UPDATE: Comments on this thread are now closed. The new 2009 thread is available at this link.
I wrote a post on July 16, 2006, entitled “SAUSD corruption coming out with Mijares gone,” and it blew up to over 2,000 posts. However, it exceeded the capacities of our server and has been truncated recently at about 1,529 posts. But one of our readers has stepped up to the plate and painstakingly copied all of the comments into four NEW posts:
- SAUSD-Mijares corruption thread, 2008 Comments
- SAUSD-Temporary Thread (Migration 5/16/2008) Comments
- SAUSD-Mijares corruption thread, 2007 Comments
- SAUSD-Mijares corruption thread, 2006 Comments
Also, don’t forget you can go to the right sidebar of any page page and search for “SAUSD” to get links to ALL of our past SAUSD stories.
I have been honored that this blog has allowed so many people to vent their frustrations with the SAUSD administration and school board. We will continue to shed light on these issues and I hope that our readers will continue to use this blog to communicate about the corruption at SAUSD.
SAUSD does not belong to the administrators or to the school board. It belongs to us. We will have an opportunity this fall to take back the school board, with three seats opening up. I pray that good candidates will emerge so we will be able to do exactly that. Until then, please keep the comments coming! But post them here, to this new thread. Thank you.
This district is overlooking its students!!!
Willard is a great example. They have been down Assistant principals since the school year started. They have no health clerks (unlike some schools who have been hiring subs to man the health clerk position for 4 hours a day.) This has impacted the front office big time with the few people there acting as nurse, fielding calls for AP’s and dealing with the day to day of a busy neighborhood school. They have done away with nutrition all together, instead doing three lunches. This has increased the student visits to the nurse’s office They don’t eat breakfast! The 6th grade has lunch before 10:30. The eighth grade has lunch after 12:15. This is 4 hours of time with no breaks whatsoever for the eighth graders. This would look good until you saw that there were Language Art classes being conducted in music and art rooms with no desks or no tables. It is hard to do your best writing in your laps.
Where is the WILLIAMS COMMITEE when you need them!!! Call The Register…L.A. TIMES maybe they could do an expose of what it’s really like to work in SA! Enough is Enough we need to unite as teachers and make a stand!
#802-
Why isn’t the parent coorindator at Willard doing her job?
#803 –
You’re kidding, right?
I was just filling in as receptionist..I had to run outside cause we had no supervison at lunch time.. I then had to help in the nurse’s office to help with kids being sent up sick! Oh yeah.. I also had to be sure to do my job that I got hired for also. I am not the only one being pulled away from my desk. It’s one thing to help out but it’s another when this is what the “daily job” has become. Yes, Administration thinks this is no big deal to ask us to do this. We have no subs to do these jobs-no 4 hours a day for anyone. Breaks? What are those? Yes, alot of us have called our union. Leave a message.
#805 – I attended Willard’s promotion and there was a lady that was celebrated as being the best parent co-ordinator west of the Mississippii. In fact, most of the folks in the audience were stunned when she took to the podium and angled out the PTA president. What happend that parent co-ordinator?
Re: Willard’s parent coordinator…Would it be Bernedette Medrano? I’ve been at Willard for ten years and I don’t know who the current parent coordinator is, what that person does, or what the parents are up to. The way things are run at Willard, staff members are not supposed to know such things, we aren’t even supposed to ask questions.
A long time ago – BB (Before Bishop) the counselors were working very well in opening the parent center, getting parents to meetings and getting them to work with other parents. Once Bishop took office, this all changed. He began to un-do what the counselors had started. This didn’t happen all at once. Wise Mr. Bishop knew how to do this slowly and quietly, to the point where Bernedette took over the parent center, there is no active PTA, and staff members don’t know who (if any) the parent leaders are.
I don’t know if Ms. Medrano spoke at that promotion (#806) but Bishop has given her permission to promote her Summer Corporate Academy program at teacher meetings. Imagine how inspiring to start the new school year watching Ms. Medrano show off what her students learned as a result of her teaching.
Willard staff have been writing here for about 2 years with topics from broken fire alarms to principal abuse. Now I’m reading about lack of AP’s, of course classified misuse, and the ever ongoing Medrano saga.
So what is the deal at that school? Is it the staff afraid to complain, the unions failing to act, or what?
Not too long ago before the owner of this blog got all wrapped up in his campaign he seemed to have BOE member Palacio’s ear. Several pieces on the district included Palacio’s phone number and e-mail so staff and parents could directly address a board member on problems such as these. I suppose everyone is holding their breath and hoping for some new board members to magically fix problems such as Willard.
