Once again we have had to set up a new SAUSD corruption thread as the last one started to run slow with all the comments on it.
Our schools are in crisis today – not just here in Santa Ana but all over the state. The only thing we know for sure is that we are going to take more budget hits.
I am amazed that the SAUSD hired back all their laid off administrators. How crazy is that? Class sizes are growing, good teachers are laid off, and the union, as usual, is asleep at the wheel.
We will continue to reason through all this here at the Orange Juice blog! We can but hope for the best…
TOSA – Gal Friday or to help with the phones. It still is a person hanging around the office. Their job description is a culmination of brain storming that sounds good enough for someone stupid enough to believe it. Thank you Wilson teacher for the quote which couldn’t be more relevant.
They could come in at 8:00 or so, in the morning as they have no class to ready, and leave at bell as they have no classroom to ready for the next day. They take the full lunch time as they have no kids to line up.
What budget problem. Five million for doing what? At one time the administration wanted an AP OR a TOSA for each school. At each board meeting they reiterated how bad the budget is and getting worse. So they approve both? Looks like God needs more practice.
I’m sorry. Didn’t President Obama promise all of you teachers direct assistance in Costa Mesa some months back? Promise, as I recall, that money will go to the class room; money will be spent for teachers and ill spent money would be accounted for and dealt with harshly? All you had to do was contact ??? Joe Biden? or somebody. I need to review that tape. My oh my. How can this be? Change you can believe in!
Anonplus,
Ch…Ch…Ch…Changes = NObama.
Typical smoooth politicRAT…promises, promises, but no CHANGE.
Speaking of nothing being done by those who claim to serve us all, consider the following:
I sent the following to our CA educational leaders:
Sirs:
Santa Ana Unified School District is being mismanaged and compromised by the greed and incompetence of its administrators.
When will the great state of California finally care enough about its constituents to get involved?
SAUSD is currently “sitting” on over 93 MILLION DOLLARS while keeping hundreds of teachers on RIF status, keeping their NON-doctorate trained less-than-super-intendent ensconced in her Mercedes convertible, increasing class sizes, and eliminating interventions to help struggling students! WHEN will this “golden” state truly care to get involved and start DEMANDING that school districts provide the BEST possible educational experience for every student?!
Here’s the reply:
Dear _________,
Thank you for contacting the California Department of Education (CDE) regarding the Santa Ana Unified School District.
While I share your concern on this matter, unfortunately, I am unable to provide assistance since this issue is not within my jurisdiction. The principle of local control exists in school governance, and the situation you describe is a matter that must be resolved at the local level. I encourage you to share your concerns with your school district and local school board.
Again, thank you for contacting the CDE.
Sincerely,
JACK O’CONNELL
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
My reply:
Dear Mr. O’Connell,
I and many others are trying at the local levels. The problem is that it’s difficult to weed out corruption and malfeasance without help from folks with greater authority.
I do appreciate you taking the time to reply.
Sadly, our students continue to receive less than other students in this state due to poor administrative decisions.
Yours,
_________________
So:
Apparently “we” are on our own in dealing with SAUSD. The state won’t intervene. The President of the United States will only give false hope. The “press” [Register/F.Leal] will only give false praise. Certificated staff has been decimated. SAEA hasn’t shown any real resistance. Parents are incredibly silent. Perhaps one hope is for current and former students of the SAUSD system to start blogging here.
AMEN! I knew I liked you!
I just copied poster # 553 and my comments # 554 to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Please don’t hold your breath. The NObama won’t do a thing about it. BUT, he can never claim that his office wasn’t made aware.
What is the official class size for first grade? Can the district put more than that many students in a class?
#557
The resolution of the class size grievance only applies to 4th and 5th grade. How many students are in your class? The district is supposedly trying to keep within certain numbers to receive at least some CSR money but they are not contractually obligated to do this.
Voters .. it’s time to clean house. Richardson, Noji & Hernandez must go. And it’s time to get serious about term limits. Richardson has nearly as many decades as Noji. If the President’s term is limited to 8 years, that’s good enough for our school board.
#533 states she/he is confused. You got that right.
