Zero tolerance for intoxicated drivers - except Judge H. James Ahler. The fact he killed a pedestrian on that drive seems to matter even less!

California Administrative Per Se- Facts (Zero tolerance for intoxicated drivers - except Judge H. James Ahler!)

Administrative Per Se (DUI) Background

Prepared by DMV Research and Development Branch

In 1990, California became the 28th state to implement an immediate driver license suspension law for alcohol-impaired drivers, also referred to as an “Administrative Per Se (APS)” or “on-the-spot” license suspension law.  The California APS law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to suspend or revoke the driving privilege of persons who are arrested for driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or more, or who refuse a chemical test upon arrest.  In January 1994, California implemented a companion driver license suspension law, known as the “zero tolerance law,” which requires DMV to suspend for one year any driver under age 21 with a BAC of .01% or more as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test, or who refuses or fails to complete the test.  These administrative actions are independent of any criminal penalties imposed in court for conviction of the driving-under-the-influence (DUI) offense.  Upon arrest, or detention (as applicable in the .01% APS law), the driver’s license is immediately confiscated and an order of suspension or revocation served.

For either law, due process is allowed by the issuance of a 30-day temporary license intended to provide the driver with sufficient time to challenge the suspension through DMV administrative review.  (Oh, yeah. Ahler was DMV staff attorney before becoming a quasi-judge) The time allowed to challenge the suspension was reduced from 45 days on July 1, 1993.  As of January 1, 1993, offenders who are dismissed for insufficient evidence or are never charged by the court may request an APS dismissal hearing to consider setting aside the associated APS action.  Under the .08% APS law, when a driver submits to and “fails” a BAC test and has no prior DUI convictions or APS actions (within 7 years prior to September 20, 2005 and within 10 years thereafter), a 4-month license suspension is imposed.  Following 30 days of “hard” suspension, and providing they first demonstrate proof of insurance, show proof of enrollment in an approved alcohol treatment program, and pay all penalty fees, the law provided for such drivers to obtain a 5-month restricted license that allows only driving to and from an alcohol treatment program, and to, from, and during the course of employment.  A 1-year suspension is imposed on drivers having one or more prior DUI convictions or APS actions within 7 years prior to September 20, 2005 and within 10 years thereafter, with no provision for a restricted license. 

Under this law, for offenders refusing a BAC test, a 1-year license suspension is imposed for a first offense, a 2-year revocation is imposed for a second offender refusal, and a 3-year revocation is imposed for a third-or-subsequent offender refusal (within 7 years prior to September 20, 2005 and within 10 years thereafter).  There are no provisions for issuance of a restricted license following a BAC test refusal.

The .01% BAC law requires a 1-year suspension and provides for a hardship restriction only if a BAC test was completed and the driver can demonstrate a critical need to drive.

As of September 20, 2005 commercial drivers arrested in a noncommercial vehicle and having no 
prior DUI convictions or APS actions (within 7 years prior to September 20, 2005 and within 10 years thereafter) are handled no differently than other first offenders and are no longer granted an automatic restriction to drive to, from, and during the course of employment following a 30-day “hard” suspension as they originally were.  (A noncommercial vehicle is one not requiring a commercial driver license, or heavy-vehicle operator’s license, to drive.) 

"I Know the Financial, Personal, Emotional and Physical Damage... "

by Lorna Stremcha

I know first hand the financial, personal, emotional and physical damage that can result when school administrators, the Montana Education Association and the National Education Association put their own interests above the students, teachers and the taxpayers of the State of Montana My files contain mountains of paperwork including depositions, declarations of truth, notarized documents and exhibits resulting from an arduous legal process that finally ended when the Havre (Montana) School District settled two lawsuits - a Federal suit and one filed in State District Court. These documents also include a letter from a union representative stating, " This is nothing more than a witch hunt." Yet the union continued to allow the school administration to harass, bully and bring harm to me.

These two lawsuits resulted from a single incident that, had it been handled differently and under the light of public scrutiny, would not have snowballed into awards of more than $200,000 worth of damages. Funds that eventually came from the taxpayers' pockets. Ironically, as a taxpayer in Hill County, my family and I are helping to pay for the damages awarded to me. This covered the attorneys' fees. The settlement did not include my attorney fees, however the district, insurance and taxpayers paid the defendants attorney bills, which exceeded mine. The settlement was made on March 2, 2006.

I was a tenured teacher at Havre Middle School with a successful work history of nearly ten years. I was approached and harassed in my classroom by a mentally challenged and dangerous person during school hours. His speech and actions caused me fear that I would be raped, or worse. The administration's less-than-positive response to the situation eventually caused me to file a sexual harassment and hostile environment complaint. After making the complaint and following the chain of command within the school system with no results, I filed a Montana Human Rights Complaint with the Montana Human Rights Bureau. This was a dual filing with the EEOC. Upon returning to work the next school year, I found hard-core pornographic emails on my school computer. When I reported these emails to the proper authorities, their response was that "keep quiet". When I asked them to trace the pornography, the administration replied that it couldn't be done.

