Casting about.

4LAKids: Mar 21 2008 FLUNK THE BUDGET FRIDAY #1 In This Issue: • "The delay underscores the low priority that the governor, despite all rhetoric, seems to put on education - except insofar as schools cost money." • WHAT EDUCATION NEEDS: SENSIBLE TALK, NOT NOISE • DON'T AUTOMATE THE STATE BUDGET - Debate about spending and cuts may be messy, but it's also an essential part of self-government. • CALIFORNIA'S FISCAL CRISIS HITS SCHOOLS: Thousands of Teachers May Be Laid Off if the Proposed Budget Cuts Go Through. • PROPOSAL TAKES AIM AT GUNS NEAR SCHOOLS: L.A. Councilmen Seek Mandatory Jail Time for People Found Carrying Unlicensed Firearms Near Campuses. • HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources • EVENTS: Coming up next week... • What can YOU do? Featured Links: • 4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved! • 4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc. "The delay underscores the low priority that the governor, despite all rhetoric, seems to put on education - except insofar as schools cost money." —Peter Schrag, Sacramento Bee ►"From 1980 to 2000, the state dropped from No. 1 on several indicators – per pupil spending, test scores, and teachers' salaries – to below 47. When boom times came – 1999 taxes on capital gains brought $24 billion to the state treasury – schools spent the windfall immediately to make up for past debt, without saving for rainy days to come. "The result has been a pattern of teacher shortages, with many of the best teachers fleeing the state seeking stability, better conditions, and higher salaries. This adds to the state's other problems: 25 percent of students are "English learners," who need to be taught in special classes, and the number of schools serving low-income students is well above the national average." —The Christian Science Monitor ______________________ While columnists, editorialists and editorial boards up and down the state beat the drum for true education finance reform ("What Education Needs: Sensible Talk, Not Noise") - and the Daily News beats the tired drum of the LAUSD payroll system ("Don't put much hope in LAUSD payroll system") - our Governor is on the trail asking for the power to suspend the law in times of fiscal crisis ("Don't automate the state budget") At the risk of appearing to overreact: If this is not declaring a state of emergency and ruling by decree, what is? The governor has proposed a number of reforms in his time in office; most of these have been thwarted by the legislature. He has put a number of initiatives on the ballot - most have been rejected by the electorate. Schwarzenegger's favorability rating - his Neilson Numbers, boxoffice, TVQ - is high. We like Arnold in the role of Governor just like we like Jack Bauer fighting enemies foreign and domestic when terrorism comes in 24 neat weekly hour-long segments. But we-the-people actually seem to be able to separate the role from the actor; Real from Reality. We wisely just don't want the Governator to govern. ¡Onward/Hasta adelante! …and perhaps 'la vista'. —smf YOU CAN HELP "FLUNK THE BUDGET". Call, write, email, fax or you visit your assemblyperson and state senator every Friday when they're home. WHAT EDUCATION NEEDS: SENSIBLE TALK, NOT NOISE by Peter Schrag | Sacramento Bee columnist March 20, 2008 - If you can work your way through the politics and posturing around California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed $4.8 billion school-funding cuts and the pink slips lately delivered to a reported 20,000 teachers, you might be able to get to the bedrock of the state's convoluted and incomprehensible public education system. Last Friday, four months after it was completed, Schwarzenegger was finally persuaded to release "Students First," the report of his Committee on Education Excellence, which attempts to address the mess. The report is dated November 2007. The delay underscores the low priority that the governor, despite all rhetoric to the contrary, seems to put on education, except insofar as schools cost money. Even in his remarks at the release of the report he talked more about "budget reform, budget reform, budget reform" than he did about schools. Most of the media quickly seized on the contrast between the cost of the committee's recommendations - the rough number is $10.5 billion - and the governor's proposed multibillion-dollar whack at school funding this year and next. Yet, as Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill urged, and as a number of others have proposed, a lot of the political sky-is-falling atmosphere may not be necessary. Hill and her staff recommend a strategic approach, cutting "poorly structured, duplicative or technically overbudgeted" programs. They would shift funds (as for student busing) from non-school transportation budgets, eliminate cost-of-living increases for next year, give districts more flexibility in spending categorical funds and use a variety of other budgetary devices to soften the hit. Together, her proposals would reduce by $3.2 billion the amount by which the complex Proposition 98 minimum-school-funding floor would have to be lowered. There's a similar proposal from Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who warns that suspending the Proposition 98 guarantee a second time in four years would set a dangerous precedent. Simitian's plan is also based on shifting funds - some still owed schools from past years - that would cushion the blow but still save the state budget $3.2 billion. It's at this point that the politics and posturing come into play and where all sides - the governor, the unions, the Democrats - have a major investment in the crisis atmosphere: the governor because he's always wanted to drive a stake through the heart of crucial parts of the Proposition 98 formula; the unions and the Democrats because they want to increase pressure to raise revenues. Then there's that $10.5 billion for the committee's new programs. It's a big number, but even if California magically got to do it tomorrow, which would raise the state above the national average in per-pupil spending, we'd still be nowhere close to high-spending (and economically comparable) states such as New York, New Jersey or Connecticut. But in the context of the rest of the report, the number is at best hypothetical. The core findings and recommendations - California's weak achievement, inflexible categorical programs and perverse incentives that, in the words of committee chairman Ted Mitchell, are "compliance driven, not results driven" - deserve serious attention. But there are also questions the committee didn't address: Are we measuring the right things or, as a growing number of critics charge, is the accountability process itself excessively narrowing - even dumbing down - the curriculum? Are teachers driven away and students flummoxed in high school because there's too much rote and not enough thinking in elementary school? Has the basics pendulum swung too far? Committee members keep trying to avoid calling their incentive-driven reward proposals "merit pay," a phrase Mitchell correctly labeled "toxic." But maybe the question turns more on the curricular standards and criteria of student achievement - what kind of teaching and learning is rewarded. And ultimately, of course, it turns on whether the governor gives a damn. DON'T AUTOMATE THE STATE BUDGET - Debate about spending and cuts may be messy, but it's also an essential part of self-government. LA Times editorial March 20, 2008 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is touring California to sell voters on his plan to further automate the state budget, supposedly to guarantee that we never again find ourselves with a shortfall as severe as the one we face today. The argument goes that political heads are too emotional, too volatile, too human, to wisely put aside any "extra" money from good years, even for the laudable goal of ensuring that schools remain open and patients continue getting medical care during years of economic reckoning. Under Schwarzenegger's budget reform plan, a predicted surplus would trigger robotic savings, keeping the state's money out of legislative hands. Projected shortfalls would launch predetermined program-slashing cuts. There would be none of the sweat or stress associated with political debate. It's demonstrably true that Republicans, like the governor, do their best to bend unexpected revenue into imprudent tax breaks, and that Democrats work equally hard to use that money for programs. Their fight is known as politics. It is the operating system of democracy. Californians should refuse to give up that messy but essential discussion in favor of machine-like budgeting that eliminates their voice from the most basic function of self-government. Schwarzenegger argues that 42 states grant their governors some kind of authority to impose midyear spending adjustments when revenue falls short, and that California's governor also once had that power and ought to get it back. His proposal, though, comes out of Arkansas, one of the nation's poorest states, where elected lawmakers leave their day jobs once every other year for 60 days to approve an annual budget that isn't much bigger than California's deficit. Arkansas has little to teach one of the world's largest economies about budgeting. But Schwarzenegger's plan would go further, adding to the governor's already sweeping power the new authority to suspend laws. Not even the part-time Arkansas Legislature is as marginalized as that move would make California's elected representatives. The Budget Stabilization Act nearly removes the human element from self-government. It is