San Diego Unified President Marne Foster was
in the news over the past few days, and not in a positive light.
The State Attorney General’s office,
according to a story in the Union-Tribune,
is asking pointed questions about a fundraiser held last month to help pay off
debt and college costs for her sons.
On August 19th, the San Diego Unified School
District issued a response to a grand jury report on ethics questions
concerning Foster, essentially telling the panel to “shove it.”
Mario Koran at Voice of San Diego posted a piece today on Foster, filling in
the blanks on long standing allegations about her role in the firing of a
highly ranked school principal who refused to go along with special privileges
for the School Board Trustee’s son.
An Opportunity Drawing
This weekend’s UT story concerns a letter sent by Kamala Harris’ office
concerning a benefit held on July 25th by the C. Anthony Cole Repertory Dance
Theatre. Approximately $4000 was raised at the event, which attendees paid $25
at the door or $20 in advance to attend.
Tickets were sold at the event for a “opportunity
drawing” featuring framed art and other prizes.
The letter
includes a summary of state legal requirements for holding raffles, including
the code provision that authorizes eligible organizations to conduct raffles
provided they are registered with the California Attorney General Registry of
Trusts.
“Prior to
conducting a raffle, an eligible organization must be registered with, and
receive confirmation of registration, from the Registry,” the letter states.
Registration
requires the filing of an application form, a copy of the organization’s
Franchise Tax Board exemption letter and a check for $20 to be submitted no
later than Sept. 1 for any raffles to be held in the coming year.
An earlier Union-Tribune story brought to light questions about whether
Foster was using her position on the school board for personal gain.
A brochure
promoting the “Brothers 2 College” event included a logo for the San Diego
Unified School District. The event was also featured on a Facebook page for
Foster’s school board district.
A link promoting
the event was embedded in Foster’s board member page on the San Diego Unified
website until it was noticed by staff and removed following the July 25 event,
district spokeswoman Ursula Kroemer said.
Organizers of a the fundraiser for Foster’s
have been given until Sept. 9 to show that a raffle-like drawing held at the
event was conducted legally.
Was SDUSD Saying “We’re Number One?”
There was some kind of finger waved in the
district’s response to the recent report
of the San Diego County Grand Jury concerning the ethics of an unnamed board
trustee who’s actions replicate those reported about Foster.
Knowing that the charges leveled against
Foster involved her son, who was a minor during some of the reported incidents,
the grand jury went out of their way to respect his privacy.
Names weren’t used in the report and neither
was much in the way of identifying information about locations and titles.
The SDUSD board’s response to the report took
advantage of the Grand Jury’s privacy concerns, by essentially stating “since
you didn’t get specific, we have no idea what you were talking about.”
Recommendations about steps the school board
could take to prevent future ethical conflicts were flat-out rejected, “because
it is neither reasonable nor warranted.”
It was a shameful response, signed off on by
Superintendent Cindy Marten, who’s claims about putting children first
certainly look hollow in the wake of these incidents.
The Icing on the Cake
The story at Voice of San Diego provides details on Foster’s (and the
district’s) actions concerning the School for the Creative Performing Arts.
This is the story the grand jury was trying to be so polite about.
Here’s the lede from the story I wrote about
Foster’s intervention in July, 2014:
Mitzi Lizarraga ran San Diego Unified’s
School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) for seven years. Test
scores improved, the school was named one of the best in the country repeatedly
over the past 4 years and students were sought after by prestigious colleges
and universities.
On Tuesday, June 10th, two days before
graduation this year, she was gone. Students and staff were told Ms. Lizarraga
was attending to an urgent and personal matter. “Interim” Principal Dr. Jenna
Pesavento would be tasked with handing out diplomas to departing seniors.
I
had some skin in this game. My daughter attended the School for Creative and
Performing Arts. My family was shocked when we didn’t see the school principal
at the graduation ceremonies.
Numerous
parents appealed to the Board of Trustees and the Superintendent as it became
clear Lizarraga was gone for good. I was told off-the-record that justice would
be served in the long run.
VOSD
reporter Mario Koran interviewed Lizarraga for his profile on Marne Foster. She
told the reporter “I’m 100 percent sure Marne Foster is the reason I’m not at
SCPA.”
Lizarraga said as the 2013-2014 school year
drew to a close, Foster’s son had unresolved behavioral issues. Students have
to meet with a school committee to review the issues before they’re allowed to
participate in end-of-the-year activities. Foster’s son did not appear for the
review, Lizarraga said. For that, he couldn’t go to prom – the same
consequences students in similar situations face.
Not long after, Lamont Jackson, the area
superintendent responsible for the school, requested a meeting with Lizarraga.
He was there to tell her Foster’s son would be attending the dance, she said.
“At that point, I just threw my hands up and
said, ‘Fine. I’m so sick of Marne Foster. I’m tired of her throwing her weight
around and her thinking the rules don’t apply to her,’” Lizarraga said.
She said she was shocked by what came next.
“He said, ‘Good. Now that that’s resolved,
let’s talk about where you’re going to be next year. We have some questions
about your leadership at this school,’ ” Lizarraga said.
Students at SCPA told me last year that
Foster’s son bragged about his mother getting the principal fired during an
senior trip to Disneyland. During a subsequent meeting with Superintendent
Martin, they refused to identify those who actually heard this statement,
fearing retribution in light of the decision to to yank Lizarraga on the eve on
graduation.
What is infuriating to those students is that
they saw firsthand the “behavioral issues.” Foster and her defenders repeatedly
dropped not-so-subtle hints in the VOSD story that various charges arising are
somehow connected to the fact she’s African-American.
It’s just shameful. Marne Foster has no
opposition for reelection next year.
August 24, 2015
San
Diego Free Press
By Doug
Porter
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