More turbulence in little Del Mar

By Marsha Sutton
Source: Carmel Valley News

Just when people were starting to feel like the Del Mar Union School District could begin to move forward after months of turmoil leading up to the recent firing of former superintendent Sharon McClain, board president Comischell Rodriguez dropped a bomb.

“Today I have informed the superintendent and board that I am resigning from the office of president of the Board of Trustees of the Del Mar Union School District,” her press release dated April 26 begins.

That simple sentence could have been enough, but Rodriguez didn’t stop there. She continued, in her statement, to level some very serious allegations against her colleagues, some that implied a violation of the Brown Act, among other transgressions.

“I’m not alleging Brown Act violations,” Rodriguez made clear this week. “I’m not alleging secret backroom meetings at all.”

But there are other charges that clearly perturbed her and made her feel marginalized by fellow board members. “I stand by my statement that says I felt isolated,” she said.

Rodriguez first complained in her press release that support for her as president of the board has been withdrawn, with the implication – as indicated by her use of the phrase “for the past few weeks” – that this has happened since the vote was taken on March 31 to fire McClain, an action that passed over her lone objection.

“For the past few weeks,” the full sentence reads, “I have been isolated by the majority of the board to the extent that certain members have taken it upon themselves to sign official documents without authorization.”

Furthermore, she said that “these same board member(s) meet with legal counsel without authorization.”

She goes on to say that “attempts have been made to exclude me from closed session conversations,” and she references “behind-the-scenes email conversations and demands.”

Responding to these statements by email, trustee Annette Easton said, “I have not signed any official documents. I am not aware of documents that have been signed.” And she said this, regarding meeting with legal counsel: “I do not know what she is talking about.”

“I didn't know what she meant by unauthorized signing of ‘official documents’ nor ‘exclusion from closed session’ and am unclear about what ‘behind the scenes demands’ she references,” said a surprised trustee Doug Perkins in an email.

Trustee Steven McDowell wrote to say, “Until I have spoken to Comischell, I don't feel it would be appropriate” to comment on the press release.

A dispute over timing

Trustee Katherine White, who responded to questions in a telephone interview, was able to give some hint about the possible cause of Rodriguez’s decision to resign as board president.

“I’m sure she’s talking about me when she says taking over the role of the board presidency,” White said. “It’s because I tried to get another member to fill her spot when she couldn’t do it.”

The issue concerns the contract for interim superintendent Jim Peabody. White and Rodriguez had agreed to work together on the contract for Peabody, whose first day at the district was to be April 1, a Thursday. The following week was spring break, when Rodriguez was away on vacation.

“I thought we were going to be doing it together,” White said. “I didn’t know she was going [away]. We hired him on the first. Then everybody went out of town.”

White claims that Rodriguez told White to find someone else to replace her because she was away on vacation and then needed to be gone after that for a personal family matter.

“She was supposed to work on that with me, and she’s the one who said she couldn’t do it,” White said.

White said Rodriguez wanted Perkins to replace her. “But Doug wouldn’t do it, so Steven came in because Doug couldn’t meet on any of the days,” White said.

White said she did sign a letter of intent for Peabody to begin work, but did it legitimately in Rodriguez’s absence. “That was one page that went through the terms that we all agreed on and that allowed him to start working,” White said.

White said she and McDowell met with attorney Jeanne Blumenfeld during this time but that the meeting was about Peabody’s contract. “It was not without authorization,” White said. “We were definitely authorized to do that by the board.”

Rodriguez disagreed with White’s recollection of the timing, saying White was “dancing around some facts.”

“We met very quickly at the end right before spring break,” Rodriguez said. “And it was decided that we would have a committee of two – it would be Katherine and me. It was determined that … I was going to be a part of it as president because that was supposed to be important.”

She said it was agreed that they would begin after spring break.

“I got home after spring break and found out that there had been work already started – not even started but basically done,” Rodriguez said. “I did not know that it was going to happen when I was gone.”

Rodriguez emphasized that she did not want to portray the issue as a dispute between two people, saying there was more going on than this one example. But it’s clear that this was specifically referenced in her resignation letter.

She said while she was away, she checked in with the district regularly, “because there were some items that I was still being asked to do while I was gone. Not at any time at all during that time was I informed that there was work being done in my absence.”

Rodriguez said she did eventually send an email to White telling her she was unable to participate in the contract work any longer, but that it was not sent until two weeks later, after she had discovered that work had already been done on the contract without her knowledge.

“It was almost like I was a formality to be on that committee,” she said. “It was spring break and then the following week went by and it was the third week [when] I said [to] meet without me.”

The subcommittee proceeded without her and the letter of intent was signed before she told them she was off the subcommittee, she said, disagreeing with White’s recollection of the timeline.

An investigation

At the last school board meeting, White asked Peabody to investigate Rodriguez’s claims and to release redacted emails “where Comischell resigns from the contract subcommittee and where she requests we find another member to take her place as she will probably be out of town due to an illness in her family.”

Peabody said he is in the process of investigating the matter and will release details as soon as he has completed his work.

“I can’t conjecture on what will be included in the report when it’s done because I haven’t even started it yet,” Peabody said last Friday. “I will report it to the board – they’re the ones that asked me to do it. So it will probably become a matter of public record. As soon as I can get a handle on it, I’ll be forthright.”

Rodriguez said she fully supports Peabody’s investigation, which will include this and other concerns raised by Rodriguez, including her alleged exclusion from closed session conversations and behind-the-scenes emails.

White disagreed that Rodriguez had been excluded from closed session conversations, expressing bewilderment.

“Go look through all of our minutes,” White said. “You can see when our meetings started, when our meetings ended, and who was at them. She was at every single second of closed session. I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

Easton seemed equally confused, saying, “Ms. Rodriguez has participated in all closed session conversations. I am not aware of any attempts to exclude her.”

All board members, except McDowell who did not respond to requests for a comment, expressed disappointment over Rodriguez’s decision to step down.

“I’m sorry she did it,” White said. “I nominated her and I stand by my nomination. I believe that she can do the job. But I’ll support her if she decides she can’t do this any more, and I’ll support her if she decides to continue.”

“I was perplexed and disappointed,” said Easton in an email statement. “From my perspective, while not always agreeing on decisions, the entire board was working well together.” She said the resignation announcement “only serves to further polarize and politicize a community in need of reconciliation.”

“My reaction to her resignation is I'm saddened, as I still believe, as I did in December, that Comischell has some unique leadership capabilities to help DMUSD navigate through these difficult times,” said Perkins. “I wish she'd reconsider and complete her office until it's up in December.”

Despite differences, all trustees agreed that the focus needs to return to the students and district business. Time to move on, was the common refrain. But will this community let them?

Marsha Sutton can be reached at SuttComm@san.rr.com

DMUSD board names Peabody new superintendent, saves 22 classroom teacher jobs

By Karen Billing

Source: Carmel Valley News

Del Mar Union School District trustees today voted unanimously to give Interim Superintendent James Peabody a two-year contract as the district’s new superintendent and to rescind pink slips given to 22 classroom teachers.

At a special board meeting — where trustees also agreed to drop the idea of co-locating the district office at any school site and named Steven McDowell the new board president — trustees accomplished a lot but Peabody’s contract was perhaps the biggest surprise.

“In getting to know Jim these last few weeks the intent is that we want him to act in the full capacity as superintendent,” McDowell said.

His two-year contract as superintendent will begin on July 1. It follows an interim contract, where he was also serving superintendent for the Julian school district.

The news that all classroom teacher’ jobs would be preserved was happy news as only 12 teachers remained uncertain of their futures with the district — other teachers had already heard news that their pink slips were rescinded.

Trustee Katherine White made the motion to save the 12 teachers despite the fact that the district does not yet know final enrollment and staffing needs. Since classroom sizes will not be increased and instead reduced to 20:1 in lower grades and 27:1 in upper grades, White said in her quick calculations, she was pretty sure “we’re going to need all those people.”

While all classroom teachers saw their pink slips rescinded — a vote that was followed by big cheers and hugs from teachers in attendance — some Extended Studies Curriculum positions will trimmed now that the principals have completed their ESC allocations.

The Del Mar Education Foundation raised enough money to save 13 extended studies curriculum teachers and when paired with the 19 teachers the district will fund, that brings the total to the equivalent of 32.4 full time spots for ESC.

The final ESC cuts include 1.8 FTE of music, 0.5 art, 0.4 from science, 0.2 from physical education and 0.5 Spanish. These cuts are significantly scaled back due to fundraising efforts, considering initial cuts included 6.6 FTE from music, 7.0 from art and 6.0 from PE.

The board’s decision not to consider co-locating the district office at any school site was a unanimous decision, but some trustees had reservations about it.

Trustee Comischell Rodriguez, in her first meeting since resigning as board president, said it was good to have the concept as an emergency option in case they weren’t able to find a building to house their district office or extend the lease on the Shores property by their May 2011 deadline.

“I think it’s a good gesture on the board’s part to take co-location off the table as long as we are actively pursuing property (for the new district office),” Rodriguez said. “I’d like to see us actually begin to make offers soon.”

