A new blog has entered the blogosphere. It is called SAUSD Injustices, and as its name implies it is devoted to revealing the truth about the scandals and corruption that have taken place during the Al Mijares administration. Here is what their blog editor has to say about this new blog:
Now that our superintendent is leaving, I know that many teachers have started to verbalize their unhappiness with certain issues. I would like to hear about how other staff around the district feel about the district and their handling of affairs at this moment. What kind of issues does the district have to know about when it hires someone to “clean house?” This is an independent blogger I’ve created for the teachers and staff to vent to. My concern is all of these PI schools in the district that no one knows what will happen should they go into PI-6. Apparently the state doesn’t know what to do with them and neither does the district. My point, if you keep putting fish into the water and they keep dying, maybe you should check the water. What’s your story?
I would like to thank the many teachers, parents and others affected by SAUSD for their support of the Orange Juice. Clearly the issues they face are indeed large enough to support a separate blog. We will however continue to focus on the SAUSD as well. We have a new education writer coming on board next week, and I think you will all find what she has to say to be of relevance. Until then, good luck to SAUSD Injustices! The truth is out there – and it needs to be shared with the public.
I’d like to nominate Denise as one of the poster children of the abusive behaviors towards teachers under Mijares and his cronies. She gives her phone number. Call her. I did. The woman wants her job back so she won’t lose her home. How easy is that to fix? Forgive me, Bernedette, if you’ve already called her and mended this fence. But somehow I doubt you’ve done much more than try and silence people who are revealing the horrid practices of SAUSD.
The district sent out a recent notice that they will no longer be self-insured for Workman’s Compensation. Their backlog was/is volumnous.
Here is a press release naming a district employee who is losing her home because of unresolved Workman Comp compliances.
Maybe Bernedette will step up and help out on this one. It’s not a rumor. The woman wants her employment back:
TOXIC MOLD NEWS STORY- A Teacher’s Nightmare
For Immediate Relese:
Teacher Forced to Move From Home Because Santa Ana Unified School District Will Not Return Her To Work.
TEACHER IN ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA WILL LOSE HER HOME AFTER LOSING HER JOB
SAUSD DENIES THAT DISCOVERED TOXIC MOLD IS THAT SERIOUS
DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF ORANGE COUNTY OPENS INVESTIGATION FOR INSURANCE FRAUD
Santa Ana, CA – Denise Byrd, a teacher of 15 years in the Santa Ana Unified School District, (SAUSD), became ill with lung damage and other secondary physical problems around March 2001, when the portable classroom she worked in was discovered to have serious toxic mold infestation.
The results of the District’s own testing showed Denise Byrd’s classroom at Jefferson Elementary in Santa Ana, had one of the highest Toxic Mold counts among 15 other classrooms that were tested.
.. The other teachers in the portables also filled out surveys and had similar symptoms as Ms. Byrd. Ms. Byrd was forced to go into the same classroom when she returned around September, 2002, where again she became ill along with other students. Ms. Byrd lost her jury trial, Denise Byrd vs. SAUSD, in Sept., 2004 for failure to accommodate. The case was lost due to improper use of evidence and other puzzling reasons. ” There was and is plenty of evidence that the opposing side committed perjury which gives a good reason for a case to be overturned and re-tried”, states Denise.Byrd. She feels that her legal team was ineptand is looking for someone to represent her in a malpractice case since her time is crucial.
The District Attorney ‘s Department of Insurance Fraud has opened up an investigation to this case involving workers compensation insurance with the teachers of Santa Ana. Claims that doctors of the District are told what to say in the medical reports
what happened to all those blogs that were
on this site last week?
were they censored?
“what happened to all those blogs that were on this site last week? Were they censored?”
What are you talking about? Do you refer to earlier posts or comments? The posts on ANY blog move automatically down the page as new ones come on. There is no way to keep old posts on top.
The two posts with a lot of comments about SAUSD are here and here.
I am going to be a bad guest and make some suggestions on how to handle this topic/discussion.
# Do not require anyone to register. It is absolutely not safe for any employee to think they would not become a target of retaliation. Anyone who feels safe can post their own name or chosen moniker if they prefer.
#It is absolutely not safe to post to this blog if you have a boss who is into abusing employees. Bernedette made it perfectly clear about the lengths that she was willing to go to shut down this blog. The people who have the ability to hire and fire employees or to take steps against community families or individual students mostlikely feel the same way and will want to take action to keep their secrets.
#I suggest a message board format. It makes it much easier to keep the threads straight. An example: a poster identifies a problem at Willard. Other posters could choose to post responses to that or move onto another tread that has relevance. There are many free places to do that. Here is one example- http://california.teachers.net/chatboard/
#I think a lot of people are reading this board and it will really get popular when everyone returns from their trips and summer recreations. However, posting to this blog is something new for many people. When your job has been threatened, or if you’ve seen your workmates moved a lot, it is difficult.
