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…
The release of today’s test score disappoint. What’s with Century and Valley HS? Even Santa Ana HS seems to be slipping.
There are kids EVERYWHERE in EVERY city who need care and are worth your time. So GO GET A JOB YOU IDIOT. I’m sure that wherever you end up you will not be well-liked! Do you also hold the same animosity for (your formerly fellow) teachers who did get rescinded? I never thought I would say or print something like this, but you are such a bitter, hateful person that I hope you never work with kids. Show some ambition and LOOK FOR A JOB! You are not any more “SPECIAL” than anyone else who got laid off this year in millions of jobs all of the country and the world. Last post about “J” I promise. I think he/she is just a “reinvented” “a”.
J has quite an entitlement mentality, LOL!
J, Maybe the district got something right and was able to weed you out.
If you ran your stuff through a spell checker and a grammar check, perhaps people would have more sympathy for you and your “skills” as an educator.
hmmmm,
I do like your suggestion. I don’t know if you are still employed with SA, but I will tell you that I would consider your suggestion as well as taking a small paycut if the district were to take one as well. The problem being, that ONCE you give in to SA, they WILL take advantage. Even if many people retire, I promise you we (soon to be retired) have played a role in trying to keep this district in check, and taking a pay cut WILL set a precedent with the district. I wish it weren’t so, but it is. I am glad that you teach in SA, and if you don’t (now), I wish you well in returning to teaching be it SA or elsewhere. You are thoughtful and a problem solver, so you will do well. Hang in there!
Grad18 # #403
I’m glad you said it. I always hate to be the one when Red isn’t around.(although I see she is now) Fact is Grad, and keep it in mind, that “You can’t fix stupid”.
If you go back and read all of “j”s comments, “IT” doesn’t know the district isn’t part of the city; doesn’t understand the union system; and doesn’t understand what it would take to cut salaries. I made a laundry list of quotes but realized what I was dealing with. Thanks for saving me the outrage…Hi Red!
Boy, you all get pretty vicious in here. I really see the need for this forum, but I worry because the tone in this blog tends to be an “all about me” one. Aren’t we all in it for the kids? They seem to be lost in all of this BS bickering.
Anyway, with all of this talk about pay cuts, I just wanted to emphasize that a pay cut was NEVER even brought to the table as an option. I know that the majority of teachers at my site, myself included, would have gladly taken a pay cut to keep CSR in grades 1-3, and to keep our colleagues working!
Let’s get rid of the union and get back to the kids!
Hey Anonplus! You’ve freed me up to tackle health care issues and I thank you for that!
“j” caught my attention. They don’t seem to “get it” when trying to make their case.
What person would show up in flip flops and a soiled shirt to an interview? Maybe the same kind that would…
What kind of person would try and impress message board participants with their fancy educator skills, demanding their job back, but with their musings loaded with massive grammar errors?
Maybe SAUSD DID get ONE right….. who knows?!
Carry on!
#407 SAUSD Teacher,
I agree.
#1 Expose SAUSD malfeasance.
#2 Do all for the children and parents we serve.
#3 “Teachocratic Oath”: DO NO HARM.
I apologize for getting a little emotional with the ‘greed’ comments. But aside from that there is a hole in our education system. There are ONLY cuts to kids and parents.
The fact is this:
1) students are in larger class sizes
2) students have fewer resources
3) students are having less money being invested in their education
For teachers and administration the fact is this:
1) no cuts to salary
2) barely any cuts to benefits
Tell me this, what have teachers or administrators lost this year that would benefit students?
j,
Please go away.
You ARE emotional and NOT intellectual.
The facts:
As a teacher:
1) I have more students than ever, yet this year, as in every year, I provide ever more resources and interventions to assure their academic success.
2) I have more paperwork/responsibilities than ever because of cutbacks on classified staff, yet I continue to persevere for the sake of the children.
3) I have NO money from District for classroom expenses so I am spending hundreds of dollars myself to provide basics such as paper and pencils.
4) Benefits HAVE CHANGED and I am paying nearly double what I paid in previous years.
5) Salary HAS BEEN CUT this year for everyone by at least 1.5% and in some cases even more. I am not earning as much money as last year.
6) Yet, I am still giving 100% to my students because I want the best for them… as do the majority of teachers [and even Administration] in SAUSD.
Yes, the public educational “model” is indeed full of holes.