As I pressed the issue, the administration's reaction was to try to find a way to get rid of me. They embarked upon a series of closed meetings with students and parents in an attempt to discover anything and everything they could use to build a case to terminate me. Students were taken from their class for meetings with the administration and were told to keep the discussions "a secret". While I was never allowed to meet with parents or students to discuss what were obviously fabrications, rumors were rampant. Administration leaks were prevalent although I was continually told to keep silent I also received letters from administration threatening termination. These letters lacked a basis in fact and were simply threats. Such a campaign can take a toll. Admittedly, my teaching suffered. I was afraid to discipline any student in fear that such an action would result in more closed meetings and threats of termination. Grades were questioned. Parents called and met with members of the administration. These meetings were either scheduled for times during which they knew I could not attend or simply held without notification. I was totally isolated. These are only the highlights of a year of harassment and intimidation. Naturally, my health suffered. At one point, I weighed 90 pounds and my physician prescribed medication for stress. In fact, he recommended that I take a leave of absence.

When I returned from that leave, my classroom was bare. My personal possessions were boxed. Student work had been removed, was missing or destroyed. Grades had been awarded in my name that I had not authorized. In response to all of this and other forms of harassment, my union representative said simply, "They can do what they want. They're administration." Finally, I was terminated.

While doing discovery [legal process], I learned that members of the Montana Human Rights Commission, members of the school district's law firm, the Montana School Board Association and Montana Teachers Union all had political ties with the superintendent who terminated me. To make matters worse, he chairs the Board of Public Education. All of these people met to discuss my complaints against the administration. These meetings were not publicized and I was not in attendance. During the same period in which I was under daily scrutiny and discipline, male employees were allowed to use corporal punishment, have inappropriate relationships with students and drink alcohol on school sporting trips. Other topics brought to the attention of the administration during this same period included the treatment of a Native American paraplegic paraprofessional and her Native American students as well as the use of derogatory names referring to women, ethnic groups and special needs children. All these were dealt with behind closed doors. The 
public was never informed and no other teacher lost his job.


Even though I received a settlement, I have been blacklisted and cannot be employed in my chosen career. Sadly, I have lost my passion for classroom teaching and find myself fearful of those who work as administrators in the field of public education. This entire scenario could have been avoided had the school administration been willing to discuss openly and frankly the events that led to my filing the first grievance. (This is almost always the case. Our district administrators and the defected personalities at the helm, keep pushing the illogical and ridiculously expensive personal vendettas in order to keep from having to admit they were wrong in the way they handled things. Sometimes it is out of fear of retaliation of other administrators).   It was filed only after the administration refused to listen to my concerns and only after I was told to "keep quiet". At one point, the administration represented me as a hysterical female whose problem might be "hormonal". All this was done with union knowledge and while I was under a Collective Bargaining agreement. The union was in contact with the administration and was contacted by the administration. They did not protect me nor did they stand up for me. I believe this would not have happened had the Union done their job and not breached their contract with me. Again, these are only highlights.

With truth on my side,

Lorna Stremcha

THIS TEACHER'S STORY ALSO PROVIDES A VERY GOOD REASON TO BEWARE OF OUR UNIONS AS MANY OF OUR MEMBERS HAVE SADLY DISCOVERED. WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS TEACHER, AND MOST OF OUR OTHER TEACHER MEMBERS INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT OF NAPTA, COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED IF WE HAD REAL UNIONS. AND CONSIDERING THAT MANY OF OUR POLITICIANS RELY ON THE UNIONS WE HAVE FOR THEIR FINANCIAL BACKING, OUR POLITICIANS ARE UNWITTING PUPPETS OF EDUCRAT$ ALL OVER THIS NATION. 








Top

 BACKGROUND

What to Do if the Unthinkable Happens... and You are Forced to Rely On Your CTA Appointed Attorney?

The following came from Union Plus Legal Services web site:
I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the claims here in

AFT, pursuant to the AFT Legal Defense Fund, assists FEA by sharing the costs of in-house counsel on matters that fall within the scope of its program.  In-house counsel provide representation to locals in matters before the Public Employees Relations Commission; appeals of final agency orders; and legal actions relative to collective bargaining, organizing or political action.  The Office also provides representation to individual members in dismissal, certification, appeals of final agency orders when legally warranted, and other matters as determined under the program.

Find a Lawyer in Your Area

NOTE: When you contact a lawyer in the network, tell them you're calling for the Union Plus Legal Service so you can get your free initial onsultation and discount.

1.     Call  1-888-993-8886 (9-7 ET, M-F) or

2.     Find a lawyer online and after selecting a lawyer, use the online tool to notify that lawyer by email of your intent to contact their office; you can even briefly describe your legal issue.

3.     Print a Union Plus Legal Service business card as a handy reference.

No participating lawyers in your area? Let us know where the program needs participating lawyers, email legal@unionprivilege.org or recommend a lawyer in your area by completing this form.

Find a lawyer in your area using the Union Plus Legal Service

In legal matters, union members rely on expert advice. And to help find lawyers who can answer their personal legal questions, members can consult the Union Plus Legal Service.

Need a lawyer? Lawyers in the legal panel have expertise in:

 Family law
 Traffic matters
Wills and estate-planning
Real estate
 Immigration law and more.

