Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing! In this case our 2009 SAUSD thread has so many comments on it that it is now running too slowly. So we are starting this new thread for the second half of 2009.
So far this year we have had plenty to write about. The State budget cuts have had a devastating affect in Santa Ana. Layoffs have ensued.
To top this all off, the SAEA cut a weird deal with the SAUSD that essentially cut benefits for all the younger teachers. And then the SAEA held elections.
Now more budget cuts loom…and all the other issues remain. I expect this thread will fill up too before long…
Look for Bishop to drag a few of his “yes” people with him to Sierra. Within a year, look for the following people to follow Bishop to Sierra – P. Almanzar (who is always exempted from homeroom, arrives late and leaves early), C. Jimenez (who thinks she actually runs the school and does Bishop’s dirty work) and P. Zive (who would say yes to the devil if it would benefit him). Yes, this is what we’ve had to put up with at Willard for the last few years. We sadly send our sympathies to Sierra. They did nothing to deserve what’s about to suffocate them.
#297
The sad fact is that it hasn’t taken 6 years for Willard teachers to learn how to handle Bishop. He has taken those 6 years to relocate, disperse and otherwise remove all of the veteran teachers who could say anything. And the ones left are untenured, inexperienced and while worthy, not able to do anything. 43% of Willard’s staff was rif’d and very few were rescinded. There is little voice left as he goes to Sierra! Our prayers to you at Sierra, for sadly you will very much need it.
#300~~So true, so true! Let’s not forget about the students who are rewarded for “promising” not to get into any more fights. There are so many stories to tell, one doesn’t know where to begin. RV-Our union reps were not Bishop soldiers (as far as I could tell)
So how did the staff at Willard allow this dysfunction to happen? Well, most veteran teachers were forced out one way or another, which allowed him to bring in his own group of new teachers to bully. I actually heard him tell a group of new teachers to stay away from veteran teachers because we were troublemakers.
I have met at least one great young teacher who quit teaching because of Bishop and now subs on occasion. One reason that Bishop is untouchable is because he belongs to a protected minority group. Has Willard even had a union rep in the last 5 years?
Does anyone know if teachers can sign up for unemployment if they have not signed a contract for next year?
I heard a rumor that a sub was sexually assaulted by a group of students this year at Sierra. Is there any way to look up police reports for the district? Aren’t they public record? Minors names are not permitted to be released I’m sure, but aren’t these public records?
Rif Rif,
I appreciate the fact that you think I may be a leader, but I’m not…I am actually quite shy “in person” and more of a behind the scenes kind of person. I like to write to the political leaders and make webs (that kind of thing) +blog (catch them in lies).
The real leader in all of this is Patricia O’Neil who is taking the time to look at the books of the school district. She is also concluding that the district has enough money +some in reserve. CSR 20:1 and even 24:1 is affordable, but the district is being greedy and NOT putting kids first once again. Having kids packed in like sardines is NOT class size reduction. They can call it that, but the parents that I know would put their child in private school if they could afford it. Many are not understanding what will be happening to their child in the fall YET, but when they see that the classes are huge, that’s when the parents will get upset. Right now, many don’t know about it or are not aware of it. I have tried to talk to a few of them, but they aren’t “getting it” yet. When their little darling gets lost in the shuffle…that’s when they will start to gripe and moan. Trust me, they will.
Thank you, Patricia for everything. You are truly a person who cares and is willing to spend her own money, time and concern to fight for class size reduction when she’s not even let go from the district. We elected the wrong person…just my opinion.
Jill, you’re wrong! You are a leader! You’re the best.
Just REMEMBER what YOUR board of idiots vote on and when it comes to ELECTION time don’t vote them back in. I will personally stand on the corner of 1st and Broadway with a sign all day (the day of the board’s election) to get all of these clowns out…yes, even John who is NOT for CSR.
I’ve got an idea, Jill and Patricia should run for the school board! You two could run as a slate and open a “Friends of …” Political Exploratory account. I’d give money to this worthwhile cause!
Jill and Patricia, with all the information you already know you’d be perfect to put the district on the road to recovery!
