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I wish to propose a new feature for Orange Juice blog, called, “Worst government website of 2015.” Then I wish to immediately nominate a website for the award, and I warn you, there will be a great effort taken to knock this one from the pedestal before the end of the year. Yes, I know it is only January, go take a look and then try to find one worse!
So far (January 2015) the award goes to the Orange County Department of Education.
http://www.ocde.us/Pages/default.aspx
I was alerted to a possible problem with pay raises this week, and went to find more info on the website for the District. I know that many of our faithful public servants have gone without raises, some have even taken pay cuts to help shoulder the load through tough times. Now that tax revenues are back on the upswing, those who made sacrifices SHOULD have their pay restored if it is at all possible. If they want to couple that with some pension reform to make sure that tough times don’t escalate in the future, that would probably be wise. So I figured it would be a simple thing to go see the whole story, and move on. Silly me.
While there appears to be a meeting of the Board of Education this week, you wouldn’t know it based on the DOE’s home page and the reported “events” schedule. Nope, they offer info on the GATE Teacher Network on January 15th, the Reading and Writing Interventions program on January 20th…you get the idea. But a Board Meeting? Why would we want to tell folks up front about THAT?
That’s OK, we will click on the bar up top for “Board.”
There we go, Board Meeting Information.
http://www.ocde.us/Board/Pages/Board-Meeting-Information.aspx
Let’s see, we have the current Agenda for Wednesday January 14th. No past agendas, no calendar of future meeting dates…
http://www.ocde.us/Board/Documents/Agendas/1.14.2015%20AGENDABACK%20UP.pdf
This week’s agenda offers the following information:
Item J7 Approve increase of 2% for the Orange County Board of Education’s monthly stipends effective January 1, 2015.
Item J8 “Approve increase of 2% for the Orange County Superintendent’s salary effective January 1, 2015, and continue to received Health and Benefits and any monetary increases when other OCDE management employees receive them.”
Yes, I swear that really is how the Agenda item is written. That right there should disqualify an educator for keeping the job much less getting a raise.
Worst staff reports I have ever seen. Really, and I spend much of my life immersed in Anaheim’s old agendas so I know fact free and useless when I see it. At least in Anaheim they take the time to lie to me. The Department of Education does not even bother with that.
Agendas item J7 suggests the Board might want to give themselves 2% raises, and the only reason offered in the staff report is that Education Code 1090 allows them to bump their pay once a year. So hey, why the Hell not?
Agenda Item J8’s recommendation to increase the Superintendent’s pay is interesting. Justification is offered because in 2010 the Board voted to make the Supe pay and bennies consistent with other OCDE staff so that when they got raises or benefit changes so did the Superintendent. Since the OCDE staff apparently got 2% raises in July 2014, they want to offer it to the Supe as well…
In the case of Items J7 and J8, it would be helpful to offer the context of what is being offered now, both as a stipend to the Board and the salary and benefits of the Superintendent. How does that pay compare to others in similar positions? When was the last time the Supe’s pay was raised, given he was only hired in 2012? Does the Board raise their own pay every year? How does this affect the budget?
OK if they won’t tell us, we will go looking, Aren’t there new laws on transparency with required disclosure of pay for leaders and senior staff? It has to be here somewhere….
http://www.ocde.us/Board/Pages/default.aspx
They list the Board, but do not offer stipend disclosure or even contact info for them, even on their own bio pages.
http://www.ocde.us/ContactUs/Pages/default.aspx
Orange County Department of Education
200 Kalmus Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: 714-966-4000
Fax: 714-662-3570
Staff Directory, page not found
http://www.ocde.us/ContactUs/Documents/2014-2015%20OCDE%20DirectoryREV12%2023%2014.pdf
There is a link to the public schools directory that can be ordered for $10 but I don’t think that is it, and darned if I am paying for that info.
http://webstore.ocde.us/c/21/publications
And contact for their web store
Contact Us
For technical issues, please contact: itweb@ocde.us.
For product questions, please contact: media@ocde.us.
Public Notices
The following public notices are posted for informational purposes for Orange County Community members.
Education Protection Act (EPA)
Education Protection Act Board Resolution
Nope, no info there on pay, salaries, benefits…
It appears all email goes through the one email address.