The Union Plus Legal Service helps:

Make legal services more accessible and affordable to union members and their families.
Simplify the search for legal advice for working families.
Encourage the use of preventive law-get advice before a legal question becomes a legal problem.

"Legal aid services you can trust:"

Selective? (HARDLY!) Union Plus Legal Service lawyers are carefully selected to make sure members receive the best cheapest services available (to CTA). Labor-friendly? (Unless you think attorney malfeasance and the loss of YOUR career unfriendly.) Many of the panel of attorneys serving the program have been selected from lists of lawyers involved in the union movement and those involved with similar group legal services programs. 

Do You Know? Is it Really True? Not in This Educators Experience

One of the (supposed) benefits provided by NEA and your State Association is job rights protection under the Kate Frank/DuShane Unified Legal Services Program (ULSP). The following is printed right off a state NEA affiliate's site:


The ULSP is a jointly sponsored NEA and state affiliate program that provides appropriate legal assistance to members who are subjected to discipline or discharge by their employer. But did you also know that NEA provides two other important benefits that may be available to members who are falsely accused?  


Some cases involving very serious allegations can result in criminal charges being filed against you and may require you to retain a criminal defense attorney. If the charges arise in the course of your employment and you are fully exonerated or all the charges are dropped, then the NEA (approved )Educators Employment Liability (EEL) Program will reimburse you up to $35,000 for attorneys’ fees.  (Note:  If the criminal charges are limited to corporal punishment, there is reimbursement even if you are not exonerated.)  JUST DON'T GET CAUGHT DISSENTING FROM THE CTA/NEA PARTY LINE OR YOU'LL STAND ALONE REGARDLESS.


Be sure to contact your state Association CTA, before retaining a criminal defense attorney. (THIS WAY THEY CAN CHECK YOU AGAINST A LIST OF KNOWN CTA DETRACTORS.) Your state Association may be able to recommend a reputable attorney who has experience with child abuse cases.


You also might be sued for damages by the alleged victim and/or the parents. Under the EEL Program, all NEA members are covered for claims up to $1 million in civil lawsuits against them for damages and attorneys’ fees arising out of their employment activities. The policy kicks in after any insurance available through the school district, and is subject to several exclusions.  

Check with YOUR state Association (Of course! Those lying pricks!) for additional information about the scope of  CTA coverage under the EEL Program.

FOR EACH TIME A MAN OR WOMAN STANDS UP...

"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and during those ripples builds a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and injustice." 
 given

Robert F. Kennedy"
narative of a speech given in South Africa

From - Narrative of the Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty—to wit, the white man’s power to enslave the black man. It was a grand achievement, and I prized it highly. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. ... Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read." Frederick Douglass, aged about 10, after hearing his master say teaching him to read "would forever unfit him to be a slave."

What was the administrator's power to enslave the teacher? We think it was using terror to figuratively lobotomize our teachers so they would stop thinking. We propose that the solution that worked for the slaves, will work for teachers - READ. It will unfit you to be an abused slave and bring you back to your calling that made you want to be a teacher in the first place. We suggest you start with BREAKING THE SILENCE, the revolutionary book by Joseph and Jo Blase. It will not only help you see how this system insidiously controls your mind, but it will help you see what we are doing to children by not being the adults and taking a stand against abuse. Together we can sweep down this wall of oppression and injustice.

READ. READ. READ... Read our web site(s). Read the teacher stories. Learn the politics by going through the POLITICS section. Come back as many times as it takes to get through it and read new information each time. Our REFERENCES page will have a continually growing list of books and links that will help give you insight and support to stay in your power and not let fear drive your decision making. A critical mind is the only protection againt propaganda, a speciality of this system. Learn about your situation and about yourself and draw strength from this knowledge. Books and our web site will empower you. Visits other sites that offer support and knowledge to stay strong.

Learn who your enemies are. Yes they are real. As you read about the union and think beyond the hype, you will see that they empower our administrators to abuse us. There is a lot of information on this site explaining their priorities that do not add up to caring about teacher abuse, and instead prove that they have a vested interest in its existence. This information includes teacher testimonial about how they have let them down or even sabotaged their cases. Become wise and you will regain the reins for your own life.

Contact teacher friends who have stories to tell, and encourage them to send them in to us. The more we have, the more we have to be believed. Once believed, the system will be forced to change. This is all too outrageous and it only can exist in the darkness. Shine a light on it any way you can.

The courage you need is in you, buried under the scars of abuse that our school systems have so successfully created in you to keep you under their tyrannical control. If your district objects to the t-shirt, ask them why. If they have rules about all t-shirts, then wear them only to events where t-shirts are acceptable. If they object due to the message, ask them why? If they do not abuse teachers, why would they object to you being part of a group that wants to eradicate teacher abuse? Their objection to your wearing it speaks for itself. Let us know the name of the district that prohibits them. Don't be afraid to speak up about it.

Get your friends to wear t-shirts with the message. Get the message out as well as start breaking the silence. You will find many people who support ending teacher abuse once the topic is public. You can help make it public, and help yourself at the same time.

