Archive | August, 2024

San Diego School Board Election 2024

26 Aug

By Thomas Ultican 8/26/2024

This year, unlike 2022, when several school board candidates appeared anti-public education and divisive, the current crop is mostly sincere public school advocates. Some do not have much insight into education while others are profoundly qualified to lead school districts. After evaluating the candidates for the County Board of Education and San Diego’s 10 largest school districts, the following recommendations were made.

San Diego County Board of Education

For the County Board of Education, the only contested seat is district-4. Incumbents Gregg Robinson in district-1 and Guadalupe Gonzalez in district-2 are running unopposed. Districts 3 and 5 are not up this time around.

In district-4, two delightful and qualified young women, Erin Evans and Sarah Song, are vying for the seat. Both are passionate educators but Evans has more experience and is now teaching at Mesa College. Recommended for County Board of Education district-4 is Erin Evans.

San Diego County Board of Education Districts

San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD)

This year SDUSD has three of the five district seats on the ballot, district-A, district-D and district-E. Incumbents, Richard Barrera district-D and Sharon D. Whitehurst-Payne district-E, are running unopposed.

In district-A , Sabrina Bazzo the incumbent is facing challenger Crystal Trull. Both women’s resumes show them to be highly qualified. Both the Democratic and Republican Parties have weighed in with Democrats endorsing Bazzo and Republicans endorsing Trull. The list of Bazzo endorsements is superior to Trull’s endorsements plus Bazzo’s four years on the board separates the two candidates. Recommended for SDUSD district-A is Sabrina Bazzo.

Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD)

The even numbered districts 2 and 4 are on the ballot this year. In district-2, Adrian E. Arancibia is facing off against Angelica Martinez. Not much is known about Angelica but professor Arancibia is quite well known including being featured in a very positive La Prensa piece. He is also endorsed by the Democratic Party. Recommended for SUHSD district-2 is Adrian E. Arancibia.

District-4 has a matchup between Olga Espinoza and Rodolfo “Rudy” Lopez. Olga ran for the San Ysidro school district board and that campaign Facebook page is the only information about her. Rudy was a member of the San Ysidro school board and has a campaign Facebook page. Recommended for SUHSD district-4 is Rodolfo “Rudy” Lopez.

Poway Unified School District (PUSD)

There are two seats contested in PUSD, trustee area-A and trustee area-E. Area-A has a contest between Timothy Dougherty and Devesh Vashishtha. Tim’s web page presents a normal guy not out to burn down public education but his supporters are a concern. Mike Allman has been a disruptive anti-teacher force in the San Dieguito district and Carl DeMaio with his organization Reform California has a long disruptive history. Doctor Vashishtha comes with an impressive list of endorsements including two currently serving PUSD board members, Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and Heather Plotzke. Recommended for PUSD trustee area-A is Devesh Vashishtha.

Trustee area-E has three candidates on the ballot, Craig Pond, David Cheng and incumbent Cindy Sytsma. David Cheng is listed on the ballot as an attorney and consumer advocate. Craig Pond is a software engineer from General Atomics and has a web page. Cindy is a wife, mother, former deputy sheriff and teacher, and currently a college professor. Recommended for PUSD trustee area-E is Cindy Sytsma.

Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD)

This district has contests in the even number districts 2 and 4. In district-2, incumbent Lucy Ugarte is challenged by Sharmane Estolano. Ugarte is a 28-year educator, union activist and has a long list of endorsements. Estolano is a member of the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce and is a real estate professional. She is endorsed by the Republican Party. Recommended for CVESD district-2 is Lucy Ugarte.

District-4’s race is odd. There are five candidates, incumbent Kate Bishop, Zenith Khan, Jesus F. Partida, Tanya Williams and board member Francisco Tamayo. Tamayo was re-elected to a four year term representing District-1 in 2022. In an unusual move, he is running against Bishop. If he loses Tamayo will remain district-1’s trustee. If he wins, the new board will have to select someone to fill the rest of his term in district-1. La Prensa has reported on this development. The Democratic Party, which endorsed Tamayo 2-years ago, labeled him unacceptable and endorsed Bishop. She has also been endorsed by Congressman Juan Vargas, State Senator Steve Padilla and Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre. Zenith Khan is a mother and teacher who is active in Democratic politics. Jesus Partida is a lawyer practicing in Chula Vista. Tanya Williams is principal at Courage Christian Academy and is endorsed by the Republican Party. Recommended for CVESD district-4 is Kate Bishop.

