Durango, COLORADO

The least-watched elected officials in the country are school board members. They also comprise the largest single group of elected officials in this country.

August 14, 2008 - There are calls for the recall or resignation of Durango School District 9-R board member Padraig "Paddy" Lynch after his arrest for breaking into the Humane Society after-hours to retrieve his dog. The dog had been seized by Animal Control officers after a caller complained that it was locked in Lynch's truck at the fairgrounds.

(Other stories say it was the High School parking lot and the dog had been locked in the truck for hours without water. It seems to be the case the that he was at the Fairgrounds working on cars for the demolition derby and left his dog in his truck in the school parking lot for hours without water.)

The former teacher's tenure on the board has been controversial. Lynch's fellow board members have accused him of impeding their work.

He drew a reprimand from then-Superintendent Mary Barter in March for a visit to Durango High School that she called "disruptive," and again drew criticism in May when he called a union official to discuss sensitive contract negotiations.

Lynch was a welding teacher at Durango High from 2003 to 2005, when the district declined to renew his contract. Evidence surfaced this year that Lynch had repeated interactions with a female student who was not in his class that made her uncomfortable.

TT - Who votes for these people? Nationwide, less than 20% of the electorate usually vote in any school board election.** Who runs for the offices? A surprising number of candidates are teachers backed by their unions. It's a obvious and blatant conflict of interest when the primary responsibility of the the board member is to vote on budgets, union contracts and union-concern issues, but it is perfectly legal.

We found his surprisingly laughable bio for Paddy online. And this 2006 article paints a picture of, not of a non-conformist, but a career loser. (TT Opinion)

** In Durango, turnout for elections in 2003 was higher than the 2001 turnout of of 18.7%, leading them to begin to conduct mail-in elections.

Ambridge, PENNSYLVANIA

School Board member wants tougher screening.

July 30, 2008 - Ambridge School Board Member William Scherfel criticized the district’s hiring process Wednesday before casting the only votes against 16 new hires.

Of particular concern was the possibility of pedophiles seeping into the school system, he said. Scherfel said he didn’t believe any of the candidates were properly screened.“These kids are too important to just indiscriminately hire someone…We already had one pedophile in our school district. We don’t need another one,” Scherfel said, referring to former social studies teacher David Costanza, who was sentenced last year for having sex with a 15-year-old student.

Employees must have criminal background, child abuse and FBI checks to be considered; administrators interview and make recommendations to the board. Scherfel said many pedophiles don’t have records, and said he would invite a professional firm to discuss other screenings with the board next month.

TT - David Costanza, 28, is the son of then-school board president Charles Costanza. He was sentenced to six months to two years in county jail - not prison - followed by 5 years' probation for sex with a 15-year-old girl. At the time of his sentencing in July 2007, two teachers testified on his behalf, one of them slated to be the victim's teacher in the Fall.

Ambridge Area School Board President Dr. Bernard Logan chastised the two teachers.

"I believe you lost sight of the bigger picture," Logan wrote. "Mr. Costanza preyed on a 15-year-old girl. She slept at his house. The relationship went on for weeks. ... How you diminished these actions and testified to his positive contributions, while this girl, the victim, with her family, sat in the courtroom, is beyond my understanding."

Entry for Costanza.

There may not be any screening that will accurately predict teachers who will misbehave. However, there should be tougher sentences for those who sexually abuse students. While states like Louisiana, Kentucky and Arkansas are passing laws to criminalize teacher-student sex, Pennsylvania continues such absurd lenient sentences even for the most lurid cases. It's a state where teacher strikes are common (82 in seven years.) But if you want to know why there's no attempt to correct the situation, you need to look at the corruption that starts at the top.

You'd think they would be ashamed that they make New Jersey look almost respectable.

Pulaski, NEW YORK

July 1, 2008 - Daniel Aguilar, 53, a Pulaski School Board Member and an ROTC instructor for the Mexico, NY school district, was arrested and charged with felony counts of assault, criminal sex act and attempted rape, and a misdemeanor charge of unlawful imprisonment of a female acquaintance.

Aguilar was formerly the deputy mayor of Pulaski.

