Tuesday, May 12, 2015

[Mendocino County] Grand jury report alleges many issues within Point Arena School District


The Point Arena Joint Union High School failed to follow an established drug testing policy, misallocated lottery funds and the District School Board was found to have acted unprofessionally on several occasions, according to findings by the Mendocino County grand jury.
In its report, the grand jury listed 11 findings and made 12 recommendations that also alleged district Superintendent Dr. Colleen Cross, who is only referred to in the report as ‘District Superintendent,’ invalidated student math exam results due to alleged cheating by three students, and reduced the workforce, which influenced low morale of staff.
Cross allegedly administered a drug test to the girl’s volleyball team, and both positive and negative results were disclosed publicly in front of team members as well as a reporter from a local newspaper, the grand jury’s report stated. A positive result was later found to be incorrect.
Since the drug testing event, a revised drug policy has been established, and a Mendocino Youth Project counselor has been contracted to administer the drug policy and provide counseling services, the grand jury said.
Additionally, during the 2013-14 school year, the high school received $24,600 in lottery funding. Prior to that school year, the high school principal, in collaboration with the teachers, determined the funds would be used for classroom needs, according to the grand jury. However, teachers who were interviewed by the grand jury said they were no longer aware of how much money was expected, or how it was to be disbursed.
The grand jury also suspected the District School Board of violating the Brown Act on “numerous occasions, in various ways, and in the presence of the grand jury.” The grand jury also determined the school board had published incomplete meeting minutes, and held meetings at inconvenient times for the working public.
The grand jury added that in an open District School Board meeting with students present, a board member used profanity, and it was also reported by multiple individuals that the inappropriate language had happened on other occasions.
During an open session of a District School Board meeting and prior to the previous high school principal leaving in 2013, the grand jury said Cross asked the board to match her compensation offered by another school district, and if it didn’t, she threatened to leave at the end of her then-contract. The board complied and raised Cross’ salary to $145,000, which the grand jury said is the highest of any school district of Point Arena’s size in Mendocino County.
After a state-mandated exit exam in 2013-14, it was alleged three students cheated on the math portion, the report stated. Because the students who were allegedly cheating couldn’t be identified, Cross, who also serves as the principal, invalidated that portion of the exam for all students. The grand jury said that incident resulted in the High School being placed on a School Improvement Program.
It was reported that a negative work environment was the reason why there was a reduction of over 40 percent of certificated employees. The grand jury found that a lack of transparency in lottery fund allocations added to the problem. Also, pink slips were said to have been handed out by Cross in front of students and other staff, the grand jury said.
Among its recommendations, the grand jury stated school administration should follow the established drug testing policy; the use of lottery funds be made more transparent to all staff; academic testing should be monitored more closely to reduce possible cheating; administration should work together with employees to ensure a positive work environment; and personnel issues such as staff reductions be handled confidentially.
The grand jury is requiring responses from the Point Arena School District superintendent, the superintendent of the Mendocino County Office of Education and the governing body of the Point Arena District School Board.
May 9, 2015
Ukiah Daily Journal
By Adam Randall

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