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Another Sweetwater board meeting mired in disagreement
The corruption was in place before the first Brand tour... with a predecessor, Trujillo and his alleged practice and sales, er, 'gift' of district computers to Mexico. It then grew 'legs' and it is what we have today. I would not like to see Ms. Ravitch or any other 'advocate' take over as the 'sponsor' of the Sweetwater story because it will then likely be cast as a union vs. evil corporate story and flavored by her sound bytes. . That is NOT what this is about. We will lose much in the translation if that is the case. We can tell our own story, thank you. It is a story about a community that comes together to take back its own schools...take back the schools from the corrupt and divisive public officials who continue to hire bullies to run the enterprise. We do not need Ms. Ravitch as our Robbin Hood. It is our story to tell. Anyone can speak with or pitch a story to any media person. Ravich does not have representation for us.— April 22, 2013 7:54 p.m.
Chula Vistans discuss SANDAG’s rapid-transit plans
If memory serves, Olympic Parkway was designated as a light rail corridor at the very beginning of the planning for the Otay Ranch development. In fact, I believe that the approval of a higher density of dwelling units in the western parcel (Village 1 and others) was a trade-off in return for the availability of EW transit to connect riders with the North South existing light rail trolley...that trade-off was seen as essential to mitigate resistance based on anticipation of increasing traffic congestion. City records should provide greater detail and reference...such as testimony of the Otay Ranch and city planning folks as they sought the city's approval for the dwelling unit density they proposed and eventually built. I am disappointed that the transit access has been such a long time coming.— April 22, 2013 4:56 p.m.
Another Sweetwater board meeting mired in disagreement
In our efforts to bring greater exposure to this story, I recommend that it be cast as "community-wide efforts to expose and rid our community of a cartel of corrupt officials, their equally corrupt CEO, and those who would bribe them to obtain lucrative construction contracts for public schools". That is our story in a nutshell. Please do not succomb to well-meaning, but also opportunistic efforts, of union officials to co-opt the story and the issue for their benefit. The only evil corporate interests here are those who would bribe our public officials and those who play into the willing hands of the CEO, those who will 'pay to play' on the public's dollar. Certainly, our teachers are being abused, and our students shortchanged, by the corrupt CEO and the corrupt board...no one denies that. However, the teachers are only one group of those whose rights and interests are being violated. Actually, it is our students who have been harmed the most! We have citizens who are stepping up to the plate to challenge the status quo, and they come from all walks of life. Our issue, and our efforts, include all varieties of stakeholders. It is too easy to fall into the 'union vs. corporate' polarization and in this case, it just is not so. Sweetwater's mess is public stakeholders....ALL of us...as David, vs. the Golliath of the indicted and self-serving public officials and the bully they hire. We need to keep the message simple if we hope to grab a wider audience.— April 21, 2013 8:15 p.m.
Another Sweetwater board meeting mired in disagreement
It does occur to me that these common criminals also terrorize us with their blithe and ignorant avoidance of their duty to us. Month after month, sometimes more often, they assault us with their abdication and dereliction. They are no better than terrorists because they reign without any semblance of conscience or control. It is past time to take back our district.— April 20, 2013 9:09 p.m.
Another Sweetwater board meeting mired in disagreement
Thanks BBQ... You have been doing a great job to get the district in gear to answer the questions we have been asking for such a long time. Following other educational institutions' best practices, the District should be sending out/posting electronic messages, via Facebook and Twitter at a minimum. They should also be using systems such as 'constant contact' or 'mail chimp' to reach their stakeholders. At a bare minimum, it should be posted on the District's site, not just merely on board members' calendars. Doesn't each school have a school site committee, composed of parents and community? I would hope the district has a way to communicate regularly with those folks, at a minimum. The district also has an in-house communications person, I believe. What is that person doing to spread the word? Why weren't the sessions announced at the last board meeting, or did president Cartmill 'forget' in his haste to end the meeting and avoid any more embarrassing questions for Ed? Perhaps the district's communications personnel can do a better, more comprehensive job, of informing their stakeholders about any upcoming sessions planned for May. Unfortunately, the print media outlets have become nothing more than 'shoppers' that it is difficult to disseminate anything that way anymore. Nevertheless, the district's communication person should send releases about such events to the UT, Star News, La Prensa, the Reader, etc.,. as well as the electronic communications strategies mentioned above..that is their job. It ought not to be up to you to do it for the district! Thank YOU for all you are doing in this effort.— April 18, 2013 11:37 a.m.
Another Sweetwater board meeting mired in disagreement
Perhaps the reason that just three people attended Tuesday's meeting is that there has been no attempt on the part of the district to invite the public that I can see. I do not see the meetings posted on the district's website. They were scheduled without enough advance time to do a proper 'community notice/invitation". Seems like the district is hoping, and trying to ensure, that there is almost no attendance so Ed and Co can claim that the general public doesn't care. The district has an obligation to notice the public about such meetings -- and I mean more than just a cursory effort!— April 18, 2013 10:36 a.m.
Another Sweetwater board meeting mired in disagreement
Such wonderful stewards of the public's money and trust! Yet another disappointing example of failure to lead. Why are we not surprised? How many felonies have they already been indicted for? Such behavior, which disrespects the public they are supposed to serve, should also be considered felinious.— April 17, 2013 2:47 p.m.
Past and present officials from three South Bay school districts arraigned
Oops, I forgot to include Quinones in the list of those charged & indicted for EXTORTION. There are four in that illustrious group.— April 13, 2013 2:33 p.m.
Past and present officials from three South Bay school districts arraigned
Please don't forget that Ricasa, Gandara and Sandoval are all also charged with Extortion...they just didn't sit back and passively 'accept' the bribes, they ASKED for stuff (money trees, tution for children's conferences and beauty pageant entry fees) in exchange for their votes! Also, there is an additional defendant in the Southwestern matter, that would be Jorge Dominguez.— April 13, 2013 12:02 p.m.
Sweetwater board votes to cut occupational programs
Good for us for trying with the public records requests. I am thinking the DA can subponea them if necessary, because it seems that the public ought not to be paying for the defense of those indicted for their personal criminal acts. If the district is in fact paying for the board members' private attorneys in an attempt to circumvent the law, I would think the DA would also want to pursue that as a cause of action and maybe snare Ed himself.— April 12, 2013 4:50 p.m.