ARE YOU being targeted and threatened with removal from your teaching position with the School District ? STOP!

ARE YOU being targeted and threatened with removal from your teaching position with the School District ? STOP!

Labels: Board Trustees that Lie, bought and sold, civil rights for the rich and connected

With teachers being targeted and removed from their teaching positions with the Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD) on trumped up charges without even basic constitutional guarantees of due process of law and in complete derogation of their rights as clearly laid out in applicable legal precedent, it is important that teachers so targeted seize the initiative, while not passively submitting to this witch hunt. To that end, the following document should be used to put MVUSD on notice, when they move for your illegal removal from you teaching position. Putting the district on notice like this will be the first step in a battle where you will frame the conversation for a change, while recapturing your status as an adult, professional, and well educated teacher who will not go quietly into the night (WHICH EXACTLY WHAT THEY REALLY WANT).

Originally published on Perdail.com

By Lenny@perdaily.com

Edited by I, Praetorian  

Form Letter for "Skelly" meetings

I have been directed to attend a meeting on _______ to discuss my "possible dismissal". I have also been informed that this is my "opportunity to be heard".

I am a permanent, certificated employee. Under the California and United States Constitutions and I have a protected property interest in my continued employment and licensing as a California teacher. I also have a constitutionally protected liberty interest in preserving my reputation.

Since you are threatening me with immediate, unpaid suspension, it is my understanding that this meeting would be a pre-disciplinary proceeding that is required under California law. I also understand that under California law: (a) I am entitled to know all of the legal reasons or grounds that support the District's belief that I should be dismissed before the meeting, (b) I am entitled to review all of the evidence that the District contends to support the legal grounds for my dismissal before the meeting, (c) the meeting must provide a meaningful opportunity to respond to the allegations, and (d) the meeting must be fair and impartial.

I have also been given the option to offer a written response. However, unless I am provided with the above information, I cannot meaningfully respond to unspecified charges based on evidence I am not permitted to review before the meeting whether orally or in writing. Also, without an opportunity to review the evidence supporting the charges, I am unable to respond to the evidence.

I shall be pleased to respond to any and all written charges that are presented to me. However, in order to do so, I request that the District provide me with copies of all of the evidence that is being offered against me. Therefore, please re-schedule the meeting to provide me with at least five (5) working days for me to review the charges and evidence.

I have received a copy of this letter on ___________.

Signed ____________________________________school person

NAME PRINTED______________________________

If mailed: Send certified mail, return receipt requested. Enclose a return envelope and copy of letter and add sentence:

Please date and sign one copy of this letter and return it to me in the postage paid envelope provided for your convenience.

BEWARE OF THE FOLLOWING TO RULES THAT ABSOLUTELY APPLY TO YOU:

A Lybarger admonishment derives its name from Lybarger v. City of Los Angeles 40 Cal. 3d 822 (1985). In interpreting Government Code Section 3303(e) and (h) the California Supreme Court determined that whenever a supervisor/manager interrogates an employee and (a) it appears that the employee may be charged with a criminal offense as a result of his misconduct, or (b) the worker refuses to answer questions on the ground that the answers may be criminally self-incriminating, the questioning must be preceded by a “Lybarger admonishment.” As such, The employee must also be told the following:

• Among other things, that although the employee has the right to remain silent and not incriminate himself

(1) his silence could be deemed insubordination, leading to administrative discipline, and

(2) any statement made under the compulsion of the threat of such discipline (i.e., incriminating statements) could not be used again him in any subsequent criminal proceeding.

Remaining silent:

• If the employee continues to stand on his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent in the face of the above admonition, he risks disciplinary action for his refusal to answer. If the worker agrees to answer questions after the above admonition, management can use his answers for administrative purposes ONLY including discipline– but not criminal prosecution.

Remember, before any meeting with a supervisor where the employee reasonably believes discipline may result, a union representative should be consulted, and the right to have one present is guaranteed under the Weingarten rule. 

The employee must also be told the following:

• Among other things, that although the employee has the right to remain silent and not incriminate himself

  (1) his silence could be deemed insubordination, leading to administrative discipline, and

   (2) any statement made under the compulsion of the threat of such discipline (i.e., incriminating statements) cannot be used against him in any subsequent criminal proceeding.