 Emotional support is very important and we find that family members can only hear so much about this topic before they stop listening. But other abused teachers welcome conversation about teacher abuse as it helps them heal too. Contact us and we will provide you with support buddies as well as give you support from our staff.

Tell everyone about our web site(s), and encourge people interested in donating to a worthy cause, to donate money to us. This might include businesses you frequent as well as family members. Everyone has an interest in the future of our country. This is important to everyone.

Contact your former university or college and make sure at least their teacher education department knows about teacher abuse, NAPTA, and our web site. Spread the word.

Students and Parents will benefit from all of the above. In addition, contact us for consultation regarding specific problems with your children dealing with our schools. From us you will get advice that is based on our professional knowledge, as well as our willingness to speak truthfully about what you need to help your child, or reality. You will not get appropriate advice from anyone oppressed by the terror, or lining their pockets with the failure of our schools. We are the authentic teachers that care about and know how to help children. If you have any doubt about the political climate of your school, contact us and we will help your through the intentional obstacles in place with our candid, practical advice. We will also match you up with a teacher informed in the particular area and grade level of concern for a phone consultation.

Turn to your religion and/or to spirituality to stay in the eye of the hurricane throughout this abuse. Some things that happen in this life cannot be explained. Teacher abuse seems impossible. Why would the people who care so much about others be treated so badly? The main reason it is happening is because it can. People have choices between good and evil and there is more opportunity in education for all the reasons we explain on the site. Wherever there is opportunity, there will be greed. There are just some things that can only be understood through spiritual avenues and if you haven't developed it before, you need to now. We will have many book suggestions for spirituality. Your religious leader can suggest books also.

AS WORKPLACE ABUSE ESCALATES

WHY DON'T WE WORKING PEOPLE CONFRONT IT COLLECTIVELY?

by Judith L. Wyatt.

We are all in psychotic denial when due to speed up on the treadmill of daily life we don't confront the assaults on our freedoms, and we don't admit how bad work abuse is getting. Presently, as things get worse, we hang on tighter to whatever we've been doing -- we do it harder, even though it isn't working, rather than to stop, look at the situation and take action to prevent what's inevitable.

1 in 10 New Yorkers Has PTSD

Trauma of Sept. 11 Lingers in Wide NYC Area

-- More than one in 10 New York-area residents suffer lingering stress and depression in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, new research shows.

After correcting for background levels, the study suggests that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks resulted in an extra 532,240 cases of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the New York City metropolitan area. The study -- conducted two months after the disaster -- appears in the Aug. 7 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Many psychologists predicted that the trauma of watching the Sept. 11 events on television would cause a wave of PTSD to sweep the nation. The study shows no evidence of this, even though television watching was associated with a high degree of distress.

"That is a piece of good news for the country as a whole, but we find an important public-health problem for New York City," researcher William E. Schlenger, PhD, tells WebMD. "There is a substantial PTSD problem well beyond the downtown area. PTSD is quite high in all five boroughs of the city as well as in the suburbs of New Jersey and Connecticut."

When you are directly in it, it can effect you. Have compassion for others too.

You may be directly in a situation that causes PTSD - teacher abuse. Do not minimize its effects. Stay on top of your mental health by saying no to teacher abuse. You may think you can live in an abusive situation without consequences, but it has a way of seeping into your psyche unless you are proactive. That is why you have to learn about it, address it, and protect yourself by refusing to be a victim. Remember, even if you are not being abused, watching colleagues while doing nothing is an affront to you too. Also, the things you do to play it safe, and the compromises you make to stay on the good side of the abusers, slowly strangle your sense of power, making you a victim too. BE A SURVIVOR. 

Author Rene Dietrich describes Herself as: ART SOLDIER! Artist, Writer, Poet, Teacher, Scholar, Editor, Advocate for Students/Teachers, Education Activist, Emberrorist, Proletariate, Bad Speller with Joan of Arc Complex. Single mom with one very fine young son and usually a few strays in tow. I like books, readings, MAC (mad art APPs No Bill Gates), independent films (Baxter, Vagabond, wings of Desire, Dark City, City of God, Brazil) experimental theater, exceptional music: Cohen, Morrisons, Cave, Cale, Coletrain, Winehouse, VU, QT soundtracks, Miles, and Iggy.

FROM PRESIDENT DEAN VOGEL'S FIRST ATTEMPT AT... and OTHER PLATITUDES

Anyone who's been around for a while knows the CTA and parent NEA CAN"T STAND DISSENT! THEY ATTACK IT FROM THE BACK DOOR TO MAKE IT GO AWAY. COULD THIS EDITORIAL BELOW BE THE REAL REASON (AS NONE WAS GIVEN TO ME.) WHY CTA'S LEGAL ADVISORY BOARD REFUSED MY REQUEST OF "COMPETENT" LEGAL REPRESENTATION? IN SPITE OF THE FACT I FILED A GRIEVANCE WITH THE STATE BAR ON MY FORMER CTA APPOINTED ATTORNEY RONALD SKIPPER. WHILE THEY REFUSED TO ADDRESSED ANY OF MY NUMEROUS STATED REASONS IN THEIR REFUSAL LETTER. Perhaps they didn't like the fact that I asked for his billable hours billed on my behalf? Perhaps they disliked my outing their questionable CTA Attorney bonus system.  Can we spell "Collusion?"