An appeal to Sharon McClain: Do not let emotion hijack reason

Source: Carmel Valley News, Letters to the Editor

The controversial decision by the Del Mar Union School District board’s recent release of Sharon McClain as superintendent will likely spur challengers to file with the Registrar of Voters to run for school board in the November election.

The school board’s legal counsel advised them to remain quiet about the details of Dr. McClain’s termination due to employer-employee confidentiality and her threat of litigation. Unfortunately, the public has insufficient information to determine whether the school board or Dr. McClain, or possibly a combination of both were negligent in their respective roles. Based upon her age, highest pay level, and years of experience in public education, Dr. McClain will receive an annual pension of $131,720 per year starting immediately. If we deduct her pension from the salary she would have received over the next two years, her gross loss would be $107,560. Since her husband is also a retired school superintendent who is also receiving a substantial state pension, their family income puts them in the highest tax bracket. Consequently, her net loss would only be around $70,000.

Of course, Dr. McClain could take other kinds of work, which would reduce this figure. For example, she stated when she was hired that she loves teaching in teacher/administrator preparation programs at the university level, and with her experience I am certain she could acquire one of those positions.

Logically, the risk outweighs the reward for Dr. McClain to sue the Del Mar School District. Attorney fees will likely eat away any gains she would receive from a lawsuit. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that she would prevail. Moreover, she would be putting herself through a lot of unnecessary stress. Finally, she would be hurting the children of the Del Mar Union School District by averting [sic] money and time towards a legal battle.

I appeal to Dr. McClain not to allow emotion to hijack reason. Instead of focusing on the offense of the three people who fired you, put your focus on the many people who gave you a standing ovation. You had a long and successful career, savor your accomplishments, rather than focus on how some people may perceive your performance due to the school board’s decision to release you.

As the parent of a child who will be attending the Del Mar Union School District in several years, I would like to know the rationale for releasing two superintendents during the past two years who previously had successful track records. An interesting school board race that would reveal answers to the community’s unanswered questions would be if Sharon McClain, Tom Bishop and Linda Crawford ran as a slate and went head-to-head against Annette Eason, Steven McDowell, and Katherine White in the November school board election.

Stephen Cochrane
Carmel Valley

CV News Letters to the Editor

Source: Carmel Valley News

Children will be impacted the most by the school district’s mess

Dear Del Mar Union School District board members,

I was at the Del Mar Union School District board meeting March 31, but decided not to speak. There were so many people that shared my feelings I figured I would let them speak for me. Now I regret not speaking because there is so much I have to say.

First of all, I would like to put it simply to the board members: garbage rolls down hill. You – yes, you and your personal vendettas, political ambitions, and inability to work effectively as a team are up there at the top. You have made a decision and just sent the garbage rolling downhill to:

• The Teachers
• The PTA’s
• The Foundation
• The Parents
• The Principals

And, most importantly, to our children! Our children are the ones who will be impacted the most by this mess that you have created. And that is so sad and so unfair to them.

I can only hope that now that you have decided to let Dr. McClain go, you will put every effort into moving on and seriously improving our district. The morale out there is so bad, you have a lot of work to do. Good luck with that.

Michele Lesher
Carmel Del Mar Parent and PTA Board Member

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DM school board creates problems rather than solve them

The Del Mar Union School District had the opportunity last week to right a wrong, and sadly they continued on their path deferring to “not enough information” and “premature decision making.” Could one of the trustees please tell me why, 10 months later, you still do not have the facts to make a decision? This board has spent valuable employee time and community time on a vicious circle to nowhere. A wild goose chase (aka 7-11 Committee) now deferred to “wait and see what the strategic budget task force” can come up with. Having been at a majority of these meetings, I was beginning to think this board was incapable of making one solid decision. However, now that I look at it, perhaps they are even more crafty and their long-term strategy has been continued deferment until even us die-hard attendees get tired of coming and there are no voices left to stand up against them.

What is even more frightening is that this board should have been expediting a budget process, but instead they have created an even bigger one. By tearing apart our community over possible school closures and co-location, they have turned neighbor against neighbor, child against child, they have created such uncertainty and animosity that our ESC programs are crippled, teachers will be laid-off, and our class sizes will be increased.

Those at the highest level of employment are afraid to speak out lest their jobs go the way of our former superintendent or beloved principals. Or, they put themselves at risk for an embarrassing public flogging to determine if the contracts had enough dotted “I”s and crossed “Ts.”

This board was elected as community representatives, to encapsulate the community voice, and enact what is for the greater good of the whole. Yet, so far all I have seen is four ineffective leaders trying to be corralled by one brave soul encouraging the board to take action and move forward. It is like trying to round up a group of schoolmates who would rather focus on petty grievances or old grudges, when they should be standing up as leaders and saying, “I take responsibility for our failures and suggest that we [fill in the blank with something that looks like progress].

Unfortunately, it is too late to recall this group and we are now forced to continue to watch this pathetic excuse for leadership take its course. However, I urge all of our community to be aware, for the 20 of us who stuck our heads out of the hole at the Feb. 24 meeting have seen our shadows and it looks like nine more months of upheaval.

Heidi Niehart

P.S. The board still has a chance to leave a legacy of progress if they would listen to the realtors and the attorneys and buy a building while it is buyer-friendly.

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The board’s vision of the DMUSD community is flawed

By Suzanne Hall
Parent, Torrey Hills Elementary School

After rejecting Superintendent Sharon McClain’s design for the composition of the Financial Planning Task Force (FTF) in favor of emphasizing community input, the DMUSD board created an unbalanced FTF that poorly represents the DMUSD community as a whole. This inequitable composition threatens the validity of any recommendations made by this task force.

The FTF is, in part, comprised of 13 parents. Logic would dictate that these 13 parents be spread as equitably as possible across the eight DMUSD schools, with no school receiving more than two parent representatives. However, two of the smallest schools in the district — Del Mar Hills and Ashley Falls — each have three parent representatives.

Conversely, the three largest schools in the district — Torrey Hills, Ocean Air and Sage Canyon — have between them a sum total of four representatives.

As a result, four FTF members represent 51 percent of the student population while 19.6 percent of the students have six representatives. Does this seem fair to the board? To parents of underrepresented schools, it falls far short of equity.

In addition, the board itself chose to appoint to the FTF two of the Del Mar Hills parents and two of the Ashley Falls parents. This, beyond the mandated appointment of a representative by the PTA at each school. The board knew that each of these schools already had one representative, and they chose to seat two more. Thus, the board is directly responsible for the inequity in the composition of the FTF.

Does the board truly believe that the voices of the parents of the other district schools matters less than that of parents at these smaller schools?

This board faces a number of challenging issues, including an increasingly divided community of parents. The composition of the FTF does little to improve the latter, and a concern is that it may do little to improve the budget crisis. The other members of the task force, staff and volunteers representing various aspects of the district, will be met with a skewed perspective on what the parents of the DMUSD want to see in dealing with the district budget crunch. How can these parents represent the well-being of the district as a whole when so many of them represent only one point of view?

The board has made a grave error. There is so very little time before they must make significant decisions for the potential benefit of the district, and yet they have set themselves up for failure by not developing an FTF of the composition they so strongly professed they wanted. This FTF does not represent the community of DMUSD. It represents only a small proportion of the community. And the message sent by the board is: it is the only part of the community that matters to them.

In response, I would remind the board: the larger community will be voting, come November.

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Superintendent’s actions cause for concern

I am a fairly new parent to the Del Mar school district, but I have been watching what has been going on during that time. One of the issues raised at the recent school board meeting has caused me enough concern that I am writing to you.

At this last school board meeting, I was watching a parent accuse trustee White of using the DMUSD legal services for her private use. How did this parent get information on district legal bills? I understand this parent made a request to the district for bills, but I have enough experience in my business life to know legal bills are always provided redacted, so that attorney-client privileged information is protected. In all the bills I have seen, the text describing the service is whited out. I am not necessarily concerned with the ignorance of this parent although her behavior was disrespectful and poor role modeling for the children in the audience. I am concerned that a superintendent would potentially put our district at risk for divulging attorney-client information to the public through these legal bills and documents.

I understood when Ms. White explained that her role as board president last year made her point person for legal issues and I understood this role now falls to Ms. Rodriguez. I saw the board explain this and concur this is how they work. But I don’t understand how a superintendent who was involved in an employee complaint which required the district to hire an attorney for this complaint should ethically be looking at these bills and how legally she can provide confidential information to someone. This is wrong.

Ms McClain, when hired for this district, was hired because she claimed to be a team player and a community builder, something this district really needed. Since her arrival, she has been divisive and has pitted school against school. I am now convinced, especially after this very concerning action, that she should be let go. She is damaging this district.

Hanna Morgan

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DMUSD school board tries to terminate second superintendent

By Kate Takahashi, DMUSD parent

How would you feel if your child forfeited his birthday presents to make a school donation only to find that three grown adults snatched it from her and threw it in the Pacific Ocean? If the three-person majority of Del Mar Union School Board succeeds in their agenda of firing Superintendent Sharon McClain, they would do just that, but on a much larger scale. Please read on.