Remaining silent:

• If the employee continues to stand on his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent in the face of the above admonition, he risks disciplinary action for his refusal to answer. If the worker agrees to answer questions after the above admonition, management can use his answers for administrative purposes ONLY (THOUGH THIS MAY INCLUDE USE FOR DISCIPLINE , SUSPENSION, OR DISMISALL)– BUT not  criminal prosecution.

HOWEVER, before any meeting with a supervisor where the employee reasonably believes discipline may result, a union representative should be consulted, and the right to have one present is guaranteed under the Weingarten rule.You should ask for the local president or senior member of the cabinet to represent you.

 The Garrity Rule: However, An employee statement obtained under threat of removal from office cannot be used in subsequent criminal proceedings. 

WHAT IS INSUBORDINATION? When you refuse to carry out a direct order, it is called insubordination. Most of  the time, the union cannot protect a worker who refuses a direct order - even  if the order is against  your rights under the contract or law. Workers have  to follow the order and then file a grievance. This is called “obey now,  grieve later.” WHAT MUST MANAGEMENT SHOW? To discipline an employee for insubordination, management has to show that: ·        The supervisor/manager told the worker that it was a director order; AND, ·        The supervisor/manager told the worker what would happen if he/she     disobeyed the order. When can you refuse a direct order? There are two reasons that you can refuse a direct order:  1.YOU REASONABLY BELIEVED THAT YOU WERE TOLD TO DO SOMETHING  ILLEGAL; OR,  2. YOU REASONABLY BELIEVED THAT YOU WOULD BE IN IMMEDIATE DANGER. “OBEY NOW – GRIEVE LATER” “Obey now, grieve later” can be very frustrating and unfair. It can take a long  time to settle a grievance, even if you win. All the time you are fighting to win the grievance, you are supposed to go along with management’s unfair order.  Talk to the union to see if there is a way to speed up the grievance. Also,  talk with your co-workers and the union representative to figure out ways to pressure management to wait for the grievance to be  settled before making anyone follow the rule. If you or someone you know has been targeted and are in the process of  being dismissedand need legal defense, get in touch: Lenny@perdaily.com   OR   R. Alexander Bright

Riverside Deputies Union Office Is Raided

Sheriff Deputies' Union Office Is Raided

In Riverside County, federal agents seek evidence while use of a trust fund is probed.

Originally published
 September 29, 2006 
LATimes

by Maeve Reston |

Armed federal agents in blue windbreakers and business suits raided the office of the Riverside Sheriffs' Assn. on Thursday, an action that comes as the FBI investigates the use of the association's legal trust fund (was Sayer's run for sheriff, and McNamara's  attempted illegal backdoor handout of $500,000 to Sayre a part of this?).

Officials at the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office refused to discuss the investigation, but an agent involved in the raid at the Riverside office park was seen carrying a search warrant that included the last name of the sheriffs' association president, Pat McNamara.

This summer, federal prosecutors filed a confidential document in Superior Court stating that the FBI and U.S. Department of Labor were investigating whether money from the association's legal trust fund was embezzled, according to a report by the Press Enterprise in Riverside. The document was inadvertently posted on the court website and then removed, the newspaper reported.

The attorneys for the union and the legal trust fund released a brief statement after the raid: "The RSA and its Legal Defense Trust have fully cooperated with the Department of Labor inquiry from the very beginning, and will continue to cooperate with authorities. Both the RSA and the Legal Defense Trust believe that they have done nothing wrong or improper, and they look forward to being vindicated in this matter."

McNamara did not return calls for comment Thursday.

The Riverside Sheriffs' Assn. represents 2,700 deputies and other law enforcement and public safety personnel employed by Riverside County.

Thursday's raid comes in the midst of a nasty court battle between McNamara and a former employee who handled the union's legal defense fund.

McNamara is suing the former employee, Scott Teutscher, alleging defamation, and this month federal officials won a court order to the halt the discovery phase of that case, saying they needed to complete "certain criminal proceedings" involving McNamara and Teutscher.

The legal dispute between the two men, who oversaw the day-to-day operations of the association's legal trust fund, began in 2005 after several sheriff's offices in Riverside County received unsigned faxes bearing the heading "Corruption Within the Sheriffs' Association."

