A Lesson in Governance

I have been amazed and appalled at the same time, at the manner in which certain members of the Poway Unified School District's Board of Education comport themselves. I spoke at the last School Board meeting where I called for Board President, Kimberley Beatty to step down. This is a huge statement and one I do not take lightly.

I watched Ms. Beatty as she went about the business of running Board meetings and listened as she spoke. I read with amazement an opinion piece she penned for a community news paper where she assailed the Superintendent of the district as well as the President of the teachers union. Her open, public comments were written in a manner that brought discredit to the Superintendent, staff and the President of the Teachers union. The opinion piece was signed by her, as Board President. Ms. Beatty later was interviewed by a high school student for an article in the school's newspaper. When she didn't like the way the piece was written, she re-contacted the student. This contact caused the student much concern and angst. All this, in direct conflict with Board Policy.

The San Diego County Grand Jury recently published their investigation into the way Trustees in the San Diego Unified School District conduct themselves. The theme of the investigation is one very similar to the goings on with Trustees in Poway. The Board in Poway has very specific policies detailing the role, responsibility and conduct for Board Members. Ms. Beatty and Sellers have either not read the policies or have simply decided they do not apply to them.

The conduct, allowed by members of the public, by Ms. Beatty at Board meetings has reached a point where she has lost control and has allowed the meeting to denigrate into nothing more than a rant against the Superintendent and the District. The orchestrated presentations by seven vocal members of the public are clearly done with input and consultation with Ms. Beatty and Sellers.

The lack of professional conduct and adhering to Board policy has allowed for the district's staff to be abused and created a hostile work environment. You need look no further than the comments made at Board meetings; that appear in various articles in the on-line Pomerado News, Voice of San Diego and Union Tribune; the vitriol words and comments directed at the Superintendent and District staff.

Ms. Beatty and Sellers need a Lesson in Governance. They are two individuals who will be unwilling to do this because in their minds, it's everyone else that has gotten it wrong and they are doing what they were elected to do. I for one do not believe what is going on with the Board of Education is what the voters had in mind when they voted for a change. It is time for the silent majority to speak up and have your voices heard. Your silence is approval for the disruption and destruction being done by these two individuals.

Time to Crack the Whip

Tom Moore, one of the distractors of the Poway Unified School District wrote an "Opinion" piece in the Voice of San Diego (VOSD) titled; "Time for the Poway Unified Board to Crack the Whip". This “Opinion" piece is written as if Tom Moore speaks for the masses against all things wrong in Poway. Tom Moore and a small group of vocal distractors have gained the attention of some members of the media and taken this attention as approval and validation to their distractions. The “facts” used by these individuals contain a sliver of truth with the remainder of the information innuendo, speculation and falsehoods.

The focal point of attacks by Moore and his group is the Superintendent of the Poway Unified School District (PUSD), Dr. John Collins. Moore alleges in his many rants that Dr. Collins’ involvement in negotiations is a conflict of interest. Moore opines and says others (Bob Fellmeth and Michael Colantuono) agree Dr. Collins’ involvement in negotiations is in some way illegal. Moore says Fellmeth and Colantuono; “have opined that this self-dealing is a breach of fiduciary duty to Poway taxpayers and likely illegal”.

As with any opinion, the information given to the person asking to opine on a particular subject will greatly dictate the resulting response. I would suspect Moore provided his slant on the information to elicit the response he needs to continue his distractions.

I spent twelve years (1994-2006) serving as a Trustee for the Poway Unified School District. I was one of the trustees who participated in the implementation of Interest Based Problem Solving (IBPS) as a way of doing business in PUSD. Prior to implementation of the IBPS model, negotiations were strained and difficult. The process was one that most always created a level of anger and mistrust.

When the IBPS model was implemented, Board members became participants in the process. During the traditional model of negotiations, the board would provide input and suggestions for outcomes, but were not directly involved in the process by sitting at the table. This changed and board members became participants at the table during the process. The Superintendent and his staff, one or two board members (no more than two were allowed at a time to conform to the Brown Act) as well as members of the Teachers Union were involved.