#No one really knows if the “new” boss is any better than the “old” boss. Thanks for providing a forum, Art.
Here’s a question. When you report an inappropriate employee to the site principal and then instead of finding out if there is a problem, instead decides to attack the reporting employee? Who then can the employee notify? Please don’t suggest Juan Lopez in HR. He just joins in the attack. I think this whole thing could have been prevented if the leadership in this district had been ethical.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teacher8dec08,1,7094016.story…
> By Susana Enriquez, Times Staff Writer
> A Santa Ana high school teacher was arrested Wednesday morning on suspicion
> of lewd conduct with a student during a five-year period, police said.
> Lee Henry, 56, of Tustin, was pulled out of his English class at Middle
> College High School about 10 a.m. and arrested in the office, said Lt. Jim
> Peery, a spokesman for the Tustin Police Department.
> The alleged abuse began when the student was 13 years old and attended Carr
> Intermediate School, where Henry was his teacher, Peery said.
> The Santa Ana teenager and the teacher had oral sex in Henry’s apartment at
> least 10 times over five years, Peery said. The most recent incident took
> place this year, he said.
> The student, who was not identified, is now 18 and attends Santa Ana Valley
> High School, Peery said. He approached police about two months ago to report
> the alleged acts, Peery said.
> Police are investigating whether there are other alleged victims.
> Henry, a 29-year veteran of the Santa Ana Unified School District, taught at
> Carr Intermediate from 1982 to 2000, at Mendez Fundamental Intermediate from
> 2000 to 2005, and had just started at Middle College in September, said
> Susan Brandt, a spokeswoman for the district.
> Middle College is a collaboration between the Santa Ana Unified School
> District and Santa Ana College. The students, who have to apply to the
> school, can take high school and college classes.
> Henry has been placed on paid administrative leave until he is charged or
> exonerated, Brandt said.
> Henry was booked on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts and oral
> copulation with a child under 14, Peery said. He is being held at Orange
> County Jail on $100,000 bail.
> Henry is the latest Orange County teacher to be arrested on suspicion of sex
> with underage students this year.
http://groups.google.com/
http://www.big-boards.com/
http://www.digg.com/
Digg is a very good forum choice- http://revision3.com/portal_memberdata/portal_factory/Member/member.2006-07-23.2632/join_form
All of this information is correct concerning Lee Henry. Is this man still on PAID leave?????Is he still employed by the district????? How can this behavior been going on for so long, from school to school and no one has notice or said anything??? or should I say reported anything and nothing has been taken seriously or handled appropiatly???? If this information is correct then….how is this being handled???
Art,
In your posts you are pointing out certain “injustices”, yet you never focus on a source of the problem. According to the US constitution we have three (3) branches of the government, executive, legislative and judiciary.
Everyone at this forum is discussing first two branches only and never the third one….. why?….. even though that every issue related to the first two branches depends on the judiciary branch.
So, “injustice” is only possible if judiciary branch is dysfunctional.
For example, look at the Orange County Superior court judiciary!
Judge Thomas J. Borris, while drunk driving destroyed private property…. received zero punishment.
Former presiding judge Theodor Millard, while drunk driving seriously injured motorist…. received only 30 days in private jail (motel)
Judge Ronald C. Kline, convicted of child molestation sentence unknown about 27 to 33 month in private jail (motel)
Judge John S. Adams heavily sedated by antidepressant while on bench and under oath to Free Masons, ignoring judicial oath.
Art, as long as you will ignore judiciary branch your “interest in fostering good governance” is meaningless.
How can this behavior been going on for so long, from school to school and no one has notice or said anything??? or should I say reported anything and nothing has been taken seriously or handled appropiatly???? If this information is correct then….how is this being handled???
I has happend over and over again. Good employees who voice a concern over illegal or inappropriate behavior by another employee become the targets of attack by lousy administrators who like having scary employees like pedophiles around. That way they always have a scape goat to point at, if the principal ever gets in trouble for a poorly run site. Ask Bishop, Espinosa and Bishop how they all trade around their broken employees. Richard Erhard is in charge of Special Education and keeping litigation from forming. Erhard knows of many instances of dangerous and illegal activities by a few rotten employees but does nothing. Juan Lopez knows all of the grievances at problem sites, but chooses to help scare ethical employees into tranfers. These two people know the problems and choose to do nothing, or worse, the absolute wrong thing in ignoring problems. Lewis Bratcher and Al Mijares and the BOE are also ultimately responsible. If they say they were not aware of the depth of the problems in the district, then they are of very little use to the community and students.
The system under Bratcher and Mijares is corrupt. That’s how horrible employees get away with crimes for years and years.
Ask Bishop, Espinosa and Bishop
Make that Bishop, Espinosa, Jones and Carrigg.
How much does Bratcher make?