Its not like the union doesn’t think about the teachers. They raised your dues this year and they can do it again for any amount whether you like it or not.
Decertify or vote out every union incumbent(and school board).
Site councils are/have meeting this week to consider how best to spend the meager funding they’ve been given.
Let us pray for wisdom. Let us hope that “they” on the council put more Classified back to work and/or increase their hours.
Chemistry teacher: Classes dangerously crowded
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/classes-students-science-2589306-school-santa
Lopez said the Santa Ana teachers union and school district agreed to limit science classes to 36 students in a contract approved last year. Why would the union agree to this? Don’t you wonder why we pay them $1000 a year to do what the district wants them to do anyways?
Here’s the contract Lopez refers to. Anyone can read it. 12.2.1 says “3 less than class size average given in article 9”, article 9 says 32.5. Do you get 36 from that?
article 12 Safety http://www.sateach.org/cba/cbaxii.html
article 9 Class Size http://www.sateach.org/cba/cbaix.html
Juan Lopez simply sucks…he’s not a fan of the teacher or the student is he?
Many of us don’t live in Santa Ana and can’t vote for or against any board member. What is another solution?
http://newsantaana.com/2009/10/02/can-latino-and-vietnamese-students-get-along/
http://newsantaana.com/2009/10/03/are-santa-ana-high-school-chemistry-classes-dangerously-overcrowded/
#566 said…Many of us don’t live in Santa Ana and can’t vote for or against any board member. What is another solution?
You can encourage all of the parents and people that you know to not vote for Audrey because she is definitely in Jane’s pocket. She is running in 2010. You can also encourage someone to run against her. John & Audrey are the only ones up for re-election right now. You can also start a petition to get rid of the others if you’d like (recall).
#569,
If your comment is referring to John Palacio, then I disagree with discouraging parents and voters to vote against him. He and Ramon are the only ones that care about students and teachers in SAUSD (in my estimation – and I have attended lots of board meetings). I would be interested to know what the other bloggers think about this.
oops! In post #570 I meant to say “encouraging” not discouraging. Also I am not sure that #569 was referring to John, maybe she/he was just referring to Audrey. I just wanted to make it clear because I think and hope that John is trying to help students/teachers and I like the questions he poses to the district.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/education/21school.html
Why don’t we few here actually do something about SAUSD board members? I would love to somehow work together in order to fix this district, but it takes more than one person to do this. If its that bad an attempt to do this would be beneficial for the future, plus I’ve been looking into how to recall and if anyone else has the know how I would work hard to get the word out there.
Let me clarify…Audrey & John are the only 2 up for re-election. I don’t want John to go, but Audrey yes.
Yes, I am willing to work with you in recalling the board members (not John). How do I contact you?
Let’s do this…contact red vixen at rvixen@gmail.com and she will put you in touch with me. Time to recall the board members who are in Jane’s pockets.
Sounds interesting, shakes, and btw- did all teachers have another 3bucks lifted from paychecks by SAEA/USD?
I know we didn’t vote on this but has the SAEA website even noted this? Has any official notification gone out to teachers?
3 times 2500 teachers is 7500 a month. What a bargain we get.
At one time SAEA was instrumental in getting out the vote for Noji. Non-SAUSD registered voters might not be able to vote, but they can help recruit someone to run against Noji, donate time, money & talent in the effort to defeat Noji. And teachers could be instrumental in working towards creating ONE, UNIFIED parent organization group that consists of PARENTS. It’s time to squeeze out those who are the superintendent’s favorites (i.e. Victoria Zaragoza).
This superindent, like the former, has created a culture of not serving its customers – students, parents and the community, well. It’s time to DEMAND customer satisfaction.
Has anyone ever requested a financial report and/or evidence of meeting attendance/meeting agendas from SAEA? I would like to see where all of our money is going and how these people are spending all of their release time.
I’m getting really tired of teachers being out of the classroom for 20 or more days on “official union business,” while we flip the bill for their subs. I’m also tired of paying for their high-class, “union-related” trips around the country.
What frustrates me the most is that I don’t believe “union business” is always the reason for these absences. The union can cover for anyone’s absences without having to provide any proof or accountability except for a fax requesting that a particular person be dismissed from their school site responsibilities on any given day.