budgetary Skynet, marketed as a program smarter than the people it supposedly serves but destined to strip from people the benefits, as well as the burdens, of financial decision-making. A better future for California will come when voters and elected officials begin to make tough choices, not when they shrug their shoulders and relinquish their power to a budget machine. CALIFORNIA'S FISCAL CRISIS HITS SCHOOLS: Thousands of Teachers May Be Laid Off if the Proposed Budget Cuts Go Through. by Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor March 21, 2008 – Los Angeles – California, home to 1 in 9 American schoolchildren, is on the brink of what may be the biggest public education crisis in state history. Facing a $16 billion state budget shortfall, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed $4.8 billion in school-funding cuts, or 10 percent of education spending. In the past week, over 20,000 preliminary pink slips were sent by school districts to teachers and administrators state wide, according to the California Teachers Association. The association estimates another 87,000 (of a total 350,000 public school teachers) could come if Governor Schwarzenegger holds to his budget cut request. Some say the request is a cry of "wolf" intended to draw public attention and force stalemated politicians to reconsider the cuts – or raise taxes. Others say fiscal reality will push the cuts through as presented. Meanwhile, school districts and parents are in paroxysms over the thousands of teacher layoffs, the projected loss of librarians, nurses, counselors, and arts personnel; and the need to close schools, increase class sizes, and postpone buying new books. "This is a story that carries important lessons for how American states fund their public education," says Michael Kirst, professor emeritus of education and business administration at Stanford University in Palo Alto. California's Proposition 13 of 1978, which capped property taxes, made districts more dependent on state aid for education. The state, he says "has seen its public schools suffer ever since." "Most states leave the cushion of allowing local government to raise property taxes when state school revenues don't come through. This is a giant case study that they might want to keep that option or end up like California." There are other problems with the state's governance that have cost education in budget battles going back decades, Dr. Kirst and others say. State revenues are derived largely from capital-gains taxes and progressive income tax, a combination that causes wild swings in revenue. "[So] when times are good they are very good and when bad they are painful," says Kirst. And because the state budget requires a two-thirds majority to pass, a handful of politicians can block it. "With the state GOP refusing to approve anything with revenue tied to it and Democrats unwilling to pass education cuts, it's a recipe for this year's stalemate," says Kevin Gordon, president of School Innovations and Advocacy, the state's largest lobbying firm for public schools. This boom/bust cycle has wreaked havoc on California public education. From 1980 to 2000, the state dropped from No. 1 on several indicators – per pupil spending, test scores, and teachers' salaries – to below 47. When boom times came – 1999 taxes on capital gains brought $24 billion to the state treasury – schools spent the windfall immediately to make up for past debt, without saving for rainy days to come. The result has been a pattern of teacher shortages, with many of the best teachers fleeing the state seeking stability, better conditions, and higher salaries. This adds to the state's other problems: 25 percent of students are "English learners," who need to be taught in special classes, and the number of schools serving low-income students is well above the national average. Experts say teacher shortages could occur again in the current situation, even if the proposed budget cuts don't make it through. That's because state law mandates that school districts notify next fall's laid-off teachers by March 15, and by May 15 if such notices are to be rescinded. Because most state budgets here are not signed until August, the teachers who have been laid off may have already left for greener pastures. "By fall, the state may have changed its mind about those teachers it just gave pink slips to, but by then it could be too late," says Scott Plotkin, president of the California School Boards Association. Whatever happens, it is clear that teachers, district officials, and parents are anxious. San Diego County school districts are slashing $360 million partly by expanding classrooms at the earliest grades of elementary school, usually capped at 20 students. Nurses and librarians will be shared among schools. Los Angeles Unified, the second-largest district in the US, is also anticipating $460 million in cuts by killing off elective courses, some sports programs, and firing art teachers, counselors, and personnel from cafeterias to gymnasiums. "Already the bathrooms stink, the roof is leaking, and we never have enough textbooks. Now the school is going to take away key teachers and personnel," says Fidel Garcia, father of two at Manchester Ave. Elementary School in downtown L.A. "This can't be right." To fight the cuts, the CTA has launched a statewide PR campaign, complete with placard protests and letters, targeting key legislators. Experts say a concerted public outcry is necessary. "If the public doesn't get a sense of what these deep cuts mean – [by seeing that] your favorite teacher won't be at school next year or new textbooks might not be purchased – then there will be no political traction to get this reversed," says Mr. Gordon. Even so, some damage has already been done. California will need thousands of teachers in the next decade. Says David Sanchez, president of the CTA: "Why would any good teacher want to come here if they have to wonder what each year's budget is going to bring?" Full HTML version of this story which may include photos, graphics, and related links PROPOSAL TAKES AIM AT GUNS NEAR SCHOOLS: L.A. Councilmen Seek Mandatory Jail Time for People Found Carrying Unlicensed Firearms Near Campuses. by Ari B. Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer March 18, 2008 - Suzette Gutierrez knows Aragon Avenue Elementary. It's where she first went to school in the 1980s, where she served as a teachers assistant two decades later and where she now sends her two girls. Until recently, Gutierrez, 28, would never have thought about moving. But now she's not so sure. A recent rash of high-profile shootings has her Cypress Park neighborhood on edge and local officials scrambling to ensure that residents feel safe. "The concept is fear. We haven't felt like this in a long time . . . But how are you supposed to answer when your 6-year-old daughter asks if it's safe to go to school?" Gutierrez said. "I'm embarrassed about the turn our community is taking." She stood on Aragon's front lawn Monday with council members who proposed stricter punishments for those caught with illegal firearms in a school zone. The ordinance would require a minimum sentence of 90 days in jail for anyone found with an unlicensed gun within 1,000 feet of a school, including preschools and day-care centers. "I have a message to gang members: Stay away from our schools," said Councilman Ed Reyes, who co-sponsored the bill with Councilman Jack Weiss. "The one place in this city where children, parents and administrators should feel safe is in their school. The recent shootings, including the one here at Aragon elementary, violated that sense of sanctuary," Reyes said. The shooting last month occurred during school hours on the edge of Aragon's front lawn. Police said that Marcos Salas, 36, who was holding his 2-year-old granddaughter, was shot 17 times by Avenues gang members in a drive-by Feb. 21. His granddaughter was not harmed. Witnesses who knew Salas fired back at the car. Minutes later and about 10 blocks away, a shootout with police left one of the gang members dead and another wounded. According to current law, it is a crime to possess a gun in a school zone. Although the law is used to make arrests, jail time is not mandatory and left to the discretion of judges. "The problem is [the current] law doesn't have any teeth in it," Weiss said. "We are going to create an absolute zero-tolerance zone around these schools." The shooting at Aragon was one of several shootings in and around Los Angeles schools in recent months. On Feb. 27, five students from George Washington Carver Middle School in South Los Angeles were shot while waiting at a bus stop after classes. There have been more than 305 gunshot victims citywide so far this year, Weiss said. Last year, there were 1,323 shooting victims across the city, according to statistics from the Los Angeles Police Department. Reyes said he hoped the proposed ordinance, if passed, would send youths a clear message. Veteranos, older gang members, often tell new gang prospects that the punishment for carrying a gun will not be severe and that they won't go to jail, he said. "They need to know there will be consequences," he said. Reyes, who grew up near Aragon, said better jobs and business opportunities are also needed to combat the pull of the area's underground drug trade. Gutierrez said the ordinance was a good "first step" but worried about the fate of her community. She said she never imagined worrying whether her children would be safe at school. "I'm scared," she said. "There isn't a chapter in any parenting book on this." _________________ ▲4LAKids notes: With the irony fully intended, there are