More deadwood. He is an absentee boss!
Regardless of what people say, I still like Bratcher.
Tell me how is it possible for Tony Espinosa to be voted Administrator of the Year when he had taken Valley High School to PI 4? The year after Espinosa was voted Administrator of the Year Valley went to PI 5. And by all accounts Valley is expected to become the worse school in Orange County and among the worse schools in the United States when it is designated a PI 6 school. If that isn’t corruption then what is?
If any teacher has newly passed the CLAD series, make sure that you go and register it w/the credentialing department or you won’t get your deserved stipend. No one told me to do that and the district got a free ride for about 8 months before they notified me to register it. Thanks a lot.
Why is there a huge poster at SAUSD offices announcing Juan Lopez administrator of the Year?
Watch the latest edition of “Education First”, SAUSD’s very own news broadcast. See the broadcast video hosted by Google Video. It can accessed through the SAUSD website under the public information page.
NOTICE INVITING APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP ON THE BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE FOR THE SANTA ANA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT can be found on the SAUSD web page. I don’t live in S.A. maybe someone out there does?
Lewis Bratcher and Juan Lopez are unethical and should be on their way like mijares.
Bruce Covert, AP at Saddleback in charge of Curriculum and scheduling faces repeated attacks by Lewis Bratcher. He probably wonders why. He might want to consider that his boss, Mrs. Jones is blaming her inabilities on him, therefore letting Bratcher taking it out on Covert. She’s great at shifting the blame, mixing up facts and not adhering to best practices. Bruce, you’ve already had one heart attack under your leader. Going for number two as your VP contingent flees?
You’ve been stuck too long at Saddleback being the whipping boy. Good luck!
someone should look into the practices of sausd police chief. all that glitters is not gold.anyone??????
This one is for you!
Do you want to be the one who broke the camels’ back?
Get your sources and Intel; you will make the front page of every paper in town if you break the police chief story.
How many lawsuits, before he gets the boot?
Noji! Rob!
* Special Education Rights violations
*Unsafe school conditions
*Untrained and inappropriate staff creating dangerous situations
* Reported state, federal, IDIEA and ADA violations.
SAUSD’s attorney groups don’t seem to be taking care of business by giving solid advice and preventative suggestions to this district that has incurred many lawsuits that could have been prevented. SAUSD would not be the first district to employ lawyers more interested in creating problems so that they can overbill the district. Lawyers can be SANCTIONED for improper representation. How much is spent on legal bills each month and each year?
Firstly, I think if someone is going to make a comment, one should not make the comment so anonymously. If there is a complaint that I have with an administrator, other teacher, or union official, most of the time, I tell it to their face. I think that for the most part, one is more respected by all parties involved when this is done. Anyone can ask the administrators at SAHS, Al Mijares, or our Union officials if I’m shy about expressing my views.
SAUSD still faces a lot of problems and no one is going to win but, one thing is for sure, we the teachers will never be able to compete with the political influences within our city until we fully unite to protect ourselves against some of the practices that hurt education. One of the biggest obstacles we as teachers face, is that we have a very inept union. I don’t really know any details regarding Denise’s case, but if Denise had a very aggressive lawyer from the very start, she may not have gotten into this situation. I know of a teacher that hired their own lawyer because SAEA and the CTA lawyer told that person they didn’t have a case. I’m sure now that SAUSD wishes the teacher in question had continued with SAEA and the CTA lawyer. That teacher won that case with very positive results. Teachers have to remember that the liability policy that SAEA offers is not in their name but in the name of SAEA/CTA. If SAEA wants to save money or don’t agree with you, they may decide not even to refer you to their lawyer. If one insists on seeing the lawyer, SAEA will “brief” the lawyer before a member confers with the attorney. A lot of teachers believe that SAEA always fights for what is best for the teachers. Is that why SAEA lied to the teachers in our district about a State take-over to get a yes vote for the 4.5% pay cut we received for the past two years. Most teachers don’t even know that the 4.5% pay cut was put on the bargaining table by our own assosiation and not the District! There are many more cases in which SAEA lies to the members or makes “deals” with the District at the expense of teachers. If teachers within a school unite and include other resources such as parents and politicians, the teachers can establish a stong, positive learning environment within their site. SAEA and the two CTA executive directors, Gladys Kessler and Joe Krause have not and will not work to establish this type of unity. I even called up other union presidents in Orange County over a lie our former president, Tom Harrison made at a Site-Rep meeting, and the two presidents I called responded with “that’s your union”. As a district and a union we are well known within the County. Establishing unity and site self-control is a lot of work and requires involvement from the staff. But we have to ask ourselves, why are we paying upwards toward $1,000 dollars a year in union fees. We are generating about $4.5 million dollars a year in union dues. Why can’t a good portion of that money go to hiring a few people to help organize the teachers. Why can’t a larger portion of our fees go to truly supporting candidates that are pro-teachers. The answer is rather simple, only a small percent, about 1/3, of our fees stay in our local union. That can not be changed. Didn’t anyone notice that our dues did not go down the 4.5% SAEA said they would. That is because they lied. SAEA can only directly control that 1/3 portion. So, it is very possible that in coming years, we not get a raise but our union dues go up drastically, even though SAEA tells us they, SAEA, are not going to raise them. SAEA’s attitude is that they’re not really lying. The best advise that I can give teachers in our district is to watch out for #1 because our union won’t. Go out and get other liability insurance that has a policy in your individual name and not that of SAEA/CTA. In this way, if there is an issue, you don’t have to wait for SAEA to try to make a deal with SAUSD and the lawyer you obtain will be completely responsive to you.
