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More Nanny Government from SacramentoLast year Assemblywoman Sally Lieber introduced her anti-spanking bill which would have made the spanking of a child by a parent or guardian a criminal offense. Thankfully that bill was shelved by the Assembly. Not wishing to take no for an answer, Ms. Lieber is back with another version of the anti-spanking bill AB 2943. Just like last year's bill, AB 2943 wishes to make a crime out of a time honored discipline method calling for the arrest of parents who use a "switch" and causes the child "unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering." No one wishes to justify child abuse - and there are already laws on the books that allow for the prosecution of anyone, including a parent, who abuses a child. However, Ms. Lieber's bill goes beyond the issue of child abuse by using vague and ambiguous language to define the crime and identifies items that a child can not disciplined with such as a "switch." This bill has passed the Assembly's Public Safety Committee and is before the Appropriations Committee at the writing of this post. If you wish to oppose this silly nanny government bill, you should send your representatives and the Governor a letter in opposition. A sample is attached: No%20on%20AB%202943%20%232.docThank you, Craig Alexander, Esq. Member of the Board of Directors, Education Alliance
An Must Read Article on School Choice!One of California's best resources for education policy is the Pacific Research Institute ( http://education.pacificresearch.org/). One of its Senior Fellows, Vicki E. Murray, Ph.D., has published an article entitled "School Choice is the Cure for Over-priced, Underperforming Public Schools." In her article, Dr. Murray points not that where parents have a choice in which schools their children attend, studies have determined that the student's test scores and overall academic performance improves. She notes that researchers from Columbia University Teachers College found there are substantial benefits from competition among schools "...including improved public school student performance, higher graduation rates, greater public-school efficiency, smaller class sizes, better teacher salaries, and improved housing values." None of the studies found that the performance of any public school student was decreased due to school choice. Dr. Murray also noted that where the options for parents were broaded from choice between public schools to also include charter schools and/or voucher and tuition tax-credit scholarship programs the academic benefits for the students increases exponentially - all without any actual decrease of public school funding. As Dr. Murray correctly concludes "Freedom may not be free, but when it comes to education reform, it's a lot more effective, and less expensive, than the status quo." You may review Dr. Murray's article at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23707 or http://liberty.pacificresearch.org/press/id.3517/press_detail.aspCraig P. Alexander, Esq. Member of the Education Alliance Board of Directors
HELP REPEAL SB 777!
As those of you who read our blog know, I urged voters and citizens to write to the Governor and urge him to veto several bad bills including SB 777. Unfortunately the Governor signed SB 777 and several other bills advancing the homosexual agenda in our public schools. SB 777 in particular now forces all public schools, including charter schools, to teach that the homosexual lifestyle is natural and good. In fact, SB 777 does not allow any opposition views whether based on health, religious, moral or any other reasons. There are no parental opt-out provisions, religious or 1st Amendment exemptions or any local control by locally elected school boards.
Two of our guiding principles at Education Alliance is respect for parental rights and local control by our local elected school boards. SB 777 is in direct opposition to those two principles. The electorate can fight this bad law if we all act together and act quickly. Sacramento based Capitol Resource Institute has launched a petition drive to place SB 777 before the voters in a referendum. We must gather enough signatures by early January to have the referendum placed on the June primary election ballot. With everyone's help we can do it! I urge you to visit CRI's web site for this worthy effort at http://www.saveourkids.net/ and obtain from CRI petitions to gather signatures. You can also contribute financially to this effort at the web site.
Craig P. Alexander, Esq.
Member of the Education Alliance Board of Directors
AB 394 - Thought Police Bill for Schoolchildren - Is on The Governor's Desk - He Needs to Hear From You Now!This bill is masked as an anti-discrimination law. However, it is really a thought police bill on a controversial subject. Rather than teaching children to listen to all the facts from all sides of an issue, AB 394 seeks to outlaw any opposition to the homosexual lifestyle. In addition, the bill contains no exemptions for those with strongly held religious beliefs or opinions based on medical risks. Last year the Governor vetoed AB 606 a similar bill to AB 394. We hope he will veto AB 394 as well but he needs to hear from you. Parents, not schools or the state, should be the primary people passing values onto their children. Schools should be about the business of teaching children skills like reading, writing, mathematics and other core courses. They should not be forced to be a second set of parents for their pupils. You can let the Governor know you oppose this bill by sending him this letter: AB 394.docYou may also e-mail him at http://gov.ca.gov/interact#contact You can not attach a letter to the e-mail but you can cut and paste your letter into the e-mail as text. Finally you may call the Governor's telephone poll at 916-445-2841. Then press 1 for English; Press 2 for Assembly bills; Press 5 for AB 394 and then press 2 to Oppose. Thank you for speaking up! Craig P. Alexander, Esq. Member of the Education Alliance Board of Directors
SB 564 - School Based Health Clinics Bill Now On the Governor's Desk - He Needs to Hear from You Now!On May 2, 2007 I posted a blog about this bill. If signed into law, it would pave the way for public schools to be entering too far into the health care business. This would include exposing schools to medical malpractice lawsuits and expending school dollars for health care issues. All of these activities would be most often without parental consent or notification. This bill is bad public policy from a fiscal and parental rights point of view. The State of California should strengthen parental rights, not undermine them. It should also not be launching the State and School Districts into new financial endeavors when our state budget is suffering a huge deficit. If you wish to help by contacting the Governor and urging him to veto SB 564, you can send him a letter similar to the one here: SB_564.docAnother way to communicate with the Governor is by e-mail at http://gov.ca.gov/interact#contact You can not attach a letter like the one above but you can cut and paste your letter into the e-mail as text. Thank you for speaking up! Craig P. Alexander, Esq. Member of the Education Alliance Board of Directors
SB 777 - The "Textbooks" Bill Now on The Governor's Desk - He Needs to Hear From You Now!On June 23, 2007 I posted a blog about this bad bill which, if signed into law, will mandate California textbooks in public and in many private schools to give preferential treatment to various groups including favorable treatment to the homosexual lifestyle. Last year the Governor vetoed a similar bill. We need to contact the Governor and encourage him to veto SB 777 as well. There are several ways you can contact him. One is to send him a letter such as the one attached here: SB 777.docAnother way is to telephone the Governor's office at 916-445-2841 which is a telephone poll. Then press 1 for English. Press 5 for Senate bills. Press 2 for SB 777. Then Press 2 to Oppose. A final way is to e-mail the Governor at http://gov.ca.gov/interact#contact You can not attach documents such as the letter to your e-mail to the Governor but you can cut and paste your letter to him into the e-mail text. Thank you! Craig P. Alexander, Esq. Member of the Education Alliance Board of Directors
* * * * HBUSD Votes YES! to Act on Senior Voting! * * * *
In a bold move Tuesday night July 24, the Huntington Beach Union High School District voted 3 to 2 to approve John Briscoe’s SENIOR VOTING RESOLUTION for action at the next HBUSD board meeting. This is the first school board to act affirmatively on this important issue. All other school districts have voted AGAINST senior citizens. Local teacher unions called the senior voting resolution "...frivolous and a distraction...”
