tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56190516000177696872024-02-21T02:54:09.799-08:00LASD ObserverThese are the musings of an LASD trustee and district parent. Nothing here should be construed as official district policy. Rather, it provides insight into how I view education, school finance, and charter schools.Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comBlogger276125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-32832442454787240282016-10-20T08:38:00.007-07:002016-11-02T08:34:00.728-07:00Don't get snowed by BCS: Vote for Bryan Johnson for LASD I try pretty hard to stay away from school politics. While I'm passionate about the topic, I want to respect the people who have taken up the mantle and are running the district.<br />
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Elections are another matter entirely.<br />
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I am often asked my opinion of the candidates for local elections. As I have done in the past, I'm applying my experience on the board, my history in working with many different parties, and my own judgement about what direction we want to travel in the future.<br />
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<b>Bryan Johnson For LASD</b><br />
Bryan is well qualified to be an LASD trustee. He has volunteered countless hours at Santa Rita where he is a parent. He also has attended many, many school board meetings and spoken up when he felt compelled to do so. He will hit the ground running because he has context. He understands what we're doing in our schools today, and can provide his thoughtful input to the process. I have no doubt about Bryan's ability to be a positive force for our children.<br />
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This coming board will have to deal with critical issues like how to share the bond proceeds fairly amongst our students. Bryan has the experience and the temperament to do this wisely and thoughtfully. I trust that he will weight the interests of all public school students who live in our community (and yes, that includes BCS students).<br />
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<b>Tanya is a BCS Parent - and has no place on the LASD Board</b><br />
Having negotiated the BCS peace treaty, I am not trying to cast a bunch of aspersions here. However, I fundamentally do not believe that someone who has chosen to send their kids outside of LASD can be as effective a trustee as someone who has current, up-close experience with our schools. If you don't know what's going on in our classrooms, how can you help set policy effectively?<br />
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I'm also troubled by Tanya's blatant attempts to distort the truth of her allegiance. She speaks of volunteering for LASD schools for over a decade. Let's examine that a bit. She did volunteer when her kids attended LASD schools, but as soon as she got them into BCS, she quit working for LASD schools. I don't fault her for that- most parents volunteer where their kids attend. But again, it is hard to know what LASD kids need if you're spending your time elsewhere. <br />
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Tanya did work on a district committee to discuss possible school sites, but I was part of the board that appointed her to that committee. We were <i>crystal clear</i> about Tanya's involvement- she was included to represent the perspective of BCS parents. While that may be appropriate on a committee, it is not appropriate for the full board.<br />
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Also I dug into the financial records for the two candidates. Bryan received numerous donations from a cross section of community members. Not surprising. (See <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9IngIBVVzGqdzExR2xYMUs1cTR4R2lVektXOGV1VGRORng4">Bryan's 460</a> here) Tanya has far out-raised and out-spent Bryan. (<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9IngIBVVzGqdzExR2xYMUs1cTR4R2lVektXOGV1VGRORng4/view?usp=sharing">Tanya's 460</a>) Interestingly, the vast majority of her money is from anonymous donors. Now, one might read this as innocuous. After all, a candidate is only required to disclose the names of donors who give more than $100. Tanya lists only 4 (two of whom are BCS founding families). The remaining $4556 is all in donations of less than $100. (for those who don't want to do the math, that's 46 donations of $99 and one $2 donation). Why am I suspicious of this? Because last election, I took a lot of flak from BCS when I called out the fact that <a href="http://lasdobserver.blogspot.com/search?q=martha">almost all of Martha McClatchie's money</a> came from BCS families. It isn't hard to imagine a campaign strategy where donors are asked to give only $99 so that there isn't a big paper trail that goes back to BCS. <br />
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Why do I get so annoyed about this? After all, I've certainly known BCS parents who are more difficult to work with than Tanya. First, and I've said this before, I value transparency in local government. Hiding one's allegiance seems like a sleazy thing to do, particularly in our very well educated community. If you believe it is time for a BCS candidate on the LASD board, then have the courage of your convictions. Run as a BCS candidate. But don't lie about your background in an attempt to hoodwink the local voters. <br />
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I also worry about what happens if things go south. After all, part of the job of the board is to defend the district in the event of litigation. Picture this scenario: If the BCS board decides they are unhappy with how the bond funds are spent, what happens if they sue LASD? Do we really want a BCS parent in closed session with LASD attorneys, mapping out legal strategy? Although Tanya's term would expire before the peace treaty is done, does anyone think this isn't an "entry point" to have a BCS supporter on the board after the treaty has expired?<br />
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As a final thought, I like to apply the "mirror test". If things were reversed, how would people react? For example, I'm a retired board member with 5 years of service to public education in a high performing local district. Yet, I would fully expect that BCS parents would be up in arms if I were to lobby to join the BCS board. After all, my kids went to LASD schools. I am not a deep expert in their program. Why would LASD parents be better served by having a BCS parent on our board? We wouldn't.<br />
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I don't bear some enormous grudge against Tanya. However, I think our kids are best served by a candidate I know will ALWAYS place the welfare of our students first in his deliberations. I will be voting for Bryan Johnson.<br />
<br />Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-79382703540935428252016-02-17T20:30:00.000-08:002016-02-17T20:30:27.140-08:00Privacy alert: All parents need to act immedatelyI just sent the letter below to the CSBA, urging them to intervene in a legal case in federal courts. In a nutshell, a judge has just decreed that the California Department of Education must release the records of EVERY STUDENT in the State to the "Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association".<br />
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Here are a couple of articles that describe the legal dispute:<br />
(<a href="http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/feb/16/education-data-release/">San Diego Tribune Article</a>)<br />
(<a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_29524376/10-million-calif-student-records-about-be-released">Mercury News Article</a>)<br />
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In my considered opinion, these folks are underselling the risk of data breaches. (See my letter, below)<br />
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Here's the notice posted on the Calif Dept of Education Website (<a href="http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/ws/morganhillcase.asp">CDE Website</a>)<br />
This link includes a form to fill out so that you can opt out of disclosure. This means your student's information would NOT be disclosed to this third party- but you must file the form promptly. The data will be released on April 1, 2016.<br />
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Here's my letter to the CSBA:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Vernon, Keith-</span><br />
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I'm writing to add to what I can only assume is a chorus of voices urging the CSBA and local school districts to take action on Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association, et al. v. California Department of Education, USDC-Eastern District of California, Case No. 2:11-cv-03471-KJM-AC</div>
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This case is perhaps the worst judicial over-reach I've ever witnessed. Compelling the State to turn of all student data for the entire state to a group of private individuals is nothing short of outrageous. I used to think that FERPA, the Butler Act, and a host of other laws prohibit this sort of nonsense. I'm sure you're much more familiar with the legal nuances, so I won't try to engineer your legal argument. Suffice it to say this cannot be permitted to stand.</div>
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I serves on the LASD Board of Trustees, including a term as board president, and I chaired the litigation committee through much of our fight with the Bullis Charter School. During the course of that litigation, we actually showed cause and obtained their list of students-- and that took a mountain of legal paperwork. Even in that specific instance, where we could show the likelihood of a pattern of wrongdoing to a judge, we still granted the most onerous (Attorney eyes only) protective orders conceivable. This case appears to grant MHCP full access without much more than a passing thought about what might happen to a database of every single student in the State of California. </div>
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In my day job, I run a credit card processing business. We hold over 180M credit cards, and we have considerable expertise in data protection and hacking attempts. If you think credit cards are a tempting target, I can tell you from deep experience that identity information such as what it proposed here is a <b>far more tempting target</b> for hackers. The identity information on a couple million school kids would fetch a huge price on the black market, as it would enable criminals to obtain credit for years before it is detected by the victims. Fortune 100 corporations spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually trying to protect consumer data-- and they fail. (Home Depot, Target, Neiman Marcus, and many others). What on earth makes us think that a group of "concerned parents" has the technical sophistication to protect the entire student list for the state of California?</div>
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If I were on the Board today, I would actually urge non-compliance until a stay can be issued, and until this ridiculous order can be overturned. Meanwhile, I urge the CSBA to immediately intervene in this proceeding and do whatever it takes to ensure the confidentiality of all student records. If there is a legitimate issue under this case, compel the CDE to deal with it by providing summary data- not by granting access to the identity of every student in the state.</div>