THE LAST PARAGRAPH FROM "THE EDUCATOR MAGAZINE." Excerpt from president of CTA Dean Vogel" ...In the coming weeks, I know many of us will be preoccupied with year-end activities (and the grim future with no Job, and) little time to do much else than help our students and each other tie things up and move forward. But as we head into summer, I hope you take some time for yourselves to recuperate and recharge. I also hope you take some time to become involved with this campaign season. Read through this issue of the Educator, go to our website, learn about the election issues we face, and step up. For the sake of our students, and for the sake of our profession, we all need to be involved in the election ahead. If not us, who? If not now, when?" EXACTLY DEAN WHEN?

WHEN WILL CTA DEVELOP A STRIKE AND DEFENSE FUND? WHEN WILL CTA SHOW SOME TRANSPARENCY WITH ITS INTERNAL OPERATIONS? WHEN WILL CTA STOP TAKING 70% OF OUR LOCAL DUES AND RETURN ALMOST NOTHING? WHEN WILL CTA LAWYERS START REPRESENTING EVERY MEMBER WITHOUT CONSIDERATION FOR THE "COMPROMISE BONUS" THEIR PAID? WHEN WILL CTA START TO EMBRACE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPALS SO EACH MEMBER HAS A SAY, AT LEAST IN THE ELECTION OF STATE "MANAGERS?" WHEN DEAN, WILL CTA STOP HIDING FROM DISSENT AND START TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND WHERE IT COMES FROM AND IT'S INTRINSIC VALUE? WHEN WILL CTA START A POLICY OF HONESTY WITH THEIR MEMBERSHIP? WHEN WILL CTA STEP UP AND LEAD US IN THE GOOD FIGHT INSTEAD OF SOFT SELLING EXCUSES AFTER THE FACT? AS THE TIDE OF GREED AND DESPERATE POLITICS IS ALREADY CRESTING, CARRYING OUR BEST AND BRIGHTEST HOPES IN ITS FILTHY WATERS; 

WHEN DEAN DOES CTA BECOME A REAL UNION?
I, PRAETORIAN (EDUCATOR)

Any Public School with Such a Record of Abuse, Corruption, and Anti-Social Malfeasance Would have been Shut Years Ago

Any Public School with such a record of abuse, corruption, and anti-social malfeasance would have been Shut Down Years Ago.  Why Did Authorities Look The Other Way For "Oakland Charter?"

 From the Oakland Tribune:

Published in Schools Matter, 6/17/2012

The head of an Oakland charter school organization that has made national headlines for its low-income students' outstanding test scores is now faced with mounting evidence that he used his position to enrich himself and his family. 

A state investigation into allegations of operational fraud and other unscrupulous activity by Ben Chavis -- a businessman who has also served, off and on, as director of three publicly funded but independently run charter schools named American Indian -- and his wife, who provided financial services to the school, cited numerous examples of financial conflicts of interest and fraudulent expenditures.

The American Indian Model's middle schools have the best test scores in Oakland and among the highest in the state; its high school also has near-perfect scores. In his book, "Crazy like a Fox," Director Ben Chavis touts the model's success and ridicules the public school system for wasting tax dollars, arguing that schools don't need more money.

But in recent months, Chavis' own stewardship of public funds has come under scrutiny. The state Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team, which produced the scathing report, was asked by Alameda County Superintendent Sheila Jordan to investigate allegations made by a former employee of financial abuses -- including a $100,000 salary he took during at least one year of his retirement.

Now that auditors have found significant evidence to back those claims, 

---

---

Chavis could soon find himself the subject of a criminal investigation. Jordan announced Wednesday she would forward the case to the District Attorney's office, as recommended by the audit team. Jordan said she also wrote a letter to Oakland Superintendent Tony Smith, asking the district to consider revoking the schools' charters.

"The lack of oversight by the AIMS board and the unethical practices by its founder are unacceptable and an abuse of the public trust," Jordan said.

Between mid-2007 and the end of 2011, the school paid Chavis, his wife, Marsha Amador, and their various real estate and consulting businesses about $3.8 million, the auditors found. Many of those payments were made with state and federal facilities grants in the form of construction contracts to Chavis' companies -- business deals for school construction work that never went out to bid.

Meanwhile, the school's weak governing board did little to stand in the way, auditors found. For a short period of time last year, Chavis served on the board while he was employed as the organization's director and his wife was handling the books.

"The lack of due diligence and internal controls by the governing board has effectively granted the founder and his spouse unrestricted access to the assets of the organization and implied authority to enter into a variety of business arrangements for personal gain," the report stated.

Other findings included the opening and closing of bank accounts without approval and $25,700 in credit card purchases billed to the school with no authorization or apparent benefit to the school. They included airfare, restaurant, hotel and retail bills from out-of-state, including the North Carolina town where Chavis owns a farm; DirecTV; Giants tickets; and costs related to another venture, which foundered after the investigation became public -- the opening of a charter school in Arizona.