Thank you, Jill. That’s very kind. However, to be the kind of President I would want to be, I need to get past the kind of nervousness I felt last night speaking in front of the Board. At least I said what I felt needed to be said, the message was delivered, and hopefully heard and taken to heart. I’m hoping the nervousness will fade with practice.
There will be a Board Study Session in a couple of weeks prior to the next Board Meeting at the end of July. Hopefully, by the end of July, the Board will be convinced that the District can afford to restore CSR and other certificated positions as well as classified positions and hours.
@308 I would vote for them…
Thank you, but I would last 5 minutes in office or on a board…Aries the Ram…I speak whatever is on my mind so I wouldn’t be good in that spot…RV on the other hand…hint hint
Jill, I completely understand where you are coming from. I have been encouraged on occasions to be a leader in other contexts, but I do not see myself that way either. Sometimes people see us one way but we see ourselves another way. No matter what, thank you for all you do. It is effective.
Thank you too, Patricia. You are probably the only person communicating the message to the Board that CSR can be saved. I wish you had become president of SAEA.
Count the Votes, I said I wouldn’t talk to you any more, but since you keep asking the same inocuous question, I will answer it. If you are displaced, you can’t file for unemployment. If you would not normally sign a contract, you can’t file for unemployment. Permanent teachers, for example, do not sign contracts on a yearly basis. If you have been told that you will be employed, but you do not know exactly where or in what position, you can’t file for unemployment unless maybe you have also been told your hours or wages are being cut. Generally, unemployment is for those who have been told they no longer have a job. The teachers who were laid off have a letter from the district saying that.
Ms. O’Neil your courage to speak out at the school board meeting supercedes your so called nervousness. Kudos to you for sticking your neck out.
I continue to be amazed at the Board president’s arrogance and stupidity. Many parents and community members fought hard for the Tustin Settlement money because we were promised it was earmarked for school construction. It was not.
We were duped and the district’s misuse of funds was uncovered when FCMAT was mandated to review the district’s finances.
SAUSD does not have a good track record when it comes to transparency, full disclousure and sound financial practices. And they certainly do not want to be reminded of their ineptness and lack of ethics.
We have to fight for the classified folks as well because like people said before…a school cannot function without them…period…end of discussion on that one. Don’t even try to pull their hours and benefit garbage with this board because we aren’t going to stand for that either SAUSD.
I have yet to find any information on the board meeting last night. I am assuming that nothing was decided regarding CSR. Can anyone fill me in?
Arnold on Twitter wrote:
@Schwarzenegger If you haven’t tried the LA Times budget balancer, try now:
http://bit.ly/L2Bph
Post your solution or comments here: http://bit.ly/8CY6Z
304 – Did you mean Willard? Because sometime in May (I believe) a small female Asian sub (for Mr. Yang’s open math position) was spanked by 5 students. We’re not supposed to know anything about it. Bishop’s management style is “if we don’t acknowledge it, then it didn’t happen.” Wonder if a report was made to the school police.
Chuck Devore http://www.chuckdevore.com/
Bio: For U.S. Senate – commonsense conservative running against Barbara Boxer, CA State Assemblyman, Reagan admin. alumus, Army lieutenant colonel (retired Reserve)
chuck devore will be on KFI today (Wed. at 5:00)
http://tiny.cc/listenToChuck
on the John & Ken show to discuss the CA budget if you want to listen….you can you listen here
http://www.kfiam640.com/cc-common/ondemand/player.html?world=st
@chuckdevore <–on twitter
Geez, brutality at the hands of students or staff toward anyone student or adult should have been reported to the police by anyone who knew about it…
Just know “reporting” it on this blog isn’t the right way to handle things…
If you knew and didn’t call the police – then shame on you!
On dysfunctional sites, the administration will act like violence is just normal. Pretend you are in the most abusive relationship you’ve ever heard of and that’s how it is. Except you feel trapped because of the paycheck that is involved. You have to involve real authorities to get your situation into safe territory.
What did Tracy Brennan in, was in part, a police report (not school police, call the real deal)made when Tracy barricaded an employee in her cubicle and the charge was false imprisionment. That was a pending grievance and potential civil suit against Tracy and the whole school district.
