Eddy, TEXAS

Apr 16, 2007 - Dan Doyen, a Bruceville-Eddy school district superintendent, pleaded guilty hiding a video camera in a women's bathroom in an administration building.

Doyen quit in November of 2005 -- just days after the camera was found in the bathroom.

He will be sentenced June 13.

June 14 - Doyen was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years' probation. He will be required to register as a sex offender. He'll have to move. He's 150-feet from the school administration building.

Ethical Lapses

June 30, 2007 - The Black Legislative Caucus in North Carolina runs a non-profit foundation that provides college scholarships. They solicit money from politicians, political committees and corporations. The only problem is that family members of the Black Legislative Caucus are the ones receiving scholarships.

The News & Observer editorializes against their "poor judgement."

The daughter of Rep. Alma Adams, chair of the 28-member caucus, was one of those reported to have received a scholarship in 2005 and 2006. So was the son of Rep. Larry Womble, D-Forsyth; the daughter of Rep. Jean Farmer-Butterfield, D-Wilson; the granddaughter of Rep. Earline Parmon, D-Forsyth, and a relative of Rep. Beverly Earle, D-Mecklenburg.

The newspaper is especially outraged that the caucus has refused to disclose who finances the foundation, and worse, that legally it can keep donor information under the covers.

Check out other scandals in North Carolina.
State Secrets

McAllister's nonprofit activities are left off disclosures

In N.C., Scandal Arrives Before New State Lottery

Jim Black, former House Speaker - Jim Black Investigation

Nifong's chief investigator out of a job

TT - Everything that the News & Observer said about North Carolina's politicians in "State Secrets" - "it's clear that some members of the General Assembly just can't give up the idea that they are members of a ruling class, entitled to whatever special privileges they can put together." - can be said of teachers, teacher unions, and the politicians they donate to, work to elect and work hand-in-hand with.

In every state.

It's time to demand that teacher disciplinary actions be public information and available online.

Aiming High

RANT OF THE DAY

June 30, 2007 - An inmate at California Institution for Men received an associate of arts degree in business through a distance learning program. Thirty inmates received their Graduate Equivalency Degrees (GEDs).

Blevins, serving time for robbery, is due to be released in 2010.

"I'm working on my bachelor's and will try to get my master's when I get out," he said, adding that he would like to become a teacher.

If you think a criminal record precludes a person from becoming a teacher, you haven't read some online Department of Education board meeting notes lately. Honestly.

Harlem, GEORGIA

Nov 20, 2006 - Melissa Chase, 28, softball coach at Harlem High School, was arrested and charged with having sex with a 16-year-old student. The girl was not named. Chase has resigned. The mother of the girl found love letters and notified police.

The age of consent in Georgia is 16, but Georgia has a law, like Texas, that specifically prohibits sexual contact between a teacher and a student, no matter what the age.

June 30, 2007 - CONVICTED Chase was convicted in a bench trial by a judge. Brown ordered Chase to be jailed after her conviction. A sentencing date has not been set.

Passing the Trash

Self-policing doesn't work.

June 30, 2007 - The Tennessean looks at "teachers crimes barely traced."

A student accused Kenneth T. Anderson, a science teacher, of fathering her baby girl while he was employed in Metro. Authorities cleared him in that case, but the school district ultimately fired him, citing poor classroom performance.

Anderson, now 38, promptly went to work in two other districts despite his questionable record. [He was quickly fired from one district.] It wasn't until he was accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student at Smyrna High School that school officials took steps to yank his teaching licenses and bar him from the classroom for good.

Anderson's case and others spotlight weaknesses in how Tennessee monitors its educators. Unlike other states, Tennessee has no independent agency dedicated to regulating teacher licensing and ethics. For the past two years, state lawmakers tried to create one, but the bills failed to gain momentum

The state has one investigator - an attorney for the Department of Education, Rich Haglund.

The state Board of Education has 36 open cases involving teachers accused of sexual misconduct or inappropriate relationships with students. At least 18 of those cases have been opened so far this year, compared with 17 opened in all of 2006, Haglund said.

---

TT - The legislation proposed would be as politically fraught as the current system. Lawmakers proposed 17-member Professional Standards Commission composed of at least six teachers and three principals appointed by the governor. No taxpayers, no parents, no child advocates, no members of the National Council on Teacher Quality.

Every state should have independent oversight of teacher misconduct and licensing. Every hearing should be public and the hearings and all decisions should be available online to the public. School districts should be required to provide links to disciplinary actions against teachers and administrators in their district. Taxpayers and parents can then demand accountability.

Not only doesn't Tennessee investigate teacher misconduct. They don't even report it most of the time. They don't have to.

Hampering Tennessee is the fact that reporting is limited. (From Tennessean):
In Tennessee, school districts are required to report teachers to the state only when they commit violations so severe that they could lose their license. Those include:
• Conviction of a felony.
• Conviction of possession of narcotics.
• Being on school premises or at a school-related activity involving students while under the influence of or consuming alcohol or illegal drugs.
• Falsification or alteration of a teaching license or documentation required to get a license.
• Denial, suspension or revocation of a license or certificate in another state for reasons that would apply in Tennessee.
• Other good cause, including violations of TCAP testing security compliance requirements.
SOURCE: TENNESSEE BOARD OF EDUCATION

School districts are not obligated to report suspicion, investigation, or the arrest of teachers accused of teacher-student sex. Hence, the ability to move from one district to another, while the first district hastily tries to avoid gathering enough information that might lead to any criminal charges that might reflect poorly on the district. It isn't a new tactic.

In 1998, Education Week called the practice of allowing itinerant abusers to move from area to area when trouble arises, "Passing the Trash."

The three-part series called, "Betrayal of Trust" that can be found in their archives. (It's for subscribers, but you can take out a one-month subscription.) After a six-month investigation, Education Week concluded that "many school lawyers have been urging their clients ...to adopt policies of limited or no disclosure about past employees."

Columbus, OHIO

RANT OF THE DAY

June 30, 2007 - The Columbus Dispatch on internet sex stings: "Jail not a given in sex stings
Subhead: Most who try to prey on kids do little or no time, officials say." The story is in connection with the arrest of Mark Boster for importuning. LINK

Westerville police have made about 70 arrests through online sex stings since 2004. Most of those convicted were placed on probation and had to register as a sexual-oriented offender, Featherling said.