Chavis announced his retirement before the start of 2007-08 school year and returned to the school as director in 2011. He said at a recent hearing that he was a paid adviser during some of the time in between.

Chavis could not be immediately reached for comment.

Although Chavis did not found the original school, his name and reputation are most closely associated with the organization. A Lumbee Indian from North Carolina, he overhauled the academic program when he took over as director of the original school in East Oakland's Laurel District in 2000.

The new curriculum emphasized reading, writing and math and eliminated much of the school's Native American cultural teachings. Chavis instilled a strict and unorthodox discipline system that would bring notoriety to the school, sometimes using humiliation to motivate students to behave.

The most famous example of Chavis' brand of discipline is a student head-shaving that took place at a school assembly, with parent permission, after the boy was caught stealing. Today, few if any of the school's students are Native American.

Chavis announced his retirement shortly after the Oakland school district's charter schools office began raising concerns about his conduct. That spring, the East Bay Express published a story about an explosive incident involving a Mills College professor and graduate students who had come to tour the school. An African-American graduate student said Chavis cursed at him and aggressively kicked him out of the school -- claims that Chavis later acknowledged to be true, saying it was because the student came late.

The Oakland school district's charter school office, under new leadership, again expressed concerns this year when one of the three schools, American Indian Public Charter School II, applied for a renewed charter. The charter office recommended that the Oakland school board deny the charter renewal, potentially closing the school.

But at a packed hearing in which Chavis entered to rousing applause, the Oakland school board went against the charter school office's recommendation and, in a 4-3 vote, allowed the high-performing school to stay open.

Chris Dobbins, an Oakland school board member who supported the school at that meeting, said Wednesday afternoon that he couldn't "tear the school apart" because of the alleged improprieties of its leader. Even now, he said, he didn't have an easy answer.
"At the end of the day, it's hard to argue those test scores," he said. "It's a really hard question."

Read Katy Murphy's Oakland schools blog at www.IBAbuzz.com/education. Follow her at Twitter.com/katymurphy.

evidence against chavis

The Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance team published the below findings about apparent conflicts of interest and misappropriation of funds at American Indian Model schools -- mostly by its founder and current director, Ben Chavis:

Publicly funded construction contracts for school improvements with Chavis' personal businesses were "not supported by formal contracts, competitive bidding or authorization by the governing board." That is a violation of federal regulations and could result in the loss of all federal funding to AIMS schools. 

In addition to wages and construction income, Chavis collected $2.8 million from the schools through rent and storage fees he charged as the school landlord, additional construction projects and a mandatory summer program run by his private business. Some checks from a school bank account were written to Chavis' companies and signed by Chavis.

In all, the schools made $3.8 million in payments to Chavis, his wife and their businesses from 2007-08 through the end of 2011.

Chavis' wife, Marsha Amador, provided financial administrative services to the schools. Her duties included general accounting; processing accounts payable; compliance reporting to local, state and federal agencies; and assisting with an annual audit. 

Chavis' personal and unrelated business expenses were commingled with purchases for the AIMS schools.About 35 percent of the credit card purchases paid for from the schools' accounts $25,700," ...were inappropriate or lack proper authorization." Many of the purchases originated out of state.

Memphis Consolidation Plan Trojan Horse for Urban Privatization Via Charter Schools

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Memphis Consolidation Plan Trojan Horse for Urban Privatization Via Charter Schools

When Memphis City Schools announced it would accept $90 million from Gates to "improve teacher quality," Supt. Kriner Cash blubbered, “This is huge, this is huge, this puts Memphis City Schools in very elite territory, on the front page of the nation.”  Now almost three years later, Gates's fingerprints are on every aspect of school operations in Memphis, including a scheme to shut down 21 public schools in Memphis and turn the buildings over to corporate charter schools.  Now Cash and the Memphis City Schools are faced with a whole list of disturbing recommendations, including one that would totally disrupt the feeder school system in Memphis, which will lead to privatized high schools in the next phase of corporate takeover--if the Gates lemmings have their way.  From the Commercial Appeal:

 ...For MCS, among the most disturbing is the recommendation to cut 21 city schools and lease the space to charter schools. TPC estimates annual savings at $21 million, already plugged into the finance section to reduce an estimated $57 million deficit between the plan and revenue.

Cash insists the cuts won't save $21 million. He takes further exception that the majority of schools on the close list are in an "already underpopulated" southwest corner of the city.

"This would escalate that hemorrhaging," he said, adding that no one filed a plan with the city for refurbishing what would be gutted neighborhoods.

The list of to-close includes an inordinate number of middle schools, Cash says, which would "decimate the feeder pattern" in the southwest... .

ENOUGH IS TOO MUCH...

EDUCATORS: HEAR THIS NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This week marks the first anniversary of the final fight for our careers, avocations and public education for all children. REGARDLESS OF YOUR OPINION ON THE MATTER. IF YOU ARE AN EDUCATOR AND  HAVE NOT YET BEEN SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY. YOU HAVE NO CLUE. BUT DON'T BE SO FOOLISH AS TO THINK THIS FIGHT ISN'T COMING TO YOU.