When you rely on the school police, then reports get “lost” or sometimes the administrator has some kind of clout with the school police and can have the officer compromise the whole investigation. If there is violence, call the police. If there is gang activity, call the real police. You’ll most likely catch some hell for it, but just attack the administrator back with a grievance and a call to Russo, because the site administration is being reckless. An unsafe campus is a crime that is the responsibility of the site administrator.
That sub should have called the real police. She could have had a civil case against Bishop and the school district. She probably still does, if anyone knows how to contact her.
SAUSD only understands money. If you make them pay enough, make them pay often and get it known that the district continues to squander public monies because of the mismanagement, it eventually will have to change.
I would like to thank everyone who has posted here. I feel stronger now.
Anon # 320 I’d like to see your “facts” and documentation that school police has “lost” reports or has allowed a school administrator to compromise an investigation.
Before you start attacking and spewing your opinion, please make sure you have adequate documentation to prove it.
It’s been more than a few years, however I did personally witness one of SAUSD’s officers “visit” a SAUSD parents home to investigate a comment she made at a parent meeting. There was plenty of dissention at this particular school site and the administration was pushing hard to silence the voices raising concerns about the treatment of their kids. There was sufficient reason to file a Uniform Complaint, however the school district never responded to the complaint. The adminstration’s decision to intimidate parents was real and having a school police officer visit one of the more vocal parents certainly put some scare in her.
District personnel are not nice people. It’s unthinkable that Bishop continues to hold a position as principal of an intermediate school. He is totally incompetent.
It’s not about the kids, no matter how much they spew that mantra.
I also find it odd that husband of one of the principal’s is on the school police force. Nepotism is rampant in SAUSD. This needs to be addressed. Mini family mob like clusters is not good for any organization.
Here here #322. Prove it #320! That particular rumor has been around for years with it starting at Carr then moving to Spurgeon. Now you say Sierra and end at Willard! Whatever!
#323
You have to be kidding me. I don’t know that the school cop wasn’t just trying to investigate if staff was mistreating the parents kid. Do you? If the parent wasn’t satisfied with whatever the school cop did, then the parent should have called the city cops. If anyone is to blame in a situation you describe it is the parent.
As far as one of the officers being married to a principal. They met during the course of their employment and eventually got married. Neither even knew each other before they met at SAUSD. Whats the big deal there? Staff meet and get married all over the district.
#323 I’d like to know what school you are talking about and what officer. I’ve never heard of officers going to a parents home to “silence” them. Perhaps the parent had been disturbing the peace at the campus? Maybe the parent had information about a wrong doing? Maybe the parent was so upset the comment made during the meeting came out as a threat?
Unless you can give better details, I highly doubt the officer went there with any intentions of scaring the parent into silence, particulary if a crime had occurred.
http://orangejuiceblog.com/2009/06/capo-unified-cuts-administrators-salaries-while-sausd-lays-off-teachers/
I have talked to quite a few of the teachers who were let go last year. They said that the “sub list” last year was a nightmare and they DO NOT want a repeat performance.
Susan Mercer, this is your chance to become a hero (last chance effort) in the eyes of those who felt they were never represented.
Please, Susan…make it a PRIORITY to get the NAMES of the people let go as the PRIORITY SUB LIST.
A few teachers called the district and the sub desk person (who the district lists as Blanca)
http://tiny.cc/subdesk
appeared “clueless” according to the teachers I talked to.
She didn’t even know if the teachers would have to be RE-fingerprinted. She said that the district would send something out in 2 weeks to the teachers who got canned. Don’t hold your breath because the district held a “presentation” the last week of school telling administrators that the RIFed teachers subbing would be “too expensive” for them.
After working for the SAUSD, one KNOWS that their main priority is MONEY not kids or people, so naturally they have instructed this person to play dumb or not to answer the phone.
This calls for the newly elected PRESIDENT to step in and lend a helping hand to those in need.