Moore’s repeated use of the phrase “back room deal” conjures up a vision of illegal, non-transparent, breach of responsibility on the part of the superintendent, board and anyone else in the process who will in some way benefit from the process. The reality and truth of the matter is, this is completely false and not true. Moore will point to a technical error by the district and PFT by not conforming to the “Sunshine” rules as they relate to negotiations as proof of his beliefs.

Let us talk about reality when it comes to negotiations. The Board sets the goals and policy for the Superintendent and his staff for negotiations. The Board of Trustees is involved and kept continuously updated and aware of what is going on with these negotiations. The Superintendent is accountable to the Board and responsible for ensuring the goals and policies set by the Board are met. The Board considers a multitude of information provided by staff when setting these goals and parameters for negotiations. Included in this discussion, is the effect raises at each level will have on the bottom line.

Updates are proved on a regular basis and anytime a board member is interested in additional information they simply ask the Superintendent for an update and it is provided. If the board member wishes, they ask to sit in on negotiations and listen to the discussion and gage for themselves, if there is a problem. These negotiations are conducted in a closed setting for more reasons than I have time to explain here. Many will disagree with this part of the process demanding “transparency” and alluding to the nefarious “back room deals” as illegal. This is not the case.

Ultimately, all contracts are presented publicly and the board votes for or against ratification. This vote is taken after many days, weeks or months of back and forth discussion and negotiating, crunching numbers and understanding the effect each contract will have on the district and the bottom line.

The participation of the CEO of the district, the Superintendent, Dr. John Collins, in no way taints or make the process illegal as opined by Tom Moore. The Board of Education, through its Trustees, provides direction to the Superintendent as it relates to ALL negotiations. The Board of Education holds the Superintendent accountable for ensuring the direction of the Board is carried out. The Board of Education sets the limits of what will be allocated for negotiations. This is done with the knowledge that each and every employee of the district is important and ALL employees will share in the moneys allocated. This includes the Superintendent and his staff, as well as every other employee of the District.

It is easy to distract from the good Dr. Collins has contributed to in PUSD, when false accusations are continuously repeated and then given a semblance of authenticity by allowing publication in various media. The simple fact of saying something over and over does not make it true. The election of three new members to the Board of Education was a direct result of the outcry over the Capital Appreciation Bond. Efforts have been made by the superintendent, staff and the board to rectify the issues surrounding the bond.

In the interest of “Transparency” it is Tom Moore who, by his own words, spent a boat load of money to get Charles Sellers and Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff elected to the Board. When Ms. O’Connor-Ratcliff did not vote the way Moore believed she should vote, he began a bully campaign demanding she vote his way, reminding her that it was he who paid to get her elected. Ms. O’Connor-Ratcliff is a very intelligent, caring and knowledgeable person who has voted to approve or not items, AFTER gathering all the necessary information about the item. This has earned her the scorn of Tom Moore and his vocal minority, because she has chosen to do what it right and best for the district, AFTER knowing and understanding ALL of the information.

Tom Moore and others should learn from Ms. O’Connor-Ratcliff. The vocal few have created a distraction for the Board of Education and District Staff. They are taking energy away from the primary goal of the School District. It is time for these distractions to stop, so the district can get back to doing what expect of them; Putting Children First – Educating Our Children.      

Transparency Viewed Through Rose Colored Glasses

If you have had the pleasure of attending a School Board meeting in Poway Unified over the past five months, you will have heard the word "TRANSPARENCY". The word is tossed in to any sentence when an item on the agenda does not fit with the agenda. OK, I know, I'm taking in circles. I do that a lot and find myself dizzy and having to sit down and collect my thoughts.

#headbetweenlegs

Is it "TRANSPARENT" to conduct business, as a trustee, using your own, private e-mail, instead of the e-mail provided through the district?

There was a "Public Records" request of e-mails seeking exchanges between board members and another individual. The person seeking the request, knew of e-mails that existed between one of the board members and a particular individual. The request was sought in an attempt to understand the context of certain statements attributed to one particular board member.