If new members are elected and God willing they are, then it is up to the staff members to make these board members aware of the problems. It is OBVIOUS that the Chestnut administration will do everything to keep new board members in the dark to save their own collective asses.
Problems such as those at Willard should not take newspaper publicity (As it did at Saddleback High and Washington Elementary) before the district acts.
7:57 Anon,
I still have Palacio’s ear. He is backing two school board candidates, Irene Ibarra and Mike Gonzalez. I am backing three candidates: Irene Ibarra, Valerie Amezcua and Gloria Alvarado.
We will have to hope that Richardson and Hernandez lose. Any one else would be better than those two. It is disgusting that the teacher’s union endorsed these two failed Trustees. Hopefully the voters will say “no” to the failed incumbents.
I am hoping that the voters will also say “no” to the City Council incumbents. It is time for change in Santa Ana – on our City Council AND on our School Board.
The vast majority of Willard’s teaching staff is very new. A veteran of this group is someone who was there last year. There is no tenure amongst this group and the few left of the old staff are ensconced in the self-contained sixth grade class rooms: happy to be left alone. There is no one left to raise a voice.
What’s wrong at Willard is what is wrong in the district. In the past when staff members complained about the principal, the district never sought out input from staff, students, or parents. In one case the principal was promoted. In the others, the district ignored the problems. Problems got worse. Staff members left. Students and parents either stayed and accepted the school’s downward slide or they transferred out to one of the fundamental schools.
Currently there are major problems at Willard, with each day they are getting uglier. Should Principal Bishop leave, would the district know how to lead the school during the transition? In the past the district has not been able to do so successfully. In the past, new principals were ordered to clear out the “trash” at the school, meaning all those problem staff members who dared complain about the school’s leadership.
Are there schools in the district that have gone through a smooth transition when their administrators left? If so, speak up. A smooth transition is vital to a school’s success. The district has failed Willard many times. Too many times.
All you staff members will be glad to know that the state has given the district part of the matching funds for measure G. According to the Register story the district has already spent 5 million on building improvements. You can read the story yourself at
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/district-million-measure-2212571-bond-school
Can anyone report new high-tech equipment, recent building repairs or removal of bungalows yet? The five million so far went some where. I seem to recall a comment above about some of this money being used for jobs, but that can not be right otherwise it would be misleading the citizens and we know SAUSD would never do that.
So, who paid for the full color glossy mailer alerting SAUSD residents that their Measure G dollars were at work? This taxpayer took note that this promotional piece was timed to promote the re-election of Richardson and Hernandez.
While the brochure states no measure G funds were used to distribute this political propaganda, the district’s cooperation in the timliness of distributing this newsletter is sheer SAUSD politics; the dirty trick politics of Noji, the Superintedent and her cabinet.
This district needs a shakeup. It’s been too complacent for too many years.
REJECT RICHARDSON & HERNANDEZ Nov. 4 and NEUTRALIZE NOJI.
#812
There was the removal of some bungalows at Willard. Of course they were the incorrectly numbered bungalows that were owned by SAUSD and not the nicer, leased ones they were meant to remove. And then they were misplaced, all at the tune of around $100,000.00. Is this the money you are trying to account for?
#814
That is interesting considering Willard probably has more bungalows than most of the schools I can think of. Actually after reading the OC Register story I had Willard in mind since the story mentions fire alarms and other high technical advances that Willard needed a hell of a lot long time ago and had been written about here.
Misplaced? I’m not sure I understand that. How do you misplace a bungalow?
All I know is that half of Willard is Bungalows, so if any school needs an “L” shaped new building such was built at Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Jackson, Willard is the one.
Meanwhile…”Where has all the money gone…long time passing??”
Bottom line,
Vote for whomever you want as long as Richardson and Hernandez are removed!!! It could not be any worse and obviously an improvement!!!
#816 –
I agree with you – reject Richardson & Hernandez at the ballot box.
Only John Palacio is worth keeping!
THROW OUT THE REST OF THE BUMS!
What kind of infantile idiots would hire someone like Russo, an insider, with NO DOCTORAL DEGREE, with little experience, at one of the highest salaries, at one of the biggest/most troubled districts???