The memos alleged that money was embezzled from the union's legal trust fund under McNamara's direction to pay the attorney fees of a former Riverside County sheriff's deputy who was facing criminal charges, according to court documents

In the defamation lawsuit filed last year, McNamara accused Teutscher of sending the anonymous faxes and making other remarks accusing him of embezzlement to ruin McNamara's reputation.

More details of the case emerged this month when Teutscher filed a counter-lawsuit against the association, McNamara and other RSA employees.

Teutscher, who declined to comment, states in court documents that after he became the association's legal operations manager in 2002, he noticed that McNamara and other top officials were funneling trust fund money to Duane Winchell, who was described in the lawsuit as McNamara's "personal friend" and a former deputy who had been fired.

Court records show Winchell was charged with stalking and vandalism in 2002.

Teutscher alleges in his lawsuit that when he confronted McNamara and other top RSA officials about what he viewed as improper transactions, he was told to "shut up" and do his job.

The lawyer for the union, Manny Abascal, said the organization acted appropriately in providing benefits for the fired deputy.

"The union has a benefit plan that provides legal services for a deputy in need," said Abascal, noting that the union reviewed Winchell's case and determined that he was covered.

"We don't discuss the merit or circumstances of any individual cases," he said. "The decision was made to provide him benefits under the plan, and the union stands by it."

Teutscher said that about six months after the anonymous faxes went out accusing McNamara of wrongdoing -- which he denies sending -- he cooperated with officials from the district attorney's office who interviewed him about the possible misuse of funds.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said the investigation was handed over to federal officials.

Around that time, Teutscher maintains, an employee in his office falsely accused him of throwing a file at her three months earlier. It was an accusation he said was used as a ruse to get him fired.

Before he was terminated Sept. 11, 2005, Teutscher says, he met with RSA Executive Director James Cunningham, who asked him to admit that he had been meeting with investigators and giving information about the internal affairs of the association.

Abascal said the association intended to vigorously contest Teutscher's lawsuit.

"We do not in any way agree with that characterization" that he was wrongfully terminated, Abascal said. Call me simple but when the hell did a union official  start toeing the line for that agency's HR or IA department? Let's Not Forget that it was McNamara who arranged the secret back door contribution with Harold "Rick" Sayre for over half a million dollars. Remeber it was the Deputies themselves who had to break up that love trist.

The more I read on Abscal the better Teutscher's statements sound.

Los Angeles school officials are going back 40 years in their internal review of teacher discipline cases - perfect lie to cover firing older higher paid teachers

THIS IS IMMEDIATE FUTURE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION...

Los Angeles (CNN) -- In an expanding investigation into teacher misconduct, Los Angeles school officials are going back 40 years in their internal review of teacher discipline cases in an effort to determine whether any of the instructors should also be referred for possible license revocation, a school spokesman said Friday.

Los Angeles School Superintendent John Deasy has asked the principals at more than 1,000 schools to search the files of the past 40 years for "any cases of possible employee misconduct," spokesman Tom Waldman told CNN.

The 40-year period is a significant expansion from the past four years of misconduct cases that the system has already reviewed.

So far, Los Angeles school officials have referred the discipline cases of 604 teachers from the past four years to state authorities who have powers to revoke a teacher's credentials, officials said.

Of those 604 cases (THIS NUMBER IS FROM HR AT LAUSD, THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF TEACHERS IN LAUSD "Rubber Rooms" MAY BE TWICE THAT FIGURE. )  in which teachers were fired or facing discipline, 60 teachers were accused of sexual misconduct with pupils on or off campus or with minors who weren't students, school officials said.

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing will investigate 366 of the 604 teacher cases to determine if licenses should be revoked, which is a six-month process, spokeswoman Anne Padilla said. Most of the cases focused on allegations of teacher misconduct that involved student safety.

Padilla said Friday that 122 of the 604 cases were referred back to the school district for further information because the state agency didn't have the authority to investigate.

She also told CNN that 103 of the 604 cases were duplicates and were already being investigated by the agency's committee on credentials. "For the vast majority, no final action has been taken. They are still in process," Padilla said about the 103 cases.

The referral of the cases to state licensing investigators comes as the nation's second largest school system deals with a crisis of teacher misconduct. The district has been reeling from a scandal at Miramonte Elementary School, where two teachers have been charged with lewd acts on pupils, including one teacher accused of putting children in adult-like bondage situations and placing semen-filled spoons at their mouths.

