"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. 








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 BACKGROUND

A DESPERATE PLEA FOR HELP TO CTA PRESIDENT DEAN VOGEL FROM ONE TEACHER OUT IN JURUPA USD, RIVERSIDE CA.

Subject: Teacher Abuse in the Jurupa Unified School District by CTA representatives and JUSD Administration
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2012 07:47:58 -0700

Dear Mr. Vogel,

We at Jurupa Unified School District need your help, desperately!!!

The Union is in collusion with the district.

One example:  I was terminated by JUSD, (but the decision was overturned in Superior Court).
Throughout the entire 2+ year process, I begged and pleaded for legal help from my Union, John Vigrass President, and Ed Sibby CTA representative.  I was repeatedly told that "if the district chose to go for termination" then I would receive legal help.  Despite repeated written requests, text messages and verbal phone calls begging the union to be proactive rather than reactive, I was lied to and ignored.  The Union President usually said he would "ask the Assistant Superintendent, Tammy Elzig, what to do" and get back to me.  The same is true for Ed Sibby.

I was forced to pay inordinate amounts of money for private lawyers.  The Union did nothing.

I was placed on a 9-month administrative leave without being told why; was denied my Weingarten Rights, being told by Tammy Elzig that I was not in trouble, so I was not entitled to Union representation, but to say nothing.  I told the Union and they did nothing.

I was forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in violation of Ed Code.  I was not provided a list of doctors.  The evaluation was held in the district office in a room adjacent to the Assistant Superintendent's office.  No psychometric evaluations were administered.  The "Dr." kept leaving the room to consult with the Assistant Superintendent during the evaluation. I told the Union and they did nothing.

I was not provided a Skelly prior to my CPC hearing, and the Union did nothing.

Unverified evidence was presented in the hearing, a violation of CA Ed Code, and the Union did nothing.

Evidence which was over 10 days old, which had never been presented and shown to me prior to the hearing, was presented and the Union did nothing.

I was not allowed to gather exculpatory evidence or interview witnesses prior to the CPC hearing, and the Union did nothing.

Proper discovery did not occur, and the Union did nothing.

False information was added to my personnel file during the course of the proceedings.  The Union did nothing.

I was denied access to my personal posessions, classroom, records and even my right to associate with other unit members, and the Union did nothing.

All Union communications are sent via District email.  I was blocked from using District email.  I complained to both John Vigrass and Ed Sibby, and the Union did nothing.

I filed numerous grievances which were denied at level one, and the Union did nothing.

I was not paid for the last month of my administrative leave and the Union did nothing.

I was not compensated for disciplinary meetings held outside my workday and the Union did nothing.

When terminated, I begged for help with an appeal.  The Union attorney who was finally assigned to me, Marianne Reinhold, told me to find a job outside of education.  The Union did nothing.

The Union President kept telling me to take early retirement, as suggested by the Assistant Superintendent.  I was not eligible, and will not be until September 2012.

I appealed in Pro Per via Writ of Administrative Mandamus.  I retained an attorney after the second amended complaint was filed and prevailed.  On Dec. 2, 2011, the judge ordered that I be reinstated, paid back pay, back medical, out of pocket costs, attorney's fees, etc.  I told the Union President, John Vigrass, his response was that I was in no way shape or form employed by the school district, that the district would, of course, appeal, and only if I prevailed in the District's appeal would I receive help from the Union. 

 One cannot even get assistance when one prevails! 

Why did I pay Union Dues for almost 28 years?  (I was unable to pay while not receiving a check.)

I have a "Right to Sue Letter" against the Union from DFEH.  I will file more PERBs, none of which was or will be done with any Union assistance.

There are over 20 of us in JUSD who are part of a representative group action against the district.  All of us have undergone most if not all of what I have described in the foregoing list of injustices.

I do not want to engage in a legal battle with those whom I paid to protect me for almost 28 years.  Please, for God's sake, help us! 

ANN (LAST NAME WITH HELD) 

I know not everyone is a heavyweight boxing fan...

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 I, Praetorian

Joe Frazier's legacy will include more than his battles with Muhammad Ali

Sunday, November 06, 2011, 12:08 AM

  By Jerry Izenberg edited by I, Praetorian

   Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier, shown in 2009, has been diagnosed with liver cancer.

   Joe Frazier is dying inside a hospice in Philadelphia. He has liver cancer. Soon the Philadelphia left hook that seemed to have a life all its own will have lost every ounce of its thunder. Soon, Joe will be gone.