At the Franklin County sheriff's office, cases are still pending for 19 of the 20 arrests from their online sex stings this year.

What the Columbus Dispatch doesn't say is that Ohio isn't particularly harsh on convicted teachers as we noted in June. LINK

It isn't because the law doesn't provide for harsher sentences. Ohio judges just do not apply the higher end sentence, and in a lot of cases, the prosecutor doesn't make a case for it either. Even in the article, the newspaper quotes from a judge who doesn't believe an extended prison sentence will scare predators away.

"If someone is doing this -- whether there are one year or five years in prison -- it's not going to stop their behavior," Hogan said.

TT - What the judge fails to understand is the point of sentencing is to reinforce the strength of the law, not provide counseling and therapy.

Grand Junction, COLORADO

She had the kind of D.A. and judge a drug addict prays for.

June 30, 2007 - BEHIND BARS (AGAIN) Tammie Lee Reed is behind bars for the fifth time in less than two years. She lied to the judge when asking for permission to leave the state for her daughter's wedding. It was a lie. Her daughter has no plans to marry and reportedly, Reed is not supposed to contact the girl.

Not that they'll do anything remotely responsible like put Reed in jail for a long time.

TT - Link to Tammie Liberty Reed

Background: Reed was an elementary school teacher who was arrested in 2005. At the end of 2006 she still hadn't been tried, despite two additional arrests. Even her bailbondsman revoked her bond. She finally pleaded guilty in April 2007 but two days after her release she was arrested again after failing a drug test. When she was finally sentenced in June 2007, it was to four years' probation.

Camden, NEW JERSEY

June 29, 2007 - The Camden schools are under state watch and perilously close to a state takeover. They are operating at a $9.5 million deficit and they eliminated 190 teaching positions. The governor vetoed a pay raise for the last superintendent who made $185,000. (The board bought out Knox's contract with a $199,00 settlement after learning that she received $17,500 in bonuses without board approval or knowledge.)

But Camden has hired a new superintendent - from Philadelphia schools - and will be paying her $220,000 a year.

Last year, the average annual salary for superintendents nationally was $116,000, but nearly $185,000 for those working in larger districts, according to the American Association of School Administrators. In the region, the averages were $155,039 in Pennsylvania and $123,660 in New Jersey, according to data from education departments in both states.

The highest salary in the region this year went to Paul Vallas, the departing Philadelphia schools chief executive officer who was paid $250,000.

TT - Link to a list of Philadelphia City schools in need of improvement under the No Child Left Behind Act. It's a total of 125 schools.

In Camden 23 of 31 public schools are on a list of schools needing improvement. $15,399 per pupil cost.

Total of 5 high schools; a 6, 4, two 1s and one not rated.
Total of 10 Middle schools; only 2 rate a 2, the rest rate 1.
Total of 21 Elementary schools. 7 rate 2, the rest rate 1.

Source:Great Schools.com

Uniondale, NEW YORK

June 28, 2007 - Uniondale parents flocked to the district's school board meeting to complain about the Attorney General's investigation of allegations that one or more of the district's employees tampered with Regents math exams given in the 2006-07 school year.

[School board president Raymond] Rhoden said he and other board members empathized with the dozens of parents at the meeting, held at Uniondale High School. "We're feeling the pain you're feeling," he said.

From Newsday: "The entire Uniondale school system has been placed on academic probation due to evidence of test tampering -- the biggest scandal of its sort in recent state history. The tests in question -- last year's exams and possibly the year before -- were the Regents Math A and Math B high school exams and the State Mathematics Assessments for grades 3 through 8. No suspects have yet been named in the case, though the state attorney general's office continues to investigate."

Baldwin County, ALABAMA

June 28, 2007 - In Alabama, the Press-Register was denied a copy of the forensic accountants' report on financial irregularies Baldwin County High School.

[School board attorney R. Scott ] Lewis cited the board's concern about sensitive personnel information included in the report, but added the board wanted to balance a desire for transparent government with state law that protects employees.

In a letter sent to the newspaper May 16 and in a subsequent interview, Lewis said the forensic accountants' report includes information that, if released, would violate employees' due process rights under the state's Teacher Tenure Act and Fair Dismissal Act.

It wasn't until June 26 that the report was released and only after named individuals had resigned.

The paper links to the report. (in PDF format.)

Ft. Smith, ARKANSAS

June 28, 2007 - Larry Kennedy, 61, a retired math teacher at Southside High School, pleaded no contest June 19 to fourth-degree sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy. He was sentenced to electronic monitoring system for four month and must register as a sex offender.

Kennedy groped the boy at a fitness center. As part of his sentencing, Kenndy must complete a sex-offender counseling program. He also received a one-year suspended jail sentence and was ordered to pay $500 in court costs.

Bethlehem, PENNYSLVANIA

June 28, 2007 - It will probably take a lawsuit to gain access to a 37-page report on John Acerra, the Nitschmann Middle School Principal caught selling crystal methamphetamine from his school office, his home and other locations.

The school board is considering whether to release the report despite the fact that taxpayers paid $30,000. Apparently, they are relying on the fact that they hired (with taxpayer money) two lawyers to conduct the investigation and it may fall under attorney-client privilege.

Truth is, if the newspaper wanted to file a lawsuit -- they file lawsuits every day to gain access to information -- they could do so.

TT - Link to Acerra

Fired (Finally)

June 28, 2007 - The Frederick County school board has fired Michelle J. Dohm, 42, after she was sentenced to nine months for making threats against five students.

Jamie Cannon, an attorney for the school system, said the board can no longer employ Dohm because the conviction voids her teaching certification.

Real gutsy decision, guys. Considering.

TT - Link to Dohm

Standardized Testing

RANT OF THE DAY

June 28, 2007 - A march against standardized testing.

The Louisiana NAACP is calling on parents and interested people to come to the State Capitol Saturday morning in protest of the state's new school testing requirements.

Ernest Johnson, president of the Louisiana National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, says that the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education recently made it a requirement that students pass standardized tests in order for them to move on to the next grade, regardless of how they did with their school grades.