The state license of that teacher, Mark Berndt -- who has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of lewd acts on pupils -- has been suspended as the state agency monitors his criminal case, and a license revocation occurs upon a conviction, Padilla said. If an appeal to a conviction is made, the suspension of teaching credentials continues, Padilla said.

This week, the California Senate approved a bill that would empower school boards to fire teachers for misconduct and expedite the firing process of instructors accused of offenses involving sex, violence or drugs, said Democratic state Sen. Alex Padilla, who authored the legislation.

The bill now goes to the State Assembly for a vote.

"Because a school board is ultimately responsible for ensuring a safe learning environment, the school board should be empowered to dismiss employees they determine to be a serious threat to the health and safety of students," Sen. Padilla said in a statement.

The lurid allegations at Miramonte prompted the Los Angeles system to do an internal review of its handling of past teacher misconduct cases, and the district determined that 604 cases needed to be referred to state licensing authorities for review, though "a substantial number" of other misconduct cases had already been reported to the state, school officials said.

One parent, Alvaro Salgero, told CNN that he was concerned about child abuse in the school system.

"It tended to be a safe place, but from what I hear, it seems that's not happening in some places," Salgero said. "There isn't sufficient security for children.

"We're able to realize that there wasn't much of an investigation with teachers and they didn't investigate them before giving them a job, and those who suffer are the children, the pupils," Salgero said.

The 604 cases include teachers who were disciplined or were about to face discipline since July 2008, according to Ira Berman, Los Angeles Unified School District director of employee relations, and Vivian Ekchian, the district's chief human resources officer.

The cases also include teachers who were fired by the school board or who left the district after termination proceedings were initiated or while an allegation of misconduct was pending, Berman and Ekchian said.

The system doesn't know whether any of the teachers who were fired or who left the district are still in the classroom in other school districts.

The 604 figure also includes teachers who were suspended for 11 days or more for a variety of reasons not involving sexual misconduct with students, the two officials said.

"The safety of our students is our No. 1 priority," Ekchian said in explaining why the system referred the 604 cases to the state.

The system's internal investigation arose after parental outrage after charges were filed against former Miramonte teacher Berndt, who resigned from the system last year but was not referred to the state for possible license revocation, district spokesman Waldman said.

Berndt, 61, pleaded not guilty in February to allegations he bound young students, then photographed them with semen-filled spoons held at their mouths and three-inch cockroaches crawling across their faces, among other graphic depictions.

"We had not informed Sacramento to revoke Mr. Berndt's credentials," Waldman said.

Berndt is being held on $23 million bond and faces 23 counts of lewd acts on a child. The 23 victims were between 7 and 10 years old, and all but two of them were girls, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.

Authorities have said they have discovered roughly 600 images allegedly taken by Berndt in his classroom. Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Deasy has said Berndt was removed from his teaching job in January 2011 after school officials learned of the police investigation. A teacher for 30 years, Berndt initially challenged the school district's decision to dismiss him. But he eventually dropped his appeal and resigned last spring.

His arrest in January led to broader fallout over the adequacy of safeguards for the school's students and the prospect of more victims.

Days after Berndt was taken into custody, another Miramonte Elementary teacher -- Martin Springer, 49 -- was arrested and charged with three felony counts of lewd acts with a girl younger than 14. He has pleaded not guilty.

The LAUSD board subsequently shut Miramonte for two days, during which the board reconstituted the entire staff in the 1,400-student school. Miramonte is in unincorporated Los Angeles County within the Florence-Firestone area, about six miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

"Because a school board is ultimately responsible for ensuring a safe learning environment, the school board should be empowered to dismiss employees they determine to be a serious threat to the health and safety of students," Sen. Padilla said in a statement.

READ THIS: For every seven teachers brought up on charges by the average school district, one has anything directly to do with students. However, of the former seven teachers, 90% are at or near the top of their pay scale. Of that seven less than 15% are prosectuted by police. STILL, 100% WILL BE EFFECTIVELY FIRED OR DRIVEN OFF.

While time is showing it is actually easy to fire a teacher w/o a cause that would stand up in crimminal or civil court, the same district can't keep one single high school student safe from the violence, gang activities or the drug use on its own campuses. Not a single student can be kept safe until they graduate. IS THIS ABOUT PAYROLL SAVINGS OR REAL STUDENT SAFETY?