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Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. If there's any further information I can provide, please let me know.</div>
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Regards,</div>
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Douglas J Smith</div>
<br />Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-81343761603410234692015-09-22T09:57:00.000-07:002015-09-22T09:57:07.822-07:00Disaster averted? -- nope!Just a quick update. Sen Jerry Hill valiantly tried to correct the poorly thought out budget "reform" that limits school district reserves. Unfortunately, SB799 failed to get enough support during this legislative session. Hopefully he will take another run at this next session.<br />
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<a href="http://www.cabinetreport.com/politics-education/reserve-cap-rewrite-fails-math-placement-goes-to-governor">http://www.cabinetreport.com/politics-education/reserve-cap-rewrite-fails-math-placement-goes-to-governor</a><br />
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Thanks, Jerry, for your efforts on behalf of our students.Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-21244162494844225982015-03-30T21:49:00.002-07:002015-03-30T21:49:44.247-07:00Rocketship crash landing?In a huge retreat from their ambitious plans, Rocketship charter schools will no longer be opening the 20 new schools they had requested from the SCCBOE.<br />
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There's a complete document from the SCCBOE meeting that describes the settlement of a lawsuit brought by a number of school districts that would have been invaded by Rocketship's expansion plans. One has to wonder whether this large scale retreat is due to the declining scores at a number of Rocketship schools. In any case, it's a victory for public schools in our area.<br />
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<a href="http://sccoe.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=1&event_id=42&meta_id=2177">SCCOE Agreement</a><br />
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<br />Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-9582799609017331792015-03-23T10:46:00.004-07:002015-03-23T10:46:33.625-07:00Humorous view of lawyersIt's no surprise that I spent a lot of time with lawyers over the past 5 years. Here's to all the lawyers we paid, and those who just helped out or kept the pressure on us. This is a funny read:<br />
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<a href="http://www.scarymommy.com/lawyer-moms-are-the-scariest-moms/"><img border="0" src="http://www.scarymommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/mom-lawyer.jpg" height="182" width="320" /></a></div>
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read: <a href="http://www.scarymommy.com/lawyer-moms-are-the-scariest-moms/">Lawyer Moms</a></div>
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Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-12047915430833168502015-01-26T10:37:00.004-08:002015-01-26T10:37:55.029-08:00Prop 2 Could hit LASD Sooner Than ExpectedLast fall I wrote about Prop 2, the ballot measure that restricts the amount of reserves a district can hold. The ballot measure was a give-away from Gov. Brown to the California Teachers Association (CTA) that was slipped in at the last minute during the budget process. <a href="http://lasdobserver.blogspot.com/2014/10/why-im-voting-no-on-prop-2.html">Read my original post here</a>.<br />
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At the time, a few folks told me I was being reactionary, and that the terms of Prop 2 wouldn't kick in for a long time. Surprise, Surprise! The State Legislative Analysts Office (LAO) has announced that Prop 2 limits might kick in as soon as this year or next year.<br />
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<a href="https://www.cabinetreport.com/budget-finance/soaring-tax-collections-could-trigger-budget-caps-in-2015-16">https://www.cabinetreport.com/budget-finance/soaring-tax-collections-could-trigger-budget-caps-in-2015-16</a><br />
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This is just a reminder that we need to stay active and engaged in the legislative process. California is still near the very bottom in per student spending. These kind of shenanigans in Sacramento aren't helping our kids. <br />
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I'd love to be able to urge you to contact Jerry Hill and Rich Gordon to ask them to correct this. Unfortunately, the voters in California have been duped, and now it is back to us to correct this problem. I would hope that the CSBA is looking at legal options to try to invalidate Prop 2. At a minimum, there's a conflict between Prop 2 and Prop 98. Hopefully someone can craft a legal argument that Prop 98 guarantees should be honored- but I'm not optimistic.Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-73728670435887143732015-01-20T20:59:00.000-08:002015-01-20T20:59:13.984-08:00What makes LASD special?The list of things that make us special would indeed be very long. I often think that folks don't really appreciate how unique an experience our kids have. To that end, I received the following note from my daughter's 8th grade English teacher. Take a look a the concepts they are teaching our junior high students. I don't know about you, but I didn't learn most of this until much later- high school, and in some cases college. Enjoy!<br />
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<i>Tuesday, January 20, 2015<br />Dear Parents and Guardians,<br /><br /> I am late. I'm VERY late, and I am so sorry. In my dreams, I imagined writing to you twice a quarter to fill you in on what?s happening in 8th Grade English, but the reality is that I completely missed the first quarter and a half because 13 weeks disappeared like cookies in our staff room! I was in a tornado of lesson plans, grading, leadership activities, and more grading. So, I am writing now to let you know where we have been, and where we are going. Please forgive me.<br /><br /> First quarter was a blur as my students and I got to know one another and created routines for our class. We started a new online vocabulary program called Membean that my students loved, but loving a little less as time goes by?it?s amazing what tests do to enthusiasm for learning. We used short stories and nonfiction articles to learn how to interact with text in order to deepen their understanding of complex ideas. Students learned how to annotate a variety of texts as way to engage as active readers who can untangle difficult writing. We also worked on developing confidence in writing an analytical essay based on the movie Dead Poets Society. The toughest part for students at this age is writing commentary?an explanation of why the evidence they have selected is important. As you read their commentary in an essay, after an example, ask them ?Why is this important?? When they give you an answer, ask them again, ?Well, why is THAT important?? The answer is what they should write in their commentary. Texts we used were the movie Dead Poet?s Society, Marigolds a short story by Eugenia Collier, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, Valentine for Ernest Mann and The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost as well as three articles with differing points of view about whether or not we are addicted to technology.<br /><br /> This past quarter our focus was on close reading and discussion behavior. Our first novel of the year was Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, a challenging read for many students, but they learned that taking a few more minutes to jot down notes as they read, helped them to remember important ideas and events. Imagine that! This is a more mature version of a utopia/dystopia novel like The Giver that students read in 7th grade. Discussions included ideas such as why do books matter, the importance of challenging ideas rather than accepting them as absolutely correct, and often an ideal existence is another?s nightmare, and we spent time being amazed about how prescient Bradbury was about brain-numbing television programs way back in 1953. Students created and performed two-voice poems based on important ideas they gleaned from our study. I?m working on a way to post videos of those performances on my website in the next week or so. In addition students learned ways to participate and connect ideas in a Socratic Discussion and ways not to dominate a conversation. We also learned techniques for inviting quieter students to join in. We are wrapping a poetry unit which is rolling into third quarter. Students are studying and discussing 17 poems such as To An Athlete Dying Young by A.E. Housman, The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, Human Family by Maya Angelou, Shiloh by Herman Melville, sonnets by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Shakespeare, odes, ballads and lyric poetry. Stop by Wednesday or Thursday and sit in on their small group discussions. They will dazzle you!<br /><br />In third quarter we are heading into some wild reading with Lit Circle books such as All The Light We Cannot See, Outliers, The Help, Into Thin Air, Lord of the Flies and The Book Thief. Students will be working on an analytical essay on a poem of their choice demonstrating mastery in essay writing on their own, and we are excited to meet visiting author Pam Munoz Ryan who will be coming to Blach through the generosity and efforts of Lara Daetz and Peninsula Arts and Letters. I hope you will to hear her speak also.<br /><br />I will touch base again with you mid-quarter. Please come and visit. You are always welcome. in my classroom.<br /><br />Happy 2015!<br /><br />Trisha MacKenzie<br />8th Grade English</i></div>
Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-25660604618769939272015-01-13T23:48:00.000-08:002015-01-13T23:48:17.866-08:00The Cost of Higher EducationI'm not really a fan of Fox News. I find that they get drawn into ridiculous positions more often than not. However, <a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2015/01/13/long-con-pricier-colleges-provide-better-education/">this article</a> by Gail Buckner about the increasing cost of higher education is worth reading.<br />
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Buckner writes about a recently published paper by Dr Robert Iouse and Dr. Frank Mussano entitled <u style="font-style: italic;">College Tuition: Four Decades of Financial Deception.</u> Both authors have significant background as college administrotors, so this isn't baseless rhetoric. The article lays out the case that colleges are essentially out of control financially. The system depends on students paying ever increasing tuition, and there is little or no incentive for the schools to rein in their costs. Professors are teaching fewer and fewer hours, and spending more time on research and writing. Administration costs have ballooned. Worse still, the public perceives "more expensive" to equate to "better education". I have not yet read the book, but plan to do so. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/College-Tuition-Decades-Financial-Deception/dp/1935628399">It can be found on Amazon here</a><br />