In the past, Johnson says there were stipulations that allowed students who failed the tests to go to summer school and continue to the next grade if they met the standard at some point during the year.Now, students who don't pass the tests during summer schools will not be allowed to continue to the next grade.

---

The truth about summer school seems to be in question. From Education World:

Students who flunked the reading and math standardized tests administered in March will have another chance to pass the tests in July after attending summer school.

If they score at the "approaching basic" competency level or higher on the tests, the students will pass to the next grade if they have also met other school-district requirements. The state expects about half of those students to pass on the second attempt.

The Louisiana Department of Education website specifically states there are summer remediation programs and retests. (pg 3)

The reason for the march? It is estimated that at least 16,000 students in the state of Louisiana have failed the state's standardized tests, and have not been promoted to the next grade or graduated from high school. Most are from urban areas (For example, 63 percent of grade 8 students from the Orleans (urban) school district failed the math test, while only 10 percent from the St. Tammany (suburban) school district failed. Source: Education World) These are the very districts where social promotion has been the norm for decades.

Bassett, VIRGINIA

Contributing to the deliquency of a 16-year-old boy. Suspended sentence.

June 28, 2007 - Natalie Preston, 23, a teacher at Bassett High School, pleaded guilty to to one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. (Pleaded down from on one felony count of attempting to take indecent liberties with a minor while maintaining a custodial or supervisory position over such a minor in connection with a Sept. 11 incident.)

Preston, a former teacher at Bassett High School, had worked there for less than a month in the 2006-07 school year before information about an alleged inappropriate relationship surfaced in September, when the student was 16 and attending Magna Vista High School.

Preston was placed on unpaid leave and resigned in October. Preston was sentenced to a 12-month suspended sentence and a $250 fine.

Goleta, CALIFORNIA

June 27, 2007 - Melissa Dunning, 31, a temporary teacher at Goleta Valley Junior High School, was arrested and charged with furnishing a 14-year-old student with marijuana and contributing to his delinquency.

The boy's mother contacted police when she thought her son had been smoking marijuana when she picked him up from Dunning's house after tutoring. From the Press Release: "Detectives investigating the allegation learned that on three separate occasions, Dunning allegedly smoked marijuana with the 14-year-old victim. On one of those occasions, a second 14-year-old student participated. "

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department Press Release. Dated June 27, 2007

Detectives are continuing to look for other witnesses and more information on these charges. Anyone with information should call 681-4150.

July 3 - Dunning was arraigned on three different felony counts including smoking marijuana with two 14-year-old boys.

July 16 - Dunning pleaded not guilty. A preliminary is scheduled for next month.

Lewiston, NEW YORK

Lesson of the Day. Two 4th-grade students turned her in for using snorting cocaine out of a pen cap in the classroom. Sentence: 100 hrs of community service.





Feb 9, 2007 -
Joan Donatelli, 59, a substitute teacher in the Lewiston-Porter school district has been arrested for allegedly using drugs in a classroom.
Two fourth graders notified administrators, police were called and found evidence of what they think was cocaine. She was charged with possession of a controlled substance with child endangerment and banned from the school.
[A number of stories show the name as John Donatelli.]

The Niagara Gazette reported that:

Donatelli was seen by at least two students using what they thought was drugs on Feb. 1, [Police Department Sgt. Frank ] Previte said. A follow-up investigation and testing showed Donatelli used cocaine on school grounds that day, he said.

Donatelli taught first grade full-time in the district from Sept. 1, 1969, through June 30, 2003, and spent time as first-grade department chairperson, district clerk Debra Sherman said. She has served a substitute since retiring from full-time service.

Feb 10 - The Buffalo News: "Teacher admits snorting cocaine in class"

Two of her pupils said they saw Donatelli use the cap of a pen to scoop the contents of a small plastic bag and place it to her nose, [Sgt. Frank J.] Previte said. They reported the incident to the principal, Tamara Larson, who in turn told Don W. Rappold, interim superintendent of schools.

Lewiston police officers checked the classroom that evening and found some trace evidence, Previte said.

When Previte went to Donatelli's house later that evening, she admitted doing cocaine in the classroom and disposing of the contents of the bag in the school washroom after being interviewed by Rappold.

Donatelli gave police the small plastic bag and two pen caps, which tested positive for cocaine in the Niagara County Sheriff's Office forensic laboratory. Full name: Joan M. Donatelli

UPDATE Feb 22 - Donatelli pleaded not guilty. Her lawyer, Angelo Dimillo, says Donatelli is seeking treatment.

UPDATE Apr 18 - Donatelli pleaded guilty Wednesday to seventh-degree attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance. It's a plea agreement that may result in a mere 60 days in jail .

UPDATE June 14 - Sentencing has been postponed. The Journal-Register saw the presentencing report and says that it suggests she not go to jail for using cocaine in a Lewiston-Porter classroom this past winter. The postponement was requested by her attorney who wanted more time to review the report.

Donatelli will return to court June 27.

UPDATE SENTENCING June 28 - She was sentenced to

to 100 hours of community service with Literacy Volunteers of America — work she can’t perform with children — ordered her to continue her drug addiction treatment with Horizons and had her surrender her driver’s license. In addition, Donatelli’s teaching license has been surrendered, meaning she’s no longer allowed to teach in a school in New York state.

Cliffside, NEW JERSEY

June 26, 2007 - The Cliffside, New Jersey school board plans to reduce the salary of the board treasurer from $28,500 a year to $7,000. It's a part-time job that usually pays $6,256 a year in comparably-sized districts.

Former board President Martin Murtagh has said that the board had typically approved raises on the recommendation of the superintendent, and that board members had assumed the raises were routine cost-of-living increases.

The adjustment is one of a number of changes the district has made after the discovery of financial malfeasance involving ex-Superintendent Robert Paladino.

In April, Paladino was sentenced to three years' probation and forced to resign after pleading guilty to funneling more than $110,000 to two borough clerks, as well as taking more than $26,000 in unapproved business meals at two eateries.

Since the scandal broke, the district has hired a separate a business administrator, a post formerly combined with the superintendent's job. The district has also reined in the number and cost of special student award dinners, which used to include tens of thousands of dollars in free meals for district employees and parents.

North Miami Beach, FLORIDA

Just show up on Monday. We know what parts of you look like.