Trustee John Briscoe shouts back, "NO!" Senior voting is neither frivolous nor distracting. The facts lay bare the problem. For every 100 voters that enter the voting booth, only 50% to 60% cast a ballot for school boards. The vast majority of these self-denied voters are seniors. Many decline to vote because they feel they should leave school voting to those with kids.
This is wrong. Everybody should exercise his or her right to vote in every election. Local school districts spend millions of dollars paid to the OC Registrar of Voters to pay for ballot space. The six local school districts spend over a HALF BILLION DOLLARS every year. Failure to vote deprives the community of a fully representational board. And most amazing, many senior voters have grandchildren in the local schools.
In addition to passage of the Senior Voter Encouragement Resolution, Huntington Beach Union High School District can encourage senior voting with active involvement in Senior Centers including board meetings held at the centers. School newsletters and District information can be made available at the Senior Center and retirement homes. Mobile home parks and senior retirement homes can also be repositories of school news and information. Retired seniors can be encouraged to volunteer at local schools.
The HBUSD Board has just taken the first step. A positive vote must be cast next month to approve the resolution as an action item. They are to be commended for taking the first step towards repatriation of the senior vote.
Submitted and Approved by John Briscoe, Elected Trustee Board Member of the Ocean View School District. Education Alliance Board Member.
One last chance for the Fleming Trustees to do the right thing.
When James Fleming asked the district to reimburse him for legal costs, I read many comments along the lines of how outrageous it is that he expects the school district to fund his defense, particularly when what he is being accused of is misusing school funds. The district should be suing him to get their money back, not paying for his defense!
Not that I am justifying his request, but I can certainly understand him giving it a try. He is looking at felonies and jail time, and a lot of money to defend himself.
The real fault here will lie with the trustees if they grant his request. I am certain we can count on the new trustees (Anna Bryson, Ellen Addonizio, and Larry Christensen) to deny it. The trustees that were in office during Mr. Fleming’s reign (Sheila Benecke, Mike Darnold, Marlene Draper and Duane Stiff) should recuse themselves due to their personal involvement in this matter. The DA has indicated that an investigation of the involvement of the trustees is ongoing. It is a clear conflict of interest for them to be voting to provide funds to Fleming when there is a possibility they could become co-defendants.
Let’s hope they do the right thing. If not, it will just give more fuel for the recall.
Mark Bucher
Chairman, Education Alliance
* * * * Ocean View School District Rental Housing Trends* * * The Ocean View School District (OVSD) serving Huntington Beach Westminster, Fountain Valley and Midway City commissioned Davis Demographics & Planning, Inc. of 11850 Pierce Street, #200, Riverside, CA 92505 (951.270.5211) in May 2007 to prepare the "Fall 2006- Fall 2013 Report of Student Population Projections by Residence." This official report has provided critical insight into the nature of current and projected OVSD student trends. Davis Demographics FindingsOn page 12, Davis Demographics noted, "...the median housing value of owner occupied units has increased from $275,000 in the year 2000 to approximately $759,840 in 2006. This represents a 276% percent (sic) increase...It is possible the district has seen the migration of young families away from expensive housing in the area over the last few years, although we do not have ... data to ... support this conclusion ... There are also significant non-owner occupied units within the district. Typically rental rates will mirror increases in housing cost. According to the first quarter 2007 RealFacts reports, the average monthly rent in Orange County area rose 6% ... compared to 2006. The City of Huntington Beach was among California’s 50 top high-rent cities and communities." Furthermore, Davis Demographics Study page 22 provides a K-8 Density map that reveals the highest student densities are in some of the highest apartment rental areas of the OVSD. Prior Davis Demographic reports have informed us the OVSD is over 45% rental housing. ConclusionsThe overarching conclusions for the OVSD are: 1). Almost half of the district is rental housing. 2). K-8 enrolled students come mostly from apartment and condo rental housing neighborhoods. 3). Rental housing costs rose approximately 6% per year versus 46% for owner occupied homes. 4). The vast majority of private and home school families live in owner occupied homes. DiscussionBelieve it or not, our district is almost 50% rental housing, with well over fifty percent coming from homes NOT owner occupied. Rental housing families are more often divorced with a female head-of-household. The school service needs of these families are different from stay-at-home mother homes: a). Child care: Extended daycare for working mothers fill the gap between work and child retrieval. b). Tutoring: Homework supervision and special subject tutoring are often needed to support classroom teaching. c). Physical Exercise Program: An aggressive program of intense physical activity can help release pent-up energy from sitting all day in class and allow for more focused homework study in after school child care. d). Afternoon Feeding Program: Children may need a nutrition boost in the late afternoon to tide them over until dinner. Healthy snacks of fruits and vegetables could be the start of good eating habits. WE CAN DO BETTER!The point here is simple. OVSD must provide the services rental housing parents need if they are to retain these students in district enrollment. It appears we have already lost the battle with wealthy parents that have the financial wherewithal to enroll their children in private schools or embark on a home school program. We must work to satisfy the remaining families with school programs parents want: 1. Open School Choice -Any child can attend any school in the OVSD the parent's desire 2. Open Teacher Request - All parents are encouraged to share their request for following year teacher assignment (subject to Principal class assignment based on child needs and school capacity). 3. Open Class Lesson Plan Access - Easy access to all instructor lesson plans on the Internet. 4. Open SmartBoard Lecture Notes - Full and immediate teacher publication of class lecture notes from SmartBoards already installed in most classrooms (teachers already share SmartBoard notes among themselves). In this modern day of education Parents are the customers and students are the consumers. We must work to please BOTH if we are to retain and grow enrollment. Opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility of John Briscoe and do not reflect the views of any school board. Submitted and Approved by John Briscoe, Elected Trustee Board Member of the Ocean View School District, and associate member of HHRWF with wife Debbie Briscoe. John Briscoe is an active community volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America, Grace Lutheran Church, Alliance for Education, and Marina High School Site Council, and member of Rotary International, LA5 El Rodeo. Go to http://www.vote4briscoe.com/ for more information. John Briscoe has earned two undergraduate degrees from CSULB (BA Psychology and BA Speech Communication), his M.P.A. from CSULB (Masters in Public Administration, and his M.B.A. from Claremont Graduate University, Peter Drucker School of Business. John has performed senior management roles with major consumer package goods firms including Kraft/General Foods Inc, Mars/MasterFoods Inc, Kellogg/Keebler Inc, and The Hain Celestial Group Inc. John Briscoe can be contacted by email: John@Crestwave, or phone: 714.903.8774, or SnailMail: 6812 Glen Drive, Huntington Beach, CA 92647.