The sub list needs to become a priority this week and the names of those let go MUST BE ON THAT list that goes out to the secretaries PRONTO and to begin the school year. The teachers let go shouldn’t have to fight for their right to be called FIRST (ed code). Susan, here’s your chance to make us all like you and see you as helping the multiple subject people who are just waiting in the wings as usual to be helped.
Those fired MUST BE CALLED first and be on that SUB LIST. Let me know (teachers) what becomes of this. Keep calling that SUB DESK and Susan Mercer.
SUB DESK
Phone: (714) 558-5716
email: blanca.godinez@sausd.us
There seems to be some school district police posting here? If so welcome and we’re glad you’re interested in the SAUSD issues.
Or are you guys just saying that cops would NEVER do anything wrong or unethical- in this school district or any other organization?
Why all the disbelief? Or are you just asking for names for retaliation? Please explain.
And remember, the last police chief of SAUSD had a whole lot of soiled baggage before he left. The district didn’t have a replacement for a while and there were plenty of stories of a few police officers with the district who used the power vaccuume of Mishiaryo’s absence to try and take power for themselves by approaching administrators with their own set of “rules” and trying to intimidate, harass and pressure even DSO’s. I am sure someone here knows the names of those officers. there were 2-3 in particular who kind of took over when there was no police chief in charge.
You looking for THEIR names?
http://tiny.cc/SAUSDsSong
Please go to the link above to hear the SAUSD’s NEW theme song. I am pushing for it to be on the FRONT page of their website.
Do YOU want to tell the SAUSD to take a hike?
Need a job? Cox Cable hopes to fill 60 openings
http://tiny.cc/jobsAtCox
Red,
While I have issues about the school cops, the secondhand, unspecific accusations by # 323 are a bit over the line. I’ve met the cop married to the principal and that is totally unfounded as having anything to do with district nepotism.
The apparent school cop(s) posting with the questions seems to me to be asking the right ones but I don’t know for what purpose. DSO’s have been bitching about the cops since I can remember. The only legitimate beef I know DSO’S have to date is that none of the school cops were cut and for that one complaint I have to agree. The cops argue they got furlough days but so did everyone else. That argument is nullified when an ongoing job flyer exists for substitute school cops on job Ed. These substitutes obviously are intended to be used to fill in for those furlough days. The only savings the district gets with this tactic is the benefits package since they are paying someone else to work part time anyway.
School Police Officer – Substitute (If an as needed basis)
Posted: 3/9/2009 – Deadline: Until Filled
Classified Staff
3/9/2009 Santa Ana Unified, Santa Ana
Orange County Grade 40 $26.12 – $33.33
Why the board considers this one department untouchable has always been a mystery when 85% of school protection is done by the security guards.
If # 323 has specific information about misconduct by some school cop then he or she can get a little more specific than some vague comment.
The other link above didn’t work so here it is.
Need a job? Cox Cable hopes to fill 60 openings
http://bit.ly/hfw62 <–jobs at Cox
At least 20 positions are in sales, with salary ranges between $50,000 to $70,000, she said.
Jill, doesn’t the district have set policies and procedures for subs and if so, isn’t the appropriate staff trained on them?
Time and time again it appears that Russo and company are more concerned with protecting their enormous salaries rather transitioning the Riffed teachers.
And Jill, what’s up with Gomeztrejo being rescinded and who is he bumping? What side deal did the district make with him?
As always Jill – I respect your comments.
#332
Why ask why? I can answer that…YOUR BOARD is “clueless” that’s why….VOTE THEM OUT next time they run. One board member would rather send out newspaper clippings about what the LA Unif Sch district is doing rather than unfolding what is going on in this district.
Is it true that Gomeztrejo was rescinded? If so, why and where is he going?
#326 – It happenend.
I was also the receipent of a personal call placed by an associate superintendent ( the older, blonde woman who had cancer) on behalf of the former superintendent asking me NOT to attend a school board meeting and address the board. And that was not the first time I received such messages.
District administrators do exert pressure to silence their opponents.
Sbello,
Thank you 🙂 I appreciate that. I don’t know who Gomeztrejo is but I will look into it for sure and “keep an eye on education” at the OCReg.