June 27, 2007 - Edison Muñoz, 51, a North Miami Beach Senior High math teacher, has been ordered to turn himself in for arrest on Monday.

The charge is showing obscene materials to a minor.

According to police, a 17-year-old student told detectives she was in class May 17 when Muñoz pulled out his black-and-silver Motorola flip-up cellphone that featured a photo of his son. She asked to see the photo.

After returning the phone, Muñoz said that ''he had more pictures to show [her] and gave her the cellular phone. When the victim looked at the picture on the cell phone she saw that it was a picture of an exposed penis,'' according to a search warrant filed in court.

His attorney says he plans to plead not guilty.

Progress on Teacher Quality

June 27, 2007 - The Tucson Citizen reported on the National Council on Teacher Quality report.

While annual reviews may be a fact of life in many businesses, only about a quarter of states require annual evaluations for teachers, according to the report. Hawaii, Missouri and Tennessee let teachers go as long as five years without a formal review, the report says.

And only about half the states require reviews to include a classroom observation.

They provide this additional summarized information:

GRADING TEACHERS
Fourteen states require teachers to have annual evaluations: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wyoming. ** (See Below)

States vary in how quickly they give public school teachers job security [TENURE] after a probationary period:
● After one year: North Dakota.
● After two years: California, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, Vermont and Washington.
● After three years: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
● After four years: Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina.
● After five years: Indiana and Missouri.
● There is no state policy regarding tenure in Wisconsin or in the District of Columbia.
Source: National Council on Teacher Quality

---

The newspaper does not provide a link to the report. It can be found at the think tank's web site. PDF.

Some Findings:
** Only 14 states require annual evaluations, and only 7 direct districts that they can dismiss teachers after two unsatisfactory evaluations.
(Report page 7, PDF page 9)
States are not paying enough attention to who goes into teaching.
(Pg 7, PDF 9 )
States do not appropriately oversee teacher preparation programs
(Pg 8, PDF 10 )
Twenty-three states still allow some teachers trained for the elementary classroom to teach seventh and eighth grades.
(Pg 9, PDF 11)
The interests of adults frequently come before the needs of the children.
(Pg 11 - PDF 13)

Only 4 states require classroom effectiveness to be the preponderant criterion for evaluating teacher performance, with other states giving equal weight to factors such as attending faculty meetings.

Only 3 states require teachers to pass licensure tests before entering the classroom.

Spencer, TENNESSEE

June 27, 2007 - Johnny McElroy, 55, a teacher at Van Buren County High School, pleaded guiilty June 25 to multiple charges of statutory rape and sexual battery by an authority figure.

The girl was 14 when the sex began.

McElroy was sentenced to 15 years. He'll be eligible for parole in less than 5.

Full Name: Johnny Lee McElroy

Center Valley, PENNSYLVANIA

ARRESTED: June 26, 2007 - Katie Quartuch, 26, a Southern Lehigh High School social studies teacher, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, obstructing the administration of law, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.

She was arrested in a local restaurant.

Kimock said an off-duty police officer was acting as a security guard for the restaurant and tried to make two men leave. An on-duty police officer arrived, and when the two men did not leave, began to arrest one of them.

Kimock said Quartuch then attacked one of the officers, hitting him in the chest with both hands and her purse. The officer wrestled Quartuch to the floor, Kimock said, and while she was down, Quartuch kicked the other officer in the groin.

Quartuch's husband, Matthew Quartuch, 32, was cited for disorderly conduct, Kimock said. (He was not one of the two men the officer tried to evict from the restaurant.)

Lovely.

August 29 - Quartuch's husband will perform 20 hours of community service and prosecutors will drop the charge. Katie Quartuch will have her case move on to Northampton County Court. No date was given.

Aurora, ILLINOIS

June 27, 2007 - ARRESTED Douglas R. Jones, 46, a substitute teacher, was arrested and charged with exposing himself to a 3-year-old boy.

Jones was charged with sexual exploitation of a child younger than 13 after allegedly exposing himself to the toddler while operating an ice cream truck.

He is scheduled to appear in court July 5.

Huntington, MARYLAND

INDICTED June 27, 2007 - William Marshall, 54, a substitute teacher at Plum Point Middle School, was indicted on June 18 four counts of third-degree sex offense, sex abuse of a minor and second-degree assault.

Marshall is accused of fondling a 13-year-old girl several times. Other students in the classroom who witnessed the incidents also provided information and written statements.
Full Name: William Charles Marshall AKA William C Marshall

TRIAL SCHEDULED May 11 - Trial is scheduled Aug 26. cts

Tyro, KANSAS

June 27, 2007 - Marsha Mote, 37, a Tyro Community Christian School teacher, was arrested for a bond violation that required her to stay away from minors. She pleaded no contest (I won't admit it, but you'll probably prove it in court.) to a charge of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

The charge was filed in March. She was accused of taking indecent liberties with a 14-year-old female student at Mote's school. She was arrested when she dropped her two daughters off at a public swimming pool.

The plea was accepted by the judge who found her guilty of the charge and set a sentencing date on September 13.
Full Name: Marsha J. Mote

(Age of student found in cache at Topix.)

SENTENCING DELAYED: Sept 26 - Sentencing has been delayed until Oct 4. No reason given.

Mote is married to the associate pastor at the church.

Temecula, CALIFORNIA

RANT OF THE DAY

June 25, 2007 - When a lawsuit is successful, it's because the school district has some acknowledged legal liability. Not revealing the settlement details is a disservice to taxpayers who need to know the monetary damages awarded and the faults of the school and district.

TEMECULA -- A lawsuit filed one year ago by a Temecula family alleging that their daughter was sexually harassed by her former teacher has been settled.

The settlement, brokered last month, included a confidentiality clause and thus its details cannot be disclosed, a representative of the family said.

The lawsuit was filed against the Temecula Valley Unified School District after a former teacher at Great Oak High School allegedly harassed the female student.

The lawsuit claimed he had used profanity in the classroom, explained academic lessons with sexual connotations and once had students, including the female student cited in the lawsuit, read from a George Carlin book that had sexually explicit content and derogatory phrases about women.

Although a criminal investigation took place, no charges were ever filed against the teacher.