Declining Enrollment
The whining mantra today is "declining enrollment - we need more money" over and over again by teachers and administrators.
A thoughtful analysis should look not just at the kids that elect to attend public schools, but at TOTAL child count in any school district versus total public school enrollment. This data should be available in every district annual demographic study required by CA. This analysis should examin the trend lines, and will often demonstrate there are MORE and More actual children living in a District each year (censu count = impeccable enumeration) but declining public school participation (declining enrollment.)
The point here is simple, more children living in the district should mean more in the public schools. Unless the public schools programs and performance is so reprehensible that parents vote with their wallets and feet to enroll at private schools and distance learning/home schooling.
In the Huntington Beach City School District their own annual demographic study tells us on 63% of total child count age 5 to 14 attend their public schools. And SHOCKING NEWS in this same report tells us they project growing child population count in the District and DECLINING HBCSD public school participation down to only 59% in five years. Yes, over FORTY PERCENT of all children living in HBVSD boundaris will choose NOT to participate in the HBCSD public schools. This is an almost FIFTY PERCENT non-participation rate.
The issue is not declining enrollment. The issue is a public school system that is driving parents and children away every year at an alarming and increasing rate. All the money in the State can't make parents enroll their children in schools and programs they find unpalatable.
We must start looking at TOTAL child population count in school districts at the elementary level compared to public school participation rates as a measure of parent satisfaction. The elementary level is important because school attendance is mandatory and eliminates high school drop out problems.
THX John
John Briscoe
Trustee, Ocean View School Board
State Schools Superintendent O'Connell Shuns Debate Sponsored by Education Alliance!
Today (June 25th) the San Diego North County Times reported that State Schools Superintendent O'Connell has declined to debate Vista Unified School Board President Jim Gibson on the issue of accountability in the school system. We at Education Alliance heard that Mr. O'Connell had issued an editorial in the North County Times responding to an earlier editorial by Mr. Gibson regarding accountability of public school teachers and administrators for poor student performance and test scores.
The Education Alliance offered to sponsor and host a debate on this issue between Mr. Gibson and Mr. O'Connell at a mutually convenient date in Orange County. Mr. Gibson has accepted our invitation. According to the North County Times, Mr. O'Connell's spokesperson Hilary McLean stated that the Superintendent does not have time to debate this issue with Mr. Gibson.
We at the EA certainly hope that Superintendent O'Connell will reconsider and agree to debate Mr. Gibson on this very, very important issue. We remain willing to host this debate at a mutually convenient date.
One correction to the North County Times article: The Education Alliance is not a Republican group. Many members of the group are Republicans (myself included), but the EA is not controlled by the GOP or a part of the CRP. Education and our children's future is too important to be confined to party politics.
If you wish to read the North County Times article it is at www.nctimes.com - then look for the link to the article entitled "State schools chief shuns local debate."
Craig P. Alexander, Esq.
Education Alliance Board Member
Textbook Indoctrination - SB 777 an Update
A few months ago I posted some information on this blog and a letter to download and send asking your legislator (and the Governor) to oppose SB 777. This bill will require all public and many, many private schools in California to use textbooks that compliment the homosexual and transsexual lifestyles. Never mind a parent's sincerely held beliefs that such a lifestyle is immoral, unsafe or even destructive. Never mind that solid studies have concluded that engaging in a homosexual lifestyle exposes someone to a much greater chance of contracting a life threatening or shortening sexually transmitted disease. Under SB 777 no textbook could contain these opposing points of view or even solid scientific facts!
At this time SB 777 has passed the State Senate and is now pending before the Assembly. The bill has also been amended to add a smorgasbord of other education related things having nothing to do with textbooks BUT still including the pro-homosexual indoctrination mandates requirements of the original version of SB 777.
If you oppose this indoctrination in your child's public or private school, now is the time for you to contact your Assembly person AND the Governor and express your opinion.
Craig P. Alexander, Esq.
Member of the Education Alliance Board of Directors
Time for a Change at Orange Unified School District
With the announcement of Phil Martinez's bid for a seat on the Orange Unified School District Board of Trustees so begins our local campaign season. Martinez is the guy who lost the school board election to controversial Trustee Steve Rocco in 2004. Not only did he manage to lose to Rocco the first time around, he also lost a bid for a seat on the Orange City Council last year.