Yes, changes need to be made.
NO, you are not the spokesperson who has the intellectual or professional capacity to propose meaningful changes.
So, please, keep this blog meaningful and insightful by quietly going away and learning some basic rules for spelling and grammar.
Wilson Teacher,
I just want to give credit where credit is due. Your school is among the top schools in the state for progress on API scores. While I really don’t appreciate the major focus on test scores, I do appreciate that something positive is finally happening at the severely under performing school in my former neighborhood. I’m really glad to see progress at this site, I know it’s tough. Good job!
411 Wilson Teacher –
Thanks for the thougtful post. You state that benefits have changed and you are paying nearly double. At first glance your doubling comment appears shocking,however we don’t know what your initial monthly premiums were. I only mention this because a few years ago an SAUSD teacher told me that her monthly medical premium was under $10 (single payor). I was shocked to learn that SAUSD premiums were NOT commisserate with the “real world.” Perhaps you can enlighten the non-SAUSD teacher.
Thank you.
Wow wilson teacher is trying to bully me out of here! This is probably how you treat your colleagues. I wonder how many years in the district you have to be talking the way you do.
#414
Since when is “please” in a bully’s vocabulary? She’s just saying what we all think. I actually find you amusing and not offensive. Thanks for entertaining us all with all your nonsense.
Wow! I said I wouldn’t comment on “j”., but this is just too tempting. Can’t help but notice his post times (today and previously). Could he be posting during class time, or is he just not working because his unemployment is higher than sub pay?! SUCH DEDICATION!
When I joined the district 20 years ago, benefits were free with small copays for doctor visits and prescriptions (under $5). There was a steady increase in costs and more recently some major spikes in costs. Over the last three years, our co-pays have gone to $20 (100% increase), our prescriptions benefits are still really unclear because we can pay from $12-$30 for a prescription now (that isn’t counting the many prescriptions the plan doesn’t even cover, this didn’t happen before). The monthly deducted amount from the paycheck is $250 for the PPO for a family. And then of course, there’s the undecipherable amount that you are billed from the doctor for the remainder of the cost that isn’t covered by the plan (this can be a tiny amount like $1.84, all the way up to one I received recently for a single doctor visit of $300). The deductibles have increased at least 400% and now they range anywhere between $300-$400 dollars per person per year. I’m not too sure about the two HMO plans and what types of costs you would incur. I guess this might sound good to some people, but I am definitely spending thousands a year for my family even with the insurance and this wasn’t the case in the past.
#417
$20 co-pay is the standard. You mention $250 is deducted from your paycheck. That means you are paying weekly premiums of $62.50 for a family of ?? If it’s a family of 4 that’s weekly medical coverage of $15.62 per person. That seems reasonable. I presume that includes dental & vision.
I know health premiums have steadily increased, but so has everything else and that’s why I’m baffled by most teachers’ lament about health insurance. $3,000 annual health premium, for a family, isn’t too rough.
My health insurance premiums have never been free.
I’m actually not really complaining about our costs. I truly believe the whole system of health insurance is in shambles. It basically sucks for everyone. Just remember that teachers have been comparing their coverage now to what they used to have, they aren’t comparing it to what everyone else has. The bottom line is that while many our salaries have essentially stayed the same for several years, our benefit costs have increased from almost nothing to thousands per year. Yes, I realize that everyone else is in the same boat. The district’s insurance costs are astronomical and they are doing the same thing as most businesses that still provide employee coverage, they are charging more to the employee. The problem lies with the insurance companies that continually whine that their costs are going up while at the same time they stiff the doctors and the hospitals out of 80% of every bill. It’s just a mess.
You can follow the word ‘please’ with anything. (Please go f-yourself etc).
I would just assume most teachers, or at least the good ones, would stay away from the drama that ‘wilson teacher’ probably creates at his/her school. This is probably his/her only outlet where people would actually listen to her selfishness (that sounds like me right now…ha!). In any case, we see now that our schools are full of selfish union members. There are a lot of teachers who are on my side, but are afraid of the control and manipulation that the unions have on education.
j,
Please go.
Still the unanswered question. All of the riffed teachers have worked this week! So why isn’t “J” working? Is unemployment higher than sub pay? I’ve heard that is why many riffed teachers aren’t subbing (which is okay, I totally understand that) UNLESS you claim to be the devoted TEACHER (person) that some people on this blog claim to be . . .Oh! Hmmmm. . . Would that be greedy? Sitting around when you could be pulling in a wage AND saving the students in SA!