A lot of things happen for no apparent reason. I was told by a source that they “planted” a teacher at one site to keep an eye on what was going on at a failing school. Now, this is hearsay (I have no proof of that) but this teacher who is “the plant” does appear to be a tattletale and on the kissy a** list.
What will be interesting is …this plant started teaching in 99 and the list is dwindling now so the next RIF attack WILL be the 2000 and 1999 folks. Will “the plant” get a RIF? I doubt it…her name will mysteriously disappear from “the list”.
Next year, they will use their “declining enrollment” speech that is ALREADY written out while the “leaders” were at the local doughnut shop having coffee. They will RIF the 2000 and 1999 multiple subj folks because they canned the 2001-2009 folks. That assembly line of folks got blasted (detonated)…kicked to the curb.
Pretty soon…this district will be composed of special ed, special programs, teachers on special assignment and music teachers who shut down shop at the end of May while we are all trying to pack the room, teach kids and do all that end of the year paper work that outsiders have “no idea” about. Don’t forget they will still keep their 8 asst superintendents in the process.
Classified will still be working there because they will have given them “peanuts” for wages while asking them to clean the entire zoo.
Ok…I’m done now 🙂
Since this school district engages in spying on teachers, putting the squeeze on parents and rewarding inept admins/teachers, it’s no surprise they need 8 highly paid ass’t superintendents to do their dirty work.
The former superintendent was notorious for using a certain parent organization president to do his dirty work.
339 – Russo also has her parent organization presidents to do her dirty work too and she also has Patricia Gomez indoctrinating parents to follow the party-line. Parents are of no use to the district – unless its to do their dirty work.
I know of parents who helped on Measure G and were treated incredibly special by the district and Russo and once it passed the district and Russo dropped these parents like hot coal!
Red Vixon, the school cops were cut to eleven months just like the DSO’s. You can check with payroll. It wasn’t “furlough” days, it was a reduction in pay across the board.
PS from #341 to Red Vixon -No, I’m not asking questions to suggest cops would never do anything wrong, nor is the inquiry for retaliation. It’s sad that you are so paranoid that you can’t possibly believe the questions were to identify a problem, if there is one, so that it doesn’t happen again.
I don’t think I’ll bother posting again as I can see no one seems to want facts, rumours seem to be enough to keep people interested.
On another note, I’m sorry the teachers are the target this year and hope they can weather the storm or find a better place to work. Some of us in classified are working for peanuts because some peanuts are better than no peanuts.
Hello and welcome to Oj, anotheranon #342 & #341.
Sorry for my directness and it seems I may have offended you. Please don’t take it personally. If you are here for information – to give and to share – then you are among friends. As you might guess, there have been some people who don’t have those intentions. They come to OJ in order to uncover others who they can harass and attack in the real world.
I was mistaken and I hope you accept my apologies.
I was not the poster who questioned the furlough days. Anonplus addressed that issue.
I was the one that brought up the 2-3 school police officers who were said to have overstepped their authority when the police chief was let go and there was no oversight. I will try and get the names the share.
NO ONE is happy with the cuts to classified or to certificated staff. And, I agree, classified works hard for what they are paid.
Please don’t feel obligated to post or not post. You can do what you want, pretty much, at OJ. However, you’ll do better with a little thicker skin, if you can manage it. SAUSD isn’t really the nicest place to discuss. There’s some pretty awful practices to go along with some pretty awful people running things.
Thanks again for posting. Your imput is appreciated and read by many.
#340 – MALDEF’s PSP program should be explored as an option to engage and empower SAUSD parents.
Parent School Partnership (PSP) Program
Since 1989, MALDEF’s Parent School Partnership (PSP) Program has empowered parents and community leaders throughout the nation to become change agents in their communities. The PSP program provides them with the tools necessary to become effective advocates in improving their children’s educational attainment.
I have some breaking news. Apparently the BRT’s are going back to their BRT posts and not back into the classroom which leaves about 25-30 positions available for the teachers who were let go. Now, we also heard that QEIA is staying and that they WILL go to 24-25 kids rather than 20 in grades 1-3 and pay the penalty so many jobs will be restored.
How do I know all of this? Let’s just say that I have a little birdy …I cannot reveal my source, but she is VERY reliable.