I know that there will be a lot of teachers in SAUSD that will feel offended because I am criticizing our own union but, if we don’t monitor and demand that our union be more active in all the school sites and work harder to unite all teachers, we will always face an abusive district with inferior support. SAEA must be willing to give members the ability to criticize and make suggestions that may not be popular in a completely open forum. Any teacher, parent, or student can talk about just about any issue at a District Board meeting. All they have to do is fill out a form. SAEA does not allow for a forum for teachers to bring up issues, concerns or criticisms to the entire rep council. Teachers are often told that they are “out of order” or that protocol is not being followed. Teachers will be told that they can talk to individual area SAEA board members for the sake of time and efficiency. This is nothing more than censorship. This is a censorship that our own SAUSD board does not practice.
Why doesn’t SAEA have a message board on their site to help organize the complaints? The union doesn’t even have enough membership to afford a full staff. Tom Harrison allowed poor site administrators to scare off experienced teachers and replace them with novices who don’t have the requirements to fully be teachers who have to pay into the union. Other members have chosen to put their money towards other educatiional institutions, to specifically stiff SAEA of getting the funds.
SAEA is not backing Noji this November. If there are no changes in some of the worst school district leadership this September, just expect more of the same business as usual.
Why doesn’t SAEA have a message board on their site to help organize the complaints? The union doesn’t even have enough membership to afford a full staff. Tom Harrison allowed poor site administrators to scare off experienced teachers and replace them with novices who don’t have the requirements to fully be teachers who have to pay into the union. Other members have chosen to put their money towards other educatiional institutions, to specifically stiff SAEA of getting the funds.
SAEA is not backing Noji this November. If there are no changes in some of the worst school district leadership this September, just expect more of the same business as usual.
Mr. Salgado –
How many teachers or what percent voted in the last union election?
How many or what percent voted two years ago when the cut in pay was the issue?
How may teachers responded to the surveys regarding their school site this past year?
Isn’t it true the majority of SAHS teachers were pleased when Jeff Bishop was removed as vice principal? And aren’t as many displeased about Salcedo being principal?
Last I heard Joe Krause is no longer a CTA rep for SAEA. Isn’t that correct?
Who is orangezest and is it true that the sausdinjustices blog is a district-sponsored sting operation?
Dear Anonymous,
For the vote on the contract, two years ago, there was, understandably a very big turn out. The vote to ratify the contract was for a cut in our salary that affected everyone. When some of us began to discover lies that SAEA was disseminating to the membership in order to get a “yes” vote, we made a real effort to expose SAEA by putting out flyers and contacting our co-workers. SAEA also turned up the propaganda which resulted in a very high voter participation. There was also a fairly good turn out for the SAEA office election that followed soon after the contract election because of the controversy that was involved in that election. I and a few other teachers in the District made an effort to continue to expose the corruption and self-serving actions of the SAEA hiarchy. After that election, the turn outs for other elections have dropped drastically. In essence, teachers have fallen back into being passive. The result will most likely be that the District will continue to abuse the teachers, we will most likely not get a good contract when compared to other districts in the county or state, and our association will continue to raise our dues but continue to provide poor services.
In so far as Bishop is concerned, as any administrator, some teachers liked him and others didn’t. As the VP in charge of discipline, he was great. Many of the kids hated him but that’s because he was tough on trouble-makers. At times, he transferred some of the abrasiveness to the way he related to teachers. But even though he could at times be abbrasive with teachers, I think he was the best VP in charge of discipline I’ve ever seen. I, for one, was sorry to see him moved out of student discipline. He later was placed in charge of technology. While there, some teachers began to criticize his position but I have to give him credit for questioning the District’s purchasing policy. To the best of my knowledge, Bishop wanted to purchase computers for far less than what the District was purchasing them. Bishop wanted to purchase the computers from a vendor that was not the “District approved” vendor. He was unable to purchase the computers from the outside vendor but only after the District “approved vendor” brought down the price of the computers. Other teachers may have other issues with him but I don’t know all of the details and will refrain from making any comments. As for Willard, I’ve heard through a co-worker that most of the teachers at Willard like Bishop. If you are interested, you should talk to the Willard staff.