The economic reality

During these tough economic times, we DMUSD parents are scrambling to save the cherished ESC programs that our district can’t afford. Honestly, it’s exhausting, but we do it for our children. And the children themselves are working hard to keep their teachers. I have stories of Girl Scout Troops donating, pancake breakfasts, garage sales... We’re all doing our best to scrape together every penny we can.

The economic crisis is not just affecting ESC. DMUSD’s reserves are millions of dollars below the recommended level for a Basic Aid district. If our reserves dip below 3 percent of expenditures, the state could be required to balance our budget in any way it sees fit — larger classroom sizes, teacher lay-offs – without community input.

The board’s actions

And what is our school board doing about the budget? They are calling their attorneys – daily at times – at the rate of $160/hour. From July through December of 2009, they racked up $21,339 in legal fees. What could be so important? The school board is searching for ways to fire Dr. Sharon McClain, the supremely qualified leader they chose in September 2008 to replace Tom Bishop, the last guy they fired that same year.

Disaster either way

If the board fires Dr. McClain for cause, she could sue for the length of her contract, plus benefits, plus attorneys’ fees. That could amount to as much as half a million dollars. If they buy out her contract for one year, that could approximate a quarter million dollars. Either way, that money comes from the district coffers to educate your child.

Incidentally, this board, in pursuing this wasteful litigation, is choosing to triple-pay a superintendent’s salary. Remember Tom Bishop? He’s Superintendent 1, and we are still paying his buyout. If they fire Dr. McClain – or Superintendent 2 – then the district would pay her while paying an interim superintendent, or Superintendent 3 (if they could find anyone willing to work here). So DMUSD would be paying Baby Superintendent, Mama Superintendent, and Papa Superintendent all at the same time, for a grand total that could approach a million dollars. Now I’m asking, Are you outraged yet?

Did I mention Dr. McClain doesn’t deserve this?

At the hard-to-believe age of 65, she is at the top of her professional game, having won Pepperdine University’s Superintendent of the Year Award, and having taught school governance at seven different universities. She has worked with and for children her whole life, having been an elementary teacher, university instructor, principal, assistant superintendent, superintendent (three times), mother, and foster mother. At this stage of her life, she has chosen her most challenging job yet as superintendent of DMUSD, and she has thus far guided us through this financial crisis with optimism and smart ideas.

And, gratefully, she’s still here. Let’s be there for her.

What we can do:

1. Talk: Tell people what you have learned about this board. If you are unsure about any facts or figures in this editorial, ask DMUSD about what public records you have a right to see, including their attorney bills. Research past articles from local papers.
2. Make it a daily task to log on to dmusd.org in order to know if a board meeting is taking place. If it is, go to “view agenda.” Be on the lookout for “Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release.” If that is there, there could be a closed meeting to terminate Dr. McClain. The board must hear public input before they go into closed session. Fill out a speaker slip, wait for your name to be called, and you will have three minutes to tell the board how you feel. If you are uncomfortable speaking, write a letter to the board and have a friend read it and/or send a letter to the board.
3. Vote: Cast your ballot this November. Tell your friends to vote, as well.

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Solution to the problem is obvious

Sometimes there is an obvious solution to the problem. Del Mar Union School District Superintendent Sharon McClain came with previously used and not the best idea of changing school boundaries again to fill low enrollment schools. Superintendent Bishop tried just that. He wanted to force parents of children living next to Torrey Hills and Sage Canyon schools to drive their children to and from Del Mar Heights and Hills schools every school day. Those parents were paying Mello-Roos tax to be able to send their children to neighborhood schools. It took a lot of time and energy to convince him to instead let Sage Canyon accept more children. Do you want to repeat the past?

Why would anyone even suggest adding offices to Torrey Hills school knowing that there is a plan to built a condominium complex just across from this school and the enrollment will increase again.

From Google maps, one can see that the distance between Del Mar Hills and Del Mar Heights schools is 0.8 mile, it takes 3 minutes by car, or 14 minutes by walking. Are there any other schools in the district so close to each other? You have a half empty school, space for additional kids in nearby schools, you need space for the office, what do you do?

Grazyna Krajewska
Torrey Hills

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Leave district boundaries intact, don’t hire vice principals

I wanted to comment on Del Mar Union School District Superintendent Sharon McClain's comment in the Jan. 29 article titled “DM superintendent recommends district buy property for headquarters” which stated "McClain mentioned making boundary changes east of Interstate 5 as a possible cost-saving option. As Sage Canyon and Ocean Air each have around 700 students and Torrey Hills nears that size, the schools will need vice principals. She said the district could save $850,000 by reducing the enrollment size of the three schools through boundary changes (students would be moved to other schools in the district). The enrollment changes would eliminate the need for the three vice principal positions. The re-boundary could also help boost enrollment numbers at Ashley Falls.”

Homes in the boundaries of these three schools are south of the 56 freeway, many have been paying a special Mello Roos tax for a "neighborhood school" for years, and all are several miles away from Ashley Falls (and require crossing a major freeway), making that far from being a "neighborhood school." Before any consideration is given to changing boundaries for these three schools, I sure hope they will eliminate the policy that has grandfathered in many kids outside of these school boundaries.

I used to watch every morning the many dozens of cars from north of the 56 that would cross the freeway bringing their kids over to our area schools. Does it make any sense to have kids driven from homes north of the 56 to school south of the 56, and drive kids from homes south of the 56 to school north of the 56? It wastes fuel, and it breaks up the integrity of having kids who live near one another go to school together, which would facilitate friendships and neighborhood cohesiveness. Another suggestion would be to leave the census and boundaries as is and just not hire the vice principals, if their cost is the issue. I wanted to bring this suggestion to light to the community before it gets much traction.

Kathy Rowe

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School bored, school daze, school wars

By Gordon Clanton

School board politics is the most local politics of all. This may explain the intensity, nay, the rancor that often characterizes school board meetings and school board elections. Until recently, the Del Mar Union School District was spared such struggles. But no more.

In 2006, dissident board member Annette Easton recruited Katherine White and Steven McDowell to help her take over the board. The new majority fired the superintendent. Now the board is feuding with the new superintendent they hired.

Full disclosure: I opposed the insurgent slate in 2006, supporting Barbara Myers and Martha Murphy. I was not persuaded that the incumbent board should be turned out, and I found the strident and expensive insurgent campaign off-putting.

I re-joined the fray when I learned that the board was considering closing the Del Mar Hills Academy. I live three blocks from the Hills school. Although I have no children, I consider the school an important part of my community.

My neighbors with children in the Hills school are upset to learn the school may close. They like the fact that their kids can now walk to school without crossing Del Mar Heights Road. They are alarmed that some parents in the district support closing the Hills school as a likely way of preserving their own neighborhood schools.

By the way, I’m suspicious of estimates that purport to show ever-decreasing enrollments for the Hills school and Del Mar Heights school. What’s happening in my neighborhood is that elderly residents are dying, and young couples with school-age children are purchasing their houses.

So, having sold the Shores school site, the school district needs to find a new home for its administrative offices, thus stirring fears of school closings.

Meanwhile, the Del Mar campaign to pay for the Shores property has come up short, with more than $3.5 million owed.

Nobody asked me but: If the school district were to buy back or lease back the portion of the Shores site it currently occupies, then it would have no need to find a new location. Simultaneously, the debt owed by the city of Del Mar would be substantially reduced. The district could gain flexibility by moving more administrative functions to available space at schools that are under-enrolled.

I hope the board will find a way to keep all the schools open, thus reducing the prevailing anxiety and distrust.

The neighborhood school is part of a social fabric that ought not be casually rent asunder.

Gordon Clanton teaches sociology at San Diego State University. He welcomes comments at gclanton@mail.sdsu.edu.

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Killing two birds with one stone: Resolving multiple issues within the DMUSD

Now that the 7/11 committee has issued its final report, the DMUSD Board of Trustees is tasked with resolving the movement of the district offices. In addition, it has directed that a financial task force begin working on options for cutting expenses within the district. It is imperative that the board considers the financial health of the DMUSD as it makes its determination as to where to place the district offices and maintenance operations.

Superintendent McClain has made a recommendation that the board use the money from the sale of the Shores property to purchase a site for the district offices. The superintendent stated that a decision needs to be made expeditiously. Dragging this process out can cost the district money, as property values of lots for sale will eventually escalate, and interim leasing of a temporary space would bleed badly needed funds from the DMUSD budget. The board is urged to make a decision soon.

One of the superintendent's alternate recommendations is to house the district offices on a school site. This is a bad idea, unless that school site was designated solely for the purpose of district offices and maintenance operations. District offices should be housed separately from students. Joint use endangers children and degrades the atmosphere of the school, which in turn reduces the quality of the educational experience for the children at that site. Further, joint use options at school sites provide no significant cost savings to the district. Resolving the move of district offices without an eye to the financial crisis the DMUSD is experiencing is imprudent.