But Death, be not proud because you will not beat Joe. He will simply have run out of time before the final bell rings. In his last moments, his mind will still have him moving forward with that little bounce in his stride. And it will be as if he's saying:

   "Come on, Death. Show me what you got. You might win, but before you do I got something here for you."

So what follows here is the way I will always remember him. I covered his career. I was there on the night in the Philippines when he and Muhammad Ali left giant footprints as their legacy.

   Perhaps the best way to understand that is to begin in the wake of their first dramatic meeting in New York. This was one week after Joe Frazier had dumped the once and future heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali on his rear end on that long-gone night in Madison Square Garden.

Now we were standing outside a deli not far from the Joe Frazier Gym in North Philadelphia and these three kids, maybe 9 years old each, were running toward us shouting:

   "Joe Frazier ... Joe Frazier ... Joe Frazier."

   And the smile on Joe's face as they came nearer and nearer seemed to light up the tired, gray neighborhood. As they danced around him, Joe sent an aide back to his Rolls-Royce for autographed pictures. He gave one to each and Joe told them: "Now y'all stay in school. Don't make me have to find you."

Two of them laughed, but the third one said:

   

"My daddy says Muhammad Ali was drugged,"

   In that instant a cold, cold mask seemed to slide across the champion's face. "Yeah ... yeah," Joe said, "I drugged him with a left hook." And they saw the look in his eyes and all three of them ran away.

Frazier turned to me and said:

   "You heard that. What I got to do? What the hell I got to do?"

There was nothing he could do. Not then. Not ever. The sheer force of Ali's personality would doom him to a role as destiny's stepchild. The impossible riddle Joe posed that afternoon would follow him through his always courageous and often brilliant career. It was a question with no answer.

This is what Herman Melville meant when he wrote of Ahab's pursuit of the great white whale in Moby Dick. He and Ali would be linked forever inside a crucible of their own making. You could not mention one without the other.

Each time they would push each other to a place where neither had been before. Styles make fights and the very nature of their styles dictated that each time they met, they were not fighting for a belt or a crown. They did not fight for the championship of the world or Paraguay or Manila.

   No matter that Ali had the personality, the charm, the wit to dominate America's memory. Joe had the tools to force greatness upon Muhammad. That's why the thing they fought to claim was the heavyweight championship. The true fight was for claim over the other.

And they both knew it.

   It was never more obvious than on a sweltering day inside the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City just beyond the Manila skyline. It was at least 100 degrees inside that arena. At the start, Ali was, well, Ali — dancing, jabbing, taunting, winning. But something out of the ordinary happened in the fourth.

For virtually all of his career, Joe Frazier was a one-handed fighter (but what a hand!). His left hook was ferocious. His right hand? Well, you had to wonder whether he could even tie his shoes with it.

   But in the gym in Philly, Eddie Futch, the head trainer, and Georgie Benton, his assistant, worked for weeks on that right hand. "You are going to give him something to think about," Futch said over and over.

And in that fourth, Joe threw a right hand that landed on Ali's head.

   “You ain't got no right hand," Muhammad chanted shaking off the amazement. And then — POP. Another one.

"They told me you old," Ali said, breathing hard.

"They told you wrong," Joe shot back.

   And now suddenly it was a fight. A fight? Hell, it was the greatest heavyweight fight since Cain and Abel.

The ebb and flow was incredible. Guys get up off the mat in a fight and, once in a while, win. But you rarely see one guy losing and then winning and then losing and then ...

Well, you get the idea.

   In the end this fight was decided by anatomy. The shorter Frazier began to experience huge swelling around the eyes. In order to see, he had to straighten up — the exact opposite of his corner's game plan.

Ali now was winning. But in Round 13, he was so exhausted at a time when Frazier stood there with both arms down and legs exhibiting all the power of wet spaghetti. All Ali had to do was walk 5 feet or so and touch him and it would have been over. But Ali was too weak to do it.

   In the corner after 14, Futch told Benton to cut Joe's gloves off. Joe pushed and shoved and threatened, but they came off. Then Ali saw that it was over and collapsed.

   Nobody was tougher than Joe Frazier. Nobody had a bigger heart.

Death will probably win this last fight, but knowing Joe in that hazy limbo that spells the end, he'll probably tell old Death, "Don't gloat. Fifteen years ago, you wouldn't have laid a glove on me."

And forever after, I'll believe Joe was right.