Hey, in the “age of change”, SAUSD has NOT seen any. It is still status quo. Good ol’ boy downtown SAUSD rules first mentality. Teachers do NOT have any meaningful say in anything. What a shame! ANY teacher in this district could do a better job in cleaning house and making this district STUDENT-CENTERED.
SAUSD Teacher –
Teachers, union & classified employess have been enablers of an ineffective administration for too long. It’s hard to wrestle back power when the teachers union throws money at Richardson & Hernandez.
Oodles of money and resources have been hurled your way with little success.
At some point, there’s good cause to believe that the problems are systemic and the entire organization, including teachers, needs to be addressed by the State.
The current Supt. is courtesy of Audrey Noji’s singular action to personally recruit the Supt. and bring her back to SAUSD after she had been dismissed. Why does one person, Noji, rule supreme? I thought we elected a board to search for a Supt. And don’t think about replying with the board’s search for a Supt. That was a shame and money tossed carelessly out the window. Mere window dressing to rationalize Noji’s personal selection of the sitting Supt.
The time has come for the community to seriously address TERM LIMITS for SAUSD school board members.
#819
I think in general you are pretty spot on with one caveat. Based only on my anecdotal experience of 20 years with the district. It seems to me that at least 50% or more of the staff and teachers do not live in Santa Ana. I know of some who drove in daily from as far as Adelanto to some who could walk to work, but overall it seemed as if at least half of the employees do not live within the city. I would bet that this figure would even be considerably higher among the Chestnut administrators.
This is not to say that the staff and teachers do not care or are not doing the best they can to teach and do their various jobs. But it does lead to the possibility that they don’t care about how the city is run or how tied into the city the BOE is just as long as the paychecks roll in twice a month.
The closest I’ve seen to a small revolt was during the last round of job cuts. Smartly the board found invisible money to reinstate most of the teacher’s jobs and give the staff members “half jobs” back with benefits. A band aid fix to at least get through the re-election.
Now we will see what the board does. They have to live in the city. Already Arnold is proposing a sales tax rate hike and their is no need to revisit all of the city taxes raised over the last year, not including Measure G. It appears to me that the local community just does not understand. Waiting for them to remove the people in charge has just proven that. Obviously a state take over is the only real fix.
What happened to Tony Espinoza? Is he an administrator anymore or did his lack of administrative ability catch up to him?
SAUSD Board Members would do well to be more available/transparent to their constituents.
Our neighbor, Irvine Unified’s Board Members publish BOTH their phone number and email address where they can be reached by those they serve.
http://www.iusd.k12.ca.us/board_of_education/MeetTheBoardMembers.html
Sadly, even though I have asked repeatedly for nearly ten years for the SAUSD Board to be just as available/open to the public they serve, they refuse (except John Palacio, he has brought up the concept and supported it for years!).
Interesting isn’t it. The District with woeful scores has Board Members who don’t want to be bothered with input from the citizenry, while the District with great scores encourages the people to contact them directly. Hmmm…
SAUSD Teacher
It’s not very surprising when you consider the dogpile they have created, are protected by the city council and have constituants that seem to be afraid to stand up. The board are foxes in the henhouse with no end in sight. Even the complainers here have stopped since the election. With a possible further education cut proposed by the governator, everybody has gone into hiding. It appears everyone has been beaten down. It sort of reminds me of the movie “High Noon” where everyone wanted the Sheriff to take care of the problem for them. Here is a newsflash. There is no Sheriff to fix it for them!
A big shout out to Barton and his union — thanks for sticking your nose into our community’s business this election cycle. We are now saddled with Richardson & Hernandez for another 4 years and Measure G has brought us more taxes.
The teachers union and classified folks deserve deserve what they get when the Supt and BofE turns puts the screws to come contract time.
A major problem with the public school education, nationwaide, is the UNIONS. It’s the crazy aunt they keep upstairs.
Don’t blame classified for Richardson & Hernandez. We did not support them.
While I realize that the classified staff did not support them, the teachers generally don’t live in Santa Ana. I know that the union gave money to support their campaign (among the objections of some of our members) but I can’t understand why the classified union doesn’t have more power. From my experience, an overwhelming majority of the classified employees live in the city, I’d really like to see them exert some power other than just an endorsement. Maybe there should have been some rallies in your neighborhoods to call attention to the horrible decisions that have been made for the people who work right next to the children on a daily basis. I’m not sure what else could have been done but it seems like it could have been more.
Anon 825. That works out well because Hernandez and Richardson didn’t support you either.
Art,
New webmaster now? How about archiving the current SAUSD thread — it’s too looooooooooonng — and start it anew.