In so far as Dan Salcedo is concerned, he had always had a reputation of being very controlling and dictatorial with staff. I think a couple of things have caused a little change in him. Participation in WASC has helped in this change. When WASC accreditation comes around, he knows that he needs the participation of the staff. In fact, Dan is now an administrator that visits other schools as a WASC team member. Dan does not bother me personally but I know that some staff members don’t care for him. He and I have bumped heads over some issues but I think overall despite some of our differences, we treat one another with respect and I believe that he knows that if I feel strongly about something, I will voice my opinion and become active in trying to change it. Dan knows that I will be knocking on his door if I feel there’s an issue. Last year we formed a faculty advisory committee that, in my opinion, addressed some problems that the administration and the District were reluctant to face. While not all problems were solved to everyone’s complete satisfaction, both the District and the SAHS administration did sit down with us, listen to our concerns and suggestions on how we could both help resolve the issues. Teachers had a vehicle in which they could address their issues without feeling intimidated or isolated in front of the administration. This was a big step forward.
We all have to acknowledge that even though we at SAHS may not be in “heaven”, we are able to get a good WASC accreditation. Some of the other schools in our district have not only had major problems in getting an accreditatin but their scores have not progressed adequately. Many of the problems we at SAHS are facing are rooted with the District’s decisions. We have way too many students. We are built on about 24 acres, the smallest in the district, yet we have one of the largest student populations in the County. The student to teacher ratio is still one of the highest in the County. As a consequence, most teachers feel that student discipline has suffered, we have bungalows in what used to be parking, the learning environment is not as condusive as it should be, and coaches are often quarreling over field usage.
On the subject of Joe Krause, since I have chosen to drop my SAEA membership and become a fee-payer, I’ve not kept up with all of the changes within SAEA. SAEA will not even return any of my calls. If Joe Krause is no longer a CTA executive director, it’s news to me. A lot of people, I included, felt that Al Mijares was being paid way too much yet no one questioned or criticized Joe Krause’s salary. Joe was/is making over $150,000 a year. Furthermore, if he recieves teacher retirement from STRS, he may be making almost as much as Al. I don’t know for certain what kind of salary Gladys Kessler gets, but I imagine that her salary from CTA is probably comparable to Krause’s. Did you know that when they, Joe and Gladys helped negotiate our 4.5% pay cut, their salaries were not affected. In fact, according to Joe, the year we got a pay cut, Joe and Gladys got a raise.
On the subject of this Blog being a sting, I don’t think so. The District has too many other things to do than try to set up a sting to see what teachers criticize them. Two years ago, when we were going through elections and at the height of all the controversies, I spoke to the Board at a Board meeting and told the board that this district needed to change the District leadership. This was done while Al Mijares was sitting next to the podium that is used for addressing the board. I was not the only one who spoke negatively that night either. I have never been reprimanded or chastised in any form for expressing my views. What can the District do to me? I do my job and more. I didn’t fabricate lies. Rob, Sal, and John know me and have all heard my opinions and complaints. If a teacher is working at a site in which the administrator retaliates or reprimands a teacher, and the administrator gets away with it, it is because of two basic reasons. One, the staff at that site is not very united and afraid of their principal. Two, SAEA is inept in organizing that staff and is unwilling to aggresively confront that administrator for something that he/she has no right to do. If you call and talk to Rob, Sal, John or Adrey, they will tell you that you have the right to express your views without fear of being reprimanded. I truly believe that they mean it. If a teacher is truly doing his/her job, the administrator really can’t do anything to the teacher. The administrator may try to intimidate the teacher but that will only succeed if the teacher allows him/her to be intimidated. If the staff stays united, the intimidation tactic will not be successful. The staff can ask the superintendant to get involved which is somthing most administrators don’t want. If parents get involved, this also puts more pressure on the administrator. In other words, if the administrator unreasonbly reprimands teachers, “go to war”, unite as a staff and use all your resources to make life miserable for the administrator. How many times do we hear about an administrator that was going to be transferred but because of the unification and protests of parents and teachers, the Board allows the principal to stay. That same unification can be used to achieve the opposite results.
Have a good year,
Ernie Salgado
Ernie,
You are a man of integrity, you speak the truth.
I agree with you; if more threads were posted with real names, one would be taken serious. If you speak with the truth, the law is on your side.
My hats of to you Ernie!
Luis Navarro
Luis Navarro –
Was Orlando’s love for Rosalind less because he wooed and courtered her under anominity? Or did it release him to freely express his heart’s desire?
Read the great masterpieces of literature and glean some insight into human nature.
Committing one’s name to a blog does not guarantee truth.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/article_709679.php
Will this be the third year in a row that classrooms are overcrowded?