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As a parent of a high school junior and an eighth grader, this is very much "top of mind" for me. I spoke to a college admissions counselor recently. Speaking about the tuition at USC, and many other schools, she said, "I don't care how much money you make. $64,000 per year is a lot of money." <br />
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Fine, you say. USC is a private school. Surely my kid can go to a state school and get a great education. That's true- but you may not want to plan on that state school being in the state of California. The UC system offers fewer and fewer spots to in-state students. Chancellor Janet Napolitano blames the legislature for not funding the UC system at the level the regents demand. I'm sure the K-12 educators in California would like to have more funding too, but we don't have the option of just passing the cost on to students.<br />
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Once again, I'm reminded of my alma mater, Purdue University. President Mitch Daniels froze tuition and forced departments to live within a budeget. While that seems common-sense to anyone who runs a business - or even a household - budgets with limits aren't part of the equation at a lot of schools. (See article from <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-daniels-purdue-college-costs-edit-jm-20140810-story.html">the Chicago Tribune</a>)<br />
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In any case, this is a serious issue in education, and I expect to be writing more about it. Along the way, I'd love to hear from folks with suggestions about how to fix the system. It would be great if the collected wisdom of our community could have a lasting impact beyond First and Main streets.Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-541103752996896022015-01-06T15:09:00.000-08:002015-01-06T15:09:31.573-08:00Pension Reform<i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px;">Do not go gentle into that good night,</span></span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px;">Old age should burn and rave at close of day;</span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px;">Rage, rage against the dying of the light.</span></span></i></span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">-Dylan Thomas, 1914-1953</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I guess this is the answer to folks who wondered what would happen to my blog after I left office. I still have a significant interest in public education and public policy, so I plan to continue to write as often as the mood strikes me.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've written in the past about <a href="http://lasdobserver.blogspot.com/search/label/pension">the need for pension reform</a>, stretching back to 2010. This isn't an attack on our teachers. To the contrary, I greatly value the work they do, and I want to make sure we can honor the commitments we've made to ensure they have a reasonable life in retirement. However, we are burying our heads in the sand if we don't acknowledge that we have a drastically under-funded pension system. A recent <a href="https://www.cabinetreport.com/budget-finance/teacher-pensions-balloon-from-final-year-pay-raise">article in Cabinet Report</a> puts the national pension shortfall for teachers at $325B, and the State of California makes up $74B. That's a lot of money, folks.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Again, this isn't an attack on teachers. Schools need to balance two competing goals: fulfill the promises to fund retirements, and also fund ongoing operations. I don't think that any of our teachers would want to see a future education system in which so much money was being diverted to pensions that the quality of education is compromised for the students then in school. At the same time, we've made a contractual promise to teachers today, and they will need to retire at some point.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gov Brown has pushed through a pension reform bill that will substantially increase the payments school districts make to pay for pensions. That change will take effect over 7 years, and will increase our contribution from 9.5% of payroll to 19% of payroll. That's a massive increase. I can accept that it is necessary to do this in order to shore up CalSTRS (the teachers' pension fund). However, I have concerns about what happens down the line. How do we get to a sustainable model? How do we keep it sustainable, even if we manage to weather the "shoring up period" that is starting now?</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At bargaining tables across the state, we'll be faced with the same conversations that districts and their teachers have had for years. Teachers will want to see an increase in their current salary, and districts will point to their other expenses (pensions, health care, etc.) and be faced with cutting in-classroom staff to pay for raises. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was on the Board, we were setting aside money every year to cover our unfunded medical liability, so that we wouldn't be faced with big bills down the line. The problem is, there's little ability to do this for retirement pensions. You see, while medical liabilities are incurred locally, and it's a local expense, the retirement pension is a state-level liability, and is managed at the state level. Local school boards have zero control over the amount that is saved each year, what the payout will eventually be, or what investment assumptions are used to calculate the pension funding formula. It's all completely out of our hands.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">LASD has a great relationship with our staff, and I'm very proud of that legacy. We participate in interest-based bargaining, and our staff has embraced a risk-sharing model in their compensation that means they get more when times are better, and less when times are lean. We are truly ahead of the pack in our labor relations. I honestly believe that we could accomplish a great deal together if we had that freedom with the pension funding equation. So here's a thought: How about letting local school districts manage our own pension funds. Instead of CalPERS/CalSTRS making the investment decisions, why not let local districts make that choice? I would guess that if local districts have to work on the investment assumptions, they'd make much better choices than the politicians in Sacramento.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It doesn't have to be the Wild West. We could still have a state safety net, much like the federal system for various pensions out in the private sector. However, it would incentivize the districts and teachers in CA to solve this problem together, and to <i>keep the problem fixed</i> in the future. Otherwise, we're just going to get to a "new normal" where an increasing chunk of the budget goes to pensions every year, and the kids in the classroom have less. That is hardly the way for CA to climb up from the bottom of the national education ladder.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16.7999992370605px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For those who are wondering, this problem affects traditional public schools and charter schools alike. BCS and every other charter school in the State of CA still pay into CalSTRS, just like a traditional school district. That cliff out there- it exists for everyone.</span></span><br />
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<br />Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-60821522512545602612014-11-09T12:04:00.000-08:002014-11-10T08:19:28.566-08:00Ethics, and Thanks<i>10 Nov 2014 8:15am Update: I've added the links to the FPPC filing, as well as cross references to my prior blog posts. At this time, Measure N is at 57.31%.</i><br />
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First, a massive THANK YOU to everyone who turned out and voted. It looks like Measure N has passed, with 56.22% of the votes cast. Likewise, it looks like we have elected three excellent trstuees to the LASD Board, returning Tammy Logan and installing first time trustees Sangeeth Peruri and Vladimir Ivanovic as new Board members. To all three candidates, I offer my thanks for being willing to take on the task of representing our community.<br />
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I also offer my heartfelt thanks to all members of the LASD Board with whom I have served, including Mark Goines, Bill Cooper, and Margot Harrigan, as well as Tammy Logan, Steve Taglio, and Pablo Luther. All seven of us have held strong opinions, and we often disagreed, but we managed to do so civilly, and the District is much better off for the service of all of these fine folks.<br />
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Back in October, I wrote a couple of blog posts that were <a href="http://lasdobserver.blogspot.com/2014/10/endorsements-2014.html#Martha">critical of Martha McClatchie</a> and John Swan, and the pro-BCS PAC that was deceptively named "<a href="http://lasdobserver.blogspot.com/2014/10/truth-in-campaigning-c-2014.html">LASD Parents for Great Schools</a>". I caught a lot of static from BCS parents when I posted this. The most benign suggested that I was better off to merely voice support for those I liked, but not to criticize people or groups with whom I did not agree. When I wrote those posts, I had to weigh the advice of my grandmother (If you can't say something nice...) with the need for people to understand what was going on. <br />
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Obviously I decided that transparency was more important than {fill in the blank}. I mean that sincerely. In one of the many emails I exchanged on this topic, I told a prominent BCS parent that I value transparency in governance above any bond campaign and above any individual candidate. If people knew that "LASD Parents for Great Schools" was a front for BCS campaign money, but they were still willing to elect John or Martha, so be it. But I didn't want them being elected because people were mislead by the name of the PAC, or by the campaign statements that hide the BCS connection of the candidate or their support of charter schools as a matter of policy.<br />
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Today I got a bit of vindication in the form of a late campaign filing. A community member forwarded to me the <a href="http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/PDFGen/pdfgen.prg?filingid=1913976&amendid=0">FPPC docs for the California Charter School Association</a>. The last minute filing disclosed that the CCSA gave $22,000 to the "LASD Parents" PAC, and another $6,000 directly to John Swan's campaign. Holy cow! Really?? That's more money than any one of the three winning candidates spent. And remember, this money is in addition to the funds Martha and John raised on their own. In total, Martha, John, the BCS PAC, and the CCSA spent around $100,000 trying to buy a seat on the LASD Board of Trustees.<br />
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I don't expect that those folks who criticize me are suddenly going to recant and send me flowers. However, this should serve as a cautionary tale to the rest of the community. Leopards don't change their spots. <br />