Grad 18,
In my haste last evening I obviously wasn’t clear enough. “j” is no more a teacher than I am and probably isn’t even a district employee. No district employee goes through hiring orientation, then comes here and asks some of the stupid questions or makes the stupid inane statements He/She does.
No teacher consistantly writes that poorly either. Sure hot topics and typos happen, but this person can’t write worth a damn at any time.
If by some remote chance this person was hired as a teacher, he/she probably was fired rather than riffed and simply has nothing better to do. No matter what he/she claims next, I’d take it for what it’s worth. Garbage in…garbage out.
The bottom line is that pitting new teachers against veteran teachers is going to be a ploy used to achieve the goal of reducing teacher salary and silencing all of our voices. We cannot let the district or the state divide teachers in this manner. In many ways, the veteran teachers are fighting for things that the newer teachers will appreciate in years to come. In fact, I don’t believe that the newer teachers are really fighting us at all. The environment is very political, let’s remember that.
Tmare,
Good point. That tactic has always worked over in classified to the districts advantage. No doubt it will be expanded to all state workers and the general public. It already appears to be starting with the pension issue and benefits.
Tmare…re; #417 & #419
As a footnote to your comments. When I too joined the system,nearly 30 years ago, benefits were free but we sometimes forget to point out our pay was also about 2/3 of the public sector for the same jobs. (in the classified service) Teacher pay wasn’t exactly a living wage either.
As I remember the ‘offset’ on the benefits was to compensate for the lower pay with the incentive being we avoided payroll taxes by having the district pay for our benefits. As the unions negotiated competitive pay they also agreed for employees to incur benefit expenses. Often times the unions sold this change to employees as being offset by cola increases at a time when all districts were exploding with growth.
Apparently some would have the general public think the average district and state employee was involved in some kind of underhanded scheme. If anything the unions can take the credit or blame (depending on your point of view) on where things stand today. I don’t feel the need to apologize for what my retirement has turned out to be because it is nowhere’s close of being anything to brag about. Certainly upper management people have really found an obscene gravy train, but that doesn’t filter down to the average teacher or blue collar worker.
Again,
The fact is this:
1) students are in larger class sizes (THE SMALLER THE CLASS SIZE, THE BETTER TEACHERS CAN INDIVIDUALIZE THEIR EDUCATION!!)
2) students have fewer resources
3) students are having less money being invested in their education
For teachers and administration the fact is this:
1) no cuts to salary
2) barely any cuts to benefits
Tell me this, what have teachers or administrators lost this year that would benefit students?
I don’t believe teachers are really investing that MUCH money into their classrooms! You can say that all you want, but any teacher with 15 to 20 years in the district probably would say the same thing to keep their salaries.
Stop trying to compensate for the budget shortfalls by letting class sizes grow for the sake of your wallets, dinner parties, satellite tv, and whatever else you ACTUALLY spend your money on.
For the record j, my class sizes have not grown this year,they have always been in the high 30’s to low 40’s and they are this year also. I’m not sure what you think we’re all spending our money on, I guess it’s really none of your business anyway. However, I know that all of my monthly money goes to my mortgage and childcare for my two young children (the two largest expenses) and the rest to other expenses that everyone else has. I don’t have anything left at the end of the month, in fact, we’re pretty much running at a deficit some months. I’m sure that some of those in the upper level management at the district office have plenty of extra at the end of the month, but that’s not me and I am a “veteran teacher”.
.og esaelP
,j
#427
J,
You embarrass yourself, stop please!!!! You are not a teacher and it shows with every post you make! I’m fairly sure I know who you are and I’m sorry your circumstances have changed since a certain admin went to another school. Get over it and deal.
Thank you anonplus. Your explanation makes sense and it is a relief to realize, at least hope, he/she (j) is not working with kids.
With all the talk about benefits, I was happily surprised to not be charged for my flu shot ($30) at the minute clinic, CVS. Another teacher told me about it.
Anyone heard anything from Sierra? I was wondering how those poor….souls were doing?
I’ve been wondering about Sierra for a while now, I’d really like to know how it’s going.
Thanks for the heads up on the CVS flu shot, I’m there this weekend.