no magic bullets - and I share Councilman Reyes very real concerns for our neighborhood. If you read the above you will note a. possessing a gun in a school zone is already illegal and b. "Witnesses who knew Salas fired back at the car" - ie: there were a lot of folks with guns in the school zone that day - and in this case, a lot of shooting in the zone! There are all sorts of issues raised by this legislation, beyond the Second Amendment ones The Supremes are wrestling with now in DC - making the law nigh-on unenforceable. There are lots of people, law abiding folks who live within a thousand feet of a school, including preschools and day-care centers - all are entitled to possess guns. The meaning of the word "unlicensed" (we don't license guns, we register them in California) in this context probably means "covered by a concealed weapons permit" - and the nitpickery of the law continues. This ordinance imposes zero tolerance and forces judges into mandatory sentencing. Judges and law enforcement and school administrators need latitude — following is a true story. In the golden age of California Public Education I was a student at LeConte Junior High. A classmate and friend - a fellow borderline troublemaker not unknown to the vice principals office (not an Eagle but nonetheless a Boy Scout) found a handgun in a paper bag on his way to school one day. He brought it to school and took it to the Boys Vice Principal. I'm not saying he immediately brought it it to the Boys VP; it was a real gun, it was "cool" — he probably showed it some friends; he didn't show it to me. He was maybe thirteen or fourteen years old - but he voluntarily brought it to the office. Even in the unlamented golden age no good deed went unpunished - he was immediately taken into custody and expelled for bringing a gun on campus because of a zero tolerance policy. Eventually cooler heads prevailed (certainly not that Boys Veep's!) and he was readmitted. Lorenzo grew up and became a cop; the last time I heard he was head of security at an international airport. Ninety mandatory days in Juvie wouldn't have helped his career any. —smf HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER ON THE BUDGET AND THE DISTRICT I REPRESENT IN THE STATE ASSEMBLY by Mark DeSaulnier, Member - California State Assembly March 21 - Contra Costa County was home to contrasting press conferences this week. Though both focused on the budget, they were very different events that evidenced very different understandings of the impact of the state’s budget crisis on Californians. On Monday, Senate President pro Tem Don Perata, Senator Torlakson, Democratic legislators and I joined educators, parents, students and community activists. We discussed what a $4.8 billion dollar cut to education will look like for kids and teachers. The press conference was held on the front lawn of a local school, open to all. On Thursday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a “discussion” with a hand-selected crowd of mostly business leaders. It largely ignored the pain this budget crisis will inflict on working Californians. (more) SCHOOL HAZE: COULD FREEWAYS HOLD THE ANSWER TO LOS ANGELES SCHOOLS’ POLLUTION PROBLEM? by Suzanne LaBarre • Metropolis Magazine March 19 - Los Angeles public schools are in a bind. Overcrowding has reached such levels that teachers have had to share their classrooms, cutting the overall academic calendar by up to 17 days while forcing students to sit through school in shifts year-round. One middle school squeezes 2,700 students into a facility designed for 800. The most obvious remedy, building more space, is complicated by a 2003 state health-and-safety law that bans most school construction within 500 feet of a freeway. Los Angeles has 24 freeways, covering 250 miles. That’s like telling Venice not to build by water. A partial solution is emerging in the least likely place: the freeways themselves. (more) The Daily News payroll rant o' th' week: DON'T PUT MUCH HOPE IN LAUSD PAYROLL SYSTEM LA Daily News editorial March 19, 2008 - You would be forgiven for forgetting, what with massive cost overruns and all, that the purpose of the Los Angeles Unified School District's disastrous new payroll system was to save money. Really! That flawed system - which underpaid and overpaid teachers for two years - has cost taxpayers $40 million so far. And that's on top of the $95million the LAUSD shelled out to buy the accursed thing. But, amazingly, district officials still maintain that, somehow, the people of L.A. will come out on top in this deal. (more) CALIFORNIANS UPSET BY SCHOOL FUNDING CUT PLAN By Nanette Asimov/San Francisco Chronicle A hundred garbage cans line the streets of Alameda. Each holds a student, a teacher, a custodian - or another expendable soul from a local school. "If they trash the schools, kids would be trashed too," said Ben Holmes, 7, explaining with a first-grader's clarity why he was standing in a gray trash bin on the corner of Park and Central earlier this week. For drama, it's hard to beat a child in a garbage can. And drama is what educators say they need to show their outrage at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to cut $5.5 billion from schools and colleges. The cuts would wipe out nearly 70 percent of the state's remaining $8 billion budget gap and wipe out school quality as well, they say. EDUCATION BUDGET CUTS ARE NOT IN CALIFORNIA'S INTEREST Opinion by Carlos Garcia,Mark Sanchez/San Francisco Chronicle Carlos Garcia is the superintendent, and Mark Sanchez is board president, of the San Francisco Unified School District. How is it that we have become so comfortable with the fact that our schools are woefully under-funded? And now Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced that California is in a fiscal crisis, and proposed several spending cuts, including $4.8 billion budgeted for public education. All of us who have been in California for some time are veterans of fiscal crises. Although attempts were made in the past to save public schools from sudden crises by the passage of Proposition 98 - a clear statement from voters that they support public education, no matter what the economic state of the state - our legislators seem to be taking the easy way out in the face of hard times. EDUCATION CUTS CAN DO GREAT HARM Staff Report/Marin Independent Journal GOV. ARNOLD Schwarzenegger says the state budget process is broken and dysfunctional and needs a radical overhaul. He is right. He also is using the $16 billion deficit to make his point, originally calling for a 10 percent across-the-board cut in spending - including for public schools. The outcry has been loud and predictable - and in many ways justified. School districts in Marin and throughout the state have started sending out notices warning teachers and other staff that they may be laid off. State law requires those notices be sent out by March 15 if layoffs are to occur in the fall. It is a depressing process that creates uncertainty and anxiety among teachers, parents and students. STATES’ DATA OBSCURE HOW FEW FINISH HIGH SCHOOL By Sam Dillon/New York Times When it comes to high school graduation rates, Mississippi keeps two sets of books. One team of statisticians working at the state education headquarters here recently calculated the official graduation rate at a respectable 87 percent, which Mississippi reported to Washington. But in another office piled with computer printouts, a second team of number crunchers came up with a different rate: a more sobering 63 percent. The state schools superintendent, Hank Bounds, says the lower rate is more accurate and uses it in a campaign to combat a dropout crisis. BANDAGING NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND The education secretary is right to bend, if not break, the law, rather than drop the accountability movement. Editorial/Los Angeles Times Once again, Margaret Spellings is doing the right thing for schools by bending, if not actually breaking, the law. The No Child Left Behind Act was so poorly conceived that occasionally the secretary of Education has to disobey it to make it work. In 2006, Spellings allowed some states to measure student growth each year instead of measuring only the number who test as proficient. The law itself gives schools no credit for raising achievement from the basement to the first floor and encourages them to ignore their failing students. PARENTS VOICE CONCERNS OVER SCHOOL BUDGETS Belmont-Redwood Shores School District may have to lay off employees By Neil Gonzales/San Mateo County Times Potential budget cuts could force the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District to lay off all of its librarians But a local education foundation made up of concerned parents is trying to raise enough money to save the six librarians, teachers and other school employees facing layoffs, given the district's projected shortfall of up to $870,000 in the 2008-09 academic year. Tuesday night, parents and other community members aired their budget frustrations during a packed town hall meeting with state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, at Central Elementary. "Education is clearly cut to the bone," parent Patrick Wheeler told Yee during the meeting that drew about 200 people. "Other areas may have more money sloshing around. Maybe they should be cut more." FIGHTING THE WAR ON HOMEWORK Commentary by Uma G. Gupta/AsianWeek For a moment, let’s pretend to be an elementary school teacher. You earn a salary low enough to afford maybe one or two meals at McDonald’s once a month; you have volumes of paperwork to fill out to satisfy your school’s bureaucratic systems and