And, wait’ll the checks from the state start reflecting the 2.5 bill. mid-year budget cut for schools, and SAUSD goes into panic mode and start doing some really stupid things. This site is going to be jumpin’! Let’s get it ready.
SAHS Teach,
Before this site was archived to begin with it was over 1000 entries long. Do you consider 300 plus too long?
Here’s how I deal with it. I first check at the top for any new entries in case they have been run off the front page. If there is a new one, go the very right side border, right click your mouse and a dropdown pops up that says top, bottom, scroll, etc. I click bottom and it goes to the bottom where I can read back up.
I hope you are right that things will pick up but people were scrolling through over 1000 comments before the archives at the top were started. How short would you suggest for the future out of curiousity?
OK, maybe length isn’t a big deal, but I’d like to see news from around the district, stuff that you don’t get other places. Out of control student discipline at Sierra, campus wide running food fights, true or idle rumors? Valley HS just lost its 3d graduate in Afghanistan, they were all Marines. Saddleback has lost one, 3 years ago, also a Marine. Any others? This blog is the only place I know to share these things.
Teach
I agree with you on comments. A couple years ago this thing was full of reports from staff, teachers, and even parents. When the thread crashed and the blog moved all that stopped. I had hoped by now many would return but that has not been the case so far. Maybe now that the election is over and the taxes come home to roost things will pick up.
By the way whats this about Sierra? This is the first I’ve heard of that recently. The only rumor I have heard is that Community Day is running Amuk and the principal does very little to stop it.
Hi All! I’m new to this website. Where do you think they will start to cut again?
Gloria,
Good question but who knows? They haven’t even got the 3rd new BoE seat completely decided yet. Classified usually takes the big hit because the union is incompetent, but they’ve pretty much cut that down as far as possible. That doesn’t leave much else except teachers and top jobs. Of course they could cut the school police and leave the security guards or vice versa. Whatever they do considering past performance, it won’t be pretty.
Re. Sierra — 2d hand news, but hearing that Sierra administrators and office staff (all nice people)are having difficulty coping with recurrent serious student disruptions. Another big food fight today. Any readers from Sierra who can dispel or confirm?
The LA Times keeps a record of California’s young men and women fallen in battle, listed by their hometown or high school.
http://projects.latimes.com/wardead/high-school/
We should all share some of the burden of grief for their loss, and know who they were.
From Valley High School: San Sim (died 2008), Manuel Ceniceros (died 2004), Rafael Reynosa-Suarez (died 2004).
From Saddleback High School: Antonio Mendoza (died 2005).
All were U.S. Marines.
The chickens are finally coming home to roost at Saddleback High School. If the old administrators think they are going to be successful in covering up their conspiracies to harbor serial child abusers, they had better think twice. Your time is up. You all knew better. No school police to flim-flam. Now that the SAPD is investingating, you’re next.
Talk is that an arrest was made yesterday by Santa Ana Police Department in the special education class that serves special needs children who are not able to defend themselves.
Two employees have been dismissed. The children and ethical employees are safer today than they were just yesterday.
Sweet dreams all.
Question of flim flam should lie with the old chief. now that he is gone the school police can ,ahve and continue to work closely with SAPD in these types of investigations. Or did you miss the event at Valley H.S.?
School Police made the call to SAPD. School Police did the initial investigation. Flim Flammed? I don’t think so.
What happened at Vally HS?
When staff learned of the arrest and tried to guess who it was, everyone pretty much guessed it was that particular assistant. He’s that weird and creepy.
He and VP Carrigg are buddies. He was her assistant at Lathrop and she’s been intimidating any staff that complain about him. There was second person terminated- a teacher.
I don’t think the school police notified SAPD. I think it was a parent.
When did the old chief leave? Who is the new person?
It does not really matter one way or the other if the chief of school police was the old one or the current interim chief. School police and security are ONLY mandated reporters like any other school staff member (ref. Penal Code 11165.7)and are NOT included as a police department that can take a child abuse report (ref. Penal Code 11165.9). Consequently SAPD should be called in the first place when any child abuse is suspected. School police can assist SAPD but the investigation belongs to the city police.
BTW the old chief left last summer and presently the interim chief is the former Lt until the district hires a new one permanently.
I hear there is a “Special Board Meeting “Tomorrow night…. Does anyone know what this is about?
Mid-year budget cuts!Yes you read it correctly once again mid-year budget cuts.