I have seen that some have posted about Riff teachers not subbing. Well I am one who has chosen not to. I have subbed before in this district prior to getting hired. As a sub, I was treated with no respect. I took on long term assignments and put a lot into the class I took over. During the prep period I was always asked to sub in another class because it would cost the district too much to have a teacher take it over. The extra pay was great, but I sometimes wanted that time to prep for the class I took over since I was their only teacher. I felt like I could never say no because they would of disliked me as a sub. I always did what they asked.
Now for Riff teachers subbing, some are subbing in classes that are I believe open spots. They are expected to do every single thing that a teacher would do no less. They are doing this with much less pay and the district could care less about them and the students. The reason why I say student, is because most likely the teacher will have to move to another class after the 30 days are up. This is because a lot are subbing in middle school. In middle school they are required to have a single subject credential in ELA, etc. Yet there are multiple subject teachers teaching a single subject at some middle schools. It does not make sense that a multiple subject teacher can teach at one middle school all year and at another for only 30 days. The students will see a lot of subs over the year because of this. The Riff teacher will be asked to move again to another class or another site.
Bottom line, SAUSD could care less about Riff sub teachers. They will use and abuse them until they can get away with it. Well some of us are tired of the SAUSD bs that we will not stand to be used by them. Oh and to them we will always be able to be replaced by regular subs, so they don’t care.
CVS flu shot
I guess I should have mentioned I have a blue shield ppo.
Most of you probably want me to leave because I speak the truth and it scares you to hear it. Go ahead and tell me that “I’m embarrassing myself” and that “I make no sense” and whatever other comment you can come up with. Eventually this bad economy will catch up to highly paid teachers and administration. It will be then that the public will clearly see the holes in our education system (mostly the unions strangle hold on the education system) and demand reform of their taxes dollars and the way its spent.
Hmm…
Wilson Elementary received a “newby” principal last year, Mr. Norris Perez, a man who understands how to support and encourage staff, and Wilson ties for the greatest increase [86 points] for the year in API.
Pio Pico Elementary received Wilson Elementary’s former principal/tyrant, Mr. Robert Anguiano, who considered everyone under his command truly beneath his girth. The result for Pio Pico:
This school (or the district on behalf of the school) has concluded and reported to the California Department of Education that during the 2009 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) testing an adult irregularity in testing procedure occurred at the school affecting 5 percent or more of pupils tested. Therefore, this school does not have a valid API for 2009.
http://api.cde.ca.gov/AcntRpt2009/Flag09Growth.aspx?allcds=30666706109904&Flag=2&p=2
The principal may indeed be principle!
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/school-plaques-war-2570454-world-plaque
Thursday, September 17, 2009
School looks to replace stolen war memorials
Thieves wrenched plaques from the walls of Santa Ana High a year ago.
By DOUG IRVING
SANTA ANA It’s been almost a year since thieves broke the locks at Santa Ana High School and tore from the walls several plaques that honored the school’s war dead, apparently to sell as scrap.
School officials and alumni have begun raising the thousands of dollars they expect it will cost to replace the plaques. They want to have at least a few re-cast by the end of the year, maybe those that paid tribute to the former students who died in the two world wars.
There were six plaques in all, cast in solid bronze and brass, bolted to the walls of the school’s entryway. Four memorialized those who died in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
A fifth commemorated the rededication of the school after a major earthquake in the 1930s. The sixth celebrated the school’s centennial in 1989.
School officials suspect at least two thieves cut the padlocks on a gate across the entryway in the middle of the night last October. The thieves wrenched the six plaques from the wall; each weighed at least 30 pounds.
At the time, the going price for bronze on the local scrap market meant the thieves would have gotten no more than $50 for each of the plaques.
But the plaques were made of something much more valuable than metal: names. School officials worried after the thefts that they had no surviving lists of students killed as long ago as the First World War. They weren’t sure they’d be able to re-create the plaques, even if they could afford to.
And then they ran into some unexpected good luck. A school resource officer had snapped digital pictures of each of the plaques, to document them. The pictures were clear enough to make out the lost names.
The World War I plaque had nine, including a woman – Cara Keech – who was killed while serving as a nurse. The World War II plaque had 78 names, including three pairs of servicemen with the same last names.
The plaque from the Korean War had no names, just a general tribute “to the servicemen and servicewomen … who gave their lives.” The Vietnam War plaque named nine former students “who made the supreme sacrifice.”