If you are not a QEIA school what is the student ratio in first grade? Is it 23 or 24? I was told I have to have 24.
I believe that 24 is the number they are aiming for, however there isn’t any consequence if the district goes beyond that number (aside from the potential loss of an adjusted amount of CSR funds).
I just made the mistake of accessing one of the older links. Holy cow. Thank goodness that Jill doesn’t post anymore. She is an arrogant and condescending. I’d ignore you too, Jill. I’m backing our SAEA president if she did choose to ignore someone who spoke to her with such disrespect and disregard for her hard work and dedication to the teachers of this district. Wait! You sound like the PERFECT fit for the district office, Jill. Condescending. Arrogant. Has a disregard for hard workers.
Whoa…thank you for the compliment. No, I wasn’t a big susan fan at one time, but I have since changed my mind about her. Susan and I may not be the best of friends, but we are civil to each other and I respect what she is trying to do.
~Why can’t we all just get along?~ Rodney King
Jill,
It’s nice to hear that you have changed your mind about Susan. I can’t say that I would want that job, especially in this environment. I would hope that the people who have problems with the union would also attend meetings and make their voices heard (as Patricia does) because otherwise, I just can’t see that you should complain.
You’re right, Tmare. I think it is better to work together rather than against each other, too. Susan KNOWS that I am happy with her right now. I would be even happier if everyone were hired back. I am especially grateful to Patricia for a lot of things! I like everyone and hope this board remains positive so change can happen rather than criticizing each other & bickering all the time.
so what’s going to happen come this monday?
What is supposed to happen on Monday??????
The time has come for SAEA to file a law suit against the district for providing false financial statements, laying off 580 association members, giving your association memebers a 1.5 % cut in pay, increase your class size, and the list goes on and on. Take some action instead of playing paper tag with the district.
Why has none of this 93 million dollar debacle appeared in the mainstream media?
And did O’Neill’s freedom of Information filing bust this open? Will SAEA give credit where it’s due?
Mercer and the SAEA Rocky Horror execufreaky board can’t seem to get any media play on the district’s scam…
I have been subbing, but with the sub pay I am soon unable to pay rent. I do not get the daily rate after 20 days. I have had a lot of anxiety lately because I will have to find some family member to move in with. I went to college got a BS, got my teaching credential, finished BTSA and can’t even get a dang interview out of teaching. Sorry to vent here, but I hope that the union is still fighting for our jobs. I am sick of being taken advantage of because I am a highly qualified sub. I have taken on some assignments that lasted more than one day. They want me to plan lessons, call parents, and many more things. I feel as though I can’t say no because I want to get hired back. I hear other teachers complaining about not having enough supplies or what not. I just want to tell them at times to stop complaining at least you have a job. There are those teachers who have been very supportive of me too. I want to thank those teachers who still care about those teachers who are still laid off.
wow! 585 and Jill, Beware of the change of hearts! as my best friend told me an snake is always an snake. We must always be alert. Demand transparency in their doings and hold the executive SAEA accountable always.
Soluna says, “A snake is always a snake. Demand transparency in their doings and hold the executive SAEA accountable.”
I am waiting to see what she does and how she handles the situation. I am not going to criticize anyone for the time being. I am hoping that she does what #588(Samsung) suggested. Let’s give her a chance now. We’ve gotten her news bulletins, but we are expecting some recourse.
The lawsuit needs to be filed now and district people need to lose their jobs for lying and I believe this is called, ” White Collar Crime.” It going to take a brave association president to take such steps. The membership needs to demand such action and further demand accountability of our SAEA executive office time and release time be posted on our web site. This will truly reflection transparency and accountable for our due dollars.
King City teachers sue county schools chief
Claim voided contract would have saved district nearly $6 million
By LARRY PARSONS
Herald Staff Writer
Updated: 10/06/2009 01:29:07 AM PDT
Teachers in the King City Joint Union High School District filed suit Monday against Monterey County Superintendent of Schools Nancy Kotowski, claiming she voided a contract in March that would have saved the financially ailing district millions of dollars.