Philadelphia, PENNSYLVANIA

Mar 27, 2007 -
Michael Castleman, 42, a teacher at Bucks County Technical High School, pleaded guilty to charges that he tried to solicit sex from a 15-year-old boy he met on the Internet.

He pleaded guilty to court to the felony counts of solicitation to commit statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and -- for pornogrpahy found on his computer -- sexual abuse of children. He will be a registered sex offender. He was arrested in the spring of 2005.

Sentencing scheduled for June 25.

TT - Castleman visited a chat room favored by teenagers for a year, announced he was good at a sex act and later tried to arrange to meet to meet the boy. The boy changed his mind, the mother found out and called police. An officer met Castleman.

Pennsylvania Educator Discipline System is online. Discipline actions.

SENTENCED June 26 - Castleman was sentenced to 10 years probation.

Castleman’s specific address will be listed on Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law Web site for 10 years but it won't be updated.

---

Pennsylvania Educator Discipline System is online. Discipline actions.

Tullohoma, TENNESSEE

June 26, 2007 - Susan Gail Stephens, 45, a Tullahoma schools substitute teacher, was arrested in February 2006 and indicted indicted of statutory rape and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.for having sex with a 17-year-old male student.

Two other adults at the party where underage children were allowed to drink alcohol were given pretrial diversion. The prosecution, however, has denied Stephens application for the same. The denial will be reviewed by a court.

If the defendant has no prior criminal record and is granted pretrial diversion, he or she is not required to enter a plea to the charges, he added. The defendant is placed on supervised probation, which could last up to two years, and if all the conditions required during the probationary period are met, the case will be dismissed, Layne said.

March 10, 2006 arrest story.

Thermond, MARYLAND

Twilight Zone teacher sentenced to nine months in prison.






First reported Mar 15, 2007 -
Michelle Dohm, 40, a 6th-Grade teacher at Thurmont Middle School, will have her day in court on Friday when a judge will decide her guilt or innocence.

Dohm was arrested in Dec 2005, on charges that she stalked students by leaving threatening notes, including one that read, "Tick-tock, tick-tock, is it a bomb or is it a clock?" She is accused of having left five notes from Sept. 28 through Nov. 21. The last "tick-tock" note prompted an evacuation of the school. The messages targeted four male students, two of them repeatedly.

Investigators learned that the notes had been printed from Dohm's school computer. In December she appeared on NBC to deny the charges. (See NBC link.)

She has been on unpaid leave since November 2005. She was indicted on nine felony counts of threatening to explode a destructive device and two misdemeanor counts of stalking.
Full Name: Michelle J. Dohm

A blogger -- The Trenchcoat Chronicles - has been following the case he describes as "the strangest case I've ever covered. It's like watching a bad made for TV movie." He also links to a transcript of her NBC appearance with Rita Crosby at LostinLimaOhio.
-------------
Update Mar 16 - Some additional information from the Fredrick News Post.

The May 2006 indictments stem from threats sent through the mail from March 31 to April 21, 2006, while she was out of jail in lieu of bail, according to court testimony.

The more recent charges link Dohm to a suspicious package delivered April 21, 2006, to a Thurmont boy at a residence in the 100 block of Emmitsburg Road. The package was received the same day deputies were searching Dohm's residence.

Handwriting samples found in trash cans during April searches included torn notes that mirrored those from the fall 2005 investigation that caused Dohm to be placed on unpaid leave from her teaching job, according to court testimony.

The judge will decide the case on Apr 2.

Apr 2 - Dohm was convicted of making death threats against five children from September 2005 until April 2006. Judge Julie Stevenson Solt said prosecutors had enough direct and circumstantial evidence to establish her guilt.

Sentencing was postponed until June 26 to allow Dohm to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

TT - should ANY child be exposed to someone like Dohm? Such teachers don't affect one child; they come in contact with hundreds of children who pass through their classroom, let alone others who attend the school. What kind of oversight failed to notice her mental state?

Apr 11 - Newspaper readers polled on proposed jail time for Dohm. [No link to the poll so no idea of the number of people who voted.]

SENTENCED June 26 - Dohm was sentenced to 9 months in prison plus plus nine months of home detention.

Frederick County State's Attorney J. Charles Smith said a mental health assessment had concluded that Dohm, a married mother of two, has a personality dysfunction.

The judge also ordered Dohm to get psychological counseling, avoid contact with the victims and their families, avoid sporting events in Thurmont and stay away from the school. (Not that she'll do it.)

University of North Texas

Story dated June 25, 2007 - Dr. James Jarrett Glass, 63, director of the UNT Survey Research Center pleaded guilty to public corruption.

A retired University of North Texas professor pleaded guilty Monday to federal public corruption charges after prosecutors said he funneled more than $463,000 in cash and services from the university to his private business.

It seems to be something of a problem at the University of North Texas.

This is the fourth court case of embezzlement by UNT staff members or professors in the last two years.

Patti Dale was sentenced to four years in March 2005 in state court for theft by a public servant. She recruited 14 people she placed on the payroll of the School of Library and Information Sciences who never worked there. Those involved gave most of the money they received to her, and she took more than $155,000 in the scheme.

Paul Schlieve was sentenced to 160 months in federal prison in July 2005. He put his boyfriend on a student work grant payroll and collected paychecks for him, even while the boyfriend was in jail. The man neither worked at nor attended UNT.

Andrea Szaboky was placed on 10 years' probation in state court for felony theft in July 2006. She reimbursed herself nearly $30,000 for trips she didn't take, bought expensive gifts on the university purchase card and paid herself for work she didn't do.

Wytheville, VIRGINIA

Sentenced to four years in prison for sex with two 13-year-old boys.

First reported Mar 5, 2007 - There's been a continuance in the trial of Karen Patton, 41.

The 7th grade teacher at Scott Memorial Middle School is accused of having sex with one of her 13-year-old students. She's also charged with molesting two other boys.
Full Name: Karen Susan Patton

Mar 7 - Backgrounder - Arrested last January, the one-time Scott Memorial Middle School language arts teacher and cheerleading sponsor is charged with four counts of carnal knowledge of a minor and one count of sodomy. She was arrested again in March on on allegations involving two additional 13-year-old boys, one from her teaching stint in Carroll County, where she was teacher of the year in 2004. One of those charges was dropped in August.

She resigned from the school. She is due in court on Monday.