He is due back in court July 22.

August 12 - Aguilar appeared in Oswego City Court where a new court date has been set. He is scheduled to be back on September 16.

GUILTY PLEA September 5 - Aguilar pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree sexual abuse.

Daniel Aguilar's plea to the misdemeanor charge was made in satisfaction of all of the charges that were pending against him, according to the. . . City Court clerk's office. In exchange for the guilty plea, he will be sentenced to no more than 60 days in jail and up to six years' probation.

He is to be sentenced Nov. 6.

RESIGNATION & REMOVAL September 13 - Aguilar resigned his ROTC position and he is no longer a a member of the Pulaski school board, superintendents in Mexico and Pulaski said Friday. Pulaski school board removed Aguilar from the board Tuesday night. (In Archives Post Standard that date.) Video report on school board removal here.

The September 9, 2008 meeting minutes were approved on the 13th, but the minutes of the regularly scheduled Sept. 9 meeting are not online at the website.

Harmony, PENNSYLVANIA

He hasn't been seen much at board meetings.

June 26, 2008 - The Seneca Valley School Board will decide in August whether to dismiss elected school board member Anthony Evans from the board, following Mr. Evans' recent arrest and subsequent charges for driving under the influence of alcohol.

He was arrested in March. He told police that he was homeless and living out of his car.

Baldwin Park, CALIFORNIA

School board member tasered by police.

May 22, 2008 - Sergio Corona, 34, a seven-year member of the Baldwin Park school board, was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism, driving under the influence of a controlled substance and driving with an expired license. Corona had to be tasered by officers.

He was arrested after police received a call about a man yelling and breaking the window of a front door of a home. Police arriving at the scene found a man driving away in a car with its lights. Police reported Corona was shirtless and sweating profusely, jumped out and began walking rapidly toward an officer, Lt. David Reynoso said. After he ignored several commands to stop, the officers Tasered and subdued him, Reynoso said.

School board President Jack White said he heard Corona's actions were over a woman.

"I am hearing alcohol was the sole motivator and it had something to do with an ex-girlfriend," White said. "I am very, very concerned."

This is not the first time Corona has been in trouble.

In November 2001, his driver's license was suspended after police pulled him over for suspicion of drunk driving. While criminal charges of drunk driving were dropped, his license remained suspended for six months.

Corona is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.
--------------------------
TT - The Baldwin Park Board of Education minutes are available in the Office of the Superintendent. They are not on line. Be sure to visit the Baldwin Park Unified School District web site. It will not suprise you after reading the messages there about the evils of No Child Left Behind and the unfairness of high school exit testing to learn that the school district is rated 4 at GreatSchools.net for test scores that make the abysmal scores in California look good by comparison.

A reminder - "Proficiency" isn't mastery. It's at grade level. You understand the scale of failure when you know the district serves 20,024 students.

Newport, KENTUCKY

Nov 10, 2006 - Long-time Newport school board member Jim Hesch, 47, and his wife, Helen, 47, an English teacher at Newport Middle School, were arrested on charges of third-degree unlawful transaction with a minor as part of an on-going investigation into the use of drugs in their Grandview home.

Previously, Brandon Hall, a teacher at Newport Middle School was arrested after being videotaped smoking marijuana with students who were seen partying at the Hesch home. In addition, Bonnie M. Cioffi, 34, and her son were arrested in connection with the case. How it relates to the case is not known at this time.

HALL SENTENCED - May 30, 2007 - Hall was sentenced May 30 to three years' probation, drug and alcohol tests and participate in any recommended counseling. TT entry for Hall.

UPDATE Feb 22, 2007 - As the Cincinnati Enquirer notes, the Hesch trials are continuing. Meanwhile, she is still suspended with pay. He still serves on the school board.
[TT entry for Brandon Hall.]

PLEA AGREEMENT Feb 27 - The Hesches reached a plea agreement so that successfully complete a diversion program, they can have charges of drug paraphernalia possession and unlawful transaction with minors dropped.

The couple will also have to successfully complete 100 hours of community service, including speaking at schools and avoiding teen alcohol use and telling parents about their story and how to avoid the same scenarios.
[TT - Our view is that they should never be allowed inside a school again, let alone lecturing teenagers and parents.]