CSEA. Why am I not surprised. Arnold made it clear a few weeks ago more state cuts might be coming so now that the board is safely elected they can start giving out the bad news.
Speaking of news, I saw nothing in any paper about arrests at Valley or SBH as was commnted here. Were these reports fact or fiction?
I did note one story about a gunfight in the 1200 block of Nakoma, “Near Windsor Park” at 4pm. The paper never mentioned Jackson Elementary also across the street. I wonder how many kids were outside at the time for after school activities.
Where can they cut more? They cut Classified to the bone.. Do you guys think they will go after Certificated low on the totem pole? Cut field trips, transportation? How about at the top? Can they now start there??
God only knows what they will cut. The problem with cutting those at the top is that many are under contract. They are entitled to be paid until their contract expires so that is no savings at least for a mid year cut. CSEA and SAEA could probably tell you the rules about cutting all staff members and the exceptions.
CAPO unified put out some major cut proposals on election day including closing a couple of schools, increasing class size; cutting sports and music programs, and eliminating all future raises. So who knows what SA will do or come up with.
Police took Alonso Gonzalez out in handcuffs Monday night. Still no news on the arrest. He’s out on bail now. Some saw the news on local television stating that an arrest was made at Saddleback High School in Santa Ana.
I would expect the school district to send out notes to parents asking if their children have had any problems at Saddleback. Or don’t they care because the children have disabilities?
What was supposed to have happened at Valley High School?
https://www.vinelink.com/docs/VINELinkFAQ.pdf
Here you go:
Orange County
VINE Service Number : (800) 721-8021
Offender Record
Offender ID:
2484624
Offender Name:
ALONSO M GONZALEZ
Date of Birth:
12/14/1948
Age:
59
Custody Status:
Out of Custody
Reason:
General release
Date:
11/18/2008
Race:
Gender:
Anon #846
I can’t find this guys name as a teacher or administrator so what was his job?
Anon # 848 The link didn’t work for me but thanks for putting it up there. Maybe I have to be a member of vinelink first.
Anon #847 I’d like to know what the deal was at Valley too
The detective in charge is Ricardo Perez and if anyone has any information please call him at:
714-245 8379
Case #0841977
He is an instructional assistant and his story can be found here:
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/notes-from-the-banana-republic/saddleback-high-school-coverin/index.php
This past Monday, a teacher’s aide by the name of Alonso Manuel Gonzalez was arrested by SanTana police and released on bail. The Orange County Sheriff’s website no longer lists why folks get thrown in the pokey, but the Orange County Superior Court website shows Gonzalez was arrested for a”lewd act with dependant adult by caretaker.”
Sources tell the Weekly Gonzalez works at Saddleback High School in SanTana and that he works primarily with disabled students–and that school officials are trying to keep Gonzalez’s arrest under wraps from parents and the media. “We were told in a meeting that none of us should talk about [the incident and arrest], to not discuss it with anyone,” says a Saddleback teacher who requested anonymity.
The Weekly called Saddleback High’s main number (714-513-2900) and asked if a school employee had been arrested. “No,” whoever picked up the phone sternly responded. She quickly added that even if something like that had happened, she was not at liberty to discuss personnel matters. When the lady asked who had told me about the arrest, I responded that a student had alerted me to it. “You know how students blow up stories,” she snorted.
But when I asked if an incident involving a teacher’s assistant indecently exposing himself to a student had occurred, the woman acknowledged this, but quickly added “at this point, it’s only an allegation.” She confirmed that parents were not notified of the “allegation.”
To recap Saddleback’s story: no arrest has been made of a school employee, it’s none of our business, kids exaggerate, a sex crime DID happen, but since it’s just hearsay, parents don’t need to know. Is the SanTana Unified School District now under the direct governance of the Diocese of Orange? Sick, just sick. Much, much more on this story next week…
****************************************8
Jane Russo recently said (just last week!) that no sexual predators would be tolerated in the SAUSD schools on her watch during a Superintendent Cabinet Meeting. In addition, Juan Lopez from HR detailed what to look for in a sexual predator and to immediately contact him. Interestingly enough, Juan Lopez has been harboring and covering up for Alonso Gonzalez for approximately 4 years.
Saddleback has not yet sent out notifications to parents alerting them to the child molestation problem to ask if their child has been at risk. Only in Santa Ana, under the direction of Jane Russo, would keep this school district development be kept secret to the parents of children who cannot possibly speak up for themselves.
This is an outrage!