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Crowded classrooms are straining schools
Santa Ana district has class sizes above the state’s recommendation for the second consecutive year.
By FERMIN LEAL
The Orange County Register ANA
The reason we lost over a millon dollars and did not get new computers is because Jeff Bishop refused to listen to the district that told him not to accept anymore old computers.
The grant people came down and said in effect that we did not need them!
Who needs new computers, when you can have Jo Ellen Allen from SAEF at an Angel’s game with Willard students.
http://www.saefforkids.org/board.html
Does anyone have the picture of trigg,
if so posted so we can all see it.
Where can we get the miyachiro sexual harassment lawsuit settlement!
I sure would like to know how much the district pay-out.
Miyashiro had a sexual harassment lawsuit and no one knows…find out. However he was married and had a child with his former secretary during his marriage, Coreen/Coleen has since trasferred to business…
As for Juan Lopez, he’s backstabbing and trying to do what it takes for Al’s job. Administrator of the Year? For what? Typical Sanat Ana, he’s run out of three districts and lands on his feet in Santa Ana and is annointed a star. He’s another one who is nowhere to be found….always at the doctors and starts his day at 10:00. When we had negotiations, we were at the table waiting and he never showed up until well after an hour of waiting only to have him enter and talk about his daughter and Disneyland adventures. It’s tyime we kick negotiating into high gear and have SAUSD know we are serious and walk out when they are late. C’mon Dave, it’s not like you have big shoes to fill…
A picture of Trigg? Take a picture of a pregnant women, or a buddha’s stomach and, bam, you got his siloutte. Im sorry that would be offensive to pregnat women and buddhists around the world.
Actually you could probably find him hnext to Juan and Helen Stainer’s picture on the back of a milk cartoon or the FBI wanted list. Never seen them. How about this question, when was the last time you saw a district official in your classroom? Let alone your school? A board member? Lets send them a map of the district from all 1500 of us…
“It’s tyime we kick negotiating into high gear and have SAUSD know we are serious and walk out when they are late.” The biggest obstacle to this idea is SAEA and their inept abilities to organize and motivate the members. In the 30 years as a teacher, SAEA has not only failed to organize but when some teachers decided to take the type of action you suggested, they were considered by SAEA as “rebels” and non-cooperative. Go to an SAEA Site Rep meeting and suggest a “walk-out”, and you’ll soon see just how inept our association is. SAEA is afraid and will not go any further than to put flyers in boxes that are full of rhetoric and nothing more. In the 30 years as a teacher, I don’t even recall SAEA providing us, the teachers, with picket signs. As always, negotiations will drag on way into the year, the District will continue to declare that there is no money, and the negotiating team will continue to sit with the District only to have them, the District negotiators, prolong negotiations well into the year because they know SAEA will do nothing! After we received the 4.5% pay cut, I called up one of the SAEA negotiators and asked her how it was that the CTA executive director was given the ability to sit down with the District personell and finalize the contract. She told me that they, the SAEA negotiating team members, were tired, very frustrated and told Joe Krausse to finish up the contract.
“Kick negotiating into high gear”, I doubt it!
Talk to Julie Maneghini or Jeff Goldberg and ask them about a “walk out”. Ask them if and when a “walk out” could occur.
The following is an e-mail correspondence between myself and Dean Vogel, CTA Board Member.
Dear Ernest,
Thank you for the very detailed description of events. I’ll talk with
President Barbara Kerr and Vice President David Sanchez and see what
course of action is available for us to assist you in this matter. I don’t
want to say anything more specifically until I’ve talked with some
other people. But I will be sure to get back to you soon.
Regards,
Dean
—–Original Message—–
From: Ernest Salgado
Sent: Wed Jun 30 19:10:58 2004
To: Vogel, Dean
Subject: SAEA Contract/Problems
Dear Mr. Vogel,
I have been a teacher in the Santa Ana Unified School District for the
last 28 years. Recently our SAEA, Santa Ana Educators Association,
president Tom Harrison delivered an unprecedented 4% pay cut to the
members. Tom Harrison and the two CTA executive directors misinformed the
members in order to achieve ratification of the contract. Tom and the
two executive directors have developed so much mistrust and anger within
our district, that teachers from other schools are asking me what can
be done and why CTA is not taking any kind of action. I too am very
angry with the manner in which SAEA disseminates misinformation and am at
a point in which I am not discouraging teachers who are considering
dropping their membership.
In order to achieve ratification of the contract, Tom Harrison went
throughout the schools in the SAUSD and told the teachers that if
ratification for the contract was not achieved, the State would take over the
operations of the District in two weeks. This was not true. Ron
Bennett of Student Services Inc, stated at a District Board meeting that the
very soonest the State would take over was in another 5 months. At
another teacher gathering, a School Board member, Rosmarie Avila, also
confirmed that a state takeover, if solvency were not achieved by the
District, was not eminent.