Update Mar 12 - WDBJ7 reported she was convicted. Another source says Patton pleaded guilty on several charges involving inappropriate relationships with two of her former students. Roanoke Times says she pleaded no contest to two counts of carnal knowledge and one count of non-forcible sodomy. Several other charges she faced were dropped.
However, WXII 12 is reporting that " judge made the ruling [of guilt] Monday in a Wytheville courtroom." [TT - Most likely, she pleaded no contest but perhaps later stories might clarify.]

She will be sentenced in June.

SENTENCED June 26 - Patton was sentenced to four years in prison for molesting two of her students. "After she serves three years and eleven months of prison time, Patton will be on probation for five more years." She's already on the sex offender registry.

Unfunded Pensions

TEXAS June 25, 2007 - The Texas Attorney General reports that there are 82 unfunded public pensions with liabilities of $23 Billion.

One of the worst is the Teacher Retirement System of Texas with an unfunded liability of $13.9 Billion.

New Bedford, MASSACHUSETTS

June 25, 2007 - Philip Riviere, 61, a retired teacher, was arrested for video voyerism for filming the underwear of unsuspecting women strolling around the air show at Quonset State Airport. Two National Guardsmen spotted him.

Riviere is a retired sixth-grade teacher from the Parker Elementary School in New Bedford.

Remember when retired teachers took up writing books and fishing?

Las Vegas, NEVADA

Just what Las Vegas needs - the Teamsters taking over the teachers' union.

June 25, 2007 - The Teamsters want to take over the Clark County Education Association. They've hired Ron Taylor to take over contract negotiations. For now, it's a verbal battle with John Jasonek of the Clark County Education Association.

Jasonek does say teachers need more pay and better services. But the threat isn't enough to make him worry. "With or without that attempt, I think every year we look for ways to improve."

But Taylor stands firm. "If he wants to get into a fight, he got into a fight with the wrong people."

Taylor says his previous union work was dangerous. He says he hired bodyguards with "mob connections" to protect him. But that was then.

"This battle is not about me," said Taylor. "This battle is about education in the state of Nevada."

The Clark County Education Association represents 13,000 teachers.
Clark County Teacher salaries. Here
Teamster website Teachers4change Here

TT - It's all for the children, you know.

For parents, you might want to consider kevlar vests for the Fall. Backpack shields can serve double duty. There's also protection for the family dog that accompanies your child to school.

June 28 - Eyewitness News in Las Vegas on the press conference by the Teamster's Union. Be sure to see the video at left. First vote on representation would be November 2008.

Vermont - The cost of education

June 25, 2007 - A retiree from J.P Morgan joined a school board and did an analysis of state education spending.

His conclusion is that the state simply has more school staff than it can afford.

While enrollment in kindergarten through 12th grade has declined by nearly 10 percent during the past decade, total staff numbers have increased by more than 20 percent. Per pupil spending grew from $6,073 in 1990 to $13,664 in 2006, according to his findings.

Most of the spending on the nearly $1.5 billion spent on education in the state — between 70 percent and 85 percent depending on the study — is the cost of salaries, benefits and other staff expenditures.

He's a blogger and has posted his study online.

San Leandro, CALIFORNIA

RANT OF THE DAY

"The bottom line is staff felt disrespected..." - How a union president described the teachers who are unhappy that a principal is shifting around jobs in a low performing school.

June 25, 2007 - A school principal has reshuffled staff assignments based on expertise and experience in the hopes of improving Hillside Elementary School. Teachers and their unions are opposed because it disses them. Go figure.

Comment at news site:

Hillside's lost ten or eleven experienced teachers because of this. (I am one of them). That's about half the staff. It's a shame because most of us would have stuck it out the duration, program improvement and all, if we felt respected.

I was satisfied with my grade level's test scores, being that they were above CA average and some of the highest in the district. That came from the consistency of being in the same grade level for years, working well with my grade level team, and knowing the material. Hillside needs consistency and this change brought the opposite.

TT - A school that rates a 2 at Greatschools.com can afford to lose 10 or 11 teachers. The average years teaching in this school is 6 years. (The least amount of experience of any elementary school in the district.) 16% of the teachers are first-year teachers. Hillside is the worst elementary school in the district.

One parent comment at Greatschools explains a lot.

The teachers at Hillside are dedicated to the children. Services provided: Boys and Girls Club, basketball, soccer in the planning stages, active PTA, Gate, band, music."

Not a word about academics.

Indianola, MISSISSIPPI

This was a tough punishment, but heck, here's more money where that came from.

June 22, 2007 -
Lynda P. Whatley, an accounts payable clerk for Indianola Public School District, pleaded guilty to the theft of $91,535.70

Whatley was sentenced on Feb. 12 to five years of house arrest, fined $3,000 and ordered to pay $108,130.20

El Monte, CALIFORNIA

Sentenced to seven years.

ARRESTED May 22, 2007 -
Marco Irigoyen, 43, a a teacher at Rio Hondo Elementary School, was arrested last week for lewd conduct with a child.

He is being held on $1 million bail and faces five felony counts of lewd conduct with a child under the age of 14. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday (May 23.)
Full Name: Marco Antonio Irigoyen

May 23 - The arrest was based on an anonymous tip police received May 14. The four victims are not students at Rio Hondo Elementary School, but some of them are children and one of the cases happened almost a decade ago.

"Sex crimes statue of limitations starts as soon as you've been notified," Mena said. "So even though this occurred about nine years ago the statue doesn't start running until it is reported to us.

May 25 - His arraignment was rescheduled to June 4.

June 12 - Irigoyen pleaded not guilty. A preliminary is scheduled for June 21. He is still being held on $1 million bail.

June 25 - SENTENCED Irigoyen pleaded no contest to three counts of lewd conduct with a minor and was sentenced to seven years in a state prison.

New York, NEW YORK

June 25, 2007 - ARRESTED Timothy Avery, 25, a teacher's aide at Hunter College High School, was arrested and charged with third-degree rape today for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl.

Avery is also charged with criminal sex acts and endangering the welfare of a child.

Press Releases from the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District. HERE

(The Special Commissioner of Investigation office is the source of the story in the New York Times and the picture in the Staten Island Advance, but the Investigation office site does not carry anything on Avery.)