local, state and federal regulations; you have little or no resources, and that includes chalk, pens, pencils and books; you get a barrage of free advice and relentless complaints from parents who are teachers in absentia; and you have a class full of children, many hungry and sleepy. This scenario may not fit the affluent schools, but it aptly fits many schools in this country, especially those in low-income neighborhoods. It is within this context that the debate about too much homework and its detrimental effects rages today. ACLU SUES PBC OVER LOW GRADUATION RATES FOR BLACKS By Christine DeNardo/Palm Beach Post ACLU sues PBC over low graduation rates for blacks The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a first-of-its kind lawsuit against the Palm Beach County School District over its low graduation rates for black students. In the past, the ACLU and other organizations have sued school districts for not distributing resources equally but no organization has pursued legal actions for not achieving equal results. While more than 80 percent of white students graduated on time in the county, only about 55 percent of blacks did. JUMP TO THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT - plus other selections EVENTS: Coming up next week... On SUNDAY, MARCH 23, the KTLA public affairs show, "PACESETTERS": will feature LAUSD Chief Facilities Executive Guy Mehula and Director of Contract Relations & Small Business Program Veronica Soto. Guy will speak about the facilities program and its impact on education and the community. Veronica also has the chance to delve into the economic impact the program has on small businesses. As an added bonus, Eric Martinez, a high school senior, gives his personal testimony regarding moving from an overcrowded existing facility to a new school centered on small learning communities. Eric is also involved in the iSee (I'm a Student Exploring Excellence) engineering program run through Veronica's office (www.laschools.org/contractor/sbop/isee). The entire half-hour PROGRAM is devoted to LAUSD's facilities and small business programs. PACESETTERS, hosted by Ray Gonzales, airs at 6:00 a.m. on KTLA Channel 5. The weekly series IS a forum to discuss community issues and concerns AND has been on the air for 34 years is designed to meet the cultural and informational needs of the community, The format presents topical local and national concerns, debates, political, education, community, government and education issues AND profiles individuals who are pacesetters in their fields of endeavor. Set your DVRs and VCRs for Channel 5 6:00 a.m. Sunday, March 23. ____________ Monday Mar 24, 2008 South Region Middle School #6: Groundbreaking Ceremony Ceremony starts at 10:00 a.m. South Region Middle School #6 1700 W. 46th St. Los Angeles, CA 90062 Wednesday Mar 26, 2008 Central Region Elementary School #15: Groundbreaking Ceremony Ceremony starts at 10:00 a.m. Central Region Elementary School #15 1723 W. Cordova St. Los Angeles, CA 90007 Wednesday Mar 26, 2008 Central Region Elementary School #22: Preliminary Environmental Assessment 7:00 p.m. Loyola Village Elementary School 8821 Villanova Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90045 *Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________ • SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: http://www.laschools.org/bond/ Phone: 213-241-5183 ____________________________________________________ • LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR: http://www.laschools.org/happenings/ Phone: 213-893-6800 • LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR What can YOU do? • E-mail, call or write your school board member: Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383 Marlene.Canter@lausd.net • 213-241-6387 Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386 Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180 Julie.Korenstein@lausd.net • 213-241-6388 Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382 Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385 ...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600 • Call or e-mail Governor Schwarzenegger: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/ • Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school. • Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it! • Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child. • Register. • Vote. Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them? Scott Folsom is a parent and parent leader in LAUSD. He is immediate past President of Los Angeles 10th District PTSA and represents PTA as Vice-chair the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee. He serves on various school district advisory and policy committees and is a PTA officer and/or governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is also the elected Youth & Education boardmember on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids. • FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 4LAKids makes such material available in an effort to advance understanding of education issues vital to parents, teachers, students and community members in a democracy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. 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W.W.F.D.R.D.?

4LAKids: Sunday, March 16, 2008 In This Issue: • BLUEPRINT TO HELP SCHOOLS + EXCELLENCE COMMITTEE REPORT, AT LAST • AT L.A. SCHOOL, SINGAPORE MATH HAS ADDED VALUE • L.A. UNIFIED EDUCATOR IN SEX CASE FACED EARLIER INQUIRY + BREWER APOLOGIZES IN SEX CASE + THE SOUREST NOTE IN THE DANCE OF THE LEMONS • PARENTS ANNOUNCE STATEWIDE PLAN TO FLUNK THE BUDGET • HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources • EVENTS: Coming up next week... • What can YOU do? Featured Links: • TYE PTA FLUNK THE BUDGET WEBSITE • 4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved! • The LAUSD "Students Count" Budget Advocacy website (not live as of 3/16) • 4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc. W.W.F.D.R.D.? In the Year of Education, education is to be saved by decimating it. The long awaited Governor's Committee on Educational Excellence Report - itself based on the twenty odd volumes of the "Getting Down to Facts" reports released exactly one year ago Saturday - was finally released to absolutely no fanfare this week. The results of three years of hard work by the best and brightest thinkers became an afterthought handout at a luncheon in Santa Monica honoring a member of the committee who passed away in the interim between the writing of the report and its release — an event that was supposed to kick off the governor's "Year of Education". A year, like last year's "Year of Health Care Reform", that is not to be. In politics as in comedy, everything is timing. And with the state $14 billion in the red in the governor's opinion the time isn't right to release study that calls for an additional $10 billion for education. • Especially as the governor has already called for $4.4 billion in cuts to education. • And the deficit is really $16 Billion • And the governor's party; a minority party controls the legislature[!] has pledged to NEVER raise taxes. Seventy-five years ago this week Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to the people of the United States in his first Fireside Chat. The nation in March '33 was in dire financial peril; there was danger that banks across the nation would be forced to close. Roosevelt said that the role of the government was not to slash services but to act. He proposed that government and the private sector had to invest in ourselves and our futures and spend their way of the crisis. Seventy-five years later the state and the nation again faces financial peril. Here in California there is real danger that schools might have to close because of the fiscal crisis. The Governor's Committee on Educational Excellence Report actually offers a proposal to start to fix much of what's broke short-term and long-term in California public education …by investing in our future. We can cut and run or we can stand and deliver. What would FDR do? ¡Onward/Hasta adelante! - smf Link to BUDGET CUTS IN THE NEWS - see also FLUNK THE BUDGET (below) BLUEPRINT TO HELP SCHOOLS + EXCELLENCE COMMITTEE REPORT, AT LAST ► BLUEPRINT TO HELP SCHOOLS: TOUGH BUDGET YEAR OVERSHADOWS PANEL'S REPORT By Matthew Yi, San Francisco Chronicle Sacramento Bureau Saturday, March 15, 2008 -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's blue-ribbon committee on education released a list of sweeping recommendations Friday to overhaul California's public school system at an additional annual cost of $10.5 billion - a staggering amount even if the state's budget weren't already hemorrhaging red ink. The governor's 18-member Committee on Education Excellence spent nearly three years researching and preparing the report, which contains controversial proposals such as merit-based pay for teachers, giving local school districts more control of their finances and preventing most 4-year-olds from starting kindergarten. But the Golden State's looming budget deficit, estimated to be $8 billion by July 1, overshadowed many of those proposals, and the governor was among the first to point that out. His own proposed budget calls for a $4.4 billion cut in K-12 education in the next fiscal year. "Everyone in this room knows education will face severe cuts this year ... because our budget is out of whack," Schwarzenegger said at a news conference in Santa Monica. "But it's important that we don't lose sight of the big picture." The governor used the occasion to pitch his proposals for budget reform, which include capping annual spending based in part on a 10-year