The request resulted in NO e-mails being turned over from this board member. Knowing there was an exchange between the board member and this other person, that person was asked about the existence of any e-mails related to the issue being questioned. The other individual acknowledged the existence of e-mails from the board member, but was fearful of providing them. It was said the exchange was not from a PUSD e-mail address.

This appears to be a trend among people in political positions, who seek to hide their activities from the public. What communications are taking place in the dark, out of the view of the public? What agreements and promises are being made and not disclosed? What planning and discussion is taking place in these e-mails and with whom?

I for one believe these types of communications border on the illegal and clearly are unethical. As an elected official (School Board Trustee) the only private use of e-mail is for family and private business communications. ALL other e-mail communications should be through the public account provided by the district to eliminate ANY appearance of impropriety. If an elected official is fearful of the content of an e-mail, maybe they should consider the content and re-evaluate what it is they are about to say or do.

TRANSPARENCY is more than a word. It is an action and appearance. When light is shined upon darkness, many times the direction once thought to be correct is altered. Let us shine light on those who hide behind words and shun real life TRANSPARENCY.

Ronald Regan once said; "When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat."

The Ultimate Hypocrite; Charles Sellers

The Poway Unified School District's Board of Education had a Special Board meeting last night (May, 14, 2015) to hear the district's 2015-16 Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) priorities. 

Mel Robinson and Malliga Tholandi presented last year's LCAP goals and progress made towards those goals. They also presented stakeholders' input around this year's LCAP priorities. Kimberley Beatty asked board members to share their top five priorities. Beatty had asked board members to bring their list to the board meeting. TJ Zane, Michelle O'Connor-Ratcliff, and Andy Patapow brought their list, but didn't want to share because they felt they wanted to think about the new information they were just given. Beatty demanded they share. Beatty had staff list the board members' top five priorities on poster paper so they could come to "consensus" on the board's priorities.

Sellers' top five priorities are written above: (typed as written below)

• Equalize out of pocket costs for classified and teacher/mgmt dental vision. These benefits should not differ per bargaining unit. One set of costs should pervade.

• Restore/upgrade classified staff positions/hours to pre-recession levels.

• Equalize vacation accrual methodology b/t classified staff & mgmt.

• Restore books/and supplies budget to pre-recession levels.

• Bring classified staff salaries up to market levels per new salary data.

So, is there a "Conflict of Interest" here? Sellers said he sleeps with a library tech so he "knows all about the priorities." Sellers is a hypocrite. He cries out "conflict" at every turn when discussing negotiations. Sellers believes everyone but him has a conflict of interest when involved in negotiations. Does anyone believe for a second that Sellers is not meeting on a regular basis with leaders of the classified unions (PSEA) and "negotiating" with them and making promises?

The debate over priorities went on for almost two hours. The video of last night's board meeting will be excellent data to share! Andy did his best to explain the appropriate process but Beatty said, "This is a new process…and as board members we are only accountable to students and tax payers."  

Adding to this "new" process is Sellers' public disrespect to teachers for wanting higher salaries, when in his opinion, "they are already paid too much using this "fair share" agreement they have, rather than reducing class size". Sellers said something like, "Teachers got what they wanted so as far as I'm concerned, we're done with them." Sellers also disparaged all LSS staff and their work around the LCAP. Noreen Walton was so angry she got out of her chair and said, "That's enough!" 

Sellers priorities have NOTHING to do with children and education. He is simply concerned with PSEA and his wife's compensation and benefits. He is the "Ultimate Hypocrite" and violating board policy and ethics with his actions and comments. 

ARTICLE    4.0     PERSONNEL SUPPORT SERVICES

                     4.1     GENERAL PERSONNEL PRACTICES

SECTION    4.111 MEETING AND NEGOTIATING 

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION WILL NOT NEGOTIATE INDIVIDUALLY OR COLLECTIVELY WITH MEMBERS OF AN ORGANIZATION ELECTED AS AN EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATIVE. ALL NEGOTIATIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED THROUGH THE CHIEF NEGOTIATOR FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Sellers is clearly violating this portion of board policy. Conflict of interest? Hypocrite? You be the judge.