The suit, filed on behalf of the King City High School Teachers Association by the state teachers association, said the contract nixed by Kotowski would have saved the district almost $6 million over two years.
Kotowski said she had not seen the suit, but said she followed state law in discharging her duties regarding the fiscally troubled school district.
The disputed contract, even with its spending cuts, would have done “too little, too late” to prevent the district from slipping into financial crisis, she said.
In July, the state approved a $13 million emergency loan to help the cash-strapped district. Veteran educator John Bernard was appointed as the state’s handpicked administrator.
As he took those emergency steps, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said he wanted the district’s fiscal health and student achievement improved as soon as possible. Bernard said it would take two years to put the district back on track.
The district ended the 2008-09 fiscal year with a $3.2 million operating deficit, which officials said could balloon to $13 million in a couple of years without state intervention.
The disputed teachers contract would have produced up to $5.7 million
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in savings over two years through a combination of reduced medical benefits, increased workloads and reduced stipends, said Tim Swoverland, president of the King City High teachers association.
“It’s hard for us to understand how somebody can not approve something like this when the association has made those concessions,” he said.
The King City school board approved the teachers’ contract March 2, but Kotowski issued a stay the next day to block it from taking effect.
Kotowski said the contract didn’t correct what she called “a structural problem” in the district’s formula for paying teachers.
The suit seeks a court order to implement the contract.
Larry Parsons can be reached at 646-4379 or lparsons@montereyherald.com.
Jill says:
July 21, 2009 at 12:12 am
This thread is loading very slowly again. I hope Art considers opening up a new thread soon.
Re: Susan Mercer
I heard back from her.
Thank you Susan for responding. Although my questions weren’t really answered, I appreciate the “generic” response nonetheless.
Folks, looks like we are in this fight ourselves I’m afraid.
Patricia spoke tonight for that cause. SHE is the one who made this possible (Patricia O’Neil). Ms. Mercer did not speak at all.
I think people are seeing the “real Mercer” now. I think that Patricia (Pres) and Robert (V.P) should’ve been elected. I don’t know Jennifer or if she even has the interest.
So my question to you is did you ever ASK Susan or the other officers why they weren’t speaking at the meetings? Have you ever TALKED to Jennifer to realize how hard she works for the teachers of this district before you publicly slammed her?! Obviously not in eihter case, as shown here from your ignorant past postings. But I must say I am glad to see that you have matured since you got your job back and have realized what many of us have known for a long time… working together is much more productive that slamming each other against the wall. And we all will keep in mind who you are and what you’re capable of when things aren’t going your way…
Good morning, Whoa. “Name calling” is not “exactly” mature either. (see post 581) I’m so glad that you have “it all” figured it out. Have you EVER gotten a RIF by the way? I seriously doubt it. I would like to stay off this board, but you keep bringing “my name up”. Susan and I are fine right now so let’s leave it at that. I do have a lot of friends who are STILL not hired back so don’t think that I am elated because I’m NOT. I am simply “waiting” to see what happens.
Yes, maybe I wasn’t exactly “mature” during that time, but I was just trying to “survive it”. Can’t we just leave the past behind and move forward? I don’t want “the summer of hell” brought up every 5 minutes either. I AM talking and communicating with Susan NOW + asking her questions to resolve a lot of things, so let us do that in peace. Thank you. I really appreciate it.
Has Susan Mercer ever posted here??
ok what happened at the board meeting today? I can’t believe no one has posted in a whole day!
I just received the following email:
The SAEA Board of Directors attended the October 13th School Board meeting and did a first class presentation regarding the District’s budget inaccuracies and the impact of budget cuts imposed on teachers and students. Public speaking did not start until 9:30 pm. At that time twelve SAEA Board members addressed the School Board, including myself, and provided each School Board member with a 22 page handout describing the District’s inaccurate projections. Check out the handout in a Powerpoint form on the SAEA website sateach.org.
Our message to the School Board was loud and clear: The District is deceiving you! SAUSD has the money! At a minimum, SAEA wants the District to restore the 1.5% pay cut and rescind all RIF’d teachers.
Our work is not done!
Susan Mercer
President, SAEA
Shouldn’t the minimum be to fund classrooms with the appropriate amount of materials?