average of the state's revenues. The governor wants to set aside extra revenue during economic boom years to offset deficits during tough economic times. "It is inexcusable that our budget system is sending our teachers, students and parents on a roller-coaster ride," he said. Calling the report an outstanding blueprint, the governor added: "We have to look at each one of those (ideas) and see which ones we can implement now and which ones we can do later." The $10.5 billion annual cost increase is based on estimates for additional pay for outstanding teachers; for training new teachers and administrators; developing a comprehensive data system on students and schools; and helping low-income families pay for preschool. Currently, the state spends about $50 billion a year on education. Town hall meetings The governor would not say whether he endorses all of the proposals, but said his appointed secretary of education, David Long, and the authors of the report will organize town hall meetings throughout the state to receive feedback. Among the proposals expected to draw attention is one to begin developing a plan for universal preschool, starting by expanding subsidized programs for low-income families. The committee also recommends giving incentive grants to school districts to create full-day kindergarten classes. Only 30 percent of kindergartners in California are in class for a full day, compared with a national average of about 60 percent, the report said. Along those lines, the recommendations call for changing the rules for when a child can start kindergarten. Currently, a child can start if his/her fifth birthday falls before Dec. 2. The committee has recommended that date be moved up to Sept. 1. Some Bay Area school district officials reacted to the committee's report by questioning its relevance as budget cuts loom that could force them to lay off teachers, principals and administrators. "It's cruel irony," said Myong Leigh, San Francisco Unified School District's deputy superintendent for policy and operations. "There seems to be a real disconnect." His school district is preparing to cut $40 million from its $485 million general fund budget. So far, San Francisco Unified has given pink slips to 535 teachers and administrators, which translates to about a 13 percent cutback. It is hoping for a $30 million bailout in rainy-day funds from City Hall. "It's kind of unfortunate that this report is being produced when the governor is proposing catastrophic cuts in funding," Leigh said. Across the San Francisco Bay, Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Bill Huyett said it is simply frustrating. "It's nice to have a report, but frankly I can't spend a lot of time on the report because I need to figure out how to operate in this environment of cutting back," he said. Teachers union reacts Marty Hittelman, president of the California Federation of Teachers, blasted some of the proposals in the report, such as merit-based pay for teachers and giving school districts block grants rather than monies tied to specific programs. Hittelman argued that the reason state lawmakers began tying funding to specific programs in the first place is because certain student or classroom needs were not being met. Also, a merit-based pay for teachers will ultimately be a morale killer among the larger school staff if only a few get raises each year, he said. The authors of the report defended their recommendations, saying the state's public education system is in a dire need of an overhaul. "The current system can't meet our students' needs," said Ted Mitchell, the chairman of the committee. "It's fundamentally flawed. It's not achievement driven ... (and) our system impedes educators' best work." Mitchell also said the committee's recommendations are meant for both short-term and long-term actions. Some require little or no new funds, such as building a database of information on student achievement and school performance, and making it available for the public. 'Long process' "We're hopeful that this year marks the beginning of a long process, a process that will take several years, if not a decade, to fully implement," Mitchell said. "We hope to lay the foundation for some legislation." But winning support in the Democrat-controlled Legislature may not be easy. While the GOP governor has maintained he won't raise taxes, Democratic lawmakers have been pushing for raising extra revenues to close the deficit. "The report is a perfect illustration why we can't cut billions of dollars from California's education budget," said state Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, who is in line to take over the upper house's leadership later this year. The governor's Committee on Education Excellence report can be found online at: links.sfgate.com/ZCSU ________ ►EXCELLENCE COMMITTEE REPORT, AT LAST by John Fensterwald | Mercury News Educated Guess Blog March 13th, 2008 - “Students First: Renewing Hope for California’s Future,” the ill-fated report of the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence, is finally being released from solitary confinement Friday morning. Gov. Schwarzenegger must have figured that the report, which calls for significant reforms coupled with new money for public schools, is no longer a big threat to embarrass him — or make him look like a hypocrite. The 40-page executive summary has been in secret detention (an undisclosed Sacramento location) since last fall, although I posted it on this blog in January, and copies have been making the rounds. The report reflected two years of work by a distinguished committee, led by Ted Mitchell, who’s a member of the State School Board and former president of Occidental College, and former State Sen. Dede Alpert, a Democrat. It contains some pretty smart recommendations: a push for universal preschool; more funding for low-income, English-learning students; new ways to prepare and compensate teachers; creation of a statewide data system; an inspector general to monitor and evaluate schools. I understand the full 250-page report is a good read. However, the delay in getting the report out is a slap at the committee members and dims prospects that report will become more than a doorstop. Committee members — all busy folks — worked hard, because they were promised that the governor would take their recommendations seriously. That proved wishful thinking, and some members privately are furious. The report was to be the focus of Schwarzenegger’s Year of Education Reform. But Schwarzenegger didn’t want to release it last fall, amid all-consuming legislative negotiations over health reform. Then he was to include parts of it in his State of the State. But the recommendations for more spending conflicted with a massive budget deficit. How could Schwarzenegger peddle a report calling for major reforms while calling for a 10 percent cut in education spending? He could have used the budget crisis to go on the road, as only he can, to call for higher taxes for education. He could have argued that school reform, including raising California from near-bottom of per capita spending on education, is the priority for a secure, prosperous California. He could have laid out a long-term plan for stable revenue and bold reforms: more accountability and data controls, experiments with new teacher compensation and revised tenure rules in exchange for more spending. He didn’t. Schwarzenegger is releasing the report not in Sacramento but in Santa Monica, at the Milken Institute, in honor of Lewis Solmon, a former dean of UCLA, president of the foundation and a member of the Excellence Committee who died in December. A living, breathing document would have been a far better tribute. READ THE REPORT AT L.A. SCHOOL, SINGAPORE MATH HAS ADDED VALUE AT L.A. SCHOOL, SINGAPORE MATH HAS ADDED VALUE From an article by Mitchell Landsberg | Los Angeles Times Staff Writer March 9, 2008 - Here's a little math problem: In 2005, just 45% of the fifth-graders at Ramona Elementary School in Hollywood scored at grade level on a standardized state test. In 2006, that figure rose to 76%. What was the difference? If you answered 31 percentage points, you are correct. You could also express it as a 69% increase. But there is another, more intriguing answer: The difference between the two years may have been Singapore math. At the start of the 2005-06 school year, Ramona began using textbooks developed for use in Singapore, a Southeast Asian city-state whose pupils consistently rank No. 1 in international math comparisons. Ramona's math scores soared. Ramona easily qualifies for federal Title 1 funds, which are intended to alleviate the effects of poverty. Nine of every 10 students at the school are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. For the most part, these are the children of immigrants, the majority from Central America, some from Armenia. Nearly six in 10 students speak English as a second language. Yet here they are, outpacing their counterparts in more affluent schools and succeeding in a math curriculum designed for students who are the very stereotype of Asian dominance in math and science. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? It's a question with potentially big implications, because California recently became the first state to include the Singapore series on its list of state-approved elementary math texts. Public schools aren't required to use the books -- there are a number of other, more conventional texts on the state list -- but the state will subsidize the purchase if they do. And being on the list puts an important imprimatur on the books, because California is by far the largest, most influential textbook buyer in the country. The decision to approve the books could place California ahead of the national curve. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel, appointed by President Bush, will issue a report Thursday that is expected to endorse K-8 math reforms that, in many ways, mirror the Singapore curriculum. The report could also signal a cease-fire in the state's math wars, which raged between traditionalists and reformers throughout the 1990s and shook up math teachers nationwide. Fundamentalists called for a return to basics; reformers demanded a curriculum that would emphasize conceptual understanding. Mathematicians on both sides of the divide say the Singapore curriculum teaches both. By hammering on the basics, it instills a deep understanding of key concepts, they say. Kids -- at least the kids at Ramona -- seem to love it. Ramona, which received a grant to introduce the Singapore curriculum, is one of a sprinkling of schools around the country to do so. Not all teachers like it, and not all use it. The Singapore books aren't easy for teachers to use without training, and some veterans are more comfortable with the curriculum they have always followed. But you can tell when you walk into a classroom using Singapore math. "On your mark . . . get set . . . THINK!" First-grade teacher Arpie Liparian stands in front of her class with a stopwatch. The only sound is of pencils scratching paper as the students race through the daily "sprint," a 60-second drill that is a key part of the Singapore system. The problems at this age are simple: 2+3, 3+4, 8+2. The idea, once commonplace in math classrooms, is to practice them until they become second nature. Critics call this "drill and kill," but Ramona's math coach, Robin Ramos, calls it "drill and thrill." The children act as though it's a game. Not everyone finishes all 30 problems in 60 seconds, and only one girl gets all the answers right, but the students are bubbling with excitement. And Liparian praises every effort. "Give yourselves a hand, boys and girls," she says when all the drills have been corrected. "You did a wonderful job." REINFORCING PATTERNS What isn't obvious to a casual observer is that this drill is carefully thought out to reinforce patterns of mathematical thinking that carry through the curriculum. "These are 'procedures with connections,' " Ramos said, arranged to convey sometimes subtle points. This thoughtfulness -- some say brilliance -- is the true hallmark of the Singapore books, advocates say. After 10 years of studying the Singapore curriculum, Yoram Sagher, a math professor at the Florida Atlantic University, said he still has "very pleasant surprises and realizations" while reading the books. Sagher, who helped train Ramos and the other teachers at Ramona, said he is constantly amazed by "the gentle, clever ways that the mathematics is brought to the intuition of the students." The books, with the no-nonsense title "Primary Mathematics," are published for the U.S. market by a small company in Oregon, Marshall Cavendish International. They are slim volumes, weighing a fraction of a conventional American text. They have a spare, stripped-down look, and a given page contains no material that isn't directly related to the lesson at hand. Standing in an empty classroom one recent morning, Ramos flipped through two sets of texts: the Singapore books and those of a conventional math series published by Harcourt. She began with the first lesson in the first chapter of first grade. In Harcourt Math, there was a picture of eight trees. There were two circles in the sky. The instructions told the students: "There are 2 birds in all." There were no birds on the page. The instructions directed the students to draw little yellow disks in the circles to represent the birds. Ramos gave a look of exasperation. Without a visual representation of birds, she said, the math is confusing and overly abstract for a 5- or 6-year-old. "The math doesn't jump out of the page here," she said. The Singapore first-grade text, by contrast, could hardly have been clearer. It began with a blank rectangle and the number and word for "zero." Below that was a rectangle with a single robot in it, and the number and word for "one." Then a rectangle with two dolls, and the number and word for "two," and so on. "This page is very pictorial, but it refers to something very concrete," Ramos said. "Something they can understand." Next to the pictures were dots. Beginning with the number six (represented by six pineapples), the dots were arranged in two rows, so that six was presented as one row of five dots and a second row with one dot. Day one, first grade: the beginnings of set theory. "This concept, right at the beginning, is the foundation for very important mathematics," Ramos said. As it progresses, the Singapore math builds on this, often in ways that are invisible to the children. Word problems in the early grades are always solved the same way: Draw a picture representing the problem and its solution. Then express it with numbers, and finally write it in words. "The whole concept," Ramos says, "is concrete to pictorial to abstract." Another hallmark of the Singapore books is that there is little repetition. Students are expected to attain mastery of a concept and move on. Each concept builds upon the next. As a result, the books cover far fewer topics in a given year than standard American texts. SKILLED AT MATH Singapore is a prosperous, multicultural, multilingual nation of 4.5 million people whose fourth- and eighth-grade students have never scored lower than No. 1 in a widely accepted comparison of global math skills, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. U.S. students score in the middle of the pack. When the U.S. Department of Education commissioned a study in 2005 to find out why, it concluded, in part: "Singapore's textbooks build deep understanding of mathematical concepts through multi-step problems and concrete illustrations that demonstrate how abstract mathematical concepts are used to solve problems from different perspectives." By contrast, the study said, "traditional U.S. textbooks rarely get beyond definitions and formulas, developing only students' mechanical ability to apply mathematical concepts." Many eminent mathematicians agree. In fact, it is difficult to find a mathematician who likes the standard American texts or dislikes Singapore's. The Singapore curriculum is not strikingly different from that used in many countries known for their math prowess, especially in Asia and Eastern Europe, math educators say. "American textbooks are handicapped by many things," said Hung-Hsi Wu, who has taught math at UC Berkeley for 42 years, "the most important of which is to regard mathematics as a collection of factoids to be memorized." FULL UNEDITED ARTICLE WITH PHOTOS AND ANOTHER ARTICLE FROM THE SINGAPORE PRESS L.A. UNIFIED EDUCATOR IN SEX CASE FACED EARLIER INQUIRY + BREWER APOLOGIZES IN SEX CASE + THE SOUREST NOTE IN THE DANCE OF THE LEMONS ▲ 4LAKids isn't going on pile on here, not on the accused nor on the superintendent. When you read the stories below and the other stories on this tale a couple of disturbing things jump off the page. • The accused was a popular guy with teachers and students - read the quotes. (The job of Dean is not based on qualifications or skills; per the UTLA contract deans are popularly elected by the teachers. Some contend it's a union patronage assignment, otherS say it's a way for teachers to move the least of their own out of the classroom. • Ultimately the District did little to protect the safety of students and much to protect the rights of the accused. In a school district where the rights of employees are paramount to those of students and the union contract is the overriding document of governance this is inevitable. How many times have parents heard from teachers, principals, local district administrators and the big administrator himself: "My hands are tied on this, the contract says '…..'."? This case goes beyond that level and there's plenty of culpability to spread around because it was investigated not just by the District but also by LAPD and the district attorney. Charges were never filed …but Mr. Rooney WAS neither exonerated and given his old job back nor politely but insistently asked to seek employment elsewhere in another line of work. Instead he was placed on the "Must Place List" and banished to Markham Middle School - one of the most challenged schools in the District. Markham may be a gulag for adults but it is the best and often last hope for twelve, thirteen and fourteen year olds who are desperately short of breaks in their young lives. —smf ►L.A. UNIFIED EDUCATOR IN SEX CASE FACED EARLIER INQUIRY: THE WATTS ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM A PREVIOUS SCHOOL WHERE HE WAS INVESTIGATED FOR ALLEGEDLY HAVING SEX WITH AN UNDERAGE STUDENT AND PULLING A GUN ON HER STEPFATHER. by Richard Winton, Andrew Blankstein and Howard Blume | Los Angeles Times Staff Writers March 13, 2008 - Los Angeles school officials transferred an assistant principal to a Watts middle school just months after he had been removed from a previous school where he was investigated for allegedly having sex with an underage student and pulling a gun on her stepfather. Last week, the assistant principal, Steve Thomas Rooney, 39, allegedly molested a student at the new campus, Markham Middle School. He was arrested and charged with five counts of forcible lewd acts on a child, stemming from allegations that he sexually assaulted the 13-year-old girl March 1 and at least one other occasion. Los Angeles Unified School District