School officials are looking for more names of former students killed in the Korean and Vietnam wars, so that the replacement plaques will be as complete as possible. The alumni association can be reached through its Web site, http://www.santaanahighschool.org.
The school also has information about the stolen plaques on its Web site, http://www.sausd.us/sahs.
It will likely cost around $8,000 to replace all six plaques, Principal Julie Infante said. A special committee – the Plaque Replacement Committee – has raised close to $2,500 of that so far.
That doesn’t include the cost of improving security in the entryway, to make sure the replacement plaques stay on the wall. Infante said the school and the district are looking into ways to better protect the entryway; committee members suggested surveillance cameras.
The committee has also talked about moving forward with the money it already has and replacing at least the World War II plaque, and maybe the World War I plaque, quickly. They would like to have an unveiling event, complete with veterans and the school band, by the end of the year.
“It’s certainly part of the history of the school,” committee member and former teacher Douglas Dyer said. “We want students to be able to experience it, to have a sense of pride. People who attended the school have given their lives for their country over all these years.”
Grad 18,
I was going to ask if you had PPO or HMO. I have the HMO but will still look into it since I use that pharmacy chain.
Wilson Teacher. The truth, it would appear, is telling isn’t it?
An official poll was taken today. The results have been tabulated. The Willard staff is delighted with and thankful for our new administration!
Congratulations go out to the Willard staff! It’s about time. How is everything going over at Sierra? Anyone care to report? I’m sure Mr. B is busy thanking kids for coming to school as they stand in the attendance line with no excuse (again) I wonder how many teachers he has blamed for student misbehavior? I really hope the staff at Sierra is strong enough to stand up to him. Just don’t send him down the street. Sunshine has replaced the black cloud over 1342 N. Ross St.
#436
j,
If the students just had the money the board of education and Russo and cronies spend on their car allowance that would keep them going a good long while. Stop looking to teachers as the problem and look up, up, up and you will see the misspending.
Bishop did a real disservice to the students of Willard these last years. Today there was a student whose Mom was signing his suspension papers. The look on this kid’s face was “what did I do wrong?” And “it was no worse than what I pulled last year.” He hit that wall where he realized what was appropriate behavior and what wasn’t. A proper administrator would never have let such poor behavior be examples for the students. Bishop should be fired for what he pulled at Willard. Thank Goodness he is no longer there!
Anonymous, I said across the WHOLE district.
What did Bishop exactly do to the kids at Willard? What was wrong with his behavior management? Just curious…
I sometimes hear from teachers the types of things that students get away with at some of our schools. Then I realize that the types of things they get suspended for at my school don’t even warrant a phone call home at other schools, something is seriously wrong here.
Try being the cop asked to go to all the schools to find the same problem but different principals. One wants a lecture given, another wants the kid arrested, yet others want something in between. It is nothing new.
CONFIRMED!!! Whew! “j” is not a SA teacher if he/she has never heard tell of the behavior management (using the term loosely) of Bishop.
On another note, I think our principal is in cahoots with Mendez, or at least terribly afraid of him, because of the shenanigans going on at our school over the last few years. We even tried to get the union involved and they did make a great effort for us, but alas, lies and trickery prevailed. I heard this is the last year of the contract with Mendez. Can anyone confirm?
Maybe I’m not a SA teacher, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a teacher for another district. I may have formally worked for SA and saw the light and left.
Does “j” actually believe anyone would attempt to discuss Bishop’s “behavior mismanagement” with him/her? I think j have proven it is not possible to have a logical conversation with an illogical person. J~no one respects you enough on this blog to discuss anything with you. Again, I do appreciate the posts this “j” person writes. it makes me grateful and it entertains me. Please ‘j’, do continue posting as you are good for a chuckle.
Also, maybe I’m to busy teaching to care about what drama goes on at other schools. As it is I try to stay away from the drama that my schools creates from time to time.
j reminds me of that petty enabler, Bernadette Medrano who showed up a few years back to try and feebly defend herself when it was exposed that she was in charge of the district’s non-profit but had not bothered to pay current taxes and had some other accounting issues. She was real dodgy and frankly, she had a shadowy, creepy way of posting with lots of ESL type errors. Maybe Anonplus remembers some of all that…..
Is that woman STILL around?