Related article can be found in the Pomerado News / Poway Chieftan

School Board Meeting (May 18, 2015)

Monday night (May 18th) is the next regularly scheduled school board meeting.  At this meeting, the board will be asked to vote on the new teacher contract and "Me Too" contract additions for PSEA, SEIU and APSM.  The approval of the APSM raise would also trigger raises for the Superintendent and cabinet. Seven people are agendized to speak:

1. Chris Garnier – Superintendent salary and compensation (3 minutes)
2. Kim Garnier – Fiscal Sustainability at PUSD (3 minutes)
3. Wayne Rounsavell – Fiscal Sustainability at PUSD (3 minutes)
4. Steve Sarviel – Fiscal Sustainability at PUSD (3 minutes)
5. Xiaodong Zhang – Fiscal Sustainability at PUSD (3 minutes)
6. Jessica Xu – Fiscal Sustainability at PUSD (3 minutes)
7. Tom Moore - Legal and financial issues of PUSD (3 minutes)


All 7 of these are extremely hostile to Dr. Collins and our teachers.  Each of them spoke at the April 13, 2015, board meeting and were embarrassing in their vitriol.  Each, in their own way, called Dr. Collins a liar, a crook, dishonest, etc and several called for his outright firing or resignation. Three of them specifically told the new board members that they were elected to fire the superintendent and they expected them to do this. 

So, for the first 21 minutes of this next meeting, John Collins is going to get ripped to shreds and he needs our support.  I hope those of you who care about teachers and our children's education will come to the meeting and be willing to speak in support of  Dr. Collins during public comment.  I'll be there with others. But we can use more informed and respected people to push back against this character assassination.  I assume that our teachers will get slammed as well.  We need to stand up for them also and put pressure on the board to do the right thing and approve these fully negotiated contracts.

Beatty Needs to Step Down or Be Removed

I have seen enough. Kimberley Beatty has lost all credibility and has become a distraction to the Board of Education. I could write for hours, listing the reasons Beatty needs to step down from the Presidents position. The latest and in my opinion one of the most egregious actions is Kimberley's comments to Catie Fan, Editor in Chief for Westview High Schools's, THE NEXUS. The May 1, 2015, issue (Volume XIII, Issue 10) contains an article titled, "Union, school board clash over contract dispute". 

I have many friends whose children attend Westview High. My phone started ringing shortly after The Nexus hit the streets. Parents calling me asking what was going on and who is Kimberley Beatty. To a person, their concerns were Beatty's negative, offensive and caustic comments (their words) about PUSD Superintendent, John Collins. Two of them picked up on a comment Beatty made regarding a CLOSED SESSION meeting held January 20, 2015.

I got my hands on the article and after reading the comments from Beatty, I was appalled and angered at what I read. Discussing any item discussed in closed session is a clear violation. The information divulged by Beatty was done in an attempt to disparage Dr. Collins. The manner in which Beatty framed the information was done clearly as an attempt to portray Dr. Collins as being deceitful. None of which is accurate when known facts are added to the spin provided by Beatty.

Beatty's agenda is clear and it has nothing to do with children and education. Beatty has told various people her goal of removing Dr. Collins as Superintendent. It is common knowledge throughout the district, Beatty has refused to meet with Dr. Collins to prepare for Board Meetings, review district agenda items as well as meet to discuss important district business.

Beatty's repeated negative comments regarding Dr. Collins and district staff is a violation of these employees rights as employees of the district. Her continued comments will subject the district to litigation and in the end cost the district money. Her refusal, as President of the Board, to meet with Dr. Collins to discuss important district business, has greatly reduced the efficiency of the district and staff. Beatty's public disclosure of CLOSED SESSION information is a clear violation of the Brown Act, as well as a break of her fiduciary responsibility as an elected Trustee for the PUSD.

It is time for Beatty to step down as President of the Board of Education. If Beatty is unwilling to step aside, it is the responsibility of the other members of the board to remove her. I call upon Ms. O'Connor-Ratcliff, Mr. Zane and Mr. Patapow to take action to remove Beatty and place someone into the President's seat who will act responsibly and with integrity. This action must be done sooner, than later.

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