As part of the plea agreement, Mr. Hesch will have to resign from the school board by July 1 and Mrs. Hesch will have to quit her job immediately. If all of these stipulations are met, the charges will be dismissed in a year.

CHARGES DISMISSED April 1, 2008 - Campbell County’s Judge Gregory Popovich dismissed the case against Jim and Helen Hesch, a Newport School Board member and middle school teacher, because they complied with orders to complete a diversion program.

As a result of the publicity, Jim Hesch had to resign his position as Newport School board member and Helen Hesch had to resign her position as a Newport Middle School teacher.

There was no stipulation that the judge made Monday, Blau said, that the two cannot teach or be involved with another school system.

Jeffersonville, INDIANA

Feb 14, 2008 - Ernie Gilbert, a volunteer coach for a southern Indiana high school girl’s basketball team has been barred from coaching. He had been helping his son coach the team, but in December allegations from ten years ago resulted in a decision that he not coach anymore.

Gilbert was a teacher in the East Washington County School Corporation. That school board launched an investigation into multiple accusations against Gilbert and issued its findings at a public meeting in 1998. NewsChannel 32 obtained the report through an open records request.

And the investigation states on numerous occasions, he directed and/or forced certain female students by physical force or threats of withholding study hall pass privileges, to be alone with him in the enclosed back office of the teacher's room for questioning about their personal lives.

The school board suspended Gilbert without pay for the remainder of the school year, which only amounted to a few days, put a reprimand in his personnel file, instituted a three-year "no touch" probation and ordered mandatory counseling.

Gilbert is one of seven elected members to the Greater Clark County Schools board. His term ends in June and he is seeking re-election.

Aston, PENNSYLVANIA

Sentenced to 380 days in jail for corruption, bribery and drug offenses.

Jan 30, 2008 - Keith Crego, 37, former board president of the Penn-Delco School District pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a scheme to secretly invest money in a company that operated child-care programs in the district.

He was sentenced to 380 days in jail - not prison - and five years' probation for corruption, bribery and drug offenses. He was also was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.

The school superintendent, Leslye Abrutyn, pleaded no contest to conflict-of-interest charges. Abrutyn invested $10,000 in the company after Crego threatened to withhold positive job recommendations for her with any future employers. She was sentenced to house arrest.
Full Name: Keith Charles Crego

Sept 17, 2007 "Eight board members have resigned in the past 14 months."

PREVIOUS coverage of the Penn-Delco School District and Keith Crego.
Jan 17, 2008 entry.
Crego resigned in 2006 after a sex scandal with another board member.
Indicted on combined 22 felony charges and 21 misdemeanors.
Crego was charged with possessing anabolic steroids and Ecstasy with intent to distribute.

Jan 18, 2008 entry
Crego arrested for witness intimidation.
The "the bad publicity brought on by the breakup cost Crego his posts as school-board president and vice chairman of the Aston Republican Party."

Westerly, RHODE ISLAND

Jan 23, 2008 - Westerly School Committee member Dominic DiFazio pleaded not guilty to two counts of obtaining more than $500 under false pretenses and one count of unlawful appropriation. It is alleged that his contracting company took more than $2,700 from an elderly couple for work that was not done.

Police Chief Edward A. Mello described the couple, Harold and Florence Plympton, as “more than patient” and DiFazio as “less than patient,” refusing to turn himself in when he was arrested during a School Committee budget retreat on Nov. 17.

DiFazio was elected to the committee in 2006. [Election results.]

DiFazio is set to go to trial Feb 8 on a misdemeanor fraud charge for allegedly writing a bad check to A-1 Rolloff Disposal. Lynch accused the Town of Westerly of “playing games” because he said the fraudulent check matter had been resolved privately between DiFazio and the disposal company.

Connecticut officials are continuing separate investigations involving similar complaints against DiFazio.

New probes surface over contractor/school board member (Nov 28, 2007)

Saxonburg, PENNSYLVANIA

Sworn in last week as a school board member.

Arrested this week on aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, unlawful restraint and other charges.