Teachers were further misinformed when they were told that a state
takeover meant that all bargaining rights would be lost as well as losing
protection from any existing contract if the District could not prove
financial solvency and there were a State takeover. This was also not
true. I personally e-mailed the California State Department of
Education and in the response by Janet Finley of School Fiscal Services
Division of the State Dept. of Ed., the State informed me as to what the
process was as well as informing me what affect a State takeover would have
on bargaining rights and contract protection. The State informed me
that the existing contract legally had to be honored. Furthermore, the
state informed me that when an existing contract expires, negotiations
do still occur. The state does not simply impose pay cuts without
negotiations. Negotiations are held with a State trustee as opposed to
negotiating with District personnel. The misinformation was further
promoted
by the two CTA executive directors from our association.
The entire process of informational meetings conducted by Tom Harrison
and the voting for ratification for the contract was held
simultaneaously within a one (1) week period. This was done, according to SAEA
president, to avoid an eminent State takeover in two weeks, which we now
know was not true. The hurried vote resulted in the lack of ability by
the members to become properly informed as well as creating a lack of
ability for teachers who were on an off-cycle to vote. We are a District
of more than 3,000 members and many of the elementary teachers are in
year-round schools.
Many teachers asked Tom Harrison and the CTA executive directors to
delay the vote so as more information could be obtained and achieve proper
organization of the members to act and pressure the District to obtain
a better contract. Tom and the CTA executive directors did just the
opposite and promoted the ratification of the contract within a week.
In addition, Joe Krausse placed language in the contract that became a
focal point of controversy throughout the District. In order to
ascertain the reasons and the true affect the language had on the contract,
at an informational meeting I asked Joe Krause, one of our CTA executive
directors, very specific questions. I subsequently called a District
Board member as well as an SAEA board of director member who
contradicted what Joe Krausse had said. The ratification for the contract by the
District School Board narrowly passed by a vote of 3 to 2. Despite the
large amount that our association was giving the SAUSD, the major issue
of concern for the Board members was the domestic partner language that
Joe Krausse had placed in the contract. In a conversation that I had
with the SAUSD School Board president, he stated that if not for the
large 4% pay cut over the two (2) year period, he would not have voted to
ratify the contract with the domestic partner language. Additionally,
many teachers in our District, as myself, did not know what domestic
partner was. I was told by an SAEA Board member that it was in the
contract however, the contract did not define what domestic partnership was.
I personally had to look it up on the internet. On a personal note, I
do not care if domestic partner is placed in the contract or not as
long as the membership is properly informed as to what it is and as long
as I know that there are no major objections by teachers or School Board
members that would influence in any way a pay cut. After my
conversation with the School Board president, it appears that the language may
very well have had a negative affect on the monetary terms of the
contract. In other words, the District may very well have accepted a
contract with less of a pay cut, or maybe no pay cut at all, without the
domestic partner language included in it especially when taking into account
the 3 to 2 ratification vote by the school board. I have continued to
ask Tom Harrison for evidence that Joe Krausse stated existed bu
t, Tom
refuses to address the issue in a proper manner. At an SAEA Board of
Directors meeting, Tom passed the issue over to the Bargaining Team
Chair who later turned her back on me and walked away from me when I asked
her for an approximate date the issue would be addressed. Tom Harrison
did not make any attempt to rectify the situation and when I asked
Gladys for help, she also refused. It is this type of behavior by the SAEA
president and the two CTA executive directors that has caused mistrust,
anger and a search for other options by many of the teachers within our
district.
It should also be noted that one week after the School Board ratified
the contract, the District administrators presented the District Board
with a multi-year contract that indicated that solvency had been
achieved. This was done after SAEA told the teachers that the District was
$29 million dollars in deficit. No one to date has given me a reasonable
explanation how the District can go from a $29 million dollar deficit
to solvency in a week other than mismanagement from the district may be
the cause or that the district and/or our association lied to us.
One of the irritating side notes to the solvency, is that our district
had RIFed over 400 teachers. In all of the informational meetings I
attended, our association anticipated that the district would follow
through with at least half of the RIFs. In other words, Tom Harrison and
the CTA executives were telling the teachers that at least half of the
teachers would truly face lay-offs. As the District began to rescind
the RIFs, Tom Harrison began to take credit for saving the teachers’
jobs. He is making a bad situation worse by taking credit for something he
had no intention of doing.
Throughout this entire process, I have been in contact with the
classified association. They stated that they believed the District did not
have to impose the cuts they were proposing. Just recently, only a
couple of months after our school board ratified the contract, classified
settled and they, the classified, settled without taking any pay cut
other than having to take two (2) furlough days. The District RIFed 79
classified personnel but their association is anticipating most of those
positions being rescinded in light of a new budget report which now
indicates even more monies in the district.