Vista Unified School District (VUSD)

In Vista, trustee areas 1, 4 and 5 are on the ballot. Amanda “Mandy” Remmen is running against Mike Markov for trustee area-1. Remmen is a long time PTA volunteer and president for the last two terms. Markov trained in Physics at UC Irvine holding a patent in drone technology. He is also a father of a Vista middle school student. He is endorsed by the Republican Party. Recommended for trustee area-1 is Mike Markov.

Trustee Area-4 has the only incumbent running for re-election, Cipriano Vargas. Opposing him are Frank Nunez and Zulema Gomez. Vargas is endorsed by the Democratic Party and many heavy hitters in the Party. Nunez is endorsed by The Republican Party. Gomez is a 15-year educator who stresses a bilingual approach. She is endorsed by school board members and Vista educators. Recommended for trustee area-4 is Zulema Gomez.

Anthony “TJ” Crossman is vying with Sue Martin for trustee area-5. Martin is a recently retired Vista Unified social studies teacher and is endorsed by the Democratic Party. Crossman is a Vista businessman who is endorsed by the Republican Party. Recommended for trustee area-5 is Sue Martin.

San Marco Unified School District (SMUSD)

Trustee areas A, B and D are up for election. In trustee area-A, Carlos Ulloa faces off with Heidi Herrick. Ulloa holds a doctorate in education, teaches in elementary school and lectures at San Diego State University. He is endorsed by the Democratic Party and is currently president of the SMUSD board. Heidi lists herself as parent and business owner. Recommended for trustee area-A is Caros Ulloa.

Trustee area-B has a contest between incumbent Sarah Ahmad and small business manager Brittany Bower. Ahmad, who works in the semi-conductor industry, is endorsed by the San Marcos Educators Association and the Democratic Party. Brittany Bower is a project estimator for ServiceMaster EMT. Recommended for trustee area-B is Sarah Ahmad.

Incumbent Jamie Chamberlain is trying to fend off Lena Lauer Meum in trustee area-D. Chamberlain studied at the University of the Pacific, Hawaii where she earned and bachelor of business administration, international studies. She is endorsed by the Democratic Party. Meum, who earned a master of business education at California State University San Marcos, is pro-school choice. She is endorsed by the Republican Party. Recommended for trustee area-D is Jamie Chamberlain.

Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD)

Trustee areas 1 and 2 are being contested this year. Trustee area-1 has candidates, Azura Chrisawn (small business owner), Randall Dear (marine conservation educator), Chris Fite (incumbent and retired teacher) and Debra Harrington (community volunteer). Searches reveal almost no additional information about Chrisawn or Harrington. Randal Dear is endorsed by the Republican Party and Citizens for a Better East County reported giving him a contribution of $8,382 shown in an August 14 form 497 report. Dear’s understanding of what test data means is a suspect. Recommended for trustee area-1 is Chris Fite.

Trustee area-2 has five contestants, Jay Steiger (public school teacher), Marsha J. Christman (community volunteer), Scott Eckert (public school teacher), Jim Stieringer (retired La Mesa treasurer) and Andrew Simmerman. Simmerman is a former Teach For America educator and works as a KIPP San Diego executive. Stieringer is a political game player who sent out a deceptive flyer associating himself, a life-long Republican, with progressives in 2020. Stieger is endorsed by the Democratic Party and has a very active campaign. Scott Eckert looks like a MAGA candidate endorsed by the Republican Party and just received a donation of $11,509 from Citizens for a Better East County. Recommended for trustee area-2 is Jay Steiger.

San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD)

This year the even numbered districts 2 and 4 are on the ballot. Trustee area-2 has parent and finance professional, Kelly Friis, running against the former Encinitas Union school board member and lawyer, Jodie Williams. Friis is endorsed by the Republican Party and Williams is endorsed by the Democratic Party. Both are talented professionals but Williams has more experience with education. Recommended for trustee area-2 is Jodie Williams.

San Dieguito trustee area-4 has incumbent, Michael Allman, being challenged by political consultant, educator and county health and quality board member, Kevin Sabellico. Allman has been a polarizing and disruptive force on the SDUHSD board since first elected in 2020. He is endorsed by the Republican Party. Sabellico says, “Teachers deserve to be supported, not attacked and vilified.” He calls for integrity and civility to be restored to the board and is endorsed by the Democratic Party. Recommended for trustee area-4 is Kevin Sabellico.

Escondido Union High School District (EUHSD)

In Escondido, four people are running for trustee areas 3 and 4. In trustee area-3, retired teacher, Clay Brown, is challenging incumbent Christi Knight. Brown stresses that he is an independent with deep understanding of how to run schools. The lightly educated, Knight, was appointed to the board in 2013 and has represented Area-3 ever since. Recommended for trustee area-3 is Clay Brown.