officials declined to comment Wednesday about how Rooney had been reassigned to Markham last fall, saying they are conducting an internal investigation and citing a policy barring them from speaking publicly about cases under those circumstances. District policy requires officials to conduct their own investigation into employee misconduct regardless of whether the allegations result in criminal charges. Officials would not say Wednesday whether such an inquiry occurred in the earlier case. Parents, students and district employees said they were outraged that, given his history, Rooney had been allowed to continue working with children. "The district could have prevented all this," said Elvette Hodge, father of a seventh-grader at Markham and a member of the school site council. "My daughter said to me, 'How can they put teachers like this in school and expect students to do better?' " Reaction was similar at Fremont High School, where Rooney previously worked as an assistant principal. "I can't believe he was put in another school," said Jenna Washington, Fremont's magnet coordinator. "It was hard enough for us at Fremont. In South Los Angeles, the district knows a lot of parents are not going to complain. They wouldn't have placed him in a West Los Angeles school or a Valley school. Or they'd have parents out there picketing." School board member Richard Vladovic, whose district includes Markham, said that he had not been briefed about Rooney's case but that the district's response should not depend solely on whether law enforcement pursues a case. "Just because police didn't prosecute doesn't mean an employee's actions didn't violate trust or professional standards. We could still take action," he said in an interview Wednesday. Vladovic, who was both a principal and senior district administrator before retiring, added that in such a case, "I would go after a person literally and try to fire him." Los Angeles Police Department officials acknowledged this week that Rooney had been investigated on suspicion of statutory rape of a 17-year-old student in 2007, more than a year before the molestation of the 13-year-old allegedly occurred. The earlier case, they said, came to light after Rooney and the girl's stepfather got into an argument in January 2007 and the stepfather alleged that Rooney pulled a gun. Rooney was briefly arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, but LAPD investigators were unable to prove the allegation, and he was released with no charges filed, police said. The investigation, however, did uncover evidence that Rooney had been having a sexual relationship with the stepdaughter for about a year before the argument. But since the girl would not cooperate with the investigation, and her 18th birthday passed before it was concluded, charges were not filed in that case either, according to a search warrant. (Details of the warrant were first reported by KTTV Channel 11). After the arrest in the gun case, L.A. Unified officials transferred Rooney to a "non-school" setting. When it became clear he would not be prosecuted, they sent him to Markham. L.A. Unified spokeswoman Susan Cox said this week that the district is conducting an internal investigation into its actions surrounding Rooney. She declined, however, to describe those actions in detail. Cox would not comment, for example, on whether L.A. Unified performed its own probe of the allegations against Rooney or on what basis he had been reassigned to Markham. In general, when school employees are arrested, district officials wait until the criminal inquiry is completed before conducting their own, they said. In the interim, they said, employees under a cloud can be suspended or transferred to a district office where there are no students. Rooney was not suspended. Instead, he served six months in an office job before his reassignment to Markham. Rooney, 39, was hired in 2000 as a teacher at Peary Middle School, an L.A. Unified campus in Gardena. He then taught at Foshay Learning Center, before becoming an assistant principal at Fremont High, both in South L.A. According to a search warrant affidavit filed in connection with his arrest, Rooney was working at Fremont on Jan. 1, 2007, the day he drove with the 17-year-old Foshay student to the home of her stepfather and confronted the man about his treatment of her. According to the court document, Rooney allegedly pulled a black steel revolver from his pants during the argument. However, investigators later received conflicting accounts from witnesses, including the stepdaughter, who insisted Rooney had brandished only a flashlight, according to a search warrant. Prosecutors declined to file charges. But while questioning family members about the confrontation, detectives began to suspect that Rooney's relationship with the girl was not just that of teacher and student, according to a search warrant. A subsequent search of his downtown apartment produced photos of the girl, including one Rooney had kept in a book on his nightstand, and a pair of girls' tennis shoes. Inside his computer was a folder called "My Baby" with photos of the girl, according to the documents. The girl later said she had a yearlong sexual relationship with Rooney. She refused to testify, police said in a search warrant. A high-level LAPD official who declined to be identified said Wednesday that school district officials had been briefed by police about their findings after the investigation was complete. The district would not comment. Since Rooney's arrest on the molestation charge, the LAPD has reopened its inquiry into his prior activities, said Capt. Fabian Lizzaraga, head of the Juvenile Division. "There may be additional victims out there, and we are appealing for anyone to come forward," Lizzaraga said. He would not elaborate. Rooney is being held in lieu of $1-million bail. He could not be reached for comment. Several former colleagues spoke well of Rooney, saying they had seen no improprieties. "I was on the committee that hired him" at Fremont, said the school's union chapter chairman Mathew Taylor. "He was a dean at Foshay, and we weren't made aware of his troubles. Overall they found him to be a really good guy." Except for a temper that could cause problems, Taylor said, "I found him to be a good guy too." The accusations against Rooney have focused new scrutiny on the district's practice of requiring campuses to take teachers and administrators not of their choosing, so-called must-place employees. Critics say the worst-performing schools often end up with employees who are ineffective or worse. Markham had been required to take Rooney to fill an interim opening created when an administrator went on leave, sources said. Markham administrators told investigators they did not know of Rooney's history at the time. At Tuesday's school board meeting, an advocate for a parent group chastised officials. "The parents are really tired of must-place personnel," said Kelly Kane of the Parents Union. "We no longer want the garbage to be dumped there. They trusted him because you placed him there." A Fremont junior, who declined to give her name, said, "If this was a private school or somewhere else in the district, where people really care, then I don't think this would have happened." _______________________________ ►BREWER APOLOGIZES IN SEX CASE: L.A. SCHOOLS CHIEF TELLS PARENTS HE'S LOOKING INTO HOW ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL GOT POST DESPITE ALLEGATIONS. by Howard Blume and Molly Hennessy-Fiske | Los Angeles Times Staff Writers March 14, 2008 - Saying he hadn't "slept well in days," Los Angeles schools Supt. David L. Brewer told parents at Markham Middle School on Thursday that he is investigating "how a policy and system we have in place failed" when an administrator previously investigated for allegedly having sex with a Foshay Learning Center student was transferred to Markham. The administrator, Assistant Principal Steve Thomas Rooney, 39, was arrested last week and charged with five counts of forcible lewd acts on a 13-year-old Markham student. "I am deeply, deeply sorry . . . for this incident," Brewer told a gathering of more than 100 parents and students who had come to hear an explanation of why Rooney was transferred to Markham despite the allegations. Rooney was arrested in early 2007 after allegedly pulling a gun on the Foshay student's stepfather, but police said they did not file charges because the student was by then 18 and refused to cooperate. Nevertheless, a written district policy makes clear that in cases where law enforcement drops an investigation into a district employee, the school system has "a heightened responsibility for the safety of its students" and should continue to investigate even if police do not file charges. The mother, grandmother and stepfather of the girl from Foshay said Thursday that the school system never sought them out. The grandmother, who asked for anonymity to protect her granddaughter's privacy, said she went on her own accord to Foshay in spring 2007 to discuss Rooney with school officials. She said an administrator told her to stop asking questions about Rooney and assured her that he would soon be fired. The official "said it would be too much of a scandal to say anything," the grandmother recalled in an interview with The Times. Brewer said he has authorized his legal office to appoint an independent outside counsel to investigate what happened in the Rooney case. He also said he will form a task force to review all employees currently under any suspicion before they can return to a school site. He promised "to educate parents, staff and students on inappropriate