Closure of a school would allow for the offices to be unified at one site, while providing cost savings needed by the district. The 7/11 committee determined that the DMUSD would save at least $450,000 annually if a school were closed. This could protect the job of one teacher at each of the remaining school sites, year after year.

Closing a school does not completely cover the projected gap in the DMUSD budget for the next two years. However, in combination with other proposed money saving options, such as installing solar panels, school closure can provide more than an estimated $1,000,000 per annum. How many teachers' jobs could be saved with that figure? It is too significant to be ignored.

In summary, the board is urged to keep the district's financial situation in the forefront of their minds during deliberations regarding the move of district offices. It is a certainty that the DMUSD will need to be making cuts to the budget in the near term to make ends meet. Let's hope the board of trustees does not exacerbate the need for cuts by disregarding cost savings measures available to them in making this decision.

Suzanne Hall
Torrey Hills mom

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Del Mar school board has taken district in a new direction — south

Given the realization of the mess their micro-management has created in the last three years, the majority slate of three orchestrated the election of first-year board member Comischell Rodriguez as president of the board at the organizational meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009.

While there was understandable elation in the audience at President Rodriguez’s election, the community needs to be reminded that she continues to remain only one vote out of five on the school board. If President Rodriguez is able to restore protocol and time-efficiency to the conduct of public meetings, that alone would be a significant contribution to the community.

Meetings have become nitpicking marathons of minutiae and seemingly endless time-wasting discussion, with the audience wandering and chatting and eating throughout the entire proceedings. The retreating board members vowed sincerely to support President Rodriguez throughout what will soon become a very challenging year for her. And, we can hold them to their word, can’t we? After all, when the majority slate of three fired the superintendent in February 2008, they indicated that they wanted to take the district in a new direction. Well, they surely did. We just didn’t know that direction was south.

Martha Cox

Bringing back a four-letter word

By Marsha Sutton

Source: Carmel Valley News

The historic election of Barack Obama, our nation’s first African-American president, brings to a close this long, tortuous period of endless presidential politics. Although over-saturated by the barrage of coverage, many of us are justifiably moved that our country has not been swayed by the color of his skin but instead elected a new leader based on the force of his intellect and the promise of his ideals.

Regardless of whether you are now celebrating or miserable over the results, today is a day for rejoicing and for profound gratitude that America and its democracy have brought us to this moment.

But this day has come at a price. We as Americans seem to have lost something of great value along the way. The unfortunate polarization of factions and hyperbolic ranting of extremists on both sides have left us bereft of civility. Insults have replaced respectful conversation, distortions substitute for facts, and reactionary jeering shouts down thoughtful discourse.

Our children are not immune to all this incivility. They watch, they listen, they learn how to behave. And the lessons we are teaching them are not very admirable.

One simple four-letter word seems to have disappeared from our collective behavior, and I’m referring here to the new N-word – NICE.

Where have all the nice people gone? And how do we bring them back?

This is the real crisis in America today, the inability of adults to debate without fighting, to hear the other side without feeling threatened, to retain some semblance of dignity while discussing controversial issues with our neighbors. And most importantly, to protect our children from the downward slide into intolerance and anger.

There are very real troubles that our nation’s next leader must confront – the collapsing economy, a broken health-care system, an expensive war without end, an inadequate education system, environmental crises, an outdated infrastructure and public works system in disrepair – on and on the list goes.

As daunting as these problems are, I am hopeful that, with the right degree of intelligence, creativity and cooperation, every one of these issues can be, if not immediately fixed, then certainly addressed and solutions initiated.

But harder to fix is the underlying problem of our attitude toward one another. How does one leader, any one person, begin to turn back the way we’ve learned to relate?

Our own communities are just as guilty. We live in neighborhoods where people are professionals – intelligent and successful. And yet all too often insults are hurled at one another, name-calling is common, and healthy debate quickly degenerates into conflict and ad hominem attacks.

Ad hominem attacks are so despicable because character flaws, real or imagined, are raised as a way to discredit a person’s views. Attacks on a person’s character have no bearing on whether that person’s beliefs are valid or not. But they are tempting to use because they distract from the issues, are simple to voice, and can be effective in influencing opinion. It is easier to attack someone’s character than it is to think through one’s own positions and engage in rational, reflective discourse.

As a columnist, I receive a great deal of feedback on my topics, and I am grateful when someone writes to me and is able to agreeably disagree. Logical arguments presented to support an opposing view are most welcome; I enjoy the spirited debates. They expand my understanding, help me to solidify my positions, and occasionally convince me to change my mind.

I appreciate these respectful letters not the least because the writers are able to distinguish between me as a person and the views I hold. A brilliantly formulated opinion is quickly dulled by an insulting, personal tone designed to provoke rather than persuade.

I have been called every name in the book, for expressing points of view others don’t share. And in this popular era of blaming journalists and shooting the messenger, exposing unwelcome truths is sometimes labeled as rumors or lies in an attempt to stain the reporter’s credentials.

One need only turn to the Letters section of any newspaper to see repeated examples of this behavior.

Take, for example, a letter published in the Sept. 25 issue of this newspaper from the Del Mar Hills Elementary School’s PTA president. Because she identified herself as such in the letter, the contents of the letter – and its tone – were understood to represent the views of the teachers and parents at that school.

The letter – devoid of logic, soaked with belittling sarcasm, and peppered with misleading distortions – undermined its purpose with a mean-spirited tone that was far more alienating than convincing and reflected poorly upon the author’s organization.

A string of insults is not very persuasive, if the goal is to win people over to your point of view.

But this style is symptomatic of what too often characterizes our debates. We see this all the time – if you can’t win by reason, then slam your opponent with insults and pejorative labeling.

In my university philosophy classes 30 years ago, we learned to argue – argue, meaning to present well-researched arguments, employing logic and “proofs” to offer compelling opinions that engage and respect the audience. Socrates would be appalled to witness how the “art” of argument has degenerated.

Last week, I attended a guest lecture at UCSD featuring San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Page editor Bob Kittle, who is known for his conservative views. His audience, which appeared by a show of hands to be firmly in Barack Obama’s corner, was respectful of Kittle and listened politely as he explained his endorsement of John McCain for president.

And likewise, Kittle listened carefully when one audience member volunteered to state why Obama was appealing.

Kittle even went so far as to argue the other side when one McCain supporter became visibly upset with Obama fans and derided them to a point that bordered on the abusive, for embracing for president a man he said was an inexperienced senator.

Kittle gently reminded the man that there was once another senator with a similarly thin resume who served only two years in the senate before winning the presidency, and he went on to become one of the greatest presidents who ever lived – speaking of Abraham Lincoln, who, Kittle added, happened to be a Republican.

Whether you agree with him or not, Kittle displayed tact and respect for his audience – a rare trait these days that compelled me to listen carefully when he offered his views on a number of 2008 election issues that were often contrary to those I hold.

After the 9/11 attack, America came together in a way I’ve not seen before – or since. We gave one another a collective group hug – whether on the telephone, in the grocery store, or on the freeway where drivers were startlingly polite.

Does it take a national tragedy for people to realize that each of us deserves respect? Just because one may support Obama and one McCain does not mean that either person is stupid, mean, blind or pathetic – all terms I’ve heard used this campaign season.

Disagreeing with one another is healthy and constructive. How do we know what’s right for us if we can’t understand what the other side is about? And how can we learn about the issues if some of us insist upon criticizing other people’s values rather than simply the positions they hold?

We set examples for our children every minute of every day, and kids need to learn how to understand all sides of an issue, listen with an open mind, sort out what makes sense for them, and defend their positions with intelligence and respect.

May the next president set such an example – for adults as well as the children.

Susan Fitzpatrick follows her lifelong passion to become new Del Mar Hills Academy principal

Source: Carmel Valley News

Source: http://dmusd.org/hills/news/openNewsfeed.aspx?newsfeedid=1204

By Matt Liebowitz

Her route to become the new principal of Del Mar Hills Academy has had some stops along the way, but Susan Fitzpatrick knew all along she’d end up doing what she loves.

On Oct. 22, the Del Mar Union School District named Fitzpatrick as the new principal for Del Mar Hills. She will replace Vince Jewell, who has been acting as interim principal since the departure late this past summer of former principal Laurie Francis, who left to take a job as principal of Carmel Valley Middle School.

“I’m looking forward to working with the close-knit community at Del Mar Hills,” said Fitzpatrick, who met with the school’s teachers and staff for the first time on Oct. 30.

She also conveyed her enthusiasm with the arts and science programs offered at the Hills, and said, as incoming principal, she is eager to learn “the culture and community of the school, and what the community values and sees as their needs.”

Fitzpatrick comes to Del Mar Hills with impressive professional credentials: from since 2006, she has served as principal of Breeze Hill Elementary School in the Vista Unified School District. From 1994 to 2000, Fitzpatrick taught in the Riverside School District; from 2000 to 2006, she held administrative positions in the same district, including assistant principal and interim principal.

While at Riverside, Fitzpatrick received the Superintendent’s Award for Excellence and was named part of “Inland Empire Women Who Make a Difference.”