This is the Fight of Our Professional Lives. Are You In or Out (for now)?

ALL SUSPENDED EDUCATORS:

TEACHERS, COUNSELORS, SITE ADMIN. AND CLASSIFIED. MAY BE  YOU KNOW SOMEONE?

YOU ARE NOT ALONE, NOT A VILLAIN, AND ARE BEING DENIED YOUR DUE PROCESS AND RIGHTS. 


I KNOW FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND IT IS HAPPENING  1) IN MOST DISTRICTS  2) RIGHT NOW TODAY. 


HUNDREDS OF EDUCATORS, ARE SUFFERING ALONE, MISINFORMED, LIED TO AND ALMOST ALL OF US ARE COINCIDENTALLY, AT THE TOP OF THE PAY SCALE!!! 


BUT UNLIKE ANY OTHER TIME WE ARE BEING SUSPENDED

WITH NO PAY AT ALL; BEFORE, DURING AND REGARDLESS OF THE DISTRICT'S INVESTIGATIONS" 


This is becoming just another way budget strapped or just mismanaged School Districts are reducing their overhead. Further, in swapping one experienced devoted educator for 1.80 (read two) first year college grad.s, the district can reduce the numbers of educators covered by union contract. If they keep this newbie on a year to year temporary contract, that newbie statistically will quit after the fourth year. Enough time and the union rank and file  numbers - and the benefits and salaries -  dwindle away. Public education suffers, the children suffer and ultimately our nations future.

UNFORTUNEATLY, CTA IS POWERLESS AND SEEMINGLY UNINTERESTED. 


THE CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT OFFICES WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO PREVENT THESE THINGS ARE CRIPPLED BY LACK OF FUNDING. 


THE VAST MAJORITY OF CTA ATTORNEYS WILL NOT FULLY ATTEMPT TO DEFEND YOU. HERE'S WHY.

INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE SHOWING THESE ATTORNEYS PER AGREEMENT WITH THE CTA, ACTUALLY GET A PERCENTAGE OF CERTAIN SETTLEMENT CONTRACT SAVINGS ON TOP OF THE HOURS THEY BILL. 


THEY MAKE THEIR REAL MONEY WHEN YOU ARE ROBBED, SCARED AND VULNERABLE TO BAD ADVICE. IT HAPPENED TO ME AND THOUSANDS OF OTHERS.

ENOUGH IS TOO MUCH... WE HAVE FORMED A LOCAL SUPPORT GROUP THAT IS FIGHTING BACK AND WINNING. 


WE  WILL FIGHT WITH YOU AND YOU WITH US. WE ARE EDUCATORS LIKE YOU, GOING THROUGH THE SAME TYPES OF LIES AND MISTREATMENT. WE KNOW HOW YOU ARE FEELING.  WE HAVE HUGH AMOUNTS OF  READY INFORMATION. WE INVITE ONLY GOOD SOLID ATTORNEYS ON CONTINGENCY. WE SHARE OUR KNOWLEDGE AND RESORCES. 


WE DON'T HOWEVER, ENDORCE ANY COLLECTIVE INTERESTS OR ATTORNEYS. THIS ARTICLE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE OR LEGAL OPINION. THERE ARE NO FEES INVOLVED WITH THE SUPPORT GROUP.

CALL AND JOIN US... RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW - TODAY. (951) 732-7091 


TO PROTECT ALL OUR MEMBERS WE WILL PUT YOU THROUGH A SMALL SCREENING. TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE. DON'T BE OFFENDED this process WILL PROTECT YOU TOO!

CALL THIS NUMBER. (951) 732-7091 LEAVE YOUR REAL NAME, RETURN NUMBER AND AS MUCH DETAIL ABOUT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES AS POSSIBLE. 


FEAR NOT! WE WILL CHECK YOUR BACKGROUND THEN CONTACT YOU! CALLING IMPLIES CONSENT TO DO A LIMITED BACKGROUND CHECK.
(LIMITED MEANS NO FINANCIAL, CIVIL OR CRIMINAL INFORMATION.)

WE MUST DO THESE THINGS TO KEEP OUT THE DISTRICTS PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS, DISTRICT ADMINISTRATORS  OR OPPOSITION ATTORNEYS from MISREPRESENTING  THEMSELVES TO TRY AND GET INFORMATION. WE SUPPORT TRANSPARENCY, HOWEVER NOT NECESSARILY WITH THESE LIEING JACKAL'S


HANG TOUGH, DON'T RUN AND DON'T TALK TO ANYONE.


IF THREATENED WITH INSUBORDINATION FOR NOT TALKING, TELL THEM IT IS YOUR INTENT TO COOPERATE BUT YOU'VE BEEN ADVISED BY CTA TO WAIT FOR A CTA REPRESENTATIVE. IT SHOULD BE YOUR LOCAL PRESIDENT OR VICE PRESIDENT (My opinion). ACCORDING TO THE legal Precedents set by LYBARGER AND GARRITY, YOU HAVE THIS RIGHT. Please click on the links and read these for yourself. The rulings' legalese has been simplified for us.