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This election came perilously close to swinging the wrong way. Early returns had John Swan on the Board instead of Vladimir, and likewise the early results for Measure N were grim. We came really close to being deceived. The message I hope people take away from this is that they need to stay involved so they can be informed. We all have a responsibility to understand the issues on our own, not to just take the deceptive headlines of a shadowy campaign group that has neither a public face. Look beyond the generic campaign-speak and understand where the candidates have been investing their time, so you have a deep understanding of how they will act when they're representing your interests. If nothing else, don't drop off the map over the next two years- because I'm guessing we haven't seen the last time of sleazy big-money politics in our small California community. Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-66937786087241193742014-10-24T12:08:00.000-07:002014-11-09T12:18:55.707-08:00Why I'm Voting No on Prop 2I am a strong proponent for conservative spending plans. Last year, when LASD saw our first budget surplus, I advocated setting aside some of that money to shore up our future pension liabilities. When, then would I be voting No on Prop 2?<br />
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On the face of it, Prop 2 creates a rainy day fund to even out state expenditures in lean times. Like much of what we see in politics, though, there's a catch. Prop 2 also puts a cap in place, limiting the amount of reserves local school districts can carry. In the case of LASD, that means we'll lose the ability to save for a rainy day ourselves. We will depend entirely on Sacramento. We won't be able to have a special reserve to cover our healthcare obligations to retirees, and we won't be able to save money for the next recession when it comes.<br />
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Gov. Brown's logic is that the State of California will carry the reserve, which will then remove the need for local Districts to carry one. That would be great, if the State had a solid track record in this regard. However, one only need look at how they've handled their Prop 98 obligation (wherein the voters required that at least 39% of state budgets go to education). In the past several years, when times got tight, Sacramento said simply "we'll owe you that money". Literally- we have an outstanding Prop 39 receivable from the State of California that we never expect to get paid.<br />
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I want to keep control here at the local level. We know what is best for our community. Let our local community formulate how we spend and save. Keep control here.<br />
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<i>{If this post sounds familiar, it should. <a href="http://lasdobserver.blogspot.com/2014/06/gov-brown-meddler.html">I wrote about this back in June</a>. At the time, we were hoping that the Legislature would correct this problem before Prop 2 made it onto the ballot. unfortunately they did not. As a result, I can't support the measure.}</i><br />
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<i><br /></i>Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-26416110503249009262014-10-22T21:21:00.000-07:002014-10-22T21:21:44.496-07:00My Letter to the Town CrierWhen last week's Town Crier came out, I was disappointed that they chose to be neutral on Measure N. This is the letter I sent in (which was admittedly too long for them to print.) To their credit, they had Jeff Baier and me in to speak with them. I'm hoping that they will still reconsider and endorse the measure. It's too important to our community not to pass.<br />
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From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Doug Smith</b> <span dir="ltr"><doug smith4lasd.com=""></doug></span><br />Date: Wed, Oct 15, 2014 at 10:26 PM<br />Subject: Please correct your greiveous error<br />To: "Bruce (Town Crier)" <bruceb latc.com="">, Paul Nyberg <paulnyberg aol.com="">, Bischoff Howard <howardb latc.com=""><br /><br /></howardb></paulnyberg></bruceb><br />
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Gentlemen-<div>
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I write today to ask that you please correct the terrible mistake you've made in not endorsing Measure N. I believe that the logic you have used to reach this conclusion is flawed and relied on incorrect information provided by people whose sole agenda is to hurt LASD. Further, the impact to our community will be far reaching and devastating if Measure N does not pass.</div>
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Your conclusions in the editorial miss key facts, and appear to rely more on commentary from bond opponents instead of primary research. </div>
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<li>Measure N provides language that is equally specific as several other local bond measures, including ones run by Palo Alto and Cupertino. The rhetoric from the No team is unsupported on this topic. We would be glad to meet with you and review those measures if you would like.</li>
<li>The editorial implies that the Board of Trustees is less committed to the primary purpose of the bond - building a new school - simply because we've spent less time in public session discussion it. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is specifically *because* we know that is the #1 priority that we needn't dwell on it. The need for a new school site is not in dispute, and therefore requires no debate. How to spend remaining proceeds is still subjective, and we thus spent more time on that topic. But in the board is fully committed to a new school site as the #1 priority of the bond. It is spelled out in every presentation and in the instructions we provided to the FMPC. </li>
<li>The editorial references a list of $300m worth of projects, implying that all of those projects are at existing sites. A careful review of the FMPC documents will show that the $300m figure actually INCLUDES building one, possibly two new schools. Of the $300m figure, more than 40% of that came from estimated costs to build a new site or sites. Projects at existing sites represent a "wish list" and the Board has been crystal clear that this takes a back seat to accommodating growth. Further, several or all of the candidates currently running have pledged not to spend money at existing sites until the 10th site is resolved.</li>
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The impact to our community if we fail to pass this bond is dramatic and painful. Absent a new site, LASD would likely need to close an existing school to redraw boundaries and allocate space to BCS at the end of the 5 year agreement. In doing so, the District would then be placing ~5200 LASD students on the remaining 8 sites in the 2018-19 school year. Given our site locations and student distribution, we will be running several elementary schools over 750 students. Picture the traffic jams at West Portola, except they'd occur at every site in the district. That doesn't even touch on the decline in program quality. LASD favors small schools because staff know each student by name, and no one gets "lost." We have staff and administrators with substantial experience in larger schools in other districts. They consistently cite our smaller school size as a key factor in our success. Should we sacrifice all of that success now?</div>
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The editorial comes to the conclusion that we must take more time to plan. With all due respect, we've been planning this for over two years. We spend tremendous effort evaluating the need for additional site(s). We've been looking at possible sites and we have run smack into the reality that, without cash in hand, we are being outpaced by developers who are rapidly tying up what might be viable options. To say that we must have the perfect plan before we pass the bond is akin to saying that a parent shouldn't save money for college until he sees the child's SAT scores. By the time the savings start, it is too late.</div>
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Earlier this year, the Town Crier bemoaned the lack of candidates willing to run for public office. If the standard we set for our public projects is that they must be perfect before they earn our support, I'd suggest we all settle in for a long stream of uncontested elections. Who will put themselves through the work to formulate a plan for downtown if we constantly say "well, it isn't perfect yet"? We need to be more practical about how we work as a community. The LASD Board has been exceptionally transparent and hyper-inclusive as we've gone about our work over the past 5 years. We hold community forums, collect input, and publicly debate options before reaching decisions. It is not practical to say that the new board must define a plan down to the last light switch before we'll endorse a bond campaign.</div>
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I've gritted my teeth as I watched the Town Crier give 50/50 coverage throughout the conflict with BCS. I simply didn't think that it was necessary to give equal ink to both sides, without regard to the merit of the arguments. However, in a news column I at least understand you're trying to inform the public of what is going on. In the editorial section, though, you are community leaders, helping to shape the future of Los Altos. I would urge you to rethink this issue, and to come back with a clear statement that, while not perfect, the bond needs to be passed. As a community, we have the ability to oversee the funds. The law provides for this as a requirement of the bond. This is not a $150 blank check- they are funds held in trust, and will be spent in accordance with the wishes of the voters. But we desperately need to pass this bond -<i> right now.</i></div>
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If it would be helpful, I can be available to meet with any or all of you on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. I would urge you to print a positive endorsement immediately, before any more absentee ballots are cast.</div>
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Sincerely,</div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Douglas J Smith</div>
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<span class="HOEnZb" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #888888;"></span></span></div>
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Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-53076098533226117252014-10-20T23:20:00.002-07:002014-10-23T08:11:04.720-07:00Truth in Campaigning (c. 2014)<i>Update: 10/22/2014, 8:46pm</i><br />
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<i>Since i posted this article, the filings at the county have been updated to remove the independent expenditures and reclassify funds as being spent directly with the campaigns. It appears that the "Parents" PAC has been working too closely with the candidates, and has updated their filings to reflect that. I certainly applaud the honesty, but it opens new questions. The new form shows a combined total of over $12,500 in expenditures for Martha McClatchie and John Swan. This is starting to take on the air of someone with an agenda... Updated docs are found <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9IngIBVVzGqa05aT2ZfSXJETWxSRU1HVjVMOVZtVHRJNXo4/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9IngIBVVzGqdngxNERDUEwxT1Z5M01pUVVkVzFkTVhydFZj/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a></i><br />
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Original Post follows:<br />
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A couple of years ago, I wrote a few pieces about the campaigning process, and why it was important for folks to understand who is funding political campaigns. In the last election cycle, the BCS candidates tried to disguise their affiliation with BCS, which seemed disingenuous to me.<br />
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Fast forward two years, and we have the same problem all over again. I've never been a great fan of PAC's. (See my blog posts from <a href="http://lasdobserver.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html" target="_blank">October 2012</a> for clarification). I find it even more troubling when groups try to dress themselves up as something they are not.<br />
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There is a new <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9IngIBVVzGqQXotMUFEUUNzeXpOdVBkVWpfTUtNcThVR01B/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">direct mail piece </a>out in support of Martha McClatchie's candidacy for LASD Board of Trustees. As a reminder, I met with Martha and found her willingness to cloak information from our community to be troubling. (See <span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://lasdobserver.blogspot.com/2014/10/endorsements-2014.html#Martha">Endorsements</a> ) However, there's a new mailer out that tries to give the impression that Martha has significant support from LASD parents. This has not been my experience, and it isn't helped by the facts underlying this mailer.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The return address on the mailer is </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;">1787 Tribute Road, Suite K, Sacramento, CA 95815 which is the home of this political consulting company:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.deaneandcompany.com/" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1413486734899_243610" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #196ad4; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.deaneandcompany.com/</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The mailer traces back to a PAC registered at 26625 St. Francis Road, Los Altos Hills. A quick search of <a href="https://www.sccassessor.org/apps/rollValueResult.aspx?SFrom=rp&SType=rp&ApnValue=17553003#" target="_blank">county tax records</a> shows this address not to be located in LASD. It turns out this is the home of David Spector- a member of the BCS legal team.</span></span></div>
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The group's campaign filings are available in Santa Clara. A diligent community member chased these down and I am posting them here. One might reasonably ask why I've posted them, and the answer is simple: transparency. It is important to know whose interests someone represents. </div>
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In the most recent filing from this group, I'd note that there a current and former BCS Board members, BCS founding families, and other vocal supporters of BCS. There's also a community member who is actively involved in the "No on N" campaign. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9IngIBVVzGqcHY4bkE0V19KZHJpWEdKZVZGakgzbmlvc0o4/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Read the list</a>, and decide for yourself. The filing also shows that they've spent nearly $10,000 on this mailer alone. Mind you, when I ran for the LASD Board in 2009, I spent about $3500. They're spending nearly 3x that on a single mailer. I would also wonder whether the filing itself even complies with the legal requirements. On the form, it requires "Full Name, Street Address, and Zip Code of Contributor" - yet the contributors are not listed by street address- simply by city.</div>
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All I can say is, I'm glad we live in a state with aggressive campaign finance disclosure laws.</div>
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As I said in my previous post- being a BCS parent or supporter doesn't automatically disqualify someone from the LASD Board in my mind. Technically, one might argue that these folks live within the LASD boundaries and they might even be parents. However, they don't appear to be largely parents of children in LASD schools. </div>
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This pattern of strong support from the BCS community further supports my concern that Martha doesn't understand the LASD community. We expect transparency and integrity from our public officials. In my opinion, this mailer falls well short of the mark.</div>
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Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-69082362541337923152014-10-12T23:45:00.002-07:002014-10-22T21:22:34.800-07:00Endorsements 2014It's election time, and like most folks in our community, I'm casting my ballot. I don't pretend to be an expert in all things political, but I will share my thoughts on a couple of matters, given my close involvement with the schools over the past 5 years.<br />
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For LASD Board of Trustees:<br />
<b>Tamara Logan</b><br />
<b>Sangeeth Peruri</b><br />
<b>Vladamir Ivanovic</b><br />
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<b>Tammy Logan </b>has worked incredibly hard over the past 5 years to put the necessary ingredients in place for the success of our District. She is a tireless voice for our students, and has been willing to challenge other board members when she felt we weren't doing the right thing. Striking that balance is a delicate art, and Tammy has done it well. <br />
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Tammy also played a key role in the negotiations with BCS. I was proud to have her as a partner in the final rounds over the summer. The "peace treaty" that resulted was shaped in many ways by Tammy's thinking.<br />
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I am confident that Tammy will continue to be an asset for our students and our community, and I am excited to cast my ballot for her re-election.<br />
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<b>Sangeeth Peruri</b> is a relative new-comer to the LASD community. His kids are younger, and he is not afraid to test the conventions of "how things have been done". He has served ably in the Covington PTA, and has worked diligently on the LASD Citizens Advisory Council on Finance (CACF). I have spent substantial time with Sangeeth over the past year as he tested our assumptions about the right path with BCS. He has also built a substantial knowledge of our schools by engaging multiple points of view. He is not afraid to throw himself into the work, which will help him ramp up on the board quickly.<br />
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<b>Vladimir Ivanovic</b> is another CACF member, and is the current CACF chair. Over the years he has been a regular attendee at our board meetings. He has put in the time to learn what the board is doing, why we've made the decisions we have made, and to share his own perspective when he felt it was important. He is well versed in our financial status, which will be important as the District starts to wrestle with the expiration of the Measure E parcel tax and simultaneously increasing contributions to shore up state pensions. His work also includes the Gardner Bullis Technology Committee, the GB Site Council, and a number of other groups. He isn't a huge fan of public speaking, but I've always found his reasoning to be sound. He is also a tireless advocate for open government, which remains important in our community.<br />
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I am not able to endorse Mathra McClatchey or John Swan for the LASD Board of Trustees.<br />
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Martha has been an active BCS parent for the entirety of my 5 years on the Board. This doesn't disqualify someone outright, but it certainly raises questions about how well they know LASD. I met with Martha to discuss specific issues, and found her knowledge of the LASD program to be lacking. She instead proposed that her knowledge of what draws people away from LASD should be an asset. I disagree. I am also troubled by her direct involvement in the cloaking of expenditures by BCS. She was the treasurer of the Bullis Foundation when BPEF was covertly signing checks to PR firms and lawyers. When I asked her about these expenditures, she was quite clear that there is such a thing as "too much transparency". I do not believe the community's interests are served by making off-book expenditures and hiding from the public how money is being spent. As the old saying goes, "if you wouldn't do it in the light of day, you probably shouldn't be doing it at all."<br />
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John Swan is one of the original founding families at BCS. Although his children have been out for a while, I see no evidence that he has remained active in K-8 education leadership. He only recently started attending LASD Board meetings, so his learning curve would be steep. John's editorials in the Town Crier seem to indicate that he feels LASD is broken in some significant way. He complains about teachers in generic language more suited to big city school districts, not LASD. His own children haven't attended an LASD elementary school since 2003, so I'm not sure on what basis he would make that assertion. His editorials are rife with rhetoric from the charter movement about what is wrong with education, but it bears little resemblance to our award winning schools and exceptionally dedicated staff and administration. John just doesn't seem to have a handle on what we are doing in our schools, and what makes them such a unique place for children to learn. He lacks the context of how our schools work or how to best engage with our staff and parent community, and I believe that would be a significant barrier to being an effective board member.<br />
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<b>Yes on Measure N</b> We desperately need to pass measure N, so that we can build more schools and update our existing facilities. Although some districts go out every 5-7 years, it has been much longer than that for LASD. We desperately need to pass this measure to keep up with our exploding enrollment. It is essential to the successful model that has earned LASD national and international recognition as a top tier school district.<br />
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Each of the trustees I have endorsed would be excellent stewards for the Measure N funds. They are committed to an open process to refine specific expenditures and I believe they will make wise use of our precious capital. They seek public input, and understand the need to stretch our dollars. That is exactly what we want as we embark on the first major expansion of the District in many years.<br />
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I thank all of these folks for their interest and their willingness to serve. I believe that Tammy, Sangeeth, and Vladimir will serve our community well, and I encourage you to give them your full support.<br />
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<br />Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-67473156487865443802014-09-08T08:58:00.000-07:002014-09-08T08:58:09.313-07:00NY Times Article on Success Academy<i>Author's note: Although I am grateful for the recently signed peace treaty with BCS, I still have concerns about how charter law is structured. Just as I assume BCS will continue to advocate for what they believe in, I will continue to highlight issues that I believe are important to the education community. This article shouldn't be interpreted as a specific concern with BCS, but more a concern with the way state and federal laws are structured.</i><br />
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The NY Times presented a piece of Eva Moskowitz, head of the NYC charter chain Success Academy. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/magazine/the-battle-for-new-york-schools-eva-moskowitz-vs-mayor-bill-de-blasio.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22RI%3A5%22%7D" target="_blank">You can read the article here</a>. <br />
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Diane Ratvich, a former charter advocate and now charter critic, was quoted in the article. The quotes in the article seemed somewhat benign. However, Diane has recently posted a follow-up of her own, indicating that the NYT author watered down her comments. <a href="http://dianeravitch.net/2014/09/07/the-ny-times-magazines-puff-piece-about-eva-moskowitz/" target="_blank">Here's a link to her article</a>. <br />
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Whatever the truth is, I believe that the charter model can only be successful if it proves itself on a representative sample of students. The only way for that to happen is really through conversion charters. In a conversion charter, an entire school is converted in place. That school must admit all students in the area, and must meet all of their needs. This approach would avoid the question of whether the student body is representative of the wider population. Then we can gauge the results. I look forward to seeing peer reviewed articles that look at this type of data.Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-1842001677162574862014-06-17T18:41:00.000-07:002014-06-17T18:41:04.888-07:00Gov. Brown, the MeddlerDarn it! I wish Sacramento would just keep their darn hands off local Districts. In the latest affront to common sense, Gov. Moonbeam has passed a law that will require Districts to cap our reserves at 10% of revenues. (<a href="http://edsource.org/2014/cap-on-district-reserves-passes-despite-lawmakers-reservations/63258#.U6Dqk_ldU1J" target="_blank">article</a>)<br />
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For those not familiar with the nuances of school funding, we are required by law to have a reserve of 3% of our annual revenue. It's prudent to require that local districts have some amount of cushion that we can draw upon when times get lean. But what genius thought it was a good idea to cap that reserve? If we could squirrel away a larger reserve (say, 15% or 20%) and then guarantee that we wouldn't have to issue a single pink slip in a big recession, wouldn't that be a GOOD idea? The article says some districts have reserves of 30%-50%. I challenge lawmakers to show us one district with over 1000 students that has that kind of reserve. LASD has 11% reserves, and we're considered very fortunate.<br />
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Unfortunately, this seems to be the Governor's way of buying political support. At a state level, the CTA continues to press to minimize reserves because the most logical way a district spends reserves is on salary. By forcing districts to spend reserves, it helps the CTA membership, who in turn support Gov. Brown. Nice trick, Jerry.<br />
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Now, I want to be clear. I supported our recent pay raise for our teachers because it was the right thing to do. They've worked very hard and have implemented a first class program that is achieving great results. In negotiations, our particular teachers really do have a sense of cooperation with us. But at a state level, the CTA and Jerry are just nuts.<br />
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PS: The rationale behind all of this is that the State is going to carry reserves to make sure we don't need as much in our safety net. That's great- except that the State has consistently raided the Prop 98 guaranteed funding we are supposed to receive. <br />
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<br />Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-81926444626472637692014-06-06T13:24:00.000-07:002014-06-06T13:24:12.329-07:00Financial ResponsibilityRecently a group of "community members" have been running ads in the local papers alleging that the LASD Board and administration isn't acting in a financially responsible manner. Their ads have been riddled with factual inaccuracies (simple things that take 10 minutes on Google to confirm). I could spend a lot of time correcting all of that, but I think it's a lot simpler to point to the professionals.<br />
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As we do every year, LASD issued some short term notes to the financial markets. I won't bore readers with the mechanics, but it's something that schools across California do every year. As part of the process, Standard and Poors rated us "SP1+", which is their highest rating for short term borrowing. Their analysts cited LASD's strong financial fundamentals as a key aspect of the rating.<br />
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This isn't the first time we've received excellent marks from the rating agencies. <a href="http://lasdobserver.blogspot.com/2013/01/lasd-saves-taxpayers-27m.html" target="_blank">I wrote about it once before</a>, but it's a common theme for LASD. We're fortunate to have so many folks involved to make sure we do a good job of stewarding the community's resources.<br />
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Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-52950894210080190352014-04-16T21:30:00.000-07:002014-04-16T21:30:02.778-07:00Another win - no lawyers' fees!Yesterday we received a ruling from the Superior Court that LASD does NOT have to pay BCS's legal fees from the 2009-2010 case. I've already written a lot about the legal fees demand from BCS, and have chronicles quite a bit of this particular part of the legal drama. (<a href="http://lasdobserver.blogspot.com/search/label/attorney%20fees" target="_blank">Link to all LASD Observer posts on attorney fees</a>). <br />
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The judge spent the better part of 10 pages thoroughly dissecting every aspect of the BCS claim for fees. It breaks down into two major findings:<br />
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1) BCS did not "win" enough of the 2009-10 case for them to claim they were entitled to fees. The courts highlighted that on the key issues, such as their demand for the Gardner campus, the Appellate Court rebuffed the requests.<br />
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2) Even if BCS had won enough of the case, they did not confer a "public benefit" on others. That is, they stood to gain a great deal more than their costs in litigation, which means they really aren't eligible for legal fees.<br />
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An honest read of the ruling will show that the District's request for fees/ sanctions over and above the sanctions already issued was denied. The courts pointed out, in effect, that this is high stakes litigation, and we're going to incur substantial costs. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but that issue is largely under the control of a Board where I am not a member, so we'll take it as it comes.<br />
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I won't try to add a lot here, other than to thank the court for their thorough research on the issue. Given the judicial record in this case, and the fact that BCS has (unsuccessfully) appealed many of the recent rulings, it appears that Judge Lucas was extra careful to dot every I and cross every T. I know how she feels. Still, it's nice to see the courts give such careful consideration to an issue and to be affirmed in the key aspects of the outcome. I look forward to a time when the headline on this blog will indicate that LASD and BCS are both spending all of our resources in the classroom.<br />
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Once again, I'd like to thank <a href="http://www.reedsmith.com/raymond_cardozo/" target="_blank">Ray Cardozo</a> at <a href="http://www.reedsmith.com/" target="_blank">Reed Smith</a> for his expert work in this case. Ray has been extremely diligent going through a very difficult discovery process to uncover the facts that underpinned the district's successful defense in this matter. Ray, Adam and Paul at Reed Smith, as well as John, Dino, and the rest of the team at <a href="http://www.bwslaw.com/" target="_blank">BWS Law</a>- thanks a million. (OK, thanks $1.5M!)<br />
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And of course here is <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9f8Oq98A248UnNWUTd5VTFpVmpLclF6VWtqWWxiTzloVjFz/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">the ruling</a><br />
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<br />Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-86342230258819822402014-04-13T21:00:00.000-07:002014-04-13T21:00:09.521-07:00Truth in the Courts<i>In my other post today, I discuss the efforts of a community member to get a copy of Ken Moore's declaration in part of the recent court battles. BCS thwarted that effort by seeking and obtaining a protective order to prohibit LASD from providing a copy of that deposition to the community member who sought it. This post examines an important "story within the story" around that process.</i><br />
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In the recent battle over Ken Moore's deposition, BCS filed a request for a protective order to prevent LASD from delivering a copy of what we consider to be a public record* over to a member of the public who had requested that record. <br />
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In their argument to obtain the protective order, BCS started by suggesting that Ken Moore was concerned for his safety. In his sworn declaration to the courts, he tells the court that he is afraid of kidnapping. "One of the most significant ways I deal with the potentials threats has been to maintain as low visibility as I reasonably can. In that regard, I do not use Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, or the the like. I do not allow my place of employment, nor the boards that I am associated with, to post any photographic or other images of me". Yet at the time of the hearing, he was personally featured in a promotional video on the front of the BCS web site. He's identified by name, so there can be no doubt who he is. (You can <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9f8Oq98A248XzB1N0thVjFzRkU/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">view that video</a> here if you'd like <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9f8Oq98A248ajcyNkJXcmNMNHc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"> Ken Moore appears</a> around the 6:20 mark.) He also has appeared in various other publications like the <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2009/09/28/focus24.html" target="_blank">Silicon Valley Business Journal</a>. So this clearly wasn't true. Yet it appears in <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9f8Oq98A248a0w5eEVZbDBBOGxsNHFFS3F5Rmg3WTJQMUh3/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Moore's sworn declaration </a>to the courts.<br />
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I've done declarations, and I can understand if someone made a mistake. This seems unlikely, though, given the examples listed above and others that I won't include here. Ken's declaration goes on, though. <br />
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"In support of the above goal of maintaining low visibility, I have asked the local newspapers to feel free to quote me, but not to use my likeness. In light of safety concerns and the simple fact that I am a parent volunteer, the local papers have honored my request". This statement seems to suggest a pretty sophisticated discussion with the local media. I'm not an expert on the press, but from what I do know, they tend to consider editorial control to be sacrosanct. <br />
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Given my surprise at this statement, I did what a good reporter would do- I investigated. I contacted the Los Altos Town Crier, The Mountain View Voice, The Daily Post, and the San Jose Mercury News. <i>Each and every one of these papers denied ever having had such an arrangement in place, or even having knowledge of any such request.</i> In various ways most of them said the that the suggestion they would make such an agreement was preposterous.<br />
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I also asked Mr. Moore himself. He acknowledged that he had no such agreement with the Town Crier, but refused to elaborate on any discussions with other media outlets.<br />
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I submit that these statements are not minor and they are not mistakes. This was absolutely improper. In the next paragraph of his declaration, Mr Moore says "I was raised in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills and have lived there for nearly 60 years. I greatly value the ability to walk the streets, shops, and restaurants and not be recognized or harassed by charter school detractors." So apparently we've moved from kidnapping to plain old privacy. But it gets better...<br />
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In an <i>ex parte </i>hearing with Judge Lucas, the BCS lawyers confessed that they wanted to prevent copying of the deposition "[b]ecause we believe there could be misuse, embarrassment, [and] harassment [of] our parent volunteers" Really? That's what we're worried about? That someone is going to poke fun of the BCS Board?<br />
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According to this declaration, Mr. Moore keeps his image off the internet and he has an agreement with the local press not to run his picture either. In reality, his attorney confessed to the judge that the real issue was a desire to suppress someone else's free speech, but she didn't correct anything in Moore's sworn statement.<br />
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Why do I care about this? These are just minor details, aren't they?<br />
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Folks, this situation is difficult. We are wrestling with issues of huge importance- literally, matters of Constitutional law, and issues that will shape the future of public education in our state for possibly decades to come. If participants to these discussions feel that it's ok to invent "facts" to place before the court, we will *never* have any peace. The community member who sought the video of the deposition lost his request. I believe that the court was swayed by the declaration Mr. Moore provided. That BCS was able to submit a false declaration to protect themselves from parody- that isn't how justice is supposed to work. As long as this is how we pursue this issue in the courts, without an honest airing of the facts, I fear that this issue will never be resolved.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*California law has a presumption that public records should be disclosed, unless there are extenuating circumstances. <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I will concede that the statue around disclosure of depositions does include an exception for "embarrassment". To my understanding that is meant to protect ordinary citizens if they need to file a suit involving medical malpractice, or a victim of a sexual assault. I don't believe it was meant to protect people who are spending taxpayer funds to sue a public school district. In this case, we're weighing "embarrassment" with the ability of citizens to understand how their government is functioning.</span></span><br />
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Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-79100588999467365812014-04-13T20:59:00.000-07:002014-04-13T20:59:00.847-07:00The Streisand Effect at BCS<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
In 2003 Barbra Streisand sued a photographer to block publication of photos of her home, citing privacy concerns. In ruling against her the courts found that she did not have an absolute right of privacy, and that the public had a right to see the images. The irony was that in filing the lawsuit, she brought far more attention to the picture than would ever have been generated had she simply kept silent. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Wikipedia page</a>)</div>
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Why do I bring this up? Strangely, BCS seems unaware of the Streisand Effect. They have recently spent considerable legal effort to prevent the public from viewing the depositions of BCS Board Chair Ken Moore and former BCS Foundation Chair David Spector.</div>
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A member of the public filed a <a href="http://www.thefirstamendment.org/publicrecordsact.pdf" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">CPRA request</a> asking the District to provide a copy of Moore's and Spector's depositions. We get CPRA requests all the time- it is part of being a public entity. The laws in California properly favor disclosure of public records so that the public understands how the government is doing their business. It's not surprising that someone would want to see these videos. After all, BCS, (a purportedly public school) is suing LASD, a public school district, for more than $2M in legal fees. The basis of the BCS claim is certainly a matter of public interest. Going straight to the source material- the depositions- is actually pretty smart, since it would give the viewer a direct view into the rationale of those who filed the lawsuit in the first place.</div>
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BCS started by suggesting that Ken Moore was concerned for his safety. This was provably false, though. (See my other post today). Eventually, the truth comes out, though. In an <i>ex parte </i>hearing with Judge Lucas, the BCS lawyers confessed that they wanted to prevent copying of the deposition "[b]ecause we believe there could be misuse, embarrassment, [and] harassment [of] our parent volunteers" Really? That's what we're worried about? That someone is going to poke fun of the BCS Board? </div>
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I try to give deference to the courts. They are charged with a difficult job- sorting out this kind of dispute. In this particular instance, though- I don't understand this ruling, try though I might. Parody (the basis of BCS's request for the protective order) is protected First Amendment speech. The First Amendment was specifically created to protect objectionable speech. After all, speech that is not objectionable speech rarely needs to be protected. If it were up to me, I'd place the First Amendment and transparency of government above the possible embarrassment of a couple of community members who are suing the public schools. That isn't my call to make, so I will respect the court order so I won't be posting the video here. (For the record, I don't have a copy of it). But I would encourage the public to get to know who these folks are. </div>
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I hate to say this, but to my mind, this comes with the territory. I've been on the LASD Board for 4 1/2 years. In that time, people have said made plenty of false accusations and posted ridiculous and sometimes hateful things on Facebook, the Town Crier comments section, and elsewhere. I don't like it, but it's part of the gig. As citizens, we have a constitutional right to complain about our government. When you step forward and take a leadership position to help govern a public school district, particularly as president or chairman of the Board signing letters to the community and declarations to the court, well, some folks won't like what is being said. But I didn't run to the courts and seek to hide from the public - all while spending the taxpayers' money. <br />
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Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-20875117438401444482014-04-10T09:34:00.000-07:002014-04-10T09:34:46.784-07:00Hitting Home - Murrysville, PAI have watched with great sadness over the past several years as violence in schools has become a national epidemic. As a District Trustee, there's only one thing that matters to me more than making sure each child gets a great education- that is making sure they get home safely each night.<br />
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After Columbine, a friend of mine who was moving to Colorado intentionally chose to buy a house in Littleton. "The chances of this happening twice in the same area are essentially zero," he told me. Sadly, last year it did strike again at Arapahoe High School and his own children were in the high school. We were all so grateful to know that his children were unharmed, but the same can't be said of every child who went to school that morning.<br />
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Still, that was in Colorado. Sandy Hook, in Newton, CT, was also "somewhere else", and it seemed to me that this "epidemic" was a serious problem, but it was affecting others.<br />
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Until yesterday. <br />
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I graduated from Franklin Regional High School on June 6, 1985. I remember the date because I had the support of close friends through what were the toughest times my 17-year-old mind could imagine. But I never faced anything like what my fellow Panthers faced yesterday when one of their classmates went on a spree and stabbed more than 20 people. From this day forward, those kids will never have a "normal" high school experience. There will be "before" and "after". It will alter their lives permanently.<br />
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My kids are already asking about what happened. I wish I had answers, but I don't. How do you make kids feel safe in <i>their</i> hometown when something like this happens in <i>my</i> hometown? But somehow I'm going to have to find the words...<br />
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The Los Altos School District already has drills and safety measures in place to deal with a crisis like this, but we have to do more. Knowing how to manage a lock-down is nowhere near as important as making sure we don't need one in the first place. We provide funding for <a href="http://www.chacmv.org/" target="_blank">CHAC</a>, which is a great resource if a child is struggling. <a href="http://www.projectcornerstone.org/" target="_blank"> Project Cornerstone</a> talks about sticking up for other students, but it also emphasizes helping your fellow students. We all need to make sure that any child who struggles gets the help they need.<br />
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As parents, we do not have the luxury of thinking this will only occur "somewhere else". Murrysville, PA, Newton, CT, and Littleton, CO do not fit the stereotypes of places we associate with violence. They aren't gang-ridden, overrun by drug dealers. I can tell you- these are places just like Los Altos, Mountain View, and our wider community. <br />
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<br />Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-72971938102487481362014-04-03T12:23:00.000-07:002014-04-03T12:23:50.014-07:00More Views from the Outside : SCCSBAThis article was authored by Michael Gipe, President of the Santa Clara County School Board Association (SCCSBA). It appeared in the April 2013 SCCBA newsletter.<br />
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<i>“The Los Altos School District will be a leader in revolutionizing learning for all students.” </i><br />
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That’s a fairly radical vision statement for a school district. Fomenting revolution? And it’s not just a catchphrase to post on their website. They really mean it, and have put their money where their vision statement is. For at least four years, Los Altos has been using non-traditional teaching strategies in many of their classrooms. Los Altos was the first public school district to partner with Khan Academy in a pilot program for junior high mathematics. With this experiment, they learned a lot about what works and what does not.<br />
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Since then, they have enthusiastically incorporated technology and novel strategies into a blended instructional model for many classes. This focus on improving teaching and learning has solid support from the superintendent and board. They built a dedicated facility, called the iLearn Center, staffed with three full-time experienced teachers, which is used to pilot new methods and train teachers in their application in the regular classroom. <br />
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Public schools tend to be pretty conservative places. Today’s classrooms don’t look a lot different from those of a hundred years ago, even though dry erase marker odors have replaced chalk dust as the main environmental hazard. After all, why replace something that works, albeit imperfectly, with something new, unknown, and untried, especially when the consequences of a major failure will affect students for their entire lives.<br />
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However, the traditional model doesn't work well for all students, especially those who are more than one sigma away from average: special needs, gifted and talented, ethnic or racial minorities, disadvantaged by home or economic challenges.<br />
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Los Altos is trying to improve on that picture even though they realize that not every idea they try will be successful. However, by rapidly cycling through the continuous improvement model -- Plan, Try, Assess, Revise, Redo – they've found that they can make real advancements.<br />
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It seems to me that the Los Altos School District has 20/20 vision.<br />
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~Michael Gipe<br />
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<br />Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-7607014325182886772014-03-27T17:40:00.001-07:002014-03-27T17:40:42.834-07:00Play Space At BlachAt a recent LASD board meeting, quite a number of BCS parents expressed concern that BCS children at Blach had no place to play other than on the blacktop between the classrooms. I believe this surprised most of the LASD board, since we provided for that in the 2013-14 facilities offer. We actually had a lengthy debate when we constructed the facilities offer to provide both a way to share space (BCS and LASD kids playing together) and also a fall-back position in case the sharing didn't work out.<div>
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In point of fact, those parents have incorrect information. LASD Superintendent Jeff Baier sent a letter today to BCS Principal Wanny Hersey to reiterate the sharing arrangements. In his letter, he provides a copy of the sharing schedule that has been in place since November, and mentions that the BCS Asst. Principal Schwartzbaum have adjusted the schedule from time to time to meet the needs of the parties. I provide a copy of the letter here in the hopes that BCS parents will see it and understand that the space has been provided properly. Whether BCS chooses to use that space or not is entirely up to them, but the District has provided the space.</div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9f8Oq98A248MHV5RjVPWlNLdXhSSTB1engyeF9hWmRjZFhR/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Jeff Baier letter regarding play space at Blach</a></div>
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Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-15896552991631556552014-03-23T21:48:00.000-07:002014-03-26T23:05:53.450-07:00Passion Taking Root<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b>Digging into a Passion</b></div>
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Last summer at EdCon 2013, one of the more interesting ideas floated by students was the concept of students creating their own electives. Roughly based on Google's "20% time", it would allow students to create a course of study built around their own areas of passion. The administrators in attendance were genuinely excited about this idea, and Sandra McGonagle at Blach wasted no time in putting this in place. (Think about the timing for a moment- EdCon was held after the end of classes for the 2012-13 school year, yet in the fall of 2013, Sandra and her staff managed to get this up and running. That in itself is impressive!)</div>
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So what has come from this? Well, let's take a look at one student, Michael B. is an 8th grader at Blach who happens to be interested in botany. Michael has been using his independent elective to explore this passion in greater depth. Recently, he sent out a note via the weekly Blach newsletter to collect materials and build a living wall (a wall covered with plants.) He wants to install it at Blach. Here's Michael's mock-up that he used in the approval process: </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/qAnABjl3LxP5E5Pi3LrqmVbNoBjyOAZ6MjWJKZirM0OFeQ6sZUnG9b57HroQM66ieg=s400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/qAnABjl3LxP5E5Pi3LrqmVbNoBjyOAZ6MjWJKZirM0OFeQ6sZUnG9b57HroQM66ieg=s400" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
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Recently Michael and his parents visited the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco. Apparently Michael has some admirers there as well. Michael engaged in a discussion with some botanists there, and shared his website <b>(<a href="https://sites.google.com/a/lasdk8.org/michael14percent/home" target="_blank">Michael's Blog</a>)</b> with them. They were so impressed that Michael will be interning in the Highland Tropics Gallery this summer, working directly for the botanist in charge of the gallery. </div>
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It might be easy to think that Michael is just a "plant guy"- but he's not. I'm told that he is involved in numerous school activities including the math team and yearbook. As a parent of two teens, I already have tremendous respect for an 8th grader who puts together the effort and organization needed to complete this project. For Michael to complete this project, while still remaining deeply involved in his other school activities (math team, yearbook co-editor, etc.)- well, that's an impressive young man. </div>
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I'm thrilled that we've played some part in facilitating his deeper dive into a subject that holds his interest. I'm thrilled when I see things like this in our schools. This is what education is supposed to be about - inspiring students to go beyond the classroom, and learn even more. If you ask Sandra about this, she'll undoubtedly be modest in her reply, but this is exactly what make LASD such an exciting place- our staff, our parents, and our students all work together to help each child explore their passion. Well done, everyone!</div>
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Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5619051600017769687.post-59912849668986765712014-03-10T12:02:00.001-07:002014-03-10T12:02:54.889-07:00Advocating for the Overthrow of Local GovernmentOur situation with our local charter school is fairly unique, so I try not to get too wrapped up in the politics of "The Charter Movement". However, there are some things that i just can't accept- one of which is advocating that local communities should have no control over how their tax dollars should be spent. The following is a direct quote from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' keynote at the California Charter School Association's annual conference:<br />
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<i style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">"Now if we go to the general public and we say, “Here’s an argument why you should get rid of school boards” of course no one’s going to go for that. School boards have been an iconic part of America for 200 years. So what we have to do is to work with school districts to grow steadily, and the work ahead is really hard because we’re at 8% of students in California, whereas in New Orleans they’re at 90%, so we have a lot of catchup to do"</span></b></i><br />
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For just a moment I'll look past the obvious failure of so many schools in Louisiana. Using them as a model is ridiculous. But the idea that someone is literally advocating that local communities are not to be trusted to educate their own children? Who in the hell do these people think they are? How is it that Hastings thinks he is better qualified to run the Los Altos School District than the people of our own community?<br />
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Here's the short highlight from Mr. Hastings' address:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/REs0S0kqkMM?feature=player_embedded" width="480"></iframe><br />
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And here's the full address: <br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/svJdUUJHq8E">http://youtu.be/svJdUUJHq8E</a><br />
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I am the first to acknowledge that not every community has a district as successful as LASD. However, the fundamental principle that the citizens of this country are best suited to make judgments about how we shall be governed- that exists long before the CCSA or Mr. Hastings ever came along.<br />
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Folks, if your goal is to subvert the ability of local citizens to govern their own lives, there are places for that kind of behavior. Many countries thrive under that system of government. Just not here.<br />
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<br />Doug Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10741060959130532713noreply@blogger.com