Jan 21, 2008 - South Butler County School board member Mark Rowe, 47, was arraigned Saturday on aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, unlawful restraint and other charges.

He is accused of accused of assaulting a woman at his Saxonburg bar. Police say Rowe refused to allow the woman to leave the bar and the two fell to the floor. Police accuse Rowe of then picking the woman up by her neck and striking her in the face.

From the Pittsburg Tribune-Review (dated Jan 20)

Saxonburg police said Mark Rowe, 47, of Saxonburg, assaulted a woman believed to be his girlfriend, about 3 a.m. Friday following her shift at his bar, Rowe's Tavern, 251 Main St., Saxonburg.

Police said Rowe refused to let the woman leave the bar and somehow they fell to the ground where a bar stool hit her in the head. Rowe then picked the woman up by the neck and hit her face off the wall, police said.

The woman went to a friend's house before calling police.

---

TT - The South Butler County School Board appointed Rowe to the board to fill a vacancy after another board member resigned.

Aston, PENNSYLVANIA

Jan 17, 2008 - While awiating trial on corruption and drug charges, the former president of the Penn-Delco School Board was arrested again.

The new charges of witness intimidation, retaliation, stalking and harassment are a violation of the his bail conditions.

Authorities say [Keith] Crego, 37, of Aston, created a fake name and e-mail address and made defamatory statements about Christina Fink, a Marple Newtown School District teacher who had provided detectives with information used to file criminal charges against Crego.

In November, Crego allegedly e-mailed Marple Newtown officials, falsely claiming that Fink had a criminal history. He attached court records that actually referred to a different Christina Fink from Scranton, according to the arrest affidavit signed yesterday by county Detective Thomas Worrilow.

When police arrived at Crego's home over the weekend with a search warrant, he first demanded his lawyer, then blurted out, "Is it illegal to send an e-mail?" according to Worrilow.

TT - We reported on Crego's arrest last October. Fink and Crego had a romantic relationship before they filed protection-from-abuse orders against each other. TT Link We're dying to know what the Superintendent wore when she pleaded no contest plea and agreed to help prosecutors.

From the latest story: "The bad publicity brought on by the breakup cost Crego his posts as school-board president and vice chairman of the Aston Republican Party."

Shoreview, MINNESOTA

Jan 15, 2008 - Newly-elected Mounds View School Board member Susan Murphy may have to leave office. The school board was informed by the district's attorney that she could voluntarily resign or be removed from the board for cause. But before either needs to happen, a conflict of interest must be proven.

Her husband is a janitor in the district and is a member of the union. The school board is set to negotiate the union contract. The board approved the hire of an independent hearing officer, a retired judge, who will perform an investigation to determine if such an issue exists. The hearing process is scheduled to begin on Jan. 22.

After the election, the attorney said, he advised the district that under state law, public officers could face gross misdemeanor charges if they take part in making contracts in which they have a voluntary personal financial interest or benefit.

The ACLU has agreed to represent her.

TT - She is not black, which makes you wonder if the Always Clueless Lawyers joined the cause because they don't want union-backed school board members in other districts to recuse themselves. When they find an idea "appalling," it's probably a very good thing indeed.

The school board addresses the issue on their website. They were aware of the conflicts but thought it could be solved by her abstention. It wasn't until after the election that the district lawyer made them aware of the specific statute and its legal implications.

Under state law, public officers could face gross misdemeanor charges if they take part in making contracts in which they have a voluntary personal financial interest or benefit. He warned board members: If they vote knowing that a conflict exists with one of them, all could face potential criminal sanctions under the statute. Beyond that, he said, the contract could be thrown out.

Austin, MINNESOTA

He's suspended as a police officer for a felony drug arrest, but he can be a school board member. Go figure.

Jan 12, 2008 - Two speakers are on the agenda to speak at the Austin School Board to ask one of the newest board members to resign.

Curt Rude took his oath of office on the school board on Monday, an hour after pleading not guilty to drug charges. The charges include a felony count of theft and a felony count of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance as well as a gross misdemeanor count of interfering with property in official custody. He is on unpaid leave indefinitely from the Austin Police department.