For those of you who may have been following the SAEA chapter elections and challenge, I have reproduced most of the original challenge below and SAEA’s responses.
The following statement was made at the beginning of the challenge document:
“This challenge is submitted for the purpose of having SAEA’s election procedures clarified and not for the purpose of having a new election.”
1. Alleged Violation of Standing Rules on Nominations and Elections –Candidate’s Rights – Section F-1, page 12
This section of the standing rules reads: “Privileges extended to one candidate shall be extended to all candidates.” CTA Elections Procedures on “Campaign Finances and Use of Unit Resources” Section IV-4(p. 5) states, “A unit will honor all reasonable requests
by a candidate to distribute campaign literature at his/her expense to all members in good standing, whether the distribution is by mail or other means. However if distribution of campaign literature for one candidate is without charge, then distribution for all candidates must be without charge. Treating all candidates the same by refusing to honor any and all reasonable requests for distribution of campaign literature at the candidate’s expense is not permitted. The unit should inform all candidates of rules in this regard.”
At an undetermined number of sites, my election flyers were either not distributed to the
members’ mailboxes or were not delivered in a timely manner. Packages of flyers were delivered to each site addressed to the Site Representative whose name I was given by SAEA for this purpose.
SAEA’s Response: SAEA denied that this was a violation. They cited the Standing Rule which states that individuals are responsible for finding an individual at each site to deliver flyers to members. They failed, however, to cite the portion which reads “Regular Faculty Reps will not be used for this purpose unless their prior approval has been given to each candidate.” According to SAEA’s response, the Standing Rule I cited has “nothing to do with passing out flyers at individual sites.” They did not respond to the quoted portion of the CTA Elections Manual but did say, “We first abide by SAEA Standing Rules and Bylaws.”
2. Alleged Violation of Standing Rules on Nominations and Elections –Candidate’s Rights – Section F-1, page 12
One of the candidates running for Secretary used a list of Site Representatives private e-mail addresses to distribute an endorsement of particular candidates. This is a list that the candidate would have had access to (or the opportunity to compile) in the course of her duties as full-time release Grievance Chairperson.
This was a violation of the SAEA Standing Rule requiring that privileges extended to one candidate must be extended to all.
SAEA’s Response: “[M]s. — used her personal email account to send a notice out of her endorsement of candidates. Each candidate has the right to gather personal email addresses at Rep council or other means of getting to know people. Many people who (sic) she has email addresses for, did not get that endorsement email.”
3. Alleged violation of Standing Rule F-2, p. 12
“Each candidate shall receive a copy of the election timeline, procedures and guidelines.”
I was not provided a copy of the election procedures and guidelines.
SAEA’s response: They agreed that this was a violation but indicated that it would not have affected the outcome of the election. “The election committee will meet this summer to make a uniform informational packet for future elections.”
I have asked SAEA to find out when our Bylaws and Standing Rules were last submitted to and approved by CTA. They are supposed to be reviewed every five years. I would be surprised if CTA approved the standing rule which permits site reps to pass out materials for some candidates and not others. Hopefully, a review of our governance documents will result in changes that will clarify the procedures for candidates and Site Reps alike.
345 – They are putting the BRTs back under the guise of TOSA (teachers on special assignment).
QEIA MUST be 20:1 in grades 1-3. They cannot choose to pay a penalty so hopefully someone will answer this one soon…we have some people working on that. The district must follow the law and not make it up as they go along.
Thanks for the update Jill! A little hope goes a looooooong way!
The District may have found a loophole on the QEIA class size question. The law states that if they are found to be out of compliance in one year, it is reported to the State Superintendent, and if they are still out of compliance by the end of the subsequent year, they would lose the funding. So, if they go up to 25:1 at QEIA schools in 09/10 and back down to 20:1 in 10/11, they’re probably thinking they could keep the funding. However, the law was intended to allow districts some time to get down to the required class sizes, not to allow them to increase class sizes after they were already at the 20:1 requirement. I guess it depends on the State’s legal interpretation or perhaps there will be some clean-up legislation or clarifying regulations.