus for a couple of years with multiple pay cuts to “help” the district out of a financial crisis. Of course, the district still has financial crisis after financial crisis, so Tom’s “help” really showed his complicity to enable the district to hurt instructional staff instead of doing the real work of making a real budget. Thankfully his term is OVER.
There are always going to be reps that are ambitious and will sell out their fellow teachers just to get ahead. I think we can all name a butt-kisser or two in that category. Some of the most damage to morale can be caused by a site rep who not only assists wrongdoing, but actively works against teachers who have valid grievances. There is one at
Saddleback who has a well-deserved reputation for siding with administration and undermining teaching staff. One day she’ll see that her betrayals are deeply resented. But in the meantime, she’s doing what she can to feather her own nest at the expense of teachers, counselors and psychologists who pay union dues. There are many reasons that Saddleback is a nightmare to work at. There is at least one soiled union footprint there that should not be.
The corruption and disorganization at SAUSD was not created and nutured in a vacuume. Leaders from the BoE, their phony baloney administrators and union top brass let misdeeds fester. The parents and community have been asleep at the wheel by not insisting on accountability as a routine expectation for this school district.
If there is a lack of expectations, then you get what SAUSD has to offer. Has anyone noticed that the district’s “policies and procedures” are NOT online for easy viewing? What does that say, except that secrecy and disorganization still rule the works at the main office.
#1976
I am not qualified to speak about the union, but it appears you have it about spot on. With regards to the board rules and Administrative rules you have a valid point. When I started with the district two decades ago you could find copies almost in every teachers lounge. Today they are nowhere to be found.
In response to the police dog comment, The Dog has been succesful with drug detection that is why other depts call for assistance. When it comes to drugs on campus, the dog is not allowed on campus unexpectedly and must be cleared by V.P.’s and Principals 1st. Why you ask? Ask them? The car was a hand-me-down 2nd hand from SAPD who was getting a new vehicle and sold the current car to the district for wholesale value. Have there been two handlers ,yes. Does it cost 5K apiece to train , Don’t know?
How about this for consideration, we let go of this recently hired facilities director who equates to 25% of this security budget cut. How about we start looking at the fact that there are too many chiefs and not enough indians doing the work.
Stop the attacks on the security department whether it be DSO’s or Police.
#1978
Thank you for confirming my point. As you state, your police dog is good at drug detection but is farmed out to other police departments. He is not allowed to do drug searches on campuses because prior approval is required. Since I notice you do not mention even ONE drug related campus arrest created by the dog at a campus I assume none have happened as I was told. In short what you have stated is the district employs an officer and a dog to go out and work for other police departments while WE pay for it. That doesn’t sound very beneficial to the district to me.
Does it cost $5000 to train a dog and officer to work together. It sure does. When you factor in the cost of the training (minus POST reimbursement) at the Riverside dog school, the cost of paying the officer to attend for about a month; not to mention the time, gas, and travel to go there daily, the cost averages about $5000 and you know it. Plus it is times two with a second officer.
I don’t know what the facilities director has to do with the police department budget cut but since you want to equate it, let us not forget the district also JUST HIRED a CUSD reject with some management title to manage the bond issue that hasn’t even been voted on yet.
Are we talking about the same person and they fired him after they announced they hired him last week? If not then that cut does not fly. Even if we are talking about the same person what does that have to do with the school police cuts?
#21 (1979)
You are obviously a very angry former school employee. Please find a new hobby.
#22 (1980)
That is an interesting conclusion to make. Just because I have the facts you can not argue with does not mean I am a former employee or angry. Possibly I am a current employee and angry that your department always gets a free pass when the rest of us get job cuts. It is about time you guys owned up to what the rest of us have to face.
While you are at it, read the latest entry on our new administrator Joe Dixon posted on this (the OC) blog. You just can’t make this stuff up.