He is alleged to have illegally removed the prescription painkiller OxyContin from the police department's evidence room Nov. 6, the same day he was elected to school board.

From Star-Tribune (Firestorm story below): Rude told the chief they belonged to his close friend, a TV reporter named Mark Johnson who pleaded guilty in 2006 to selling OxyContin to a police informant and later died of an overdose. [Arrest story - he was selling drugs from his house, directly across the street from an elementary school.]

They also report that Rude is in the process of becoming a licensed truck driver so he can support his wife and three kids.

Jan 5 - Before joining school board, Austin officer faces drug charges
Jan 7 - Austin school leaders feel firestorm from drug case

Not only was Rude sworn in, he was elected clerk of the board by a 4-3 vote that shut out reelected Board Member Kathy Green. ...

The board could recommend that he be removed from his position. That would take at least four votes in favor, which seems unlikely given that Rude is part of the four-member bloc that elected him as clerk.

Jan 7 - Austin police captain to take school-board oath after court appearance

Those elected to the board along with Rude on Nov. 6 included Don Fox, Diana Wangsness and current chairperson Kathy Green. Each will serve a four-year term.

Wangsness and Fox, who some accused of running as a bloc with Rude during the election, have refused to comment on the charges.

Jan 9 - Parents concerned about new Austin school board member
Jan 10 - Austin group starts petition against school board member
Jan 10 - Editorial: Editorial: Rude, school board must put students first
They suggest he take a leave of absence. The story also mentions that after the meeting, the school district superintendent openly accused Lees of recruiting the three new board members, and even hinted at a bigger conspiracy: "It was very clear that this was orchestrated outside the district." The newspaper, however, thought a little revolution now and then can be a healthy thing.

Captain Rude was the second-ranking officer on the Austin Police force until his suspension in November. Summons and statement of probable cause, State of Minnesota v Curt Edward Rude PDF

LINKS
November election results.
Austin School Board website. LINK MINUTES
Be sure to read the Jan 7 Minutes where the newest-elected members, Fox, Wangsness and Green voted, along with Lees, made themselves Chairperson of the Board, Treasurer, and Clerk respectively. They voted with Lees to make him Vice-Chairperson.

ONLINE RESOURCE: From Greatschools.net "How to Choose a School Board Candidate: What Every Voter Should Know"

Reminds us of Long Beach, California. LINK

Jan 16 - At a school board meeting, several citizens asked Rude to resign or take a leave of absence. They spoke at a board meeting. Some 175 citizens who have signed their names on a petition asking him to resign or take a leave of absence. [Since only 150 people voted for Rude in the election, a recall shouldn't be all that difficult.]

Feb 22 - Two complaints against Austin school board members Curt Rude and Don Fox have been referred to a Minneapolis legal firm to investigate.

Moments after taking the oath as a newly-elected member of the board and being elected as board chairman, Fox issued a document regarding staff resignations and transfers in the district -- a hot issue that he had campaigned on.

At the meeting, he suggested a "moratorium" be placed on staff suspensions, probations, buy-outs and transfers, and also suggested the administration work toward creating a positive teaching and learning environment that would result in teacher retention.

Accurso alleges Fox violated the code of conduct that states: "School board members shall not make any promises regarding votes on any proposition in advance of meetings at which the proposition will be considered by the board."

Gypsum, KANSAS

Dec 22, 2007 - Southeast of Saline School Board member Gary Olson, 43, was arrested - again - on a criminal threat charge. He was arrested in September for threatening to "do a Columbine" at his district's school.

Olson faces trial next month on aggravated criminal threat and other charges related to a Sept. 5 incident. Olson is accused of threatening to harm his wife, Connie, and of going to Southeast of Saline School to "do a Columbine." The school was locked down for several hours after the incident, as authorities looked for Olson.

His wife was a teacher at the school. She has resigned.

Gary Olson remains a member of the school board, but he is barred from participating in board meetings and other school district events as a condition of his probation. [Probation from what isn't clear. Perhaps they mean, "bail"?]

Olson's attorney told the newspaper that he advised Olson to turn himself in, "so some trigger-happy deputy doesn't draw down on him and shoot him."