OCDE > Orange County Board of Education > Contact OCBE
Contact OCBE
Orange County Board of Education
200 Kalmus Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: 714-966-4012
Fax: 714-432-1916
e-mail: ocbe@ocde.us
The only financial information I can find is here…pretty thin, folks! http://www.ocde.us/Administrative/Documents/Revised%20Education%20Protection%20Account%204-24-13.pdf
Unaudited totals
Oh wait! Here!
Certificated Supervisors’ and Administrators’ Salaries $2,733,092.86
Uh..how many people is that reporting? I guess if the staff directory page loaded we could see home many “Certificated Supervisors and Administrators Salaries” are splitting that nearly $3MM in our tax dollars, but that page does not work…
Employment page only offers job openings, does not offer info on current salaries http://www.edjoin.org/searchResults.aspx?countyID=30&districtID=533
Well now what? Ah yes, the center of all information. The Google.
June 07 2012
Al Mijares new Orange County Department of Education superintendent
Mijares will take over for long-time educator William Habermehl, who said last month he’ll retire two years before the end of his term. The county superintendent position is an elected post, so Mijares will have to run when Habermehl’s term is up.
Habermehl said he was stepping down in part to give his successor the advantage of incumbency.
The board of education offered Mijares a $287,000 yearly salary — $34,000 less than his predecessor. As chief executive, Mirajes will oversee the agency’s job of certifying the fiscal solvency of Orange County’s 28 school districts.
The Department of Education also runs schools for troubled youth and provides teacher training.
Well OK, so 2012 Al takes over the department at a pay rate $34k less than his predecessor. Seems fair to give him a raise if he has earned it and shown his leadership skills AND if the schools can afford it. I LOVE the reason Habermehl gives for stepping down early; so Mijares will have the advantage of incumbency when he has to run to keep the seat he is appointed to. Hey, way to put the kids first on the priority scale, Bill.
February 5, 2014
http://www.ocregister.com/taxdollars/public-600484-data-pay.html
Oops, The Register reports that education leaders balk at being asked to reveal pay scale.
“State Controller’s John Chiang’s letter, sent this week to 992 publicly-funded charter schools, 949 school districts and 58 county offices of education, seeks to fix that.
“I am contacting every County Office of Education, school district, and charter school across the State to ask them to participate in an important expansion of the State’s public compensation website –publicpay.ca.gov – by providing pay and benefit data for all K-12 public employees and school officials,” says Chiang’s polite missive, which is landing in mailboxes right now (and getting a bit of an icy greeting).”
“’It sends the message as if teachers were overpaid — that’s why we have to post their salaries for everyone to see,” said Susan Mercer, president of Santa Ana Unified’s teachers union. “Every district has salary schedules. You can see how much teachers are being paid. But for the public to know how much every teacher is being paid is intrusive.”
The request is not surprising, she said, but she worries that it sends an inherently negative message.”
‘“I don’t see anything to gain by people knowing if a teacher is on the top of the salary scale or a beginning teacher,” Mercer said. “If that person is a good teacher, what difference does it make? We don’t go to the dentist and say, ‘Can I see how much you make? Can I see your W2 before you open your mouth?’
“It’s insulting because it’s about the job we do, not about what we are being paid,” Mercer said.”
Uh, sorry Ms. Mercer, the only insulting being done here is the arrogance of believing taxpayers have no right to know how our taxes are being spent. And yes I DO ask my dentist what the rates for services are before letting them in my mouth, but then I don’t get a gold-plated CTA policy picking up the tab on my dental care either, so I can understand why you would be out of touch with the financial realities the rest of us deal with.
OK the Register article talked about the State Controller database being built to capture this info, let’s look there…
http://gcc.sco.ca.gov/Reports/K-12/K-12Entity.aspx?entityid=6269&fiscalyear=2013
Orange County Office of Education (Orange County)
This entity has submitted a non-compliant report to the State Controller’s Office.
A non-compliant K-12 public entity is one that has filed a compensation report that was incomplete, was in a format different than the one requested by the Controller’s Office, or was submitted after the reporting deadline and is currently in the review process.