The lurid allegations at Miramonte prompted the Los Angeles system to do an internal review of its handling of past teacher misconduct cases, and the district determined that 604 cases needed to be referred to state licensing authorities for review, though "a substantial number" of other misconduct cases had already been reported to the state, school officials said.

One parent, Alvaro Salgero, told CNN that he was concerned about child abuse in the school system.  "It tended to be a safe place, but from what I hear, it seems that's not happening in some places," Salgero said. "There isn't sufficient security for children 

"We're able to realize that there wasn't much of an investigation with teachers and they didn't investigate them before giving them a job, and those who suffer are the children, the pupils," Salgero said.

The 604 cases include teachers who were disciplined or were about to face discipline since July 2008, according to Ira Berman, Los Angeles Unified School District director of employee relations, and Vivian Ekchian, the district's chief human resources officer 

The cases also include teachers who were fired by the school board or who left the district after termination proceedings were initiated or while an allegation of misconduct was pending, Berman and Ekchian said.

The system doesn't know whether any of the teachers who were fired or who left the district are still in the classroom in other school districts.

The 604 figure also includes teachers who were suspended for 11 days or more for a variety of reasons not involving sexual misconduct with students, the two officials said.

"The safety of our students is our No. 1 priority," Ekchian said in explaining why the system referred the 604 cases to the state.

The system's internal investigation arose after parental outrage after charges were filed against former Miramonte teacher Berndt, who resigned from the system last year but was not referred to the state for possible license revocation, district spokesman Waldman said.

Berndt, 61, pleaded not guilty in February to allegations he bound young students, then photographed them with semen-filled spoons held at their mouths and three-inch cockroaches crawling across their faces, among other graphic depictions.

"We had not informed Sacramento to revoke Mr. Berndt's credentials," Waldman said.

Berndt is being held on $23 million bond and faces 23 counts of lewd acts on a child. The 23 victims were between 7 and 10 years old, and all but two of them were girls, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.

Authorities have said they have discovered roughly 600 images allegedly taken by Berndt in his classroom.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Deasy has said Berndt was removed from his teaching job in January 2011 after school officials learned of the police investigation.

A teacher for 30 years, Berndt initially challenged the school district's decision to dismiss him. But he eventually dropped his appeal and resigned last spring.

His arrest in January led to broader fallout over the adequacy of safeguards for the school's students and the prospect of more victims.

Days after Berndt was taken into custody, another Miramonte Elementary teacher -- Martin Springer, 49 -- was arrested and charged with three felony counts of lewd acts with a girl younger than 14. He has pleaded not guilty.

The LAUSD board subsequently shut Miramonte for two days, during which the board reconstituted the entire staff in the 1,400-student school. Miramonte is in unincorporated Los Angeles County within the Florence-Firestone area, about six miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

Riverside County Registrar of Voters - "FINAL TOTALS"

updated Final 11/13/2012 Gov Bd Mbr, Moreno Valley USD

71/71 100.00%

	Vote Count	Percent
ROBERT PATRICK ALEXANDER	6,765	13.40%
RICK SAYRE	11,742	23.25%
DENISE FLEMING	13,319	26.38%
TRACEY B. VACKAR	18,667	36.97%

FINAL RESULTS

City Council Mbr, City of Moreno Valley, Dist 1 11/11 100.00% Vote Count Percent DARYL TERRELL 1,549 23.63% DANIEL GALARZA 1,400 21.36% JESSE L. MOLINA 3,605 55.00% Total 6,554 100.00% City Council Mbr, City of Moreno Valley, Dist 3 14/14 100.00% Vote Count Percent TOM OWINGS 3,732 39.77% ROBIN N. HASTINGS 3,144 33.50% CARLOS THOMAS KETCHAM 733 7.81% JOE ''JOSE'' GARCIA 1,775 18.92% Total 9,384 100.00% City Council Mbr, City of Moreno Valley, Dist 5 11/11 100.00% Vote Count Percent GARY CAPOLINO 1,443 24.33% ALONZO ''LONNIE'' COOKS 241 4.06% D. LADONNA JEMPSON 567 9.56% VINCE LAURO 96 1.62% DWAYNE LEWIS 534 9.00% VICTORIA BACA 1,775 29.93% SHERRI BATEY 884 14.90% JOHN T. PALMER 391 6.59% Total 5,931 100.00%