Despite his losing record, his inarticulate comments at the board meeting, and his apparent desire to be elected to anything, I suspect Martinez will win by garnering the "anyone but Rocco" vote unless someone else throws their hat into the ring.
How sad. Is this what we are now reduced to in selecting our school board trustees-the one who will do the least harm?
I propose we open the field to a wider number of candidates by eliminating the requirement that a school board candidate must reside in a designated trustee area. As it stands, candidates for school board must reside in one of seven geographic trustee areas. However, voters throughout the Orange Unified boundaries vote for their favorite candidate in each trustee area. So, if Martinez is the only candidate originating from Trustee Area 6 to oppose Rocco, voters in all the trustee areas will have to choose between the two - even if there are multiple, possibly better qualified potential candidates residing in other trustee areas.
Proponents of the current system argue that the residential requirements ensure that students from all schools throughout the district receive representation. They hypothesize that candidates from the more wealthy areas of Anaheim Hills, Villa Park and East Orange would dominate the prospective field of candidates and, subsequently, schools located outside these areas would not be represented.
To those who fear a hypothetical takeover by a wealthy, power-seeking contingent from the east side of town, I ask (borrowing from Dr. Phil) how's the current system workin' for ya lately?
It's a stretch at best to argue that the West Orange area schools have been effectively represented when one considers Rocco's ridiculous tenure. And before him, it was the erratic Bill Lewis who was more interested in clipping his fingernails during the meetings than engaging in meaningful dialogue on the issues. (This is the same Bill Lewis who was charged with felony child endangerment after allowing his 13-year old daughter to drive them back from school pick-up because he had been drinking that morning. Their car hit a bicycling student in a crosswalk.)
Is this the standard we are striving to maintain?
I would also counter that the Orange Unified School District Board of Trustees is hardly a political stepping stone for higher office. (More like a political death bed.) It is unlikely that any politically ambitious individuals would seek out a school board seat to further a budding political career. After facing union negotiations, budget cuts, program cuts and angry parents, few OUSD trustees have shown an inclination to continue their public career.
And finally, there is the assumption that only candidates from the eastern ends of the district could win. The City of Orange implements a system like what I'm suggesting. Candidates run for an open council seat or seats and the top vote getters are elected. Of the five members of the current council only two are from East Orange. Perhaps I'm overly naive but it's hard to imagine that someone would put themselves through the wringer if they didn't want to help children-all children-in the district.
Our children deserve the best representation we can find. The bigger the pool of candidates, the more choice we have as parents. The benefits greatly outweigh any perceived downside.
Marjan Bavand Dunn,
Orange, California and OUSD Parent
Closing the GATES to High Achievers
Editors Note: The following are comments by Linda Vista Elementary School parent Marjan Bavand Dunn to the Orange Unified School District Trustees at the June 7 Board meeting. We at the Education Alliance find Ms. Dunn's comments well reasoned and wise recommendations to the OUSD board. Unfortunately the OUSD board failed to even seriously consider Ms. Dunn's comments.
I believe in public education; that's why my kids are enrolled in public school. Public education is the great equalizer in our society which allows any child, regardless of economic status, the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. It provides hope.
Right now, the education debate is focused solely on closing the achievement gap between under performing students and those that are proficient. Unfortunately, the pendulum has swung so far in allocating resources to under-performing and English Language Learning students, that other students are being shortchanged.
Specifically in OUSD, the GATE coordinator position has been assigned to the Principal of Panorama Elementary IN ADDITION TO her other duties as principal. The GATE coordinator is also responsible for the Honors and Advanced Placement Courses at all of the middle and high schools.
This comes at a crucial time for high achieving students, since the program is scheduled for a review next year. How is the new administrator expected to implement a pro-active, vibrant program in her spare time? Without any GATE training the learning curve is tremendous.
While it may seem like a necessary financial decision, the move is actually shortsighted. The majority of the school district’s funding comes from student enrollment. Having a strong program for high achievers is good public relations for the district which would attract and retain parents who are considering private school. The wait lists at nationally-ranked Troy High School in Fullerton and our own McPherson Magnet School are a testament to parents’ commitment to educational excellence.
Also, Irvine Unified's foundation exemplifies the financial commitment and investment the community is willing to make for high performing schools. After all, "closing the achievement gap" is hardly a rallying cry that inspires community investment.
Parents who can afford private school are willing to give public schools a chance if they believe their kids will receive the best possible education. In addition, it is the district's responsibility to meet the needs of high achieving students. Without appropriate challenges high achieving students face loss of interest in school, increased drop out rates and behavioral problems.
I am here to urge you to reconsider this shortsighted move and to hire a full-time GATE administrator. With a full-time person in our corner, we will be able to build a program worthy of our high-achieving students. The money will come. We will retain students we are currently losing to private school and attract students whose parents weren't going to consider public school. A full-time coordinator could apply for and receive additional funding through grants.
This is not a management question-this is about leadership. This is our opportunity for a program that will allow Orange Unified to shine and that fosters hope in our public education system.
Marjan Bavand Dunn,
Orange, California and OUSD Parent
THE FLEMING FOUR SHOULD RESIGN OR BE RECALLED NOW!
Last Fall the voters in the Capistrano Unified School District spoke loud and clear that they wanted change: a school district that built facilities for students and teachers rather than administrators, accountability and true open government in their local public school district. They overwhelmingly voted for the Reform Candidates Anna Bryson, Ellen Addonizio and Larry Christensen and rejected the two incumbents who were running for re-election.
The remaining four Trustees from the era of former Superintendent James Fleming, Marlene Draper, Sheila Benecke, Mike Darnold and Duane Stiff, also known as "The Fleming Four," apparently did not get the message the voters were sending them. At their last meeting of May 7, 2007 Board President Sheila Benecke simply skipped several items on the Board's publicized agenda. The other members of the Fleming Four (Draper, Darnold and Stiff) apparently did not object to Benecke's action, (although Ms. Bryson did object vigorously).
