By Sharon Noguchi
snoguchi@mercurynews.com
Posted: 07/11/2009 08:12:15 PM PDT
Updated: 07/12/2009 04:22:26 AM PDT
Related document
* Civil grand jury report on Luther Burbank School District board
With seven years of climbing test scores, wild success in teaching reading and a record of lifting the most struggling students, Luther Burbank School District has been hailed as a model for educating poor and immigrant children.
Now the tiny San Jose district is getting noticed for something that could threaten that progress: a grand jury report that blasts Luther Burbank for a crisis of leadership and an intimidating board that may have run afoul of the law.
In a scathing report, the Santa Clara County civil grand jury awarded the five-member Luther Burbank board an F for mishandling its duties, among them firing a popular superintendent and hastily hiring a replacement without vetting.
The jury singled out board President Antonio Perez for creating a "hostile, authoritarian environment characterized by disrespect, intimidation and the appearance of retaliation." It suggested he step down as president.
The report concluded gloomily that the one-school district, which serves primarily low-income immigrant families in San Jose's central Burbank district, may not be able to change the board's systemic problems. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office is looking into the findings, spokeswoman Amy Cornell said, and Santa Clara County Schools Deputy Superintendent Cary Dritz is naming a committee to review and respond to the report.
The Luther Burbank school board is scheduled Tuesday to discuss the grand jury's 33-page report, which has done little to change the tenor at the school: Two secretaries have taken stress leaves, a principal and five teachers have complained of harassment and parents say they are terrified to speak out.
"I'm afraid of what might happen to my children," said Maria Uribe, mother of three. Even though her youngest just finished eighth grade and will move on to high school in a different district next year, she said she and other parents fear unspecified retaliation.
Since the report's publication in June, Perez has been a frequent visitor to Luther Burbank's only school, strolling on the playground, walking into rooms or sitting in the school office.
A parent who works as a school crossing guard said Perez reported her to her boss for allegedly talking with parents about the grand jury report while on duty.
Perez said he visits school because his son is in kindergarten there. "One thing I did notice is a lot of employees expressing their First Amendment rights during working hours. I'm sure there (are) a few laws against political activities using public resources," he wrote in an e-mail to the Mercury News.
The grand jury report, culminating a yearlong investigation by the civilian watchdog, alleged multiple failures, among them:
# The board summarily fired Superintendent Richard Rodriguez and on the same evening hired an interim superintendent without proper notice or vetting.
# Perez appears to be intimidating employees who supported the former superintendent and who were summoned to speak to the grand jury.
# Layoffs and demotions, while budget related, seemed to single out those considered hostile to Perez and the new administration.
# In a potential conflict of interest, Perez voted to award district contracts to a company that his woodworking company does business with.
# The district has violated open-meetings and public-notification laws.
In a lengthy interview with the Mercury News, Perez, in his seventh year on the board and third as president, said the jury was brainwashed by Rodriguez, whom the board ousted in November. Perez said he had to bring in a new administration to clean up a fiscal mess in the district office.
Rodriguez said he left the district with a $2 million surplus. He's distressed at recent events and says the board lacks ability and "has no business whatsoever overseeing a school district."
Despite the strife, Luther Burbank had been rising in the eyes of educators for its success with some of the hardest to educate children. Three-quarters of its students are classified as English-language learners.
The school's academic performance index, based on annual state standardized tests, has risen from 530 in 2001 to 761 in 2008. Among schools with similar demographics, the district jumped in ranking from a 1, the lowest, to a 9, nearly the highest.
The California Department of Education has singled out the district as a success story in closing the achievement gap, by lifting performance of Latino children, many of whom spoke no English when they entered school. And last year, the school placed 11th, among 800 schools, in a federally funded program, "Reading First," intended to boost reading in K-3 classes.
Perez dismisses progress on tests. "Academic excellence — the word makes me sick." He says high APIs mask poor middle-school performance, with many eighth-graders earning D's. "I never let people forget the crappy education I got at Burbank," said Perez, 41, who attended Luther Burbank School as a child.
Teachers worry that turmoil and cutbacks will set back students' progress. They hope for outside intervention and say morale is sagging, with ballooning class sizes, cuts to an English-language support job and a demotion for the curriculum director.
Interim Superintendent Fernando Elizondo denied that the grand jury's report and the staffing cuts and demotions have demoralized the staff. "I'm pretty sure that I can read a morale issue," he said, and he hasn't detected one on campus. "These teachers have really kept their focus on kids and learning."
The board will address the grand jury report at a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at its district office, 4 Wabash Ave., San Jose.
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_12818961?nclick_check=1
No comments:
Post a Comment