Escondido’s trustee area-4 is a matchup between incumbent, Ryan S. Williams, and executive coach, Dara Czerwonka. Czerwonka served on the San Pasqual Union School District board from 2018 to 2022 and she is endorsed by the Democratic Women’s Club of San Diego County and the Democratic Party. Before being appointed to the board in 2023, Williams studied manufacturing systems and earned an MBA at Brigham Young University. Recommended for trustee area-4 is Dara Czerwonka.

Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD)

Areas 2 and 5 are up for election this time around. In trustee area-2, Emily Wichmann is running to unseat incumbent Eleanor Evans. Wichmann ran for the County Board of Education in 2022 and was soundly defeated by Richard Shea. In her Facebook posts, Wichmann tacitly supports anti-LGBTQ attacks, backs standardized testing and promotes school choice. She is endorsed by the Republican Party. Evans is an education professional with deep ties to San Diego State. This teacher, counselor, and administrator is endorsed by the Democratic Party. Recommended for trustee area-2 is Eleanor Evans.

Trustee area-5 matches incumbent, Mike Blessing, against teacher, Rosie Higuera. Blessing was first elected to the board in 2008 after serving since the 1970s as Oceanside’s city manager. He is endorsed by the Democratic Party. Higuera has a wealth of experience as an educator however given the recent spurious attacks on public education her calls for “an environment free from discrimination, bullying, sexualization, and indoctrination” is a concern. She is endorsed by the Republican Party. Recommended for trustee area-5 is Mike Blessing.

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Bigots and Title IX

14 Aug

By Thomas Ultican 8/13/2024

Biden administration’s update for Title IX of the national education law was scheduled for implementation on August 1st. However, a coalition of bigots and creepy right wing billionaires won court relief for about half of America’s schools. Moms for Liberty, claiming members with students in 2000 schools nationally, got a stay for those schools on July 26. With the addition of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on July 31, the total number of states challenging the law rose to 26.

The latest stays came when the US District court in the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Biden/Harris rewrite should take effect. That was July 30th. An immediate appeal was filed that day by Independent Women’s Forum, Parents Defending Education, Speech First, and the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.

The three supposedly grassroots organizations that joined the legal challenge are libertarian billionaire creations … specifically Charles Koch’s.

A 2021 Washington Post report about Charles Koch fueling the opposition to mask wearing in schools, noted work of the Independent Women’s Forum:

“In 2003, Independent Women’s Forum announced that it was formally affiliating with Americans for Prosperity, the Koch network’s main political arm, and that the two organizations would share office space. ‘The affiliation agreement provides for staff and resource sharing between Americans for Prosperity and the Independent Women’s Forum,’ an archived news release stated, explaining that Nancy Pfotenhauer, then-president of Independent Women’s Forum, would also serve as president of Americans for Prosperity.”

Speech First and Parents Defending Education are two more Koch-created entities. Speech First founder Nicole Neily, now leading Parents Defending Education, is a long-time Koch operative.

Source Watch reported:

“Speech First’s president and only listed employee, Nicole Neily has worked for many Koch-affiliated groups. Neily was the president of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, the Cato Institute’s manager of external relations, the coalition relations manager for FreedomWorks’ Center for Global Economic Growth, and a “Koch summer fellow for both the Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights and the Competitive Enterprise Institute.”

Neily worked from 2009-2012 at the Independent Women’s Forum where she served eight months as executive director.

On January 2021, Neily became founder and president of Parents Defending Education.

This attack on Biden’s Title IX update is not an organic grassroots effort. It is a billionaire financed attack on public schools and equity … a bigoted aggression on homosexuality.

Charles Koch Opposes Justness

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed on the campus of University of Colorado, briefly reported on resistance to the Title IX changes, sharing:

“Preventing exclusion based on gender identity: This section is one of the more contentious elements of the changes even though it does not apply to school sports, which have been the focus of much of the controversy in recent years related to transgender students in schools.”

The new rules also made discrimination against gay students easier to demonstrate. Trump’s 2020 rewrite required a discrimination complaint be severe AND pervasive. Under Biden, NEPC observes, “[T]he incident(s) need only be severe OR pervasive, making it easier to file a successful complaint.”

It does not seem these legal appeals will lead to overturning the new rules but will delay their implementation. The language is consistent with prior case law interpretations of Title IX, including Whitaker v. Kenosha (2017) and Grimm v. Gloucester (2020).