SOME DISTRICT HR PERSONELL (INCLUDING P.I.s) WILL LIE AND THREATEN YOU TO GET WHAT THEY WANT. DON'T GIVE IT TO THEM. 


THEY WILL USE THE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE AGAINST YOU ALMOST WITHOUT EXCEPTION!


I would like to thank the San Jose Municipal Employee's Association for putting an invaluable amount of germain information out on their web site for us. These are things your Local, or CTA attorney AREN'T likely to talk to you about. Mine didn't.

CTA Cowards and NTA lackies - hear this

    FUCK MARCHING ON SACRAMENTO.

  MARCH ON BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA.

    WE WILL BE HEARD! October, 2012!

EDUCATORS VOTE YES STRIKE!

Chicago Teachers Vote overwhelming for Strike Authorization as Contract Negotiations Continue; Union to use leverage to fight for smaller class sizes

CHICAGO – Today, the Chicago Teachers Union revealed nearly 90 percent of its eligible members voted to give their labor organization the authority to call a strike should contract negotiations reach an impasse. The Union has been in negotiations with the Chicago Public School system since November 2011. A new state law requires a 75 percent of all eligible CTU voters to vote in the affirmative in order to provide strike authorization.

Although both CTU and CPS are in the fact-finding stage of negotiations, the Union pointed out that the independent review will only provide recommendations on a small number of contract concerns. Public school educators say they are fighting for smaller class sizes, art, music, world language and physical education classes for students, and fair compensation for being asked to work under more difficult guidelines as determined by CPS.

Armed with strike authorization, teachers, paraprofessionals and clinicians say they believe this will give them more leverage at the bargaining table going forward. Should a strike become necessary, the Union’s 800-member House of Delegates will set the date for a work stoppage. The three-day vote tally showed:

Category	Number	÷ Membership =	%
Total Membership	26,502	÷ 26,502 =	100.00%
Members Voting “YES”	23,780	÷ 26,502 =	89.73%
Members Voting “NO”	482	÷ 26,502 =	1.82%
Members Casting Votes	24,262	÷ 26,502 =	91.55%
Members Not Voting (includes 494 spoiled ballots)	2,240	÷ 26,502 =	8.45%

Day	Daily Votes*	Number	÷ Vote Count =	%
1	Total Votes	19,614	÷ 19,614 =	100.00%
	“YES” Votes	19,235	÷ 19,614 =	98.01%
	“NO” Votes	379	÷ 19,614 =	1.93%
2	Total Votes	2,108	÷ 2,108 =	100.00%
	“YES” Votes	2,060	÷ 2,108 =	97.72%
	“NO” Votes	48	÷ 2,108 =	2.28%
3	Total Votes	392	÷    392 =	100.00%
	“YES” Votes	370	÷    392 =	94.39%
	“NO” Votes	22	÷    392 =	5.61%
S	Total Votes	2,148	÷  2,148 =	100.00%
	“YES” Votes	2,115	÷  2,148 =	98.46%
	“NO” Votes	33	÷  2,148 =	1.54%
Total Votes		24,262	÷ 24,262 =	100.00%
“YES” Votes		23,780	÷ 24,262 =	98.01%
“NO” Votes		482	÷ 24,262 =	1.99%

* Daily Votes were totaled each day for members on the roster for each school. "S" refers to Supplemental ballots, which are those cast by employees voting at a site where they do not appear on the roster (e.g. school social workers or nurses, who service multiple schools). These votes are tallied separately.

CTU President Karen GJ Lewis, NBCT, said the following during a news conference today:

“We have called you here today to announce the results of the strike authorization vote held last week. The results are not a win. They are an indictment on the state of the relationship between the ‘management’ of CPS and its largest labor force, members of the Chicago Teachers Union. It is also an indictment of the outside groups that seek to destroy the real work being done by Chicago’s teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians.

“We do not understand why Democrats for Education Reform, Education Reform Now and other organizations continue to stand on the backs of our children and profess to care about them when they ignore the harsh realities of their lives. And while our members work in schools that are under-resourced, under-staffed and under-appreciated, they have toiled in silence long enough while the mayors of this city have exerted control, shut down schools, and handed over facilities to their well-connected friends.

“The problems with our schools will not be answered by overpaid outside consultants or billionaire education dilettantes but rather by the people who actually work in our schools with our children in full partnership with the District. For some reason, this administration has behaved as if the Union was some out-of-touch bureaucracy only speaking for ourselves. But the dominant narrative among the so-called Ed Reformers in concert with city’s business fathers and mothers has been that the reason why CPS is in such bad shape is that its teachers are incompetent.

“This new leadership of the CTU were all classroom teachers and paraprofessionals two years ago. We have the pulse of our members. We listened to what they had to say. And we made a plan using the tools and the resources we have. That’s what teachers do. We analyzed the data and adjusted our plans. But all along, we had the feedback of the members in our schools. While the chaos on Clark Street continues, our members—intent on being heard—were loud, clear, and serious.

“We want a contract that gives Chicago’s students the schools they deserve. So we call on CPS to take the process seriously and negotiate with us in good faith and with an eye on the real prize: Our children.”