As a principal, Fitzpatrick guided the introduction and implementation of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) model, the goal of which is to enhance the effectiveness of the school program for the students’ benefit.

The use of the PLC model at Breeze Hill Elementary resulted in a 41-point gain on the California Standards Test schoolwide and a gain of 68 points for English Language Learners. (Del Mar Schools implemented the PLC model in 2006).

Including teaching positions in Brighton, Colorado, Fitzpatrick has taught for about 10 years total, in every grade from first to sixth.

Fitzpatrick earned a master of arts in education administration from National University, and holds a “Gifted and Talented Education Certificate” from the University of California, Riverside. Fitzpatrick has finished her doctoral coursework in education leadership at the University of La Verne and is working on her dissertation.

Fitzpatrick’s career hasn’t always been focused on education; in the ’80s and early ’90s she worked in the corporate world, and even spent two years (1988-1989) as the co-owner of a Cattle Ranch near Bend, Oregon.

Despite the circuitous route, Fitzpatrick’s position at Del Mar Hills is the product of a lifelong plan.

“All I ever wanted to do was be an educator,” said Fitzpatrick, who has two sons (ages 23 and 34), and one granddaughter, all of whom live in Southern California. “It was a mid-life awareness. I thought, ‘I want to do what I’ve always wanted to.’ I gave it all up and followed my passion.”

Fitzpatrick’s start date at Del Mar Hills is yet to be determined (as of this writing).

Two Carmel Creek students hospitalized with E.coli infection

Source: Carmel Valley News

Two Carmel Creek Elementary School girls, ages 7 and 9, have been hospitalized after becoming sick with an E.coli infection, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency reported Oct. 29. The girls are expected to recover.

Health officials have not found the source of the E.coli, but officials at Carmel Creek Elementary have notified parents as a precaution, reports the HHSA.

E.coli can be found in a variety of entities, such as lettuce, unpasteurized apple cider, undercooked hamburger, raw milk, and from contact with animals at venues like petting zoos and animal exhibits.

Symptoms of an E.coli infection include abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea. While the illness usually clears up within five to 10 days, a small percentage of those infected may develop a condition that can lead to kidney failure.

Don’t sling mud if you want to silence the ‘mud slingers’

Source: Carmel Valley News, October 9, 2008

Re: Marsha Sutton’s column of Sept. 11, 2008

Once again, we are compelled to provide a response that depicts an accurate picture of the climate among the educators in Del Mar Union School District. The first reaction was to simply turn the page, ignoring the negative and divisive language used in an attempt to drive a wedge between educators in the district. But on further reflection, we felt the community deserved the truth and feared some might read Marsha Sutton’s opinion column and perceive it as fact. Ms. Sutton states, “What Del Mar sorely needs now is to become one united district, intolerant of anything less than full cooperation, support and mutual respect” and yet her comments are laced with inflammatory language and unfounded allegations concerning DMUSD educators. Many of us were shocked to hear statements suggesting that anyone would purposefully “ostracize” our fellow colleagues at Del Mar Heights School. It prompted us to inquire as to whether the Heights staff actually felt this way and the answer was an emphatic “NO.” It’s important to know that staffing within any district is fluid and many of us have worked at more than one school; therefore, we don’t define ourselves as educators loyal to only one school site. We all have close friends and former colleagues scattered throughout the district. We think of them fondly and maintain utmost respect for each other. As professionals, our main objective is to advocate for every student, regardless of which school they attend or the politics of the community. For those of us who have the privilege to teach in the DMUSD, education does matter.

We agree that adults can tear down any progress within this district with unfounded gossip, and therefore have resolved to quickly address any rumors which concern the unified body of educators in the DMUSD. We challenge Ms. Sutton to join us and refrain from turning the handle of the “Rumor Mill.” If you truly desire to silence the “mud slingers,” then stop choosing a side and slinging mud.

Del Mar California Teachers Association

Marsha Sutton’s response:

I understand this response. Most of Del Mar’s 273 teachers are revolted at the notion that some of their peers may be engaging in petty, political conduct. I get that. No one wants to be associated with people whose actions are so unseemly.

I also know from experience that teachers unions can be overly sensitive, sometimes taking a circle-the-wagons approach when any one of their members is criticized. Such criticism, no matter how valid, can trigger an intense reaction that’s often designed to silence, intimidate or humiliate anyone who dares to expose some hidden fault or uncover problems.

But shooting the messenger is not the answer.

I don’t just sit here all day inventing lies and dreaming up ways to upset teachers. I stand by my story. What I wrote about the Heights teachers being avoided by some (some) other teachers and staff in the district has been validated by far too many for far too long to discount its legitimacy.

It’s not hard to understand why the guilty won’t admit it and the ostracized refuse to open up, given the politically charged nature of the culture in the Del Mar Union School District.

Teachers are no different than any other group of people who choose to form an association: most are honest, hard-working, decent and trustworthy.

But not all are angels. This fact of human nature does not in any way demean the entire organization. But to deny the truth, that this situation has existed beneath the radar, is to put on blinders to very real problems that should be addressed.

What this issue sorely needed was some sunshine. For only when light is shed on such divisiveness will it end.

Sutton’s recent editorial: Enough already!

Re: Marsha Sutton’s column of Sept. 11, 2008

As PTA president of Del Mar Hills Academy, and a former parent at both the Hills and the Heights, I found Marsha Sutton’s most recent editorial disturbing. Instead of offering a sincere welcome to our incoming superintendent, Dr. Sharon McClain, she seems intent on berating some undisclosed, apparently small group of parents for a lack of “open, civil discourse” in this school district. In fact, she says, “sneaky is the operative word...”

So I want to address hidden agendas and a lack of full disclosure regarding Sutton’s reporting on DMUSD politics. Specifically, has Sutton ever clarified in print the fact that two of her children attended Del Mar Heights and that, as a result, she is understandably biased in favor of the Del Mar Heights point of view? As Marsha has pointed out to me herself, she writes an editorial, so she has every right to air her own personal opinions. And I’m sure we can all agree that editorials have their place in news organizations. However, Marsha is listed in the Carmel Valley News and Del Mar Village Voice’s “masthead” as its “Senior Education Writer,” which would seem to contradict the very fact that she writes opinion pieces. I would thus suggest that Sutton’s editorial board take the steps necessary to clarify exactly what her official role is at the paper.

Another example of Sutton’s bias was her discussion of Del Mar Heights as “coincidental home to three school board members.” Two of these three school board members just COINCIDENTALLY ran together… with the express purpose of firing Tom Bishop, whom they felt had spent too much time attacking and undermining the efforts of their Del Mar Heights principal. Whether their concerns were justified or not could be debated endlessly, I’m sure, but the school board members’ efforts to get elected are hardly “coincidental.” Then this past spring, the board appointed a THIRD Del Mar Heights parent to replace former school board member Linda Crawford…another fairly well-orchestrated political maneuver, it would seem to me (although I believe that, at first blush, Mr. Doug Perkins is doing an admirable job of remaining fair and even-handed in his approach).

But as I’ve noted before in this paper, “seeming” is everything; what continues to be a source of discontent in this district is the PERCEPTION that the school board represents the views of only one school, because the majority of its members come from that school, and that the main journalistic voice on education in this community is also a Del Mar Heights parent. Surely Sutton can understand that.

And let me clarify a point that I think Marsha Sutton also manages to muddy in her article. Just because many of us in this community object to perceived biases among the school board and the local newspaper does NOT mean that we, ipso facto, despise or in any way wish the parents, administrators, or especially the children of Del Mar Heights ill. In fact, I believe I can speak for my own parent constituency at the Hills in saying that many of us know, like, and respect our counterparts at the Heights.

That is another reason that I find Sutton’s article so disturbing…and potentially damaging…to the community, particularly her comment about “the defamation of Del Mar Heights School, where parents and staff have been deliberately ostracized by principals, teachers, and parents from other schools in the district.” I know that parents at Del Mar Hills found Sutton’s above statement ludicrous. And I think it is an insult to the faculty members of every school in this district to suggest that teachers would let district politics get in the way of their professional dedication and their interactions with their colleagues at other schools.

And that goes for parent leaders as well; just yesterday, I had a great time sitting right next to the PTA president for Del Mar Heights, with whom I share a real friendship and an easy rapport, at a district strategic planning meeting. So I’m wondering where Marsha obtained her information and for what purpose her accusations are intended?

Now, with regard to Tom Bishop, I’ll tell you where “grudges die hard in Del Mar” – right here in Sutton’s columns. I’m pleased to report that most of Tom’s tenure was either before my time in the schools or during that blissful period when I was unaware of rancorous district politics.

So by watching his record denigrated again by Sutton and watching her complain again about his ex-supporters, I must note with bewilderment that the person who can’t seem to get over Tom Bishop is….Marsha Sutton. So here’s a Hot News Flash: the Tom Bishop era is over, a fact Sutton can celebrate (privately, please!) and MOVE ON! This pot doesn’t need to be stirred anymore, and I, for one, am tired of reading about it.