behavior," saying "we have to do a better job making sure they're more vigilant." Brewer said he had no information about statements by police that officers fully informed district officials about the findings of their investigation of Rooney. That too will be explored, Brewer said. Rooney allegedly met the Foshay girl when she was a student in his health class. It's not clear exactly when the purported relationship began, but police said the girl told them last year that she became intimate with Rooney when she was 16. The relationship continued, she told police, when Rooney accepted a position last year as assistant principal at Fremont High in South L.A. Rooney first drew police attention when he allegedly brandished a gun at the girl's stepfather, warning him to treat his daughters better. When officers arrested Rooney, the school district removed him from Fremont and assigned him to a job away from students at the local district headquarters pending the outcome of the investigation. He never returned to Fremont, but was placed at Markham last September. Rooney's return to a school site is "unfathomable," said a former high-level district official. "It's also odd. The case was of sufficient concern to people on the 24th floor" -- where the superintendent and his cabinet work at the Beaudry building downtown -- "that it was a topic of conversation. "I can't imagine who would put this individual back in a school," added the former senior staffer, who requested anonymity because of ongoing dealings with L.A. Unified. Carol Truscott, superintendent of the LAUSD subdistrict that includes Markham, said she has been directed not to comment because of the ongoing investigation, but said she would never do anything to knowingly endanger children. Rooney was placed at Markham on an interim basis, substituting for an administrator on leave for personal reasons. "Employees who return to work are placed in available openings," said one administrator, who requested anonymity. "Whether from illness or whatever, they are put in available openings. He was cleared of the allegation and cleared to return to work." The district policy requiring officials to continue to investigate, even if police decide not to file charges, was strengthened out of concerns raised several years ago by school board member Mike Lansing, who has since left office. Lansing said he learned of an employee who was transferred twice after allegations of sexual impropriety that never led to a criminal case. "My concern was: I'd rather err on the other end, in favor of the kids," Lansing said. "Whether they were convicted or not, there are just too many things out there and too many people looking to prey on children." THE SOUREST NOTE IN THE DANCE OF THE LEMONS: Patt Morrison opines on the above PARENTS ANNOUNCE STATEWIDE PLAN TO FLUNK THE BUDGET California State PTA Press Release Friday, March 14, 2008 - SAN JOSE, CA- At its leadership meeting last evening, the California State PTA rolled out plans for a major statewide campaign in opposition to the governor’s proposed state budget cuts to education and children’s services. “This budget flunks the basic test of good government: It hurts our children,” said PTA President Pam Brady, at the association’s 120-member Board of Managers meeting. “This proposed budget does not value the education, health or welfare of our children or the future of California.” California State PTA will work in partnership with other education, health, safety and children’s groups as part of a statewide coalition to oppose the budget cuts. In addition, PTA announced plans to educate and activate PTA’s massive membership at the local level, including launching weekly “Flunk-the-Budget Fridays” activities in legislative districts around the state. Fridays are the days when legislators are typically at home in their districts. “Our one-million volunteer members throughout California are revved up. They’re angry and frustrated. Across the- board cuts have a direct effect on our ability as a state to educate the next generation. Parents understand we can’t build a world-class education system in California by investing less money in our children,” Brady said. “PTA is ready to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to prevent these cuts. We urge state legislators from both parties to come up with a balanced solution – one that doesn’t harm our children. Legislators will be hearing from their local parents and community leaders each and every week until the legislature steps up and does the right thing for California,” she said. California State PTA’s campaign comes in response to the proposed $4.4 billion cut to K-14 education in the governor’s 2008-09 budget, as well as cuts to foster care programs, child welfare services, CalWORKS programs, children’s services health care programs, Medi-Cal, early childhood education, and juvenile rehabilitation and crime prevention grants. The California State PTA’s volunteer Board of Managers is made up of the Board of Directors, 10 commissions and their committees and 29 District Presidents. The association’s advocacy efforts on behalf of all children are guided by an all-volunteer advocacy team. The PTA is the nation’s oldest, largest and highest profile volunteer organization working on behalf of public schools, children and families, with the motto “Every child, one voice.” PTA volunteers work in their schools and communities to improve the education, health and welfare of all children and youth. The PTA also advocates at national, state and local levels for education and family issues. The PTA is non-profit, non-secretarian and noncommercial. ▲You don't need to be a PTA member to help "Flunk the Budget, Not our Children!" Follow this link to advocacy tools, hints and other swell stuff! HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources This I Believe: TELLING KIDS THE WHOLE TRUTH, by Martha Leathe PARENT TEACHER TALKS CAN GET HEATED: They share a common goal but don't always agree on how best to achieve it. Experts say mutual respect is key. by Carla Rivera | Los Angeles Times Staff Writer ▼ FROM THE UCLA/IDEA "Just Schools California"/Education News Roundup; • BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVES SANCTIONS UNDER NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND • REP. MILLER JOINS PESSIMISTS CLUB ON NCLB RENEWAL - Ed Week • INADEQUATE FACILITIES ARE THE FOCUS OF NEARLY $10 MILLION. - Editorial/Fresno Bee • CAMARILLO HIGH FUTURE UP TO VOTERS DISTRICTWIDE - by Timm Herdt/Los Angeles Times • REPORT URGES CHANGES IN TEACHING MATH - by Tamar Lewin/New York Times - American students’ math achievement is “at a mediocre level” compared with that of their peers worldwide, according to a new report by a federal panel • GEORGIA STUDENTS PONDER FUTURE AS SCHOOLS COURT DISASTER - District would be the first in the U.S. since the '60s to lose its accreditation. ► PROPOSED SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS PROTESTED - Dozens of demonstrators march in Santa Ana in the kickoff of a series of events statewide in opposition to the governor's plan / PELIGRA LA TAREA DE LOS MAESTROS/TEACHERS JOBS IN PERIL: Recortes previstos por California dejan sin demasiadas opciones a los distritos escolares: empiezan a llegar cartas de notificación a docents/ California budget cuts leave many districts without options, teachers start receiving pink slips by Rubén Moreno and Iván Mejía/La Opinion / DEADLINE LOOMS FOR CALIF. DISTRICTS TO LAYOFF TEACHERS - by Tamara Keith/NPR …plus layoff stories and editorials from up and down the state. LINKS TO ALL THESE STORIES AND MORE EVENTS: Coming up next week... *Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________ • SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: http://www.laschools.org/bond/ Phone: 213-241-5183 ____________________________________________________ • LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR: http://www.laschools.org/happenings/ Phone: 213-893-6800 • LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR What can YOU do? • E-mail, call or write your school board member: Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383 Marlene.Canter@lausd.net • 213-241-6387 Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386 Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180 Julie.Korenstein@lausd.net • 213-241-6388 Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382 Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385 ...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600 • Call or e-mail Governor Schwarzenegger: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/ • Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school. • Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it! • Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child. • Register. • Vote. Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them? Scott Folsom is a parent and parent leader in LAUSD. He is immediate past President of Los Angeles 10th District PTSA and represents PTA as Vice-chair the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee. He serves on various school district advisory and policy committees and is a PTA officer and/or governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is also the elected Youth & Education boardmember on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids. • FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 4LAKids makes such material available in an effort to advance understanding of education issues vital to parents, teachers, students and community members in a democracy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. 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