From the 2017 case record:

“Ashton, a transgender high school senior, requested to use the boys’ restroom while at school. The Kenosha School District denied the request, indicating that Ashton’s mere presence would invade the privacy rights of his male classmates.”

The Seventh Circuit upheld this injunction, stating, “Harms identified by the District are all speculative, whereas the harms to Ashton are well‐documented.”

In 2020, the Fourth Circuit ruled, in a similar case, “The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 can protect transgender students from school bathroom policies that prohibit them from affirming their gender.”

These are just outcomes which billionaire Charles Koch is fighting against!

Save the Children

Many of us are not well-informed about the plight of transgender children. However, as cited above, courts find ignoring transgender youths’ issues inhuman. A small subset of human beings is born with gender-dysphoria, a mismatch between gender identity and their own personal sense of gender. Scientific American reported almost all major American medical groups have “policy statements and guidelines on how to provide age-appropriate gender-affirming care” and “find such care to be evidence-based and medically necessary.”

Columbia University Psychiatry states:

“It is well documented that TGNB [transgender non-binary] adolescents and young adults experience anxiety and depression, as well as suicidal ideation, at a much higher rate than their cisgender peers. According to The Trevor Project’s 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, 54 percent of young people who identified as transgender or nonbinary reported having seriously considered suicide in the last year, and 29 percent have made an attempt to end their lives.”

Transgender children are fine just the way they are but society can be flawed. People tend to see a small group of people that are different from themselves and make negative judgments. There is no healthy way for these children to change so the rest of us need to grow and express our humane side.

A 2022 study by the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute identified 0.6% of Americans, over 13, as transgender. Adults over 17 had a rate 0.5% while youths 13 to 17 came in at 1.4%. The numbers are quite small but not insignificant.

The new Title IX rules, fought by Charles Koch and right wing Republicans, are designed to protect these people.

Conclusion

The new rules reverse a requirement that schools only investigate alleged incidents on their campus and end a demand for in-person live courtroom-like hearings in sexual misconduct cases. Betsy DeVos called this a “radical rewrite” of the law, claiming it is an “endeavor born entirely of progressive politics, not sound policy.”

Kel O’Hara, a senior attorney at Equal Rights Advocates, has a much different view:

“The new regulations put an end to unfair and traumatic grievance procedures that favor harassers. No longer will student survivors be subjected to processes that prioritize the interests of their perpetrators over their own well being and safety.”

I don’t expect anything from Mom’s for Liberty, a feckless organization that only exists because of billionaire dollars. However, seeing 26 states in this country side with homophobia and discrimination is disheartening. Since their claims against Biden’s rules are baseless, the only conclusion is that many leaders in these Republican-dominated states are hoping to delay equity until head bigot, Donald Trump, is elected President of the United States.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community are among the most creative and productive citizens in America.

Aren’t bigots who encourage hate campaigns against them, benighted fools? 

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Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual

5 Aug

By Thomas Ultican 8/5/2024

Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider just published The Education Wars. In their 2020 book, A Wolf at the School House Door, the focus was the rightwing and neoliberal attacks on public education. In this new book, they address actions taken to end taxpayer funded universal public education and the resistance. It is a handbook and guide.

Historian and author of Democracy in Chains, Nancy MacLean noted:

“Who would want to ‘take down the education system as we know it’—and why? Read this fast-paced, lucid, and gripping account to understand who is behind the escalating attacks on public education and what, exactly, they seek.”

Parker J. Palmer, author of The Courage to Teach, highlighted the unique dilemma facing public education in America, commenting:

“We’ve argued about our schools from the earliest days of public education. But never before have our public schools been threatened with a well-financed strategy to bring the system down, replace education with indoctrination, shred our social fabric, undermine opportunity for millions of kids, and consign them to second-class citizenship. This is a vital handbook for all who want to enlist in the never-ending struggle for a ‘more perfect union.’”

What’s in it for Billionaires?

Eric Anderson, cited in the book, worked in a Bavarian-themed restaurant for the mother of Betsy DeVos and Eric Prince. He shares about waiting tables and overhearing billionaires’ conversations which gave him insights. In his 2023 article about DeVos pushing for vouchers in Pennsylvania, he stated:

“Equality does not serve the ruling classes well. It never has, which is why the plutocrats lobby so hard against it. It’s why they pursue agendas, such as school vouchers, that are guaranteed to exacerbate inequality.”

“An uneducated populace is bad for democracy, but it’s great for the rich and powerful, who can more easily pull the wool over the eyes of voters. The less able you are to reason, the more amenable you are to lies and smokescreens and dog whistles (e.g., ‘school choice,’ ‘parental rights,’ etc.). Education liberates. Ignorance subjugates.”

While many self-styled school reformers seek profits, for billionaires, the motive is securing control over democratic processes to solidify their privileged positions in society.

The push for vouchers by Charles Koch and Betsy DeVos has multiple purposes. Vouchers undermine public schools and voucher laws are written to limit government oversight. Furthermore, this creates an environment for indoctrinating students with conservative beliefs.

Getting rid of oversight is key for voucher-pushing billionaires. The authors also note:

“Want to sow a revolt against the largest expense in most state budgets? Make it impossible for the public to see where their tax dollars are going.” (Page 22)

Public Schools are Better than Ever

One important point made early in the handbook is that public schools have continually improved as have student outcomes. On NAEP, the nation’s report card, scores have increased over the last 50 years. Since the 1980s, graduation rates have soared from less than 70% to almost 90%.

Teachers and curriculum have significantly improved. Back in Glenn’s Ferry, Idaho where I attended school, almost all teachers were graduates of Albion Normal school. It was a two-year institution for teacher training after which they went directly into the classroom. The highest math my algebra instructor studied was algebra I. Today, a vast majority of teachers have at least a bachelor’s degree plus a year of supervised teaching practice. Math, science, social studies and English teachers are experts in their field.

Public schools continue to become more equitable. Into the 1950s, a separate curriculum was provided for girls, low-income students and students of color, emphasizing domestic or industrial training. The Education Wars states, “Schools were segregated by race, students with disabilities were mostly turned away and students not proficient in English were isolated in schools with limited academic opportunities.” (Page 14)

Work still needs to be done but the campaign for equal schooling has come a long way.

In the 1970s, both Republicans and Democrats decided that the primary purpose of school was to prepare students for jobs. Democrats especially advanced the idea that education was the way to address the nation’s deepening wealth gap. They saw education as expanding the middle class without resorting to politically-challenging ideas like wealth redistribution.

Since then, public education has been expected to solve poverty: “The view that education is a ‘passport out of poverty,’ as Lyndon Johnson insisted, holds deep sway.” (Page 43) The reality is the biggest indicator of poor education performance is poverty and schools have no control over the wealth of neighborhoods in which they reside. It is not surprising that these institutions disappoint when held responsible for things out of their control.

Schools Attacked in New Era of Fierce Partisanship

 At a Moms for Liberty event in 2023, Donald Trump claimed public schools were infested by “Marxist lunatics and perverts.” He also said he would “liberate our children” by cutting federal funding to any school pushing “inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.” (Page 45)

Over the top rhetoric like this has become common place, even though there is scant evidence to support it.

Since its founding in 1973, Heritage Foundation has been fanning the flames of school culture ideology. They see it as the key to undermining faith in public schools. Over the decades, specific issues have changed but their goal of ending public education has persisted.

In 1992, while stumping for president, Patrick Buchanan claimed he would be the president of parents. He said, “I will shut down the U.S. Department of Education, and parental rights will prevail in our public schools again.” (Page 80)

Today, his claim has become parental rights, almost exclusively for religious conservatives as these disingenuous and divisive calls continue. A Virginia law governing the treatment of transgender and non-binary students allows parents of other students objecting to a student’s preferred pronouns, based on the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom.

The handbook shares:

“Justifying this policy, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration pointed to what it identified as parents’ fundamental rights. But a more accurate explanation is that the rights of certain parents are being privileged above others.”   (Page 89)

Milton Friedman’s vouchers have become taxpayer-funded discrimination. Civil rights attorney, Jeffrey Spitzer-Resnick, suggested, “Let’s stop calling it a ‘choice program’ and let’s call it a private discriminatory education program funded with your tax dollars.” (Page 109)

Education as a Public Good

In the final chapter, “Reclaiming Education as a Public Good,” Beth Lewis of Saving Our Schools Arizona says:

The defining issue here is: Do you care about other people’s kids or not? Do we want to live in a world that’s based on the understanding of a public good, or one where only the individual good matters? (Page 134)

The authors assert, “We can start by reducing the responsibility that education bears for achieving minimal social and economic security.” (Page 145)

Currently schools are asked to do the impossible and blamed for failing. Literally billions of dollars are being spent to destroy public education, the foundation of Democracy.

The Education Wars is a handbook to help parents and citizens recognize feckless attacks and defeat them.

America’s public education system is a treasure and if lost, will never come back.

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