Well, I can’t be there this morning, but I AM going to put in a public records request re. pay, and make the next one. If any of you CAN attend at this late notice, PLEASE DO, ASK QUESTIONS, and find out what the heck is going on at the….
Orange County Board of Education
200 Kalmus Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: 714-966-4012
Fax: 714-432-1916
e-mail: ocbe@ocde.us
Okay Cynthia, I agree with you much of the time, but a few points (and full disclosure, I do teach in the public schools). I think there’s a difference between knowing the salary of an elected/appointed official and that of a specific teacher. Salary schedules are available on every district website, do you feel the need to know the exact rate of pay for a specific teacher? Also, my dental plan (and I’ve been in several districts) actually tends to be equal or less than my private sector peers. It’s also not issued by CTA and really has nothing to do with them. Medical/dental coverage information is available on most district websites. I’m with you regarding ocde’s site though…
Frank, I appreciate the input, and in no way do I disparage teachers, you guys do an impossible job against the odds, and I greatly admire what you do. (I volunteer from 10 to 25 hours a week working with 3rd grade kids, offering a program the District cannot afford to pay for, I KNOW how hard the teachers work.) I do not believe the requirement for disclosure calls out anyone by name, as in “Janet Jones, 3rd grade teacher in room 42 makes $XX before taxes” but the pay scales should be available, and they are NOT at the DOE, for administrators or anyone else there.
When one works for a public agency there is an assumption that public accountability is going to result in some open information, it comes with the territory. I am not elected to a position, I was appointed, and I have to disclose all kinds of private financial information (now realizing the show tickets I was gifted last night likely need to be disclosed for face value despite their benefactor having NOTHING AT ALL to do with the public agency I “work” for, or I can pay him for them), and all I get is $100 and lunch, not a full blown paycheck at public expense. When public funds are involved we err on the side of transparency. Those opposed are welcome to employment in the private sector, who appear to offer better benefits that you make, as you have shared with us. And no, I don’t think it is teachers that are bankrupting the system (although we need to resolve the pension disparities so the money is there and we don’t see “Janet Jones, retired 3rd grade teacher” living on cat food in a refrigerator box in her old age, that is a huge priority to me, again I like teachers and respect the work you do. It is the only job where staff squirrels away supplies from HOME to take to WORK!
That said, I apologize for the CTA reference, keyboard working ahead of my brain, of course the benefits are offered by…STRS? Did I get that right? My rebuttal was focused on the bogus comparison offered by the teacher interviewed who says it is none of our business what anyone is paid. Really? Do you not ask a plumber what the fees will be to unclog that sink?
I don’t usually drag my public service into blog posts but in this case i am PROUD of the transparency offered by our District so i offer as an example of how to do it right, seen here, and yes we tell you what we pay people who work for us, it is quickly found from a link on the home page, http://www.occemeterydistrict.com/article.cfm?id=25
Back to the motive for this post, I have no idea if the Supe is due a raise or has deserved one, I do know that we are due the transparency and accountability that is sorely lacking on the DOE website, and I will gladly accept your correction on the details I missed regarding teachers, and thank you for taking the time to correct me as you know I value credible information.
Frank, thanks for serving our kids.
Perhaps retracing your steps, but transparentcalifornia.com also came up blank, and FYI only has up to 2013 data, with no breakout for OCDE. NUTS.
Hi all,
We have Orange County K-12 data here: http://transparentcalifornia.com/agencies/salaries/school-districts/#orange-county
OCDE is here: http://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/school-districts/orange/orange-county-department-of-education/
Take care.
Well, one shovel short of the gold vein! Thank you. I’ll keep an eye out for the 2014 data.-
Cynthia, not sure who alerted you but if it was Deb Pauly l would take it with a grain of salt.
Cynthia:
With respect to the website, you raise a number of good points. I’ll see that this link gets to the appropriate person.
The proposed raise for Superintendent Mijares was tabled until next month. At that time we’ll take additional public comment and will have comparative salary information for counties of a similar size.
As for the proposed raise for Board members, no action was taken and this probably will not be brought back. (It would have increased my monthly stipend by $5.03 a month.)
Thanks David!