And as for Sutton’s new DMUSD school board —one that includes the candidates she championed personally — the jury remains out on whether they can or will tackle the litany of difficult issues Sutton rightly noted that they face. To date, the only policies of note they’ve managed to promulgate are the firing of one superintendent and the hiring of another…plus the sale of the Shores property at a price far beneath what they could have realized. Meaningful, multi-year decisions on enrichment funding? Support for the Del Mar Schools Education Foundation? The mounting budget deficit? Finding a new district office? On theseissues, we’ve come up empty-handed so far. In fact, as parent leader of Del Mar Hills, I can tell you that they have even stymied DMUSD management attempts to draw up a timeline for hiring a new principal at the Hills this fall. They apparently can’t decide…six weeks into the school year…if they’re going to let us hire a new permanent principal…or a second interim at the Hills.

But enough already…from all of us nay-sayers. What this cranky old parent is looking for is some real journalistic integrity about Sutton’s biases and some serious reporting about the BRIGHTER, more positive side of our school district. I challenge Sutton to write an article about the cooperative and united efforts to improve the education of our children that are going on by the dozens among schools in our district right now! Let’s put the past behind us and REALLY help Sharon McClain be successful, starting with a clean-up of the journalistic atmosphere in which she has to work! Sutton’s biases and divisiveness should simply no longer be tolerated.

Kerry Traylor
PTA President, Del Mar Hills Academy

Wishing Sharon McClain best of luck — She’ll need it

Source: Carmel Valley News

By Marsha Sutton

Those who remember when Alan Bersin took over as head of the San Diego Unified School District will recall the intensity of the rancor and little else, thanks to the media’s voyeuristic, almost exclusive reporting of sideshows and sound bites.

Bersin’s concentration on literacy, teacher training and principal accountability has been all but forgotten – although these back-to-basics reform efforts are now recognized across the country as the hallmark of improvement for struggling urban schools.

Because Bersin’s management style could sometimes be abrasive, what’s remembered is not the success of his ideas but rather the ways in which these changes were implemented.

Board meetings became circus acts as trustees, parents, teachers and union representatives engaged in legendary fiery interactions. The board, split 3-2, even at one time hired a psychologist to mediate, to try to restore dignity and order to the divided governing body.

But in an odd sort of way, the colorful players in that melodrama were honest. There was genuine dislike among factions that no one tried to hide. At least you knew where everyone stood; no one could be accused of duplicity.

When you compare the openly acrimonious climate during the Bersin years to the insidious divisiveness in the Del Mar Union School District, the public battles at SD Unified seem in hindsight refreshingly transparent.

What makes the situation so bad in Del Mar is the covert nature of the attempts at disruption. Sneaky is the operative word – ironic, given that some of the same people regularly attack the DMUSD school board for being too secretive.

The genesis of this unhealthy situation began during the 2006 election. After a long-reigning school board majority lost power, the anti-reform education establishment went into shock and took the “sore loser” label to new heights with a fearsome determination to discredit the victors and their supporters.

Take, for example, a blog that was established just after former superintendent Tom Bishop’s contract was bought out earlier this year. Begun as a sort of chat room for pro-Bishop extremists to vent against the new board, the site was revamped after the rhetoric became so inflamed that liability issues were a concern.

Established in March 2008, it’s now been transformed into a sophisticated presentation of DMUSD issues. It even appears, falsely, like a legitimate arm of the district, with its header: “Del Mar Union School District News.”

Postings are timely, complete and extensive. Just days after the DMUSD board approved the contract for newly appointed superintendent Sharon McClain, the blog added information from her former district, Hermosa Beach, that was critical of her – and appeared to call into question the board’s judgment in selecting her.

Behind the site’s benign façade, the same people, with the same agenda, rule. Grudges die hard in Del Mar.

Try to find out exactly who’s behind the blog and you run into a solid brick wall. All the casual observer can uncover from the site is the following explanation of the bloggers and their objective: “About Me -- Just the parents of kids in Del Mar schools. We were asleep at the wheel but now we're awake.”

Awake, but in hiding behind electronic curtains of anonymity. It’s a stealth attack on public figures – a cowardly way to run an offensive.

Some individuals have certainly been upfront about their anti-board positions. Let’s give some credit to incoming DMUSD board member Comischell Bradley-Rodriguez, who at least has the guts to sit next to vocal board critic and long-time Del Mar resident Mary Farrell at the last school board meeting, showing her allegiance, in case anyone had any doubts, to the old world order.

Bradley-Rodriguez has made it abundantly clear in numerous public statements that she disagrees with many of the new board’s decisions, calling Bishop “our beloved superintendent” in a recent letter to the editor. No hidden agenda here.

Bishop was hardly beloved by the majority of voters in this district who in 2006 voted out of office a rubber-stamp board whose unconditional support for Bishop kept trustees from properly analyzing his proposals and made them unable or unwilling to recognize that a corrosive culture of fear had infected the district.

The long-shot victory of a new board majority was like opening the windows on a dank house that had been closed for far too long. The airing was refreshing, exhilarating and way overdue.

Those who would criticize this current board for a lack of transparency and unwillingness to listen to the public would do well to remember that it was one of Annette Easton’s first acts as board president to move Public Comment to the beginning of every board meeting, rather than at the end where Bishop placed it on every agenda.

Easton told me years ago that making people wait for hours before they could address the board was disrespectful of their time – not to mention the number of people who were so sleepy by the time Public Comment rolled around that they had left the meeting long before they were permitted to speak.

So those who choose to speak at board meetings today and level harsh criticism at school board members can thank Easton for allowing them to vent at a reasonable hour. If not for her, they’d be sitting there until 10:45 p.m. – waiting, rather impatiently I’d venture to guess – to bash her, with few if any members of the public still there to hear them.

No one expects 100 percent agreement. But when documents posted on the DMUSD Web site from the district’s superintendent search firm reveal parents and teachers slinging mud while simultaneously demanding re-spect, it seems a glaring double standard.

School board members were rewarded for their insistence that the postings be made public with vicious attacks on their character by critics who refuse to divulge their names.

Is it too much to ask for open, civil discourse in these communities known for highly educated parents whose command of the English language certainly goes beyond juvenile name-calling and lame characterizations?

Democracy is messy

Some might long for the days when things seemed to run smoothly under Bishop. Dictatorship is an efficient form of government. In contrast, democracy is messy, especially when its people are just learning how to function on their own after years of autocratic rule.

As much as this board has been unfairly attacked, I’ll be the first to admit that there are legitimate complaints. There are times this past year when we’ve winced at the maddening inefficiency – unsteady zigzagging, meetings that sometimes drift and ramble, an excessive number of last-minute special meetings, lots of questions, lengthy deliberation and uncertainty.

But open government, no matter how sloppy, is far better than a repressive regime.

Thank goodness the children run on auto-pilot – achieving at astonishing levels, thriving intellectually and socially, and blessedly oblivious to the two polarized camps fighting for the hearts and minds of the undecided and uninitiated. Exceptional teachers and high standards for academic excellence are so far insulating students from the conflicts.

But just as Alan Bersin’s personality dominated the other, more important, story of progress in the classroom, Del Mar risks being looked upon in 10 years’ time as a district where bitter upheavals characterized the culture, one where politics overshadowed achievement and student success was lost amidst the chaos of strife and sabotage.

There’s a long list of critical issues confronting McClain – the budget deficit, preserving Basic Aid, enrichment staffing and programming problems, solidifying the reputation of the Del Mar Schools Education Foundation, equity among schools, the sale of the Shores property, finding a new district office, the implementation of a foreign language program, boundary and under-enrollment concerns at the schools west of the freeway, as well as the usual number of unexpected emergencies.

But there are issues she should not have to confront. One of the most toxic is the need to address the defamation of Del Mar Heights School where parents and staff have been deliberately ostracized by principals, teachers and parents from other schools in the district.

As the coincidental home to three school board members, and with a maverick, independent-thinking principal at the helm, Del Mar Heights has been perceived as a hotbed of insurgency. Yet Heights parents are hard-working and dedicated, teachers are loyal and devoted to the needs of the children, the principal’s drive to support the quality of her instructional team is unquestioned, and student success is well-documented.

What will McClain do when she learns that many teachers from other Del Mar schools refuse to sit near teachers from Del Mar Heights at staff and in-service meetings? How will she address the unspoken, tacit approval some of the district’s principals give to their staff and parents for this kind of unacceptable behavior? Will she allow the underground smearing to continue?

Every political body has its dissenters. But what makes this case so unique, and rancid, is the acrimony that lives and breaths just below the surface, undercutting efforts to move forward, fostering tension and conflict, exacerbating the discord, and effectively keeping old grudges alive. It’s hard to know friend from foe when so many people smile through gritted teeth.

As this new superintendent prepares to take the reins, she’ll begin to address a monumental list of daunting educational priorities. But over-riding the budget, staffing, enrollment and facilities issues will be the urgent need to calm the unrest, expose those who seek to destabilize the district and its school board at every opportunity, overcome the political friction from within the ranks of her own staff, and bring principals and teachers together as a team.