What was on the agenda Ms. Benecke skipped and did not cover? Five important proposed revisions to the Board's policies on Conflicts of Interest, Hiring and Placement of Relatives, Purchasing Procedures, Bids and the Use of District Vehicles. All of these reforms being proposed by Reform Trustee Ellen Addonizio (with support from Ms. Bryson and Mr. Christensen) in response to the various misuse of District property and the awarding of contracts to relatives, such as Ms. Draper's daughter, that have caused public scandals and investigations by both the District itself and the Orange County District Attorney's office. It is apparent from this action that The Fleming Four have not learned the lesson of last year's recall attempt or the November 2006 election results.
To add insult to injury, the Broad very recently settled a lawsuit brought against them by Mr. Ron Lackey (who was represented by Brown Act expert James Lacy) regarding the old Board's prior violations of the Brown Act open meeting laws. Part of the settlement was that the Board members attend seminars on the Brown Act.
Apparently The Fleming Four were asleep during the seminar because the skipping of these publicized agenda items may be a violation of the Brown Act! In addition, Government Code section 54954.2, subdivision (b)(3) "...mandates that action on continued agenda items must occur within five calendar days of the meeting at which the continuance is called." Chaffee v. San Francisco Library Commission (2004) 115 Cal. App. 4th 461, 469. To this writer's knowledge, the Board did not reconvene another board meeting within five days of May 7th to consider the items on the agenda they did not consider on May 7th despite what would appear to be a clear legal mandate that they do so!
Of course this is all now in the backdrop of yesterday's indictment of former Superintendent James Fleming for misuse of public funds and other alleged criminal activity. All actions he committed while the former board (including these four holdovers) where allegedly overseeing Mr. Fleming's activities.
In this writer's opinion, these four holdovers have failed in their duty by:
1. Not properly overseeing Mr. Fleming and the Senior Administration Staff;
2. Not focusing on the needs of the children and teachers by building a very expensive and over sized Administration building while children and teachers remain in old, sometimes unhealthy, portable classrooms;
3. Diverting funds from redevelopment funds from San Juan Capistrano that were intended to contribute to the upkeep and construction of school facilities and using those monies to build the Administration building;
4. Entering into professional services contracts with companies who employed the adult daughter of one of the trustees (Ms. Draper);
5. Refusing to listen to the concerns of the voters and citizens when they came to Board meetings to express their concerns about these issues;
6. Condoning disgraced former Superintendent James Fleming's compilation of an "enemies list" and used District facilities to disseminate and expand on it; and
7. Even now stonewalling needed reforms in the District put forth by Trustee Addonizio, perhaps in violation of the Brown Act (which appears to be their pattern and practice).
This list of violations of the public trust is definitely NOT exhaustive and I am sure there are many more!
The Fleming Four must resign now or they should be recalled at once!
Craig P. Alexander, Esq.
Education Alliance Member
No More Excuses!
Our public schools are failing our children. I am not saying that all children are failing, some are doing very well. Rather, overall, public education has some major problems. Consider that 30% of our children drop out and international tests prove that the United States seriously trails other developed nations in education.
Recently, Jack O'Connell, State Superintendent of Education, wrote in San Diego's North County Times, "I have begun an intensive effort to find ways to close the gap that exists between successful students who are often white or Asian and financially well off, and struggling students who are too often poor, Hispanic, African-American, English learner or with a disability." Rather than concern himself with ethnic or economic differences, perhaps the State Superintendent of Public Schools should begin by holding public education employees accountable!
Mr. O'Connell is looking for an excuse rather than a solution. I have heard this excuse many times before in various forms from educators. One was so bold as to say "those children (referring to English learners and poor children) just can't learn, this is the best we can do." This is what is known as the "soft prejudice of low expectation." What a sad state for our children if their teachers feel this way about them.
Public education's poor results over the years are not because of poor families. It is because public education is an organization that does not hold employees accountable for results. Jack Welch is one of our nation's foremost CEO's and the former leader of General Electric, an extremely successful large corporation. GE holds the philosophy that each employee needs to be evaluated on a regular basis. The top 20% of employees in an organization need to be rewarded, the bottom 10% need to be let go. This may sound harsh but this is the philosophy used in most successful businesses and corporations today. Those individuals who do not produce are encouraged to find work where they can be productive and successful. The basic problem with O'Connell and the education establishment's philosophy is that they blame children for the shortcomings of adults. They need to look at their own public education structure and the way it encourages mediocre performance.
When you do not reward high performing employees and at the same time treat them the same as the poor performers, you discourage excellence and professionalism. Human nature also plays into this. When those who produce results are treated the same as their non producing colleagues, they often lose their motivation.
Mr. O'Connell and those who agree with his philosophy are the problem in public education. Teachers' unions refuse to allow school boards to reward the top performing teachers financially. Then they make it difficult and sometimes impossible to let poor performing teachers go. When an employee is never rewarded for results but is only rewarded for time in the job, excellence is not the result.
I once heard a teacher claim she was an excellent teacher but her students were not capable of learning. My definition of an excellent teacher is one whose students learn.
When administrators are not accountable, they do not hold teachers accountable. When teachers are not held accountable, we get unprofessional and sometimes quirky programs that are foisted on children as creative teaching. One quirky idea was the "environmental cheeseburger." A teacher once spent a whole year in math class talking about the environmental impact of a cheeseburger. Test results at the end of the year proved that all the students in that math class went backwards rather than progress in that year. And yes, some administrators in that district praised this as creative teaching.
Our job in education should be preparing students for real life and to be successful as adults. This requires teaching the core subjects of math, science, history and English by teachers and administrators who are held accountable for the results.
Colonel Marshall, an Army evaluator, made several recommendations that were loudly criticized but later proved to be highly valuable to the military. His response to the criticism was insightful, "It is time to despair of an institution when those who serve it and profess to love it no longer challenge their own system, or become less critical than those who speak with the valor of ignorance." Mr. O'Connell, it is not the children who are not learning, it is you and the adults who profess to love public education who do not learn. Public education is not a jobs program for adults; it is an organization that should be educating our children.