TRIALS SCHEDULED Jan 24, 2008 - A judge ordered Gary Olson, 43, of Gypsum, to stand trial May 8 in the case involving the county official and April 9 in the school threat case.

Southeast of Saline Unified School District 306 Board of Education site.
(Only the minutes to one board meeting are online.)

Edcouch, TEXAS

Oct 21, 2007 - Manuel “Manny” Hernandez, 29, an Edcouch-Elsa school board member, was arrested on domestic violence charges and faces felony counts of assault and burglary stemming from a violent fight with an ex-girlfriend at her Monte Alto home Saturday.

The woman, whose name authorities have not released, sustained several bruises to her head and face, according to Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies. She was treated and released from Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco the same day.

Investigators believe an argument erupted between Hernandez and the woman after he crawled through her kitchen window around 10 a.m. Saturday. During the fight, the school board member purportedly hit her several times with his fists. The couple have a child together but have been separated for two and a half years, according to Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace Bobby Contreras.

Hernandez, a former Elsa municipal judge, will likely retain his spot on the board of trustees while district officials assess his situation, the superintendent said. However, a final decision may not come until the resolution of his case in state district court.

School board members can only be removed for incompetence, official misconduct, intoxication or conviction on felony charges, according to the state education code.

---

From the Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District website,

The mission of Edcouch-Elsa ISD is to produce responsible graduates who can compete confidently in a dynamic global society by providing an individualized, nurturing educational foundation that draws strength from our community's spiritual roots and rich cultural heritage as we face the challenge of the new millennium.

Board of Trustees web page.

Aston, PENNSYLVANIA

Oct 18, 2007 - A grand jury investigation resulted in the arrest of former school-board president, Keith Crego, 37, and the former superintendent, Leslye Abrutyn, 58, on a combined 22 felony charges and 21 misdemeanors.

Crego, who resigned last year amid a sex scandal involving another board member, was hauled into district court yesterday in handcuffs, wearing flip-flops and shorts.

He is charged with secretly establishing Quick Start Preschools, a child-care program affiliated with the district, taking $39,000 in kickbacks from the company and forcing Abrutyn to buy into the company with a $10,000 payment in the parking lot of Pennell Elementary School.

Authorities say Crego set up the company in 2005 as a silent partner by delivering a shoebox full of $20,000 in cash to a woman seeking a teaching position in the district. The preschool program quickly became popular among parents - and profitable.

Corruption isn't the only charge.

Crego, 37, faces a long list of other charges. They include forgery, failing to disclose his financial stake in Quick Start, soliciting a $1,000 bribe from the district's former director of auxiliary services, bilking Penn-Delco's fundraising operation of $9,500, and possessing anabolic steroids and Ecstasy with intent to distribute.

As for the former school superintendent.

Abrutyn, 58, of Bala Cynwyd, who abandoned her post in July without notice, appeared in court wearing dark sunglasses, black capris and pink Top-Siders. She was released on her own recognizance and declined to comment outside the courtroom.

She is charged with having a "hidden ownership" in Quick Start and tampering with evidence, including falsifying her statements of financial interests.

The Penn-Delco School District is in southeastern Pennsylvania.

TT - This blogger, wearing blue pajamas and fuzzy red slippers that have faded to pink and her TT earrings, refers you to this article: See "Rise and Fall of Keith Crego", dated July 28, 2007.

Jan 18, 2008 - Crego was re-arrested for witness intimidation, retaliation, stalking and harassment of Christina Fink, described as "a Marple Newtown School District teacher who had provided detectives with information used to file criminal charges against Crego." Superintendent Abrutyn pleaded no contest last month and agreed to testify against Crego. See TT link on the arrest.

Fink and Crego were "romatically involved" before they filed filed protection-from-abuse orders against each other. As the Philadelphia Daily News reports, "the bad publicity brought on by the breakup cost Crego his posts as school-board president and vice chairman of the Aston Republican Party."

The judge revoked his bail and ordered Crego returned to Delaware County prison.