Expectations and attitudes start at the top. McClain will need to work hard to defuse built-up animosity and mistrust. Hopefully, she will have zero tolerance for staff dissension, which filters down to parents.

What Del Mar sorely needs now is to become one united district, intolerant of anything less than full cooperation, support and mutual respect – because what the children have built up through hard work and academic excellence, the adults can tear down with unfounded gossip, suspicion and fear.

Into this morass comes Dr. Sharon McClain, by all accounts a skilled administrator who is fair, self-assured, experienced and intelligent. But all that may not be enough.

We wish her lots of luck as well. She’ll need it, to clean up this mess.

Del Mar Union School District approves new superintendent’s contract

Source: Carmel Valley News

By Matt Liebowitz

At its Sept. 3 meeting, the board of trustees of the Del Mar Union School District unanimously voted to approve the contract for new superintendent Dr. Sharon McClain.

McClain’s effective date of employment will be Sept. 17, allowing her time to transition from her current position as superintendent of Hermosa Beach City School District, a post she’s maintained since 2003.

Under the contract, McClain will be paid $168,000 for the 2008–2009 school year. Her salary will be $178,000 for the following year, $183,000 for the 2010-2011 year, and $188,000 for the year beginning in fall 2011.

If the board, in its year-end evaluation, deems McClain’s performance “superior,” they may approve an additional merit-based salary increase up to 6 percent of her annual salary.

To further aid in her transition to Del Mar, the board, at the beginning of her contract, will provide McClain with a stipend of $1,500 per month for six months for temporary housing while she relocates.

The board will also reimburse McClain for expenses tied to relocation to the county of San Diego or San Clemente within 24 months, not to exceed $10,000. The reimbursement covers only moving expenses, and cannot be applied to any costs associated with the purchase of a new residence. Per contract requirements, one of McClain’s first orders of business will be to submit an initial analysis to the board regarding district needs to be addressed during the first year. McClain must turn in the analysis within two months of her date of employment.

Though she’s in the process of tying up loose ends in Hermosa Beach—including hiring a new superintendent to replace her—McClain was present at the meeting, and also made rounds of the district’s schools on the first day of school, Aug. 25. “We appreciate the fact that even though she’s in transition, she’s giving us her time here,” said Interim Superintendent Janet Bernard, who also said that McClain had already scheduled several meetings this week to get up to speed.

New Del Mar Union School District Superintendent eager to start, plans to ‘ask a lot of questions’

By Matt Liebowitz

Source: Carmel Valley News, August 28, 2008

In a special meeting Aug. 20, the board of trustees of the Del Mar Union School District unanimously appointed Dr. Sharon McClain as the new district superintendent.

“I think Del Mar is a wonderful community,” said McClain in a telephone interview. “I know they’re very supportive of their schools, and growing quite a bit, which is exciting.”

The superintendent of the Hermosa Beach City School District since 2003, McClain was one of 21 applicants for the Del Mar position, and underwent two rounds of interviews.

“We really like her ability to collaborate with her colleagues, and her ability to work with the entire community,” said board president Annette Easton.

Easton also cited McClain’s background in art, music and Spanish—she earned her undergraduate degree from San Diego State University with a distinction in Spanish and taught vocal music for three and a half years in Escondido—as a valuable attribute to the district.

“That’s very important to our community,” Easton said.

Ken Noonan, a partner with the Cosca Group, the consulting firm hired by the school board for the executive search, said the process of hiring McClain was quick, but very professionally executed.

The search, which began in May, lasted only 13 weeks—“a very short period of time,” said Noonan—to accommodate the board’s desire to announce its new superintendent by the beginning of the school year.

“The board was most cooperative,” said Noonan. “They worked extremely hard on this and I think they made a very good choice.”

McClain brings to Del Mar a long and distinguished track record in education.

Prior to her superintendent position in Hermosa Beach, McClain served for three years as superintendent for the Mesa Union School District, and was assistant superintendent of educational services and human resources with the Ojai Unified School District for three years.

McClain also held adjunct faculty positions at the graduate schools of education of both Pepperdine University’s and UCSD. She earned her doctorate in education from the University of LaVerne.

Leaving Hermosa Beach for Del Mar isn’t a drastic move for McClain, as her San Diego connections run deep.

McClain is originally from the San Diego area, and, along with her mother, two of her six children — and four grandchildren —reside in San Diego.

From 1989 to 1997, McClain worked in the Escondido Union School District under superintendent McLean King, first as a teacher and later as principal of Central School.

“It’s like coming home,” she said.

Though she’s tendered her resignation in Hermosa Beach, McClain won’t officially take office in Del Mar for a few weeks. In the meantime, she will shuttle back and forth between the two cities; she is responsible for finding an interim superintendent as well as filling one principal position in the Hermosa Beach School District.

“The transition period will be a few weeks,” said Easton. “We expect her to be full-time within a month.”

Easton said the particulars of McClain’s contract are still being negotiated, but that her salary falls within the district’s budgeted amount, and will be made public as soon as it’s finalized.

Also keeping her moving back and forth will be her husband, Joe Condon, superintendent of the Lawndale Elementary School District in Los Angeles. Condon will remain at his job, which he’s held for 17 years, but McClain said he’ll move down to San Diego upon retirement.

Stepping into office, one of McClain’s first orders of business will be to address the district’s budget crisis, and to understand, in a non-biased, honest way, the distinct responsibilities and relationships of everyone in the school community.

“My leadership style is very open. I like to engage a lot of people and find out what their opinions are before making any decisions,” McClain said. “I try to meet as many people as I can and understand the issues. The first part of being a brand new superintendent is asking a lot of questions.”

Equity in education is the civil rights issue of today, county school superintendent convinced

Randy Ward
Photo/Jon Clark

Source: Carmel Valley News, August 28, 2008

By Arthur Lightbourn

To say that he was “disappointed” when the Del Mar school board decided to ditch the kindergarten Spanish language pilot program which was slated to begin this fall is definitely an “understatement,’” says San Diego County Superintendent of Schools Randy Ward.

Ward had planned to enter his 5-year-old daughter into the program at Del Mar Heights School but now he and his wife will take turns driving their daughter to attend a global language program miles away in a Lakeside public school where she will be doing total immersion in Spanish with English reading and writing to be added in the second grade and Mandarin in third grade, with the goal of becoming bilingual by the end of grade five and trilingual by graduation from high school.

Why?

Simply because, Ward said, “education is important.”

And when it comes to learning at least a second language, Ward speaks from experience. He grew up in a ghetto in Boston where lots of the guys he hung with were Spanish-speaking.

But it wasn’t until later, in between earning a B.S. in early childhood education from Tufts University and a master’s in school leadership from Harvard, he began studying Spanish to be more effective as a preschool, kindergarten and grade school teacher in Boston and Cambridge.

In 1983, to perfect his Spanish, he taught in the highly dangerous “red zone” drug capital of Medellin, Columbia, and later in Caracas, Venezuela.

It turned out to be immersion in more ways than one.

“When I was down there, it was the time of the Granada incident … the Columbian guerillas didn’t like that at the time and so they came into the school while I was teaching and killed a guard, put a bullet through his head, and kind of made a statement because we were an American teaching school. And the next week, they put a bomb on the first floor and blew up the first floor of the school while it was shut, so we were closed for about a week. Other than that, it was very pleasant.”

We interviewed the 51-year-old Ward at the County Office of Education campus on Linda Vista Road in San Diego from where he oversees budgets, payrolls, back-office and technical support for smaller school districts and administers a variety of support services, including professional development and health plans, for 42 autonomous school districts and 710 schools serving 494,000 students throughout the county.

“The third role we play is we are actually a small school district in and of ourselves.

“While we touch about 13,000 a year,” he pointed out, “because of the mobility of those students, in any one day, there are only 3,000 or so students in our programs. But we take our commitment to those students very seriously.”

Students directly served by the county include those who have been expelled from regular schools, homeless kids, pregnant teens, foster care kids at San Pasqual Academy or those who are incarcerated in Juvenile Halls throughout the county.

“Many of our schools are called ‘community schools’ and are individual classrooms for students who are expelled for one or two semesters.

“We also run a special ed program for preschoolers. And we have a Monarch School, which is a school for the homeless.”

Ward was appointed superintendent two years ago by the county board after he had served for nine years as a trouble-shooting, state-appointed administrator in the Compton Unified School District and most recently in the Oakland Unified School District, both of which were in receivership at the time.

He was credited with reforming instruction, improving students’ test scores and effectively stemming both districts’ financial hemorrhaging.

After we shook hands, the 6-foot, 220-pound Ward got comfortable, removing his jacket revealing his Larry King-type black suspenders, and settling down for a coffee-table discussion of his life and career.

Ward, an African-American, grew up as the middle child in a family of seven children in Boston.

His dad, who had retired from the Army, worked several jobs to support the family. “One of his jobs was custodial supervisor at Massachusetts General Hospital and that’s why I was a custodian there from the time I was 16 until I graduated from college.

“We grew up in a ghetto with crack houses and gangs and drive-bys. Obviously my dad was earning some money with his jobs and retirement from the military, so when we asked him why we had to live in such a neighborhood, he’d say, because we have to save up for your college.”

Ward went on to earn a B.S. from Tufts University in early childhood education; an Ed.M. in school leadership from Harvard University; another master’s in educational administration from the University of Massachusetts; and an Ed.D. in policy, planning and administration from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Now going into his third year as school superintendent for the county he said, “There have been lots of challenges, as you know. Challenges, fiscally, certainly, academically, with the achievement gap, and a lot of work, in not only supporting the county school districts, but making sure the students that we serve get the best education they can get.”

“For example,” he said, “the California High School Exit Exams, back in 2001, the passing rate for the students we serve, which are the toughest students in the county, you know, the expelled kids, the homeless children, the foster kids, the kids in Juvenile Hall, we passed at a 9 percent and 15 percent rate in language arts and math.

“This past year, we passed at almost a 75 percent rate.”

Because of the cuts in state funding, the county board had to cut its budget by about $2.5 million last year and about the same amount this year from its $33 million general fund, he said. Most of the monies the county board administers are either pass-through monies from the state to the various districts or restricted funds.

“We also had to cut 10 percent, about $20 million, from those restricted funds, so we were very much impacted.”

As a result, he said, “We’ve been on efficiency, maximizing services program since I’ve been here.

“So that has helped.”

All of their employees are now on direct deposit “so we don’t have to print checks for them.”

Wherever possible, they have gone paperless and online.

While they would prefer not to be faced with reduced funding from the state, he said, “We’re trying to keep up by becoming more efficient.”

As to his role as superintendent, “While it is a big job, the challenge is to think about it on three levels: What it is. (‘What do you mean I don’t have authority over this and that?’) What it should be. (‘And that’s where I’m at now.’) And what it could be. (‘Where do we all want to go and where we are going?’)

“The levels I’m really moving on are the ‘should’ and ‘could.’”

The ‘should’ part, he said, really has to be about preparing all of our schools, teachers and leaders to best instruct and teach using the best instructional tools to prepare as many children, if not 100 percent, to be ready for college and to be ready to work, both in the work that’s out there now and that will be out there in the future.

It should be efficient, stabilized, even in times of economic fluctuations, and it should be “connected to the real world,” he added.

“The ‘could be’ really has to do with how we can work in a completely synergistic and seamless way so that we could share best practices, use the technology that we need to share best practices instantaneously, and to be able to change and make transitions through the use of data about what’s working and what isn’t working and adjust [accordingly].”

The board, he said, will be drafting a strategic five-year plan this year to identify “where we should be and where we could be and what the measures will be and put that out as a public document to hold ourselves accountable.”

Ward favors the amalgamation of school districts where possible to maximize resources, but he recognizes because of “politics, regional culture and all the rest, it’s much easier said than done.”

He also decries the inequality that exists in resources and teachng between schools and various districts, not only in San Diego, but throughout the state and the country.

“Equity is a major challenge,” he said. “I think quite frankly it is the civil rights issue of today, and that is, equity, quality and access to the best teachers, great facilities, technology—and, yes, it always comes down to the bottom line of money, but it’s not always just about money.

“We’ve got a lot of things built into our infrastructure, like contracts, employee rights, and all these things that unfortunately can produce a very inequitable environment.

“And I get to see it because I go around to all the districts and I see which kids are in AP courses and which ones aren’t, which ones are taking algebra and which ones aren’t, what the facilities look like in one neighborhood versus another in the same district and certainly between districts…

“Some of the equity issues have to do with child advocacy. In the neighborhood where I live, we’re going to make sure we’re going to advocate for our children and they are going to get the best. In some neighborhoods, that doesn’t exist.

“So that means that someone else, including the board and the administration, has to be those child advocates. That happens sometimes, but unfortunately other times it does not. The squeaky wheel.”

In addition to his administrative work, Ward delights in personally meeting students when possible.

He recalls three students in particular at the Juvenile Hall school in Campo.

“They were graduating and they really pressured the folks up there so they could talk to me. They came in and wanted to tell me how appreciative they were that they finally found people who cared about them and how unfortunate it was that they had to commit a crime and serve time to get their high school diplomas.

“And that while they would never say it was good to do what they did, but certainly if they weren’t in that facility with those educators and the people from probation who care about them, they would never have gotten back on the right track in terms of education.”

“I thought that was very powerful,” Ward said.

Quick Facts

Name: Randolph E. “Randy” Ward, Ed. D.

Distinction: A former kindergarten and grade school teacher, who as a state-appointed administrator was credited with salvaging the bankrupt Compton and Oakland Unified School Districts before accepting his current job two years ago as San Diego County Superintendent of Schools.

Resident of: Carmel Valley

Born: Boston, Mass., 51 years ago.

Education: B.S. from Tufts University in early childhood education; an Ed.M. in school leadership from Harvard University; another master’s in educational administration from the University of Massachusetts; and an Ed.D. in policy, planning and administration from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Family: He and his wife, Cheryl, have been married 11 years. They have two children: daughter, Jerne, 5, going into kindergarten; and son, James, 3.

Interests: Landscaping, camping, scuba diving

Reading: “Reading books to my kids.”

Films: “Not a movie-goer. I don’t think I’ve been to the movies in seven years.”

Favorite Food: Pizza

Philosophy: “Make a difference.”

Del Mar Schools Education Foundation moves forward with new members, new business model

Source: Carmel Valley News, August 28, 2008

By Matt Liebowitz

After a few years of controversy and contention, the Del Mar Schools Education Foundation is moving forward with new officers, a new business model, and ideas to keep money pouring into the school district’s enrichment program.

At its Aug. 12 meeting, the Education Foundation elected 10 new members, including Matt Zevin, who will serve as one of two co-presidents (the other still to be determined), secretary Allison Poe, and treasurer Jon Flam. To round out their 16-18-person board, three more appointees will be named at the foundation’s September meeting.

About three-quarters of the 18-member board reached the end of their two-year-terms at the end of this past school year.

“We’re in a two- to three-year change process,” said Jeb Spencer, who’s been on the Education Foundation board since April 2007, and who led the nominating committee to pick the new board members.

With the changing board comes a changing way of doing business, one that steers away from conflicts of interest and fundraising controversy.

This past school year, the foundation did away with paid staff employees, including highly paid executive director Maria Olson, and instead shifted towards a volunteer organization.

The foundation will still employ a part-time accountant to process fundraising checks, and a part-time administrative assistant.

“It’s a big change from a year ago,” said Spencer. “We had to find a new group of people who understand this is a three- to five-hour-a-week commitment. It’s much more than coming to a one-hour board meeting once a month. These are people with an activist philosophy who are going to roll up their sleeves.”

Because each board member has a child in one of the eight district schools, Spencer is confident the foundation will have the best interests of each school at its heart, and that the controversy that plagued the foundation—especially in regards to enrichment funding—is a thing of the past.

The enrichment program provides art, music, science, and technology education; its staff is funded partly by donations to the foundation. As a result of the controversial buyout of former Superintendent Tom Bishop, many parents withheld donations, causing instability and panic as to how the enrichment program would continue.

“Let’s get rid of all the issues, all the scandals, all the politics, and get some money into our school system,” he added. “That’s all this is about. I think we got rid of all the politics last year, and we’ll continue to do so this year.”

Donations for the Enrichment Program will occur on a school-by-school basis rather than going into a general fund. This approach comes as a result of a survey Spencer wrote which revealed that 90 percent of parents preferred to see their contributions go to a specific school.

In the past, parents expressed to the foundation their hesitancy at donating to a general fund and being unable to track how their contribution was used.

To avoid this, and to foster and maintain a healthy relationship between the foundation and its donors, the foundation will engage in monthly dialogues with the parents, and will provide each school with a “fundraiser toolbox,” which offers ways—fundraising galas, pledge days, educational seminars, telemarketing, appealing to past donors — to effectively raise money.

Last year, the foundation raised about $600,000, and though no fundraising goal has been set for the coming year, Spencer expects they’ll take in between $500,000 and $600,000.

Each year, the foundation hosts two events—in the past it was a golf outing and a gala at the Belly Up Tavern—that cover its minimal overhead and allow them to donate all the money raised directly to the school without skimming any off the top.

“We rebuilt trust with many people last year,” he said. “I think the fact we raised so much speaks to that.”

Keeping the Education Foundation a separate entity from the Del Mar Union School District Board of Trustees is a quality Spencer believes will eliminate any conflicts of interest, and create a clear fundraising path for donors.

“We’re a nonprofit organization, separate from the school board,” said Spencer. They say to us, ‘You guys raise the money, let us know where you want it to go.’ That makes sense. We have a very good relationship.”

Steven McDowell, a board member of the Del Mar Union School District and ex-officio member of the Education Foundation in 2007, applauded the foundation’s independence, but is cautious about the foundation making demands of the school board.

“The foundation has to set its own goals and missions. It’s difficult to provide a forecast of our needs.”

Though the foundation will work closely with each school’s principal and parent population, McDowell said the school board will ensure foundation money is distributed equally throughout the school district.