At a Site Rep Council meeting held a couple of months ago, the reps
overwhelmingly voted ‘yes’ on a motion to send a vote of “no confidence”
to our superintendent. Two rep meetings later, a rep asked Tom Harrison
if he had carried out the motion as was directed by the site council.
Tom stated that he had not completed the motion due to legal
liabilities per Joe Colton, a CTA attorney. The issue was to be addressed more
in debate later in the meeting. The meeting adjourned before debate
could occur. I later called Tom and asked him if in the a vote of “no
confidence”, and only if the truth were written, would there still be
liable issues. Tom refused to answer. I subsequently called Lloyd Porter
who, subsequently contacted a CTA lawyer, and he, Lloyd Porter, informed
me that if you put it (the vote of “no confidence”) in writing, you
should not write anything liable otherwise there was a possibility of a
law suit. I also researched the issue on the internet and found that all
over the country, “votes of no confidence” are sent to
superintendents. I found a case from I believe the CTA website archives, in which the
then president of CTA, Wayne Johnson, spoke positively of a vote of “no
confidence” to the San Diego school district superintendent by the
teachers’ association. I found examples all over the state of California
of associations, many with NEA-CTA affiliations, sending “vote of no
confidence” to superintendents without any legal ramification. I also
called Glady’s Kessler to ask to speak with Joe Colton but in her
response, she told me that the Site Council had already decided not to send
the “no confidence” vote. This was not true, the debate never occurred.
Tom Harrison’s and the two executive directors’ manipulation and
distortion of information for their own purposes is creating a divide in our
district that I have never witnessed in the 28 years as a teacher.
Presently, it appears that Tom and Glady’s have been selective as to
whether they will represent certain members based on their opposition to
Tom’s candidacy. Furthermore, there is an unfair labor practice filed
with PERB due to the manner in which the ratification was conducted.
We recently had chapter elections which are also being contested for
numerous improprieties. Tom Harrison and Glady’s Kessler are the basis
for a couple of items of improprieties.
The situation is very serious in our district. Many teachers no longer
have any confidence in Tom Harrison or the CTA executives. I ask that
CTA look for ways to rebuild the confidence in the association by
reassigning the two executive directors. If you do not have the ability to
do so, please let me know what procedures we could take to have them
reassigned.
With the district budget showing solvency and extra monies available,
all this after all RIFed teachers have been rescinded and the classified
settled without a pay cut, it is apparent that the teachers did not
have to take a pay cut. Tom Harrison’s reluctance to follow through with
a “vote of no confidence” promotes mistrust. Teachers are realizing
that not only did the membership not have to take a pay cut but that our
own president is not doing anything to get our pay back! Many teachers
believe that Tom is worried that if he initiates actions to have the
district reinstate our salary, he would be admitting that the pay cut was
not needed and that he and the CTA executive directors made gross
mistakes in rushing the contract ratification. He may very well be more
worried about his own reputation than the needs of the membership.
Furthermore, the CTA executive directors seem to be aligned with that
philosophy. What must be realized is that teachers are already upset and as
the news gets out that the classified did not take any pay cut, many
will begin to realize that this truly was the case. Add to that, once
PERB comes in, it will completely be out of not only his hands, but it
will also be out of the hands of CTA. If PERB decides in favor of the
complaint, that will confirm to the membership that the teachers were
lied to.
Reassigned CTA executives will be a strong message to teachers in the
district that CTA is trying to address our concerns and rebuild some of
the teacher confidence again. It will in part show to the teachers
that the $800 association fees is useful and does give us, the teachers in
our district, action . It will also send a strong message to Tom
Harrison that he must be completely honest with the membership.
Please, help us rebuild confidence in our membership.
Ernest Salgado
Teacher, Santa Ana Unified School District
SAEA member, School Site Rep Alternate
P.S. Please find attachments as part of the proof of the
misinformation disseminated by Tom and the CTA executive directors. There are other
items or issues not mentioned here. We are asking for major CTA
intervention.
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Ernest Salgaldo,
Thank you for caring about all of the teaching staff at SAUSD. Tom Harrison is a very dishonest individual. He doesn’t act for the common good. He has his own personal agenda. I am at one of the most troubled sites and Tom was of no help or support. Despite the appearance of criminal conduct at my school, he did nothing, provided no legal counsel and generally was uncooperative. I have my own legal counsel now and expect positive outcomes.
David Barton seems to care, but he has a huge job on his hands. Gladys should be given her walking papers. Upon the completion of a conference call, she turns to Harrison and says: now, what was the nature of this call? How’s that for competent advocacy.
I have my fingers crossed on Barton, but he will definitely need stong and able staff. Joe and Gladys don’t fill that description.
Where is the media, I’ve just learned the trial against Larry Seroter and the Police Chief began last week and will continue the week of December 11th. The court room is located at 909 N. Main Street in Santa Ana, Court room number C-67. Superior Court Judge Monarch, for all those interested.