Boulder, COLORADO

His fantasy was to have sex with a 12-year-old girl.

June 25, 2007 - Michael Barta, 46, a counselor at Casey Middle School, was arrested in a prostitution sting after a "professional escort" who had serviced him alerted police that he had expressed interest in having sex with a 12-year-old girl.

Police arranged to meet him and arrested him as he arranged to meet an undercover detective for paid sex.

Now comes information that Barta was the subject of news story in November 1994 in the Rocky Mountain News about his kinky online chats. At that time he was a teacher in Golden, Colorado, and after the story, was asked to leave the school. He was allowed to voluntarily resign. He taught a year in Denver schools before he left to get his doctorate. He was then hired as a counselor by the Boulder Valley Schools.

He's on paid leave and the district is debating whether to rehire him next year.

TT - Colorado has a reputation for oddness. An April panel at the High School gave a sex talk so lurid that a parent wasn't allowed to read from a transcript because the school board president thought it was inappropriate to be read aloud at a public forum. Yet attendance at the Sex Forum was mandatory for the high school students. LINK

Then there was Laurence Reed Senterfit who would have gotten parole for his crimes. LINK

The Conifer, Colorado school yearbook featured drugs, alcohol and Minor in Possession citations. LINK

Miami, FLORIDA

June 25, 2007 - The Sun-Sentinel was generous in reporting the death of Pasquale ''Pat'' Tornillo Jr.

Pat Tornillo, a former head of Miami-Dade County's teachers union who championed education but was later sent to prison for stealing from the group, has died, his attorney said Monday. He was 81.

Tornillo died Sunday at his home in Tallahassee, his attorney Michael Rosen said. He had suffered from lung and heart disease, prostate cancer and diabetes.

Tornillo was sentenced to 27 months in prison in 2004 for cheating teachers out of $650,000 in United Teachers of Dade dues which he used to pay for lavish vacations.

The American Federation of Teachers calculated that Tornillo actually stole $2.5 million from the largest union in the Southeast. A judge ordered him to pay nearly $1 million in restitution and back taxes.

After his release from prison, Tornillo published an apology in a newspaper.

The United Teachers of Dade said: "Pat Tornillo's death marks the end of a life once dedicated to education reform and teacher leadership in Florida, but unfortunately was compromised at the end of his career by his admission of fraud and tax evasion."
"For more than 40 years Pat Tornillo was among the strongest voices for leading education reform in Florida and nationally," said Ron Sachs, a long time friend, who also worked with Tornillo. "It's truly tragic that the last professional chapters of his life was tarnished by probably staying in power too long as a union leader."

"I don't regret the 40 years. I made a good contribution to the education of children," Tornillo said in an interview with NBC6 in February 2006.

His lifestyle was written up by the St. Petersburg Times in 2003.

- $20 million union headquarters
- $243,000 salary
- $2,000 a night hotel suites
- Union dues to pay his maid
- $10,200 trip to St. Barts
- $20,138 for an eight-night stay at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Miami
- $4,158 shopping spree in New York City
- He owns two homes on St. George Island in the Panhandle, including a 3,000-square-foot beachfront house with a dune walkover. He also owns a townhouse in Tallahassee and is constructing another house in that city's Hermitage subdivision, home to some of the city's most prominent residents.

The Miami-Herald says he looted $3.3 million.

His legacy is in the Miami-Dade high schools.

Haines, FLORIDA

Jan 3, 2007 -
Fidel Vasquez,
29, a Haines City High School teacher, was arrested on one count of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. (A student at the high school.) It was euphemistically called "a "romantic relationship" with a student."

Jan 4 - The Orlando Sentinel picked up the theme and headlined the story "Teacher accused of affair"

Jan 14, 2007 - The school board voted to fire Vasquez. Vasquez is accused of having a yearlong relationship with the student."

Mar 18 - The school board may have voted to fire him. but Vasquez is still certified to teach.
No other updates available.

June 25 - Vasquez pleaded guilty (June 21) to having sex with a minor and been sentenced to 5/12 years state prison, followed by 9 and a half years of sex offender probation.

TT - The saddest part of this is that Vasquez, apparently, graduated from this school. The school is rated a 3 at Greatschools.com He had a year-long sexual fling with a 17-year-old student instead of trying to make a difference. This is what one parent wrote about the school at Greatschools.com

Absolutely horrible school! I wish I had the resourses to send my children to a private high school, but since I don't they suffer through this one.

My daughter comes home talking about constant fights daily. I visit the school, they want no parent partisipation. No dress code makes it look like Sodom & Gommarah in there. I walk through there and students walk into me, no respect.

No learning - at 17 my daughter has no clue what the Civil War is. What are Florida schools teaching our children? Nothing! All Haines City schools are C-D rated and no hope of improvement in sight. It's time for a change.

Children who should be retained are shoved ahead. It's beyond me how some make it through college from HCHS. My sons aced their 'advanced classes', graduated high honors. My daughter needs extra help, it isn't there for her. She asks teachers for help, they flunk her instead. Yet she isn't retained.

What's wrong with this picture? Will this school improve for my grandchildren? "

You can hear the pain.

Boston, MASSCHUSETTS

June 24 - Boston has a new superintendent of schools who will have the same problems in reforming Boston schools that every superintendent has had.

Carol Johnson, Boston's next school superintendent, will confront far different obstacles here than the ones she'll leave behind in Memphis -- including a powerful teachers union that could block her reforms, standardized tests that are tougher to pass, and thousands more students who speak English as a second language.

Stunning failure figures.

Less than 60 percent of Boston's students graduate from high school in four years. About 20 percent -- mostly black and Latino students -- drop out. And, for the past six years, half of the city's sixth-graders flunked the state's math test.

Look at the stunning comparison of Boston and Memphis schools in a chart at right at story.

-Black and Latino students make up 76 percent of Boston students.
- Less than half of Boston's black and Latino 10th- graders mastered math and English last year, scoring at least 30 percentage points behind white and Asian students.
- Some 18 percent in Boston who are mostly Latino are not fluent in English.

TT - At Greatschools.com you can compare the 11 public high schools in Boston. What you find is that the school with the highest teacher-student ratio of 22 is rated 10. Of the 23 high schools, only one is rated 10, the rest are 4 and below.