The solution does not require spending money; it requires those paid to lead to hold the employees within our education system accountable for results with no more excuses - including you, Mr. O'Connell.
Jim Gibson
President Board of Trustees,
Vista Unified School District
JG@eNova.us
Law signed by Schwarzenegger responsible for female homecoming King.
According to the Associated Press, a few weeks ago, Cinthia Covarrubias, who is described as a "girl who sometimes goes by the name of Tony" and who "dresses as a man and acts like a man most of the time" was allowed by Fresno high school to run for homecoming King.
Cinthia, or Tony from time-to-time, was granted the right to demand that she (he?) be allowed to run for homecoming king. Governor Schwarzenegger signed legislation giving her (him?) that right.
This legislation (SB 1234) made it illegal to discriminate against a person based on that person's "gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth." In other words, it is discrimination if you do not treat a woman who claims to be a man like a man. Unless of course the woman is feeling like a woman that day, in which case you have to treat her like a woman. I guess in Cinthia's case (or Tony depending on what date it is) you need to check each day to determine what name to call her.
The legislation that Governor Schwarzenegger signed was a result of Westminster School District refusing to give into demands by State Schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell that WSD's discrimination policy include perceived gender. Mr. O'Connell claimed that state law mandated such a policy. The School District said it didn't, and O'Connell backed off, apparently after realizing that there was no law requiring Westminster to redefine gender. A few months later, however, legislation was passed that clearly defines discrimination as the failure to treat someone in conformity with their perceived gender.
I was WSD's attorney while they were challenging O'Connell on this issue. I was soundly criticized when I wrote an opinion article for the Orange County Register explaining that it would be illegal to prevent a male teacher from teaching in high heals and a dress if it is illegal to discriminate against a person based on their perception of their gender. The trustees at the time were pummeled in the media for asking simple questions such as what bathroom a person who gets to choose their own gender would use, or whether a boy who claims to be a girl could demand to play on a girl's sports team.
Unfortunately, a girl who likes to dress like a boy, but not always, demanding the right to run for homecoming king pretty much proves that these concerns were well founded.
Mark W. Bucher, Esq.
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK & CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE WEEKJohn Briscoe, elected Trustee to the Ocean View School Board, provided a written statement of his enthusiastic support of Teacher Appreciation Week and Classified Employee Week at the specially scheduled meeting held on May 4, 2007. When the original motion was considered, Trustee Briscoe requested the Board recognize ALL teachers including private and home school instructors. He reminded the Board that recent demographic data suggested only 75% of children attend OVSD public schools. One in four children have a teacher that is not a government employee. The Board refused to expand the resolution forcing a negative vote. Classified employee recognition was a separate resolution rolled into a single agenda item, but was never in contention. There are astounding trends afoot in public education. A measure of how well schools serve their constituents can be measured by the percent of children that actually enroll in the public schools. While the Ocean View School District participation rate of 75% is surprising, Trustee Briscoe was shocked to discover the Huntington Beach City School District only enrolls 63% of total children aged 5 to 14. And the HBCSD is projecting this to decrease further to only 59% in 2011! Yes, over FORTY PERCENT of children in the HBSCD are projected to be schooled elsewhere. If these trends continue there will be mass school closings and long drives to the remaining few open public schools. We can do better! Trustee Briscoe has proposed school districts take an immediate look at what their parents really want and deliver those services. The objective is simple: provide curriculum so compelling that parents wait in line to enroll their children! Lessons can be gleaned from nearby public and private schools. These actions might include total campus security with staff and child ID badges and controlled campus access. Most private schools require standard clothing and provide a rigorous physical education that monitors improvement over multiple years. Private schools publish Internet lesson plans, semester syllabi, and grades for parents to track student progress; and children are taught how to take class lecture notes. These are just a few of the many aspects missing from public schools that drive parents to private and home schools. There is much to be done to bring back the increasing tide of parents leaving public schooling. My written statement provided to the OVSD School Board Meeting is attached HERE. The opinions herein are the sole responsibility of John Briscoe and do not reflect the views of any school board. By John Briscoe, Elected Trustee Board Member of the Ocean View School District. You may contact John Briscoe at John@Crestwave, or phone: 714.903.8774. His web site is: www.Vote4Briscoe.com
When Should a Child Start School? Let The Parents Decide.
Last year the voters turned down Proposition 82 - a tax increase to fund pre-school being offered in the public school system. This year the state government is projecting that its revenues will fall far short of prior predictions and the state's current budget needs. Some politicians in Sacramento think the best response to these two facts is to introduce legislation to lower the compulsory age for a child to enter the education system - a decision that would go against the people's decision of last June 2006 and increase the state's education budget by millions (likely by billions) at a time when we can least afford it. That bill is AB 1236 which would lower the age a child starts school from six to five. A competing bill is AB 683 which would change the birthday for a child to be required to enter school from December 1st to September 1st - effectively raising the age a child is required to be before he/she enters the school system. AB 683 is sound public policy and should be supported. It recognizes that not all five year old children are ready to enter the school system. Not all children are the same developmentally and some may need more time before they can successfully enter the formal education system. This is especially true as kindergarten and 1st grade are becoming more challenging academically. In addition, if a child is "held back" a grade because they entered the system to quickly, the public education system (if the child is in the public school) must pay for another year of that child's education. AB 1236 should be opposed as bad public and fiscal policy while AB 683 should be supported as good fiscally and it respects the rights and decision making of parents (with the help and advise of teachers and school administrators). Attached are two letters - one in opposition to AB 1236 and one in support of AB 683. I urge you to send each one to your state assembly person, state senator and to the Governor. Craig P. Alexander, Esq. Education Alliance Member Letter in opposition to AB 1236: No%20on%20AB%201236.docLetter is support of AB 683: Yes%20on%20AB%20683.doc
HPV Vaccination - Who Should Decide Parents or Government Bureaucrats?We have all read about Texas Governor Rick Perry's decision to require all female students entering Junior High School to have the HPV vaccination which will prevent a young lady from contracting cervical cancer following sexual activity (the Texas legislature has overturned that decision). Because HPV is contracted through sexual activity (which can result in cervical cancer) it is an "STD" or sexually transmitted disease. It is NOT a disease a young woman can receive from simply being in the same area as an infected person. Thus the only way to receive this STD is by sexual activity or via a blood transfusion - and donated blood is screened for any signs of disease prior to it being released into the blood supplies. Of course the controversy here is that the government is mandating that young female students, some as young as 12 or 13, are being required to receive a vaccination for a disease that they can only get via sexual activity. No parental impute required or wanted please! Never mind that the young lady may not be sexually active and may (shock, shock!) be waiting until marriage before becoming sexually active! Also never mind that there is evidence that some vaccinations may have harmful side effects. The HOV vaccine is relatively new and all of its long term affects are not yet known. The controversy has become so intense that the HPV vaccine's maker Merick stopped all lobbying activity trying to have other legislatures around the country to make rules similar to Gov. Perry's. Not wanting to be left behind with their command and control method of governing local schools, our state legislature has gotten into the act via AB 16. At first AB 16 would have required the HPV vaccine to be administered before a young lady would be allowed to enter Jr. High. It has now been amended to give an unelected bureaucrat the ability to order what vaccines a child must receive (and when they must be received) prior to him/her being allowed into school. Thus, without any hearings or public impute, this unelected official can simply order that children receive this and any other vaccine. The decision to have a child receive a vaccination should be that of parents and medical health care professionals (and the child when he/she is old enough) especially regarding a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer due to sexual activity. It is bad enough that the legislature was considering mandating the HPV vaccination. But to pass this decision off to a bureaucrat where no public hearings or impute from the community is received is even worse. The legislature should simply drop its entry into this arena or at the very least, keep the authority to order vaccinations within the legislature where the politicians will be accountable to the people for their votes. Attached is a sample letter to oppose AB 16. I recommend you download it, amend it as you deem necessary and send it to your assembly person, state senator and the Governor. Craig P. Alexander, Esq. Education Alliance Member Letter in opposition to AB 16: No%20on%20AB%2016.doc
SB 564 Expanded School Based Health Clinics - Another Top Down Mandate from Sacramento
Two of the pillars of The Education Alliance are local control by local school boards and parental rights which should be respected by school authorities and the state. SB 564 is another example of proposed legislation from Sacramento that violates these pillars - at the taxpayer's expense.
SB 564 would increase the tax outlay and provide for the expansion of school based health clinics. Its stated goal is for the schools to be a place for children to have maximum access to health care of all types including physical examinations, immunizations, "reproductive health services" (i.e. abortions), basic laboratory tests and even mental health services - all apparently without any input from or the permission of parents. SB 564 includes the planning and implementation of methods to transport students from the schools to health care providers if the school based clinic does not provide that service the on site clinic determines the child needs. Of course picking up the tab for this expansion into health care is the California taxpayer.
In reviewing the latest version of the bill, I did not see anything in the bill that provided that parents would have any impute into the schools providing these health care services or that the parents would even be notified when their child was given these "services."
At a time when there is no serious debate that our public school system in California is failing to teach students even basics such as reading and writing and studies have concluded that throwing more money at the school system will not solve these problems, we do not need to sidetrack our school district boards, administrators and teachers with providing for their student's health care - a function much more suited and appropriate for parents.
In addition, our state's finances are once again suffering from "bloated budget syndrome" - a disease that free spending politicians in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. have caused. The cure for this disease is a fiscal diet, not passing mandates that force our schools (at taxpayer expense) into the health care business and disrespects parental rights.
I urge you to contact your State Assembly person, State Senator and the Governor and express your opposition to SB 564 and to ask your friends to do so as well (refer them to this web site!).
Craig P. Alexander, Esq.
Education Alliance Member
The Anti-Spanking Bill (AB 755) - An Update; Amended But Still Bad Public PolicyOn April 24, 2007 AB 755 received its first policy committee hearing. It passed on a party line vote but with an important amendment. The " rebuttable presumption" language that a parent was presumed to been unjustified in giving his / her child a spanking with a switch or other similar object was removed. While this amendment is good, the bill is still based on flawed public policy. The state government has no business telling parents that a time honored method of disciplining children will now be illegal. Millions of parents in California use spanking as a method to reinforce to their child proper behavior and to protect them from harm (example: A child may not understand intellectually not to run out into the street due to the dangers of being run over by an automobile. However, that same two year old will likely associate running out into the street with a prior instance of pain from a spanking curbing the temptation to "go exploring" in the street). Not all parents or child rearing experts agree that spanking is a proper method of child rearing. But there is no cry for the banning of spanking coming from the state's District Attorneys claiming that child abuse can not be controlled without the wholesale banning of spanking, even by parents that would never use a spanking to abuse their child. No one condones child abuse and there are laws on the books now that make child abuse by a parent or anyone else a serious crime. Unfortunately AB 755 is the proverbial "throwing the baby out with the bath water" with a wholesale and unnecessary banning of a method of child rearing and discipline that has been in existence since men and women have first had children. AB 755 is another example of the state legislature's current tendency to pass laws that reach far into the family life of Californians in an improper and destructive way by not respecting parental rights. I encourage you to write to your State Assembly person and State Senator (with a copy to the Governor) urging them to oppose this bill. Attached is a sample letter you can download, amend if you desire and mail out. Craig P. Alexander, Esq. Education Alliance Member No%20on%20AB%20755.doc
Another blog post regarding Sen. Harman's bill... Harman's "There oughta be a law" legislation would require local school districts to offer an elective course in community service. Mike Spence examines the potential consequences of this bill in his post Will Harman's 'Community Service" Bill Ban God? today on the Flashreport's Weblog. Spence points out that the bill merely states that the service be "non-partisan" and "non-sectarian" but does not further define what service activities are allowable. He suggests that this lack of definition may result in a ban on many common "faith" based service opportunities. Spence also notes that the bill's ambiguity may ultimately lead to the restriction of service activities students can perform, leaving a list of permitted activities that could potentially stray from conservative values.
Another great post from Red County/OC Blog's Jubal on the real interests of union leaders and the impact these selfish pursuits have on our public education system. Read "A Lesson in Teacher Union's Iron Priorities" here.
Check out Jubal's commentary on the Santa Ana Unified School District scandal over at the Red County/OCBlog! His post "Gotta Love Public School Accountability" points out the Dept. of Ed.'s continued argument against school vouchers due to the lack of accountability in regulating private schools...he points out that a situation like SAUSD only highlights the emptiness of the assertions that public schools provide MORE accountability...
The Capistrano Unified School Board did the right thing - even if some of the CUSD trustees did so for the wrong reasons.
The Orange County Register has reported that the trustees of the CUSD have voted to cut off funding of former Superintendent James Fleming's criminal defense attorney's fee. Mr. Fleming has been under investigation for violations of state laws by such acts as keeping "enemies lists" of recall leaders. A retired judge hired by CUSD to investigate recently issued a report finding some of the accusations true and not appropriate.
On Monday the CUSD trustees voted to end the taxpayer funding of Mr. Fleming's criminal defense fees. However, not all of the trustees cast their votes for the right reasons. Board member Sheila Benecke said the only reason she was voting in favor of cutting off funding Mr. Fleming's legal fees is that the grand jury investigation has quieted down and if it picks up steam again the District should resume funding these fees.
It is apparent that Ms. Benecke just does not understand that when a school official acts improperly he should not be rewarded with a free criminal defense at taxpayer's expense - especially when the District has just announced a serious cash flow shortage with resultant cut backs in services. Ms. Benecke continues to deny that the voters in the CUSD (this author is one of them) want change - not the old guard continuing to protect their own.
Also, the District should not defend Mr. Fleming's actions which were just plain wrong. As Vice President of the Board Anna Bryson stated: "It is a misuse of taxpayers' money to defend the indefensible." Ms. Bryson is absolutely correct.
Craig Alexander, Esq.
Education Alliance Member
The New and Improved Textbook Bill for 2007 or
Using Textbooks to Silence the Opposition to Homosexuality
As sure as spring brings daylight savings time in California, certain legislators in Sacramento continue to bring back bad ideas. Last year Senator Shelia Kuehl put through a bill to have textbooks used in California's public schools to be gay friendly. Thankfully the Governor vetoed it.
Not taking no for an answer, Senator Kuehl has introduced SB777. SB777 provides that no textbooks or other instructional material will be allowed in public and in many private schools that reflects adversely upon a long list of persons including people's sexual orientation (i.e. homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender people, etc.). The bill does not define the term - reflects adversely - so the term will likely be given a very broad definition by courts attempting to enforce this proposesd law.
As usual, Senator Kuehl does not provide for any rights of conscience exemption or parental opt out provisions. In other words, the schools, including some private schools can not say anything adverse about homosexuality and parents have no say in the matter, period. What makes this bill so far reaching is its application to private schools. The only exception granted under the bill is for private religious schools...if the application would not be consistent with the religious tenets of that organization. Therefore SB777 will apply to those private schools that are not religious and religious schools that have not stated specifically that homosexuality is inconsistent with the schools' religious tenets.
There are several problems with this type of legislation. First, this bill fundamentally ignores that parents are the persons who should instill values in their children. Not the California legislature. Homosexuality is not universally accepted in our society. It is very controversial and many millions of Californians do no want their children to be taught that this is an acceptable lifestyle. The bill is vague in its use of the term "reflecting adversely". What does that mean? To not say anything negative? What about teaching the sad truth that the AIDS epidemic began with the homosexual community in the early 1980s? Is the textbook barred from teaching this inconvenient truth? Does this phrase mean that a textbook must "out" historical figures (usually based on the textbook author's speculations)? Also, schools should be about the business of teaching children basic skills such as reading and writing, not highly debated social policy from a one sided point of view.
Another problem is the enforcement of SB777 on religious schools. How are the courts (who normally take great pains to avoid being involved in ecclesiastical matters or church affairs) to be guided on what is an acceptable tenet of faith for the private school to fit into the religious exemption. There is nothing in the bill to guide the courts.
It would be tempting to suggest changes in the bill such as putting the burden of proof on the government when it enforces this proposed law against a religious school or providing for parental opt out rights. However, the bill's basic concept is flawed.
Instead of using textbooks to silence opposition to homosexuality (which is what SB777 is really all about), the legislature should celebrate freedom of speech and religion by dropping this bad bill. I recommend you write to your Assemblyperson, State Senator and the Governor and let them know you oppose SB777.
Craig Alexander, Esq.
Education Alliance Member
MERIT PAY
Interesting post on Merit Pay from the Education Intelligence Agency blog Intercepts. The author of this post, J3, lists his suggestions for a good merit pay system, citing simplicity as his number one priority. Read the post Here.
Education In The News - March 1, 2007
Santa Ana Trustees Vote to Close Grant - OCR Shutting the small campus will help balance the budget, district officials say. Santa Ana to Close Two Schools - LAT Trustees in Orange County's largest district vote to close Grant Elementary and Taft Intermediate as part of plan to trim $15.6 million for next year. Nasty Battle for Classroom Control - LA Weekly L.A., which educates one of every 12 California students, is ground zero in the Education Wars Bush to visit New Orleans' charter school - Houston Chronicle President Bush's decision to speak today at one of the city's 31 charter schools amounts to a political endorsement of the alternative schools that have proliferated here since Hurricane Katrina, a teachers' union official said. U.S. public schools rate overall 'F,' report says - Hearst Newspapers WASHINGTON — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined with a prominent liberal think tank on Wednesday to warn of potential long-term damage to the U.S. economy caused by the failure of American public schools to properly educate students.
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