Elliottsburg, PENNSYLVANIA

Oct 12, 2007 - School board member Ricky Lee Smiley, 42, driving a school bus for the district, was charged with felony homicide by vehicle, misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter and five summary offenses for a bus crash in 2006 that killed an elementary school teacher's aide.

Smiley worked as a bus driver for 18 years. He was elected to the school board in Nov 2005. He will retain his seat pending the outcome of the case.

State police said an accident reconstruction indicated that Smiley crossed into the southbound lane.

TT - It sounds like a tragedy for everyone.

Nov 1 - A judge has ordered Smiley to stand trial on a homicide by vehicle charge, a misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter charge and five summary driving offenses, including careless and reckless driving.

Derry, New Hampshire

Sept 10, 2007 - Charles Hawkins, 44, school board chairman, was sentenced to a year in jail after admitting he stole thousands of dollars from his Salem employer to pay for family trips, home improvements and online pornography.

Hawkins is required to pay the company $60,000 by Nov 6. He will start serving his time in January.

His lawyer said Hawkins was already undergoing treatment for pornography and computer sex addiction.

Oakland, CALIFORNIA

August 23, 2007 - The Oakland Unified School Board voted 5-2 (2 were absent) to censure board member Chris Dobbins. They also removed him from all board committees, appointments and external assignments and urged him to resign.

A special three-member committee of the Oakland Unified School District found that Dobbins, 35, went on several dates with a 17-year-old girl, sent her inappropriate text messages and e-mails and had several late night rendezvous at secluded venues.

Oakland police investigators said they looked into the matter last month but found no evidence of illegal conduct by Dobbins.

School board committee's fact finding report. PDF
School board Aug. 22, 2007 minutes censuring Dobbins.
Dobbins' bio from district website.

See previous posting on the Oakland school district dispute.

Trustworthiness Part II

An insight into how the teacher's unions control local politics.

Long Beach, CA August 18, 2007 - More allegations about Michael Shane Ellis, the Long Beach (CA) School Board Trustee who was subject of previous reports by the Long Beach Press-Telegram. (See previous coverage.)

Ellis was the teachers union candidate who was elected to the school board in 2006. Since then, he has convicted of leaving the scene of a car accident, driving with a suspended license, and, most recently, drunken driving.

NEW ALLEGATIONS: The new allegations were in a letter mailed to about 200 members of the union's Representative Council by a faction of union leaders who want to get rid of Scott McVarish, the current president of the Long Beach Unified teachers' union. McVarish recruited Ellis to run for the school board. Previously Ellis was bargaining unit president of the Centinela Valley Secondary Teachers Association, one of four unions that McVarish served as executive director.

The letter alleges that Ellis and two other teachers were subjects of an investigation in 2003 by Centinela Valley Unified High School District officials into drinking by faculty members while in the presence of students they were supposed to be chaperoning.

What's more, Scott McVarish, who now is the embattled head of the Long Beach Unified teachers' union, got involved, leading to an accusation by the Centinela district's lawyer that he impeded the district's investigation into the incident.

The school district's attorney at the time wrote

that McVarish had "purposely disrupted" district interviews with student witnesses who were on the field trip "by convincing students not to cooperate with the district.

Each of the students retained the same lawyer who, coincidentally, had in the past represented McVarish's union either directly or through the California Teachers Association.

Recently, union board members sent a letter to teachers telling them that McVarish spent millions to finance the election campaigns of Ellis, for school board and Gerrie Schipske, the union's staff lawyer, for Long Beach City Council. Both were successful.

League of California Women voter information about Gerrie Schipske.

Long Beach Board of Education.

TT - The time to tell voters all this was BEFORE an election.

BACKGROUND: Long Beach is infamous for the vicious beating of three white women by 20 to 40 of black youths last Halloween.

One woman suffered a dozen fractures on her face, and they all got concussions, cuts and bruises and had their jewelry and clothes stolen. The crowd of males and females yelled racial slurs as they punched and kicked the women.

They were also beaten with skateboards. The assault left one victim with multiple fractures in her nose and around her eye. She will require surgery to re-position her eye." Nine were found guilty. Eight were found guilty of a hate crime and all nine were sentenced to -- home detention.