A Harlem class 13 years later

June 24, 2007 - Kudos to the New York Daily News for their story on 23 Harlem children who were in kindergarten in 1984-1985. Part One

Excellent.

June 25 - Part Two Another story in the series about the 23 Harlem children.
"One class, many incredible journeys" Subhead: Their lives intersected 13 years ago but 2 students take different paths

Dropout finds tough going getting back on diploma track
Proud parents laud grads who surpass them

Standardized Testing

The war on standardized testing continues in the media.

June 24, 2007 - With the No Child Left Behind Act up for reauthorization, New Jersey Express-Times worries about "Some fear law is leaving smart children behind." The story cites a Rand study released in May without supplying any links to the study.

Their point is that teachers don't like No Child Left Behind requirements.

One of the biggest criticisms of the law is that it forces teachers to, as [Spokesman for the state teacher's union Steve] Walmer put it, "teach to the test." In other words, subjects outside of the tests' scope -- social studies, art, music and physical education -- are being short-changed so teachers can drill students on the core math and literacy skills that are on the tests.

Leaving "smart children behind" is a concern, according to the article.

More than half of Pennsylvania's middle school teachers think a lack of attention to the Keystone State's smartest kids is one of the unintended consequences of the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, according to a study published in May by the California-based think tank Rand Corp. Nearly 40 percent of Pennsylvania elementary school teachers agreed.

No studies have been conducted in New Jersey, but Steve Walmer, spokesman for the state's teachers union, said it's a complaint that he hears more and more.

TT - However, an examination of the Rand study does not see "leaving smart children behind" as a major concern that isn't being addressed adequately. What they do conclude (Report page 81, PDF page 109) is that retaining high achieving students is critical to raising overall school test scores.

In other words, unions fear that high achieving students won't be there to haul up test scores to disguise the fact that children who are in most need of education aren't getting it. In New Jersey, that's most of the students. (Proficient means at grade level.)

The Rand study is called "Standards-Based Accountability Under No Child Left Behind Experiences of Teachers and Administrators in Three States." Research Brief.

The full 303-page document is available online. PDF (Very Large)
Chapter 8 Conclusions and Implications
-Report page 129 (PDF page 157)
Appendix A Survey Results
- Report page 140 (PDF page 167)

Three states were surveyed: California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. They wanted to survey 27 districts in each state, however, refusal rates were high, particularly in California. ( PDF page 167)

Survey question on high-achieving students cited in story above. B.40 - Report page 168 (PDF page 168.)
Percentages are those who agree or strongly agree. SE is the standard error + or -

Dropout Rates

June 24, 2007 - The Boston Globe reports on dropout rates in the state. In Boston, the dropout rate is 3%. The highest dropout rate in the state is in Brockton where 7% drop out. Interestingly, however, students aren't dropping out because of standardized testing.

Particularly frustrating to state Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll is the number of high school seniors giving up, even though they passed the standardized test known as MCAS, which is a statewide graduation requirement.

Across the state, more than 65 percent of the 2,584 high school seniors who dropped out last year passed the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. Comparable figures for the region south of Boston were not immediately available.

The best explanation was given by Stephen Sangster, principal of Rockland High School.

"The reason may be that parent investment has helped students make some real good choices," said Stephen Sangster, principal of Rockland High School, where the rate has dropped from 4.1 percent three years ago to 2.8 percent last year.

"A lot of time students decide not to continue with education because they are not finding the success they want and parents don't have the strong influence to help them bear through ."

Also see - The Annie E. Casey Foundation reports on dropout rates in all states. This interactive chart allows you to see dropout percentage rates for each state. However, percentages are less meaningful than the number of dropouts.

Child Trends databank reports that "Hispanics accounted for 40 percent of all high school dropouts in 2004. However, they only made up 17 percent of the total youth population." Graph

Peru, NEW YORK

"The reason I am not tenured is I will not sell my integrity out."

June 22, 2007 - A school principal is just giving up and resigning in face of opposition from teachers and their union. Jeannie Henry's appointed angered many faculty and staff members who supported another in-house candidate.

A member of the Mexico High School faculty said employees there were split over whether to support Henry or not.

Henry said that controversy stemmed from her criticism of a popular teacher who allegedly targeted a student because of his ethnicity. The student's parent filed a complaint against the district, which ended with the state Division of Human Rights ruling against the teacher.

Henry is planning legal action against the school district for the bullying and harassment.

TT - Government schools are bad enough. Soviet-style schools run by workers' collectives end up being the worst. It's what union-run districts are coming to.

Oak Hill, WEST VIRGINIA

SENTENCED June 22, 2007 - Jerome Fruit, a Collins Middle School teacher, pleaded guilty June 13 to “knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, also known as ‘coke,’ a Schedule II controlled substance.”

Fruit resigned. He will be sentenced Oct. 9.

SENTENCED - Fruit was sentenced to five years in prison in December 2007.

PENSION CHALLENGED According to a September 5, 2008 article, the state Consolidated Public Retirement Board asked the court to remove a former Fayette County middle school teacher convicted on federal drug charges from the state Teachers Retirement System. Which led to this editorial by the Charleston Daily-Mail.

Longview, WASHINGTON

Education Briefs

June 22, 2007 - A Monticello Middle School teacher was formally reprimanded for swearing at students. She was also warned that she would be fired if she continued. It's not her first warning.

The behavior became public at a June fifth school concert when an eighth-grader gave the audience a profanity-filled example of what she heard from her teacher.

The student wanted to make a point and she was suspended for 10 days and missed her graduation ceremonies. But it did, however, force school officials to investigate. Hence, the reprimand.

Also found at the news site, another Washington school district is being run by the union.

Toppenish, WASHINGTON [Teachers and the school district] groups have been negotiating for almost three months over a new contract. The teachers union wants more money for healthcare and teachers salaries. They also want the school district to stop moving teachers from one position to another without the teachers and union approval.

District officials say they have already given each teachers an additional personal day, and that the average teacher will see a pay increase of nine percent and more money for healthcare.

Interesting job posting at the Toppenish site for a Migrant Recruiter - "Recruiter will work district-wide conducting home visits which will require visits in the late afternoon or evening to identify and recruit for enrollment migrant students pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade."