"...In direct, face-to-face
conversation with CTA
Vice-President Dean Vogel
and CTA Board Member Jim
Groth, on Friday, September
14, 2007, it was made
abundantly clear that the
SEA/CTA/NEA structure and
its nexus with Collective
Bargaining are in imminent
jeopardy with the Miller-Pelosi
NCLB Reauthorization
proposal. As a Union,we must
speak powerfully for our
membership. We do not
accept a marginalized role
indetermining our salaries,
benefits, and retirement. We
do not accept a marginalized
rolein our own evaluation and
transfer..."
conversation with CTA
Vice-President Dean Vogel
and CTA Board Member Jim
Groth, on Friday, September
14, 2007, it was made
abundantly clear that the
SEA/CTA/NEA structure and
its nexus with Collective
Bargaining are in imminent
jeopardy with the Miller-Pelosi
NCLB Reauthorization
proposal. As a Union,we must
speak powerfully for our
membership. We do not
accept a marginalized role
indetermining our salaries,
benefits, and retirement. We
do not accept a marginalized
rolein our own evaluation and
transfer..."
"Now, it is a time for action!
The Miller-Pelosi NCLB
Reauthorization proposal,
should it continue unabated
and uncorrected, may
accomplish what
Schwarzenegger's plethora of
propositions, in November
2005, could not, specifically:
eviscerate Collective
Bargaining in California. To
wit:
The Miller-Pelosi NCLB
Reauthorization proposal,
should it continue unabated
and uncorrected, may
accomplish what
Schwarzenegger's plethora of
propositions, in November
2005, could not, specifically:
eviscerate Collective
Bargaining in California. To
wit:
PRESIDENT'S REPORT:
SEA President's Report
September 17, 2007
SEA President's Report
September 17, 2007
An attachment is provided to
assist in conveying OUR
MESSAGE!
...
Sincerely,
Sam L. Lucero
President, SEA
assist in conveying OUR
MESSAGE!
...
Sincerely,
Sam L. Lucero
President, SEA
Dear SEA Members,
... Your SEA Board of
Directors are: Sam Lucero
(MVM, Full-Time Release
President), Chuck Patterson
(ORH, Vice-President), Al
Ohlendorf (BVH, Treasurer),
Rene Flores (CVH,
Secretary),
Alex Anguiano (HH, Past
President), John Ray (BTSA,
At-Large), John Orcutt (RDR,
At-
Large), James Love (CVH,
At-Large), Kathy Dyga (MoM,
At-Large), Sandra Robinson
(SYH, At-Large), Marylen
Haines (PH, State Council),
Jason Leichter (CVA, State
Council), and Marijane Moon
(SuHI, State Council).
... Your SEA Board of
Directors are: Sam Lucero
(MVM, Full-Time Release
President), Chuck Patterson
(ORH, Vice-President), Al
Ohlendorf (BVH, Treasurer),
Rene Flores (CVH,
Secretary),
Alex Anguiano (HH, Past
President), John Ray (BTSA,
At-Large), John Orcutt (RDR,
At-
Large), James Love (CVH,
At-Large), Kathy Dyga (MoM,
At-Large), Sandra Robinson
(SYH, At-Large), Marylen
Haines (PH, State Council),
Jason Leichter (CVA, State
Council), and Marijane Moon
(SuHI, State Council).
I don't understand why SEA
doesn't like the following three
ideas. Great teachers should
be paid much more than
mediocre or poor teachers.
The Miller-Pelosi bill will do the
following:
1) Restricts "merit“ to student
test scores, classroom
observations, and agreement
to work in high-need schools
for four years.
2) Requires that —master
teachers“participate in
evaluations of teachers in
schools with a specific grant.
These master teachers now
performing supervisory
function.
3) District would have to match
funds for these merit pay /
"Pay for Performance“
schemes. The amount of
money available for across-
the-board salary increases or
benefits increases is subject
to dramatic reduction.
doesn't like the following three
ideas. Great teachers should
be paid much more than
mediocre or poor teachers.
The Miller-Pelosi bill will do the
following:
1) Restricts "merit“ to student
test scores, classroom
observations, and agreement
to work in high-need schools
for four years.
2) Requires that —master
teachers“participate in
evaluations of teachers in
schools with a specific grant.
These master teachers now
performing supervisory
function.
3) District would have to match
funds for these merit pay /
"Pay for Performance“
schemes. The amount of
money available for across-
the-board salary increases or
benefits increases is subject
to dramatic reduction.
“The systematic redacting in over 1,000 pages of legal bills of every
single description of the services rendered can only reflect a knee-
jerk impulse for secrecy,” Scheer said. “It also underscores how
forgetful public officials are that this information belongs to the
public.”
Garcia himself billed the district as much as 15.3 hours in a day, and $131,708 between
July 1, 2005, and the end of May. The district has not yet produced June's invoices.
Garcia's legal meter starts running hours before he sets foot in the board room. In what
Garcia terms “portal-to-portal” billing, he begins charging Sweetwater $200 an hour for
his time the minute he leaves Los Angeles for a 2 ½-hour commute to Chula Vista...
...Board President Greg Sandoval said he believes Garcia can use
drive time to talk with Sweetwater staff by phone. But when asked
why the board doesn't use a San Diego-based attorney to save on
the $1,100-per-meeting cost, he said, “I guess we're going to have
to review that.”
...However, the Sweetwater school board appears to have leaned more heavily on
attorneys than most other local boards.
Garcia attends every Sweetwater board meeting, joined the board for a series
of interviews with superintendent candidates during spring and sat
in on a Saturday exploratory conversation with former Chula Vista
Elementary Superintendent Libby Gil that Sandoval avoided calling a
job interview...
But the third-, fourth-and fifth-largest local districts – Poway Unified, Chula Vista
Elementary and Vista Unified – only have an attorney present at board meetings when a
particularly controversial issue is on the agenda. The next-largest district, Grossmont
Union High, has an attorney present at every board meeting.
Garcia said he could not comment on why he was at the superintendent candidate
interviews during spring and why he's not attending this week's interviews.
Spokeswomen for the Oceanside and Poway districts said attorneys were not present at
their boards' interviews of the candidates who now hold the superintendent jobs.
Sandoval said Garcia sat in on interviews with four Sweetwater finalists so he could
negotiate on the spot with a candidate of the board's choosing. On the day of a special
board meeting on March 2, Garcia billed Sweetwater $3,060 for 15.3 hours of work...
In addition, Sweetwater was billed for 9.1 hours of Garcia's time on the day the board
spoke with Gil, who was never officially a candidate...
Garcia acknowledged that his time on the superintendent search probably helped boost
Sweetwater's legal bills above their average. Billings to Burke, Williams & Sorensen
were nearly $800,000 this year, Russo said.
That's up from $442,441 in 2003-04 and $102,760 in 2002-03.
single description of the services rendered can only reflect a knee-
jerk impulse for secrecy,” Scheer said. “It also underscores how
forgetful public officials are that this information belongs to the
public.”
Garcia himself billed the district as much as 15.3 hours in a day, and $131,708 between
July 1, 2005, and the end of May. The district has not yet produced June's invoices.
Garcia's legal meter starts running hours before he sets foot in the board room. In what
Garcia terms “portal-to-portal” billing, he begins charging Sweetwater $200 an hour for
his time the minute he leaves Los Angeles for a 2 ½-hour commute to Chula Vista...
...Board President Greg Sandoval said he believes Garcia can use
drive time to talk with Sweetwater staff by phone. But when asked
why the board doesn't use a San Diego-based attorney to save on
the $1,100-per-meeting cost, he said, “I guess we're going to have
to review that.”
...However, the Sweetwater school board appears to have leaned more heavily on
attorneys than most other local boards.
Garcia attends every Sweetwater board meeting, joined the board for a series
of interviews with superintendent candidates during spring and sat
in on a Saturday exploratory conversation with former Chula Vista
Elementary Superintendent Libby Gil that Sandoval avoided calling a
job interview...
But the third-, fourth-and fifth-largest local districts – Poway Unified, Chula Vista
Elementary and Vista Unified – only have an attorney present at board meetings when a
particularly controversial issue is on the agenda. The next-largest district, Grossmont
Union High, has an attorney present at every board meeting.
Garcia said he could not comment on why he was at the superintendent candidate
interviews during spring and why he's not attending this week's interviews.
Spokeswomen for the Oceanside and Poway districts said attorneys were not present at
their boards' interviews of the candidates who now hold the superintendent jobs.
Sandoval said Garcia sat in on interviews with four Sweetwater finalists so he could
negotiate on the spot with a candidate of the board's choosing. On the day of a special
board meeting on March 2, Garcia billed Sweetwater $3,060 for 15.3 hours of work...
In addition, Sweetwater was billed for 9.1 hours of Garcia's time on the day the board
spoke with Gil, who was never officially a candidate...
Garcia acknowledged that his time on the superintendent search probably helped boost
Sweetwater's legal bills above their average. Billings to Burke, Williams & Sorensen
were nearly $800,000 this year, Russo said.
That's up from $442,441 in 2003-04 and $102,760 in 2002-03.
CHULA VISTA – The Sweetwater Union High School District busted its legal budget
halfway through the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Sweetwater reports it spent more than $1 million on legal services for the year, 77
percent more than in the past fiscal year, with some expenses for June yet to be logged.
It's tough to tell why.
Through a public-records request, The San Diego Union-Tribune got invoices
documenting the district's legal bills, but the descriptions of services rendered were
redacted by order of the district's general counsel, Bonifacio Garcia, who is based in
Los Angeles...
That may be true in a few instances, but most of the information would not give away
any secrets, said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment
Coalition.
“The systematic redacting in over 1,000 pages of legal bills of every single description
of the services rendered can only reflect a knee-jerk impulse for secrecy,” Scheer said.
“It also underscores how forgetful public officials are that this information belongs to
the public.”
Months ago Garcia presented district trustees with his findings that Sweetwater's
legal bills are in line with those of similar-sized districts in Northern California.
[Maura's note: What a clever idea! Ask Bonny to determine if he's paid too much!]
halfway through the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Sweetwater reports it spent more than $1 million on legal services for the year, 77
percent more than in the past fiscal year, with some expenses for June yet to be logged.
It's tough to tell why.
Through a public-records request, The San Diego Union-Tribune got invoices
documenting the district's legal bills, but the descriptions of services rendered were
redacted by order of the district's general counsel, Bonifacio Garcia, who is based in
Los Angeles...
That may be true in a few instances, but most of the information would not give away
any secrets, said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment
Coalition.
“The systematic redacting in over 1,000 pages of legal bills of every single description
of the services rendered can only reflect a knee-jerk impulse for secrecy,” Scheer said.
“It also underscores how forgetful public officials are that this information belongs to
the public.”
Months ago Garcia presented district trustees with his findings that Sweetwater's
legal bills are in line with those of similar-sized districts in Northern California.
[Maura's note: What a clever idea! Ask Bonny to determine if he's paid too much!]
Bonny Garcia has donated to the election campaigns of trustees Jim Cartmill, Arlie
Ricasa and Sandoval. Campaign finance records show donations of $1,000 to Ricasa
in 2001-02, $1,000 to Sandoval in 2002 and $975 to Cartmill in 2002.
Ricasa and Sandoval. Campaign finance records show donations of $1,000 to Ricasa
in 2001-02, $1,000 to Sandoval in 2002 and $975 to Cartmill in 2002.
Sweetwater attorney Bonnie Garcia and his erstwhile
associates at Williams Burke Sorenson
associates at Williams Burke Sorenson
Sweetwater racks up large, clouded legal bill
Descriptions of services left off released forms
By Chris Moran
SAN DIEGO UNIONTRIBUNE
July 22, 2006
Descriptions of services left off released forms
By Chris Moran
SAN DIEGO UNIONTRIBUNE
July 22, 2006
What kind of
administrators control
ACSA? Region 18
Chair is Ed Brand.
Term expires July 2009
administrators control
ACSA? Region 18
Chair is Ed Brand.
Term expires July 2009
Should former
Sweetwater
superintendent Ed
Brand direct our
SDCOE lawyers?
He is on the San Diego
County School Legal
Services Council until
2008!
Sweetwater
superintendent Ed
Brand direct our
SDCOE lawyers?
He is on the San Diego
County School Legal
Services Council until
2008!
As demonstrated by
the Mary Anne Weegar
case, (also covered in
La Prensa) and many
other cases handled
by the SDCOE JPA and
legal services, Ed
Brand contributes to,
and helps enforce,
SDCOE's culture of
dishonesty and
secrecy.
Should
superintendents like
Ed Brand be in a
position over SDCOE
lawyers, when they
are the very
individuals for whose
wrongdoing SDCOE
must pay?
Isn't that putting the
fox in charge of the
hen house?
The taxpayers have to
keep paying and
paying, while Ed Brand
violates the law.
Ed Brand directs
SDCOE lawyers to
assist him and other
school district leaders
in illegal actions!
the Mary Anne Weegar
case, (also covered in
La Prensa) and many
other cases handled
by the SDCOE JPA and
legal services, Ed
Brand contributes to,
and helps enforce,
SDCOE's culture of
dishonesty and
secrecy.
Should
superintendents like
Ed Brand be in a
position over SDCOE
lawyers, when they
are the very
individuals for whose
wrongdoing SDCOE
must pay?
Isn't that putting the
fox in charge of the
hen house?
The taxpayers have to
keep paying and
paying, while Ed Brand
violates the law.
Ed Brand directs
SDCOE lawyers to
assist him and other
school district leaders
in illegal actions!
SEA is not as secretive as
Chula Vista Educators; it has
a website and freely and
openly discusses its plans.
Chula Vista Educators; it has
a website and freely and
openly discusses its plans.
District crossover raises questions
Educators can have dual roles on boards
By Chris Moran
STAFF WRITER
August 4, 2007
SOUTH COUNTY – School employees commonly serve on the governing boards of school
districts that don't employ them. What makes a case in South County different is three
administrators' dual roles at Southwestern College and the Sweetwater Union High
School District, because they're in positions to vote on each other's budgets and salaries.
Greg Sandoval is interim president of Southwestern and a member of the Sweetwater board.
Arlie Ricasa is director of student activities at Southwestern and is on the Sweetwater board.
Jorge Dominguez is director of the Educational Technology Department at Sweetwater and a
member of the Southwestern board.
The arrangement is legal. Governance ethicists raise questions about appearances, though,
especially when the crossover votes occur as close together as they have recently.
How close?
In May, Sandoval joined the majority in a 3-2 vote rejecting $500,000 for Dominguez's
department.
Sweetwater Superintendent Jesus Gandara said he was shocked by the vote because he
considers training educators in technology essential to the district's success.
Gandara brought the item back for reconsideration in June. Sandoval changed his mind – and
the outcome of the vote. The $500,000 was restored on a 3-2 vote. Ricasa voted for the
funding both times.
Nine days after his department's funding was restored, Dominguez joined a unanimous
college board in approving raises for Sandoval, Ricasa and 19 other administrators. The
amount of the raise will be calculated later based on state funding.
When asked whether he had considered recusing himself from the vote on the
raises, Dominguez said he thought he had done so. It had been his intent to recuse
himself, he said, but he may have inadvertently cast a vote because he was distracted by a
controversy at the same meeting over whether to extend a vice president's contract and
whether to give that vice president a raise that split the board 3-2.
Dominguez said that if he voted for Sandoval's raise, “I will definitely look at changing my vote
on that.”
Robert Fellmeth, director of the Center for Public Interest and the University of San Diego
School of Law, and Bob Stern, president of the independent, nonprofit Center for
Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, said Dominguez deserves praise if he recuses himself,
even if it's after the fact.
There's no inherent conflict of interest in being a board member one place and an employee
in another, Fellmeth said.
“If anything, you're probably more qualified than most to sit on the other board,” he said.
South County is replete with examples.
Chula Vista school trustee Bertha Lopez teaches at an elementary school in National City.
Mountain Empire Unified School District Superintendent Patrick Judd serves on the Chula
Vista school board. Sweetwater trustee Pearl Quiñones works for the San Ysidro School
District. South Bay Union School District board President Althea Jones works for the San
Diego Unified School District.
But the Southwestern-Sweetwater overlap creates an appearance of possible conflict, Stern
said.
“You can't have two masters, so the question is, 'Where is your loyalty?' ” he said. “I really
think that they need to re-evaluate whether they should be on each other's boards.”
Sandoval said he saw no conflict of interest in his two votes on funding for Dominguez's
department. Sandoval said he votes on recommendations that come from the Sweetwater
superintendent, not from Dominguez. Gandara made a better case for the funding and
provided more specifics the second time around, Sandoval said.
He said he's conscientious about consulting with Sweetwater's attorneys to steer clear of
improper votes. He said, however, that he may have to go one step further and seek legal
counsel on how to avoid even appearances of impropriety.
Dominguez and Sandoval both denied making any deal to swap votes. The two must regularly
communicate about Southwestern College issues, but both said they haven't discussed
Sandoval's Sweetwater votes.
The biggest problem of appearance with overlapping jurisdictions is the potential for a deal for
personal gain, Fellmeth said...
Educators can have dual roles on boards
By Chris Moran
STAFF WRITER
August 4, 2007
SOUTH COUNTY – School employees commonly serve on the governing boards of school
districts that don't employ them. What makes a case in South County different is three
administrators' dual roles at Southwestern College and the Sweetwater Union High
School District, because they're in positions to vote on each other's budgets and salaries.
Greg Sandoval is interim president of Southwestern and a member of the Sweetwater board.
Arlie Ricasa is director of student activities at Southwestern and is on the Sweetwater board.
Jorge Dominguez is director of the Educational Technology Department at Sweetwater and a
member of the Southwestern board.
The arrangement is legal. Governance ethicists raise questions about appearances, though,
especially when the crossover votes occur as close together as they have recently.
How close?
In May, Sandoval joined the majority in a 3-2 vote rejecting $500,000 for Dominguez's
department.
Sweetwater Superintendent Jesus Gandara said he was shocked by the vote because he
considers training educators in technology essential to the district's success.
Gandara brought the item back for reconsideration in June. Sandoval changed his mind – and
the outcome of the vote. The $500,000 was restored on a 3-2 vote. Ricasa voted for the
funding both times.
Nine days after his department's funding was restored, Dominguez joined a unanimous
college board in approving raises for Sandoval, Ricasa and 19 other administrators. The
amount of the raise will be calculated later based on state funding.
When asked whether he had considered recusing himself from the vote on the
raises, Dominguez said he thought he had done so. It had been his intent to recuse
himself, he said, but he may have inadvertently cast a vote because he was distracted by a
controversy at the same meeting over whether to extend a vice president's contract and
whether to give that vice president a raise that split the board 3-2.
Dominguez said that if he voted for Sandoval's raise, “I will definitely look at changing my vote
on that.”
Robert Fellmeth, director of the Center for Public Interest and the University of San Diego
School of Law, and Bob Stern, president of the independent, nonprofit Center for
Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, said Dominguez deserves praise if he recuses himself,
even if it's after the fact.
There's no inherent conflict of interest in being a board member one place and an employee
in another, Fellmeth said.
“If anything, you're probably more qualified than most to sit on the other board,” he said.
South County is replete with examples.
Chula Vista school trustee Bertha Lopez teaches at an elementary school in National City.
Mountain Empire Unified School District Superintendent Patrick Judd serves on the Chula
Vista school board. Sweetwater trustee Pearl Quiñones works for the San Ysidro School
District. South Bay Union School District board President Althea Jones works for the San
Diego Unified School District.
But the Southwestern-Sweetwater overlap creates an appearance of possible conflict, Stern
said.
“You can't have two masters, so the question is, 'Where is your loyalty?' ” he said. “I really
think that they need to re-evaluate whether they should be on each other's boards.”
Sandoval said he saw no conflict of interest in his two votes on funding for Dominguez's
department. Sandoval said he votes on recommendations that come from the Sweetwater
superintendent, not from Dominguez. Gandara made a better case for the funding and
provided more specifics the second time around, Sandoval said.
He said he's conscientious about consulting with Sweetwater's attorneys to steer clear of
improper votes. He said, however, that he may have to go one step further and seek legal
counsel on how to avoid even appearances of impropriety.
Dominguez and Sandoval both denied making any deal to swap votes. The two must regularly
communicate about Southwestern College issues, but both said they haven't discussed
Sandoval's Sweetwater votes.
The biggest problem of appearance with overlapping jurisdictions is the potential for a deal for
personal gain, Fellmeth said...
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD)
Sweetwater
Education
Association
Education
Association
Griego
endorsement
puzzles some
Re: "Davis and Griego/Their
experience can improve
Chula Vista," (Editorial, Feb.
25):
I am so disappointed that
the Union-Tribune would
support a candidate like Bob
Griego for Chula Vista City
Council, considering what
you already know about him.
I worked with Griego at the
Otay Water District and can
tell you first hand he had
plenty to do with the
problems there. He was not,
as your paper suggests, part
of the solution; he was part
of the problem and
continues to be part of the
problem. Griego was the
general manager who
secretly hired Bonafacio
"Bonny" Garcia as legal
counsel when the district
already had in-house legal
counsel.
It was not a coincidence that
Garcia is also the legal
counsel for Sweetwater
Union High School District,
on whose board Griego sits,
and an associate of Jaime
Bonilla, who bought a seat
on the Otay board. Since
December 2000, Bonny
Garcia has charged the
district almost $1 million for
legal expenses. In-house
legal counsel salary was
$130,000 a year.
As far as Griego's story that
he quit and only came back
after the board promised to
behave, the facts are that
Griego did quit, but
immediately became a
"consultant" collecting his
$145,000 a year salary.
When he did come back, he
received a $25,000 raise
and a district automobile. No
one at the district can tell me
what he did as a
"consultant."
Griego was quoted in a
Union-Tribune article when
he quit saying he was doing
so because he did not want
to have a conflict of interest
while running for the City
Council seat. Suddenly, that
conflict of interest is not a
concern to him.
Under Griego's
management at Otay,
public information and
reports have been
selectively withheld from
some board members,
contracts have been
awarded through improper
procedures and the district's
environmental program
ceased to exist, prompting a
warning from the state
Department of Fish and
Game.
There must be a reason why
two Chula Vista City Council
members, the mayor, law
enforcement, firefighters, the
city employees' union and
La Prensa are opposed to
Bob Griego. Experience is a
good thing, but not the kind
Griego has.
DONNA BARTLETT-MAY
Spring Valley
Before electing Bob Griego,
Chula Vista voters should
remember the scandal
ending his employment as
deputy chief administrative
officer for San Diego County.
To refresh your memory and
quote the Union-Tribune
from a July 2000 article:
"Griego's departure came
not long after an audit
showed he had used county
staff, time and equipment to
do business for the
Sweetwater High School
District, where he has been
a board member for eight
years. The audit also
showed he had attended
173 school-related
meetings on workdays in a
two-year period."
Nothing has changed in the
way he does business as
general manager of the Otay
Water District. Chula Vista
residents can expect that if
Griego is elected, he will
continue his past practices
and misuse city staff and
abuse city hiring policies to
achieve his political goals,
while dispensing jobs and
other favors to those who he
perceives to be his loyal
supporters.
JAMES CLEMENTS
El Cajon
You state that as a 12-year
member of the Sweetwater
Union High School District
governing board, Griego
gets "high marks from some
of his colleagues." Now
there's a lofty testimonial.
Why not high marks from all,
or even most, of them?
Maybe because most of
them remember the SUHSD
scandal in 1995 and the
close call Griego
experienced in the resulting
recall election. That's
probably good experience to
bring to Chula Vista city
government.
Griego says his position
with the Otay Water District,
an agency the city of Chula
Vista wants to acquire,
should not present a
problem for him as a City
Council member. Huh? He
also claims the turmoil at
the Otay Water District is not
his fault, and when its board
members got crazy, he quit
and wouldn't return until they
calmed down. Is this a trait
the people of Chula Vista
and the Union-Tribune find
attractive? What will Griego
do when things get a little
crazy around the council
chambers? Take his
impressive record of public
service and go home?
CHARLIE CASSENS
Lake Havasu City
The letter writers are former
Otay Water District
employees.
endorsement
puzzles some
Re: "Davis and Griego/Their
experience can improve
Chula Vista," (Editorial, Feb.
25):
I am so disappointed that
the Union-Tribune would
support a candidate like Bob
Griego for Chula Vista City
Council, considering what
you already know about him.
I worked with Griego at the
Otay Water District and can
tell you first hand he had
plenty to do with the
problems there. He was not,
as your paper suggests, part
of the solution; he was part
of the problem and
continues to be part of the
problem. Griego was the
general manager who
secretly hired Bonafacio
"Bonny" Garcia as legal
counsel when the district
already had in-house legal
counsel.
It was not a coincidence that
Garcia is also the legal
counsel for Sweetwater
Union High School District,
on whose board Griego sits,
and an associate of Jaime
Bonilla, who bought a seat
on the Otay board. Since
December 2000, Bonny
Garcia has charged the
district almost $1 million for
legal expenses. In-house
legal counsel salary was
$130,000 a year.
As far as Griego's story that
he quit and only came back
after the board promised to
behave, the facts are that
Griego did quit, but
immediately became a
"consultant" collecting his
$145,000 a year salary.
When he did come back, he
received a $25,000 raise
and a district automobile. No
one at the district can tell me
what he did as a
"consultant."
Griego was quoted in a
Union-Tribune article when
he quit saying he was doing
so because he did not want
to have a conflict of interest
while running for the City
Council seat. Suddenly, that
conflict of interest is not a
concern to him.
Under Griego's
management at Otay,
public information and
reports have been
selectively withheld from
some board members,
contracts have been
awarded through improper
procedures and the district's
environmental program
ceased to exist, prompting a
warning from the state
Department of Fish and
Game.
There must be a reason why
two Chula Vista City Council
members, the mayor, law
enforcement, firefighters, the
city employees' union and
La Prensa are opposed to
Bob Griego. Experience is a
good thing, but not the kind
Griego has.
DONNA BARTLETT-MAY
Spring Valley
Before electing Bob Griego,
Chula Vista voters should
remember the scandal
ending his employment as
deputy chief administrative
officer for San Diego County.
To refresh your memory and
quote the Union-Tribune
from a July 2000 article:
"Griego's departure came
not long after an audit
showed he had used county
staff, time and equipment to
do business for the
Sweetwater High School
District, where he has been
a board member for eight
years. The audit also
showed he had attended
173 school-related
meetings on workdays in a
two-year period."
Nothing has changed in the
way he does business as
general manager of the Otay
Water District. Chula Vista
residents can expect that if
Griego is elected, he will
continue his past practices
and misuse city staff and
abuse city hiring policies to
achieve his political goals,
while dispensing jobs and
other favors to those who he
perceives to be his loyal
supporters.
JAMES CLEMENTS
El Cajon
You state that as a 12-year
member of the Sweetwater
Union High School District
governing board, Griego
gets "high marks from some
of his colleagues." Now
there's a lofty testimonial.
Why not high marks from all,
or even most, of them?
Maybe because most of
them remember the SUHSD
scandal in 1995 and the
close call Griego
experienced in the resulting
recall election. That's
probably good experience to
bring to Chula Vista city
government.
Griego says his position
with the Otay Water District,
an agency the city of Chula
Vista wants to acquire,
should not present a
problem for him as a City
Council member. Huh? He
also claims the turmoil at
the Otay Water District is not
his fault, and when its board
members got crazy, he quit
and wouldn't return until they
calmed down. Is this a trait
the people of Chula Vista
and the Union-Tribune find
attractive? What will Griego
do when things get a little
crazy around the council
chambers? Take his
impressive record of public
service and go home?
CHARLIE CASSENS
Lake Havasu City
The letter writers are former
Otay Water District
employees.
| Sweetwater USD board member Greg Sandoval resigns as VP of Southwestern College Sandoval accused of harassment By Chris Moran June 13, 2008 Southwestern College's governing board has approved the resignation of its vice president for student affairs after a sexual harassment claim was filed against him. Greg Sandoval, a career South County college administrator, submitted his resignation last week, but this week he asked college President Raj Chopra to withdraw it, a college spokeswoman said. Chopra refused, the spokeswoman said... Trustee Jorge Dominguez voted against approving the resignation... A student services employee ... accused Sandoval of sexual harassment in an administrative claim filed with the college. The governing board denied the claim Wednesday night... Dominguez, the lone vote against Sandoval's resignation, works for the Sweetwater Union High School District, where Sandoval is a board member. Their crisscrossing affiliations put them in a position to vote on matters benefiting each other, and Dominguez pledged to recuse himself from future votes on Sandoval after being asked about it by The San Diego Union-Tribune last year. A grand jury report released last month made note of a reciprocal relationship between unnamed high school and college trustees. Dominguez confirmed at the time that the report was referring to him. The report praised the college trustee for recusing himself from further votes concerning the high school trustee... Agosto, the board president, said he recused himself because he has known Sandoval since the 1970s. “My vote would be biased,” Agosto said. Sandoval has been a vice president at the college for five years, and last year served about 5½ months as the college's interim president. He has also served on the Sweetwater school board since 1994. Lopez's resignation was unanimously approved by the board Wednesday night. His attorney did not return a call late yesterday afternoon. |
[Sorry, the link to the San Diego Union Tribune no longer works. Maybe Mr. Garcia
pressured them to hide the story.]
pressured them to hide the story.]
Link (This link is now broken.)
Lawsuit Against Chula
Vista Educators
and former President
Gina Boyd 2007
Vista Educators
and former President
Gina Boyd 2007
CTA Lawyers
Ann Smith
Fern Steiner
Bernhard Rohrbacher
Ann Smith
Fern Steiner
Bernhard Rohrbacher
 |
 |
 |
 |
Lawsuit Against CTA and
CVE (Donlan coverup)
CVE (Donlan coverup)
More stories and commentary:
CVESD Reporter
(Jaime Mercado and Bertha Lopez)
CVESD Reporter
(Jaime Mercado and Bertha Lopez)
| 2006 vote Board Member; Sweetwater Union High School District Seat 1 Jim Cartmill 39947 votes 61.48% Lorenzo Provencio 25033 votes 38.52% Seat 3 Greg R. Sandoval 38763 votes 60.03% Archie McAllister 25815 votes 39.97% [2008 update: Archie McAllister is endorsed by the Republican party for CVESD board in 2008 in his race against David Bejarano. I'm a Democrat, and I also prefer McAllister.] Seat 5 Arlie Ricasa 37990 votes 60.21% Ed Herrera 25102 votes 39.79% |
Shall GREG R.
SANDOVAL be recalled
(removed) from Seat No.
3 of the Governing Board
for Sweetwater Union
High School District?
=====================
=====================
==
YES 6,805
41.51
NO 9,588 58.49
To succeed
GREG R. SANDOVAL
should he be recalled by
this special election.
=====================
===================
BOB WHITE
5,780
59.33
DONALD M.
SWANSON, SR.
3,962 40.67
Shall
ROBERT GRIEGO be
recalled (removed) from
Seat No. 4 of the
Governing Board for
Sweetwater Union High
School District?
=====================
=====================
YES 7,229
43.73
NO 9,303 56.27
To succeed
ROBERT GRIEGO should
he be recalled by this
special election.
=====================
================
NORMAN YAGGIE
5,235
50.30
ALYCE ARNOLD
3,571 34.31
DENNIS J.
McCARTHY 1,601
15.38
SANDOVAL be recalled
(removed) from Seat No.
3 of the Governing Board
for Sweetwater Union
High School District?
=====================
=====================
==
YES 6,805
41.51
NO 9,588 58.49
To succeed
GREG R. SANDOVAL
should he be recalled by
this special election.
=====================
===================
BOB WHITE
5,780
59.33
DONALD M.
SWANSON, SR.
3,962 40.67
Shall
ROBERT GRIEGO be
recalled (removed) from
Seat No. 4 of the
Governing Board for
Sweetwater Union High
School District?
=====================
=====================
YES 7,229
43.73
NO 9,303 56.27
To succeed
ROBERT GRIEGO should
he be recalled by this
special election.
=====================
================
NORMAN YAGGIE
5,235
50.30
ALYCE ARNOLD
3,571 34.31
DENNIS J.
McCARTHY 1,601
15.38
| SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT RECALL ELECTION Tuesday, February 27, 1996 Shall STEVE HOGAN be recalled (removed) from Seat No. 2 of the Governing Board for Sweetwater Union High School District? YES 7,195 45.59 NO 8,587 54.41 To succeed STEVE HOGAN should he be recalled by this special election. LARRY E. CUNNINGHAM 3,250 32.06 LORENZO PROVENCIO 3,227 31.84 LITA DAVID 2,519 24.85 WALDRON SALLY JANKE 1,140 11.25 |
Statistics as of August 2008 Year established: 1920 Enrollment: 42,662 Grades: 7-12 Superintendent: Jesus M. Gandara Address: 1130 Fifth Ave., Chula Vista |
District picks firm to design new school
By Chris Moran
SDUT
May 11, 2005
CHULA VISTA – The Sweetwater Union High School District board split on choosing an
architect for a 4,000-student school Monday night, ultimately siding with professional
planners over two board members who favored an architect who bankrolls a political action
committee that supports board incumbents.
The board voted 3-2 for Trittipo Architecture and Planning, a firm recommended by an
architect selection committee, the district's chief operating officer and its director of
planning and construction.
Board members Greg Sandoval and Pearl Quiñones did their own interviews of firms and
recommended Martinez + Cutri, which has designed the last five Sweetwater schools. The
firm has also directly and indirectly contributed thousands of dollars to four of the five
board members' campaign committees.
Initially, a six-person district committee reviewed 10 firms and identified four as finalists.
Trittipo was among them. Martinez + Cutri was not. The committee selected Trittipo as the
top firm in March.
At the April board meeting, Sandoval said new presentations were in order because firms
had been pitching a concept for a creative and performing arts school for seventh-through
12th-graders in eastern Chula Vista. District polling later indicated that an arts school was
not the community's preference, and the arts theme was dropped.
Martinez + Cutri was invited back into the pool of candidates, and a finalist firm dropped
out.
In late April, the board's finance and facilities subcommittee, which consists of Sandoval
and Quiñones, interviewed and scored the four firms. So did Bruce Husson, Sweetwater's
chief operating officer, and Katy Wright, the district's planning director.
Sandoval ranked Martinez highest. Quiñones ranked Trittipo and Martinez equally. Husson
and Wright – who are not board members and therefore not subcommittee members –
both gave Trittipo the highest marks. So the staff recommendation stayed with Trittipo, but
the subcommittee proposed the board hire Martinez.
Martinez + Cutri directly contributed $250 to Quiñones' re-election campaign last year and
$750 to board member Arlie Ricasa four years ago.
The firm also contributed about $25,000 in cash and services to the Bahia Del Sur political
action committee last year, as well as $27,000 in 2002. Bahia Del Sur in turn has donated
to the campaign committees of four current board members in the past three years:
Quiñones ($10,000 last year), Ricasa ($9,000 in 2002), Sandoval ($10,000 in 2002) and
Jim Cartmill ($10,000 in 2002). Jaime Mercado – who was elected to the board in
November – has received no money from either Martinez or Bahia Del Sur.
On Monday night, Cartmill, Ricasa and Mercado voted for Trittipo. Sandoval and Quiñones
voted for Martinez...
By Chris Moran
SDUT
May 11, 2005
CHULA VISTA – The Sweetwater Union High School District board split on choosing an
architect for a 4,000-student school Monday night, ultimately siding with professional
planners over two board members who favored an architect who bankrolls a political action
committee that supports board incumbents.
The board voted 3-2 for Trittipo Architecture and Planning, a firm recommended by an
architect selection committee, the district's chief operating officer and its director of
planning and construction.
Board members Greg Sandoval and Pearl Quiñones did their own interviews of firms and
recommended Martinez + Cutri, which has designed the last five Sweetwater schools. The
firm has also directly and indirectly contributed thousands of dollars to four of the five
board members' campaign committees.
Initially, a six-person district committee reviewed 10 firms and identified four as finalists.
Trittipo was among them. Martinez + Cutri was not. The committee selected Trittipo as the
top firm in March.
At the April board meeting, Sandoval said new presentations were in order because firms
had been pitching a concept for a creative and performing arts school for seventh-through
12th-graders in eastern Chula Vista. District polling later indicated that an arts school was
not the community's preference, and the arts theme was dropped.
Martinez + Cutri was invited back into the pool of candidates, and a finalist firm dropped
out.
In late April, the board's finance and facilities subcommittee, which consists of Sandoval
and Quiñones, interviewed and scored the four firms. So did Bruce Husson, Sweetwater's
chief operating officer, and Katy Wright, the district's planning director.
Sandoval ranked Martinez highest. Quiñones ranked Trittipo and Martinez equally. Husson
and Wright – who are not board members and therefore not subcommittee members –
both gave Trittipo the highest marks. So the staff recommendation stayed with Trittipo, but
the subcommittee proposed the board hire Martinez.
Martinez + Cutri directly contributed $250 to Quiñones' re-election campaign last year and
$750 to board member Arlie Ricasa four years ago.
The firm also contributed about $25,000 in cash and services to the Bahia Del Sur political
action committee last year, as well as $27,000 in 2002. Bahia Del Sur in turn has donated
to the campaign committees of four current board members in the past three years:
Quiñones ($10,000 last year), Ricasa ($9,000 in 2002), Sandoval ($10,000 in 2002) and
Jim Cartmill ($10,000 in 2002). Jaime Mercado – who was elected to the board in
November – has received no money from either Martinez or Bahia Del Sur.
On Monday night, Cartmill, Ricasa and Mercado voted for Trittipo. Sandoval and Quiñones
voted for Martinez...
Castle Park High School
Dan Shinoff prolongs Title IX
problems
Dan Shinoff prolongs Title IX
problems
Castle Park High School Title IX problems Former Supt. Ed Brand Mary Anne Weegar Bonny Garcia |
School
Construction
Firm Faces
Fine for
Campaign
Finance
Violations
The Seville Group Inc.,
which is one of two
companies jointly
managing the bond
program for Sweetwater
Union High School
District, is facing a
proposed $44,500 fine
from the Fair Political
Practices Commission
for failing to file
campaign statements
and contribution reports
on time.
The late reports include
several contributions to
campaigns for
Sweetwater school
board members,
including Jim Cartmill,
Pearl Quinones and
Greg Sandoval, and for
the bond, Proposition
O., itself. Overall, Seville
Group faces 19 counts
for late filings over the
past five years, some of
which happened more
than three years after
the legal deadline.
The FPPC website
does, however, state
that Seville Group did
take steps to remedy
the problems, including
hiring a professional
group to prepare
campaign statements,
and reporting its own
violations to the FPPC.
The commission will
decide whether to
approve the fine at a
meeting next Thursday.
Seville was chosen to
manage the Sweetwater
bond program two years
ago in a process that
proved controversial
with some members of
the last bond oversight
committee. Read more
about that issue here.
-- EMILY ALPERT
September 3, 2009
Construction
Firm Faces
Fine for
Campaign
Finance
Violations
The Seville Group Inc.,
which is one of two
companies jointly
managing the bond
program for Sweetwater
Union High School
District, is facing a
proposed $44,500 fine
from the Fair Political
Practices Commission
for failing to file
campaign statements
and contribution reports
on time.
The late reports include
several contributions to
campaigns for
Sweetwater school
board members,
including Jim Cartmill,
Pearl Quinones and
Greg Sandoval, and for
the bond, Proposition
O., itself. Overall, Seville
Group faces 19 counts
for late filings over the
past five years, some of
which happened more
than three years after
the legal deadline.
The FPPC website
does, however, state
that Seville Group did
take steps to remedy
the problems, including
hiring a professional
group to prepare
campaign statements,
and reporting its own
violations to the FPPC.
The commission will
decide whether to
approve the fine at a
meeting next Thursday.
Seville was chosen to
manage the Sweetwater
bond program two years
ago in a process that
proved controversial
with some members of
the last bond oversight
committee. Read more
about that issue here.
-- EMILY ALPERT
September 3, 2009
Ranking High No Guarantee of Winning Work in Sweetwater
By EMILY ALPERT
Voice of San Diego
Aug. 24, 2009
To decide which attorneys should help advise Sweetwater Union High School District on its $644
million construction bond two years ago, employees and outside experts interviewed four firms.
They ranked them on their experience, their credentials and their fees.
Two of the four seemed unlikely to get the job. Bowie, Arneson, Wiles & Giannone was ranked
third. Garcia Calderon & Ruiz, was ranked last.
Yet two months later, both were hired over higher ranked firms. District staff said Bowie had
helped sit on the committee that proposed the bond and would charge less than the
competition. Garcia had "experience and knowledge of the district." The interview committee
decided to override its own rankings, Chief Financial Officer Dianne Russo later explained.
It had happened before. As Sweetwater hired help to spend the $644 million that Proposition O
authorized for school construction, the district repeatedly ignored its own rankings of
consultants.
Superintendent Jesus Gandara pushed for an architect that built schools he liked, even though
it ranked lower than others. Sweetwater chose a company to manage the construction bond that
wasn't initially ranked first. Another company got points in its ranking for being local, but still
rated lower than nine other firms. School officials moved it to the top anyway because it was a
local company. Their recommendations then went to the school board for approval.
To gauge how closely rankings were being followed, voiceofsandiego.org reviewed the scores
for five major functions of the facilities bond. Lower-ranked companies won work four of the five
times.
The rankings are compiled by employees and outside experts in facilities,
finance or the law. Firms are ranked on clear, agreed criteria. But getting the
highest ranking doesn't guarantee that a company will get hired. School officials say rankings
aren't final decisions, only the beginning of a process in which numerous other factors can
intervene. Interviews and records show that Sweetwater often picked companies based on
intangible factors that were not included in the rankings.
Choosing a company based on factors that aren't quantified in a ranking "is the least
transparent (method) and it is the most subjective," said Tad Parzen, formerly general counsel
for San Diego Unified. "But the best decisions aren't always made on quantitative information."
Those factors are often invisible to the public, unlike the listed criteria in rankings. That makes it
difficult to gauge why a company was chosen and whether the process was fair. And when
companies with lower scores are picked because of other factors, it appears to render the
rankings irrelevant.
The rankings became controversial when Sweetwater chose a program manager for the bond.
The program manager schedules construction projects, tracks costs and documents progress.
Nick Marinovich, a community member who sat on the oversight committee for an earlier school
construction bond, complained about the process for picking the new program manager,
Gilbane/Seville Group Inc., which had ranked lower than another company.
"The superintendent steered it the way he wanted it to go. It was bogus," said Marinovich, who
has worked for more than a dozen years as a project manager with the county of San Diego and
briefly for the losing company. Marinovich said in his experience elsewhere, it's "very rare" that
the highest-ranked company wouldn't be chosen.
School districts and other government agencies have wide latitude to decide who to choose
when hiring professionals such as architects or attorneys. They do not have to choose the
lowest bidder, nor do they have to follow any particular process to pick the winner. They don't
have to rank candidates, as Sweetwater has repeatedly done. The law says only that for
architects and engineering services, government agencies must use a "fair, competitive
selection process" untainted by conflicts of interest.
No such conflicts are apparent in Sweetwater. Some seemingly unlikely winners did donate to
help the campaign convince voters to pass the construction bond in 2006 or elect school board
members. But other winning companies gave less than their competitors or not at all. Neither
Gandara nor the school board members report having any financial interest in the firms.
Unlike Marinovich and other community members who oversaw the last round of construction
projects, members of the new oversight committee for Proposition O said they don't get involved
in decisions about which companies to pick, nor would they second guess them. Rudy Gonzalez,
who leads the oversight committee for the bond, said he ultimately didn't care how the
companies were chosen as long as the bond was run well.
Not every winner was an unlikely one. Sweetwater opted for the same financial advisor that its
panel of interviewers ranked as the best. But firms with lower rankings were repeatedly picked:
* Sweetwater chose the two law firms, Bowie and Garcia, that were ranked lowest by
interviewers. One interviewer wrote that he wouldn't recommend Garcia at all
because the firm already worked for the district in a different legal capacity and he
wanted to see "checks and balances."
Russo, the district's chief financial officer, said the rankings were only the prelude to a
discussion where the interviewers decided which firms they wanted to recommend. They chose
not to recommend the highest-ranking firm because it had been used before, Russo said, and
the school district wanted to give another firm a chance. So it chose Bowie instead.
Russo said their recommendations then went to Gandara to choose the top candidates to send
to the school board for approval. When asked why the staffers ranked candidates if the
rankings weren't used to thin the herd, Russo said: "I don't know. I guess we didn't have to." She
said they were nonetheless useful because they helped staff decide if any companies were
ineligible.
* To pick an architect, Sweetwater first screened dozens of applications and eliminated more
than half. A panel then interviewed nine architects. Two firms that it ranked at the bottom of the
list were later recommended to the school board over other, higher ranked firms, along with
some of the top ranked firms.
School district spokeswoman Lillian Leopold said one architect was recommended because it
was local. Another winner, Ruhnau Ruhnau Clarke, had built two local schools that Gandara
considered better looking than most in Sweetwater. The company was ultimately recommended
to the school board despite having been ranked second-to-last. It was founded in Riverside and
has a Carlsbad office.
"If I wouldn't have participated in that process, Ruhnau Ruhnau and Clarke -- who is local --
would have been cut out," Gandara said. "What a shame if that would have happened."
* School districts with construction bonds typically hire a program manager, a company that
supervises the multi-million-dollar effort. An initial interview panel comprising district staff and
outsiders ranked Harris Gafcon first among the companies competing to manage the bond. It
was the program manager for the district's last facilities bond.
But when the choice went to a second interview panel, another company emerged as the
winner. Gandara said all but one interviewer chose Gilbane/Seville Group Inc. Meeting minutes
indicate that then-facilities director Ramon Leyba said Gilbane/Seville "had a better sense of
what diversity meant" than did Harris, and would do a better job of increasing minority hires
among contractors.
Gandara said Sweetwater had good reasons for weighing other factors besides Harris Gafcon's
ranking. He was displeased with renovations done under the last bond at Sweetwater High
School. Stucco around new windows didn't match the surrounding building. Rain gutters on the
buildings were twisted.
"Here's the bottom line. You can talk about process -- should you have filled out a form, could
there be more transparency -- but the average person out there wants to know, 'Are you giving
me a better product at the same cost as before?'" Gandara said.
Not everyone was swayed. Marinovich wrote a letter to the school board questioning the
process. Dan Malcolm, who led the oversight committee during the previous bond, said Harris
had done a good job and it seemed unusual that the highest ranked firm would not win.
* Sweetwater also needed a company to sell bonds to investors, known as a bond underwriter.
Among the bond underwriters who competed to work in Sweetwater, a lower-ranked company,
Alta Vista Financial, got moved to the top of the pack because it was a small local firm, Russo
said. It was pushed ahead of nine firms with equal or better rankings, even though it had
already gotten added points in the ranking for being a local firm.
By EMILY ALPERT
Voice of San Diego
Aug. 24, 2009
To decide which attorneys should help advise Sweetwater Union High School District on its $644
million construction bond two years ago, employees and outside experts interviewed four firms.
They ranked them on their experience, their credentials and their fees.
Two of the four seemed unlikely to get the job. Bowie, Arneson, Wiles & Giannone was ranked
third. Garcia Calderon & Ruiz, was ranked last.
Yet two months later, both were hired over higher ranked firms. District staff said Bowie had
helped sit on the committee that proposed the bond and would charge less than the
competition. Garcia had "experience and knowledge of the district." The interview committee
decided to override its own rankings, Chief Financial Officer Dianne Russo later explained.
It had happened before. As Sweetwater hired help to spend the $644 million that Proposition O
authorized for school construction, the district repeatedly ignored its own rankings of
consultants.
Superintendent Jesus Gandara pushed for an architect that built schools he liked, even though
it ranked lower than others. Sweetwater chose a company to manage the construction bond that
wasn't initially ranked first. Another company got points in its ranking for being local, but still
rated lower than nine other firms. School officials moved it to the top anyway because it was a
local company. Their recommendations then went to the school board for approval.
To gauge how closely rankings were being followed, voiceofsandiego.org reviewed the scores
for five major functions of the facilities bond. Lower-ranked companies won work four of the five
times.
The rankings are compiled by employees and outside experts in facilities,
finance or the law. Firms are ranked on clear, agreed criteria. But getting the
highest ranking doesn't guarantee that a company will get hired. School officials say rankings
aren't final decisions, only the beginning of a process in which numerous other factors can
intervene. Interviews and records show that Sweetwater often picked companies based on
intangible factors that were not included in the rankings.
Choosing a company based on factors that aren't quantified in a ranking "is the least
transparent (method) and it is the most subjective," said Tad Parzen, formerly general counsel
for San Diego Unified. "But the best decisions aren't always made on quantitative information."
Those factors are often invisible to the public, unlike the listed criteria in rankings. That makes it
difficult to gauge why a company was chosen and whether the process was fair. And when
companies with lower scores are picked because of other factors, it appears to render the
rankings irrelevant.
The rankings became controversial when Sweetwater chose a program manager for the bond.
The program manager schedules construction projects, tracks costs and documents progress.
Nick Marinovich, a community member who sat on the oversight committee for an earlier school
construction bond, complained about the process for picking the new program manager,
Gilbane/Seville Group Inc., which had ranked lower than another company.
"The superintendent steered it the way he wanted it to go. It was bogus," said Marinovich, who
has worked for more than a dozen years as a project manager with the county of San Diego and
briefly for the losing company. Marinovich said in his experience elsewhere, it's "very rare" that
the highest-ranked company wouldn't be chosen.
School districts and other government agencies have wide latitude to decide who to choose
when hiring professionals such as architects or attorneys. They do not have to choose the
lowest bidder, nor do they have to follow any particular process to pick the winner. They don't
have to rank candidates, as Sweetwater has repeatedly done. The law says only that for
architects and engineering services, government agencies must use a "fair, competitive
selection process" untainted by conflicts of interest.
No such conflicts are apparent in Sweetwater. Some seemingly unlikely winners did donate to
help the campaign convince voters to pass the construction bond in 2006 or elect school board
members. But other winning companies gave less than their competitors or not at all. Neither
Gandara nor the school board members report having any financial interest in the firms.
Unlike Marinovich and other community members who oversaw the last round of construction
projects, members of the new oversight committee for Proposition O said they don't get involved
in decisions about which companies to pick, nor would they second guess them. Rudy Gonzalez,
who leads the oversight committee for the bond, said he ultimately didn't care how the
companies were chosen as long as the bond was run well.
Not every winner was an unlikely one. Sweetwater opted for the same financial advisor that its
panel of interviewers ranked as the best. But firms with lower rankings were repeatedly picked:
* Sweetwater chose the two law firms, Bowie and Garcia, that were ranked lowest by
interviewers. One interviewer wrote that he wouldn't recommend Garcia at all
because the firm already worked for the district in a different legal capacity and he
wanted to see "checks and balances."
Russo, the district's chief financial officer, said the rankings were only the prelude to a
discussion where the interviewers decided which firms they wanted to recommend. They chose
not to recommend the highest-ranking firm because it had been used before, Russo said, and
the school district wanted to give another firm a chance. So it chose Bowie instead.
Russo said their recommendations then went to Gandara to choose the top candidates to send
to the school board for approval. When asked why the staffers ranked candidates if the
rankings weren't used to thin the herd, Russo said: "I don't know. I guess we didn't have to." She
said they were nonetheless useful because they helped staff decide if any companies were
ineligible.
* To pick an architect, Sweetwater first screened dozens of applications and eliminated more
than half. A panel then interviewed nine architects. Two firms that it ranked at the bottom of the
list were later recommended to the school board over other, higher ranked firms, along with
some of the top ranked firms.
School district spokeswoman Lillian Leopold said one architect was recommended because it
was local. Another winner, Ruhnau Ruhnau Clarke, had built two local schools that Gandara
considered better looking than most in Sweetwater. The company was ultimately recommended
to the school board despite having been ranked second-to-last. It was founded in Riverside and
has a Carlsbad office.
"If I wouldn't have participated in that process, Ruhnau Ruhnau and Clarke -- who is local --
would have been cut out," Gandara said. "What a shame if that would have happened."
* School districts with construction bonds typically hire a program manager, a company that
supervises the multi-million-dollar effort. An initial interview panel comprising district staff and
outsiders ranked Harris Gafcon first among the companies competing to manage the bond. It
was the program manager for the district's last facilities bond.
But when the choice went to a second interview panel, another company emerged as the
winner. Gandara said all but one interviewer chose Gilbane/Seville Group Inc. Meeting minutes
indicate that then-facilities director Ramon Leyba said Gilbane/Seville "had a better sense of
what diversity meant" than did Harris, and would do a better job of increasing minority hires
among contractors.
Gandara said Sweetwater had good reasons for weighing other factors besides Harris Gafcon's
ranking. He was displeased with renovations done under the last bond at Sweetwater High
School. Stucco around new windows didn't match the surrounding building. Rain gutters on the
buildings were twisted.
"Here's the bottom line. You can talk about process -- should you have filled out a form, could
there be more transparency -- but the average person out there wants to know, 'Are you giving
me a better product at the same cost as before?'" Gandara said.
Not everyone was swayed. Marinovich wrote a letter to the school board questioning the
process. Dan Malcolm, who led the oversight committee during the previous bond, said Harris
had done a good job and it seemed unusual that the highest ranked firm would not win.
* Sweetwater also needed a company to sell bonds to investors, known as a bond underwriter.
Among the bond underwriters who competed to work in Sweetwater, a lower-ranked company,
Alta Vista Financial, got moved to the top of the pack because it was a small local firm, Russo
said. It was pushed ahead of nine firms with equal or better rankings, even though it had
already gotten added points in the ranking for being a local firm.
Sweetwater Education Association (SEA)
"Sweetwater’s legal budget is $750,000, but it paid the law firm $1.2 million two years
ago and at least $904,000 last year."
See all blog posts about Bertha Lopez.
Law firm gets caught between agencies
Otay water district’s attorney steps aside, stays on with Sweetwater schools
SDUT
By Tanya Sierra
January 5, 2011
A law firm that represents two South Bay governments, a school board and a water district, has had to drop
one because of an apparent dispute between the agencies.
Garcia Calderon Ruiz, LLP, has tendered its resignation to the Otay Water District board after 10 years, in a
letter saying partners had “been placed in the middle of adversarial relationships that have developed
between members of the Otay board of directors and the board of trustees of the Sweetwater Union High
School District.”
The firm would not elaborate.
The president of the Otay water board, Jaime Bonilla, said he may have caused the rift by making an offhand
comment to one of the attorneys at the firm.
Bonilla is friends with Bertha Lopez, a board member of the Sweetwater Union High School District who is
being sued by a district admistrator who accuses her of meddling in the alternative education department.
Lopez says she was just doing her due diligence as a board member.
Bonilla commented to a Garcia Calderon Ruiz attorney that he thought Lopez was being treated unfairly.
Bonilla said he was later informed by the law firm that Sweetwater officials issued an ultimatum — either Otay
went away as a client, or Sweetwater would.
The firm chose to drop Otay, which also has Bertha's husband Jose Lopez on its board.
The decision will cost the firm about $500,000 a year from Otay, but will allow it to keep making about $1
million a year representing the Sweetwater schools.
Sweetwater’s legal budget is $750,000, but it paid the law firm $1.2 million two years ago and at least
$904,000 last year.
ago and at least $904,000 last year."
See all blog posts about Bertha Lopez.
Law firm gets caught between agencies
Otay water district’s attorney steps aside, stays on with Sweetwater schools
SDUT
By Tanya Sierra
January 5, 2011
A law firm that represents two South Bay governments, a school board and a water district, has had to drop
one because of an apparent dispute between the agencies.
Garcia Calderon Ruiz, LLP, has tendered its resignation to the Otay Water District board after 10 years, in a
letter saying partners had “been placed in the middle of adversarial relationships that have developed
between members of the Otay board of directors and the board of trustees of the Sweetwater Union High
School District.”
The firm would not elaborate.
The president of the Otay water board, Jaime Bonilla, said he may have caused the rift by making an offhand
comment to one of the attorneys at the firm.
Bonilla is friends with Bertha Lopez, a board member of the Sweetwater Union High School District who is
being sued by a district admistrator who accuses her of meddling in the alternative education department.
Lopez says she was just doing her due diligence as a board member.
Bonilla commented to a Garcia Calderon Ruiz attorney that he thought Lopez was being treated unfairly.
Bonilla said he was later informed by the law firm that Sweetwater officials issued an ultimatum — either Otay
went away as a client, or Sweetwater would.
The firm chose to drop Otay, which also has Bertha's husband Jose Lopez on its board.
The decision will cost the firm about $500,000 a year from Otay, but will allow it to keep making about $1
million a year representing the Sweetwater schools.
Sweetwater’s legal budget is $750,000, but it paid the law firm $1.2 million two years ago and at least
$904,000 last year.
2009 Voice of San Diego
Investigations:
No Guarantee of Winning Work in
Sweetwater
School Construction Firm Faces
Fine for Campaign Finance
Violations
Investigations:
No Guarantee of Winning Work in
Sweetwater
School Construction Firm Faces
Fine for Campaign Finance
Violations
Blog posts re SUHSD:
CVESD Reporter
San Diego Edu Rpt Blog
CVESD Reporter
San Diego Edu Rpt Blog
Blog posts re SEA:
CVESD Reporter
CVESD Reporter
Why This Website
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz v. Maura
Larkins defamation
SDCOE
CVESD
Castle Park
Elementary School
Law Enforcement
CTA
CVE
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz
Silence is Golden
Schools and Violence
Office Admin Hearings
Larkins OAH Hearing
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz v. Maura
Larkins defamation
SDCOE
CVESD
Castle Park
Elementary School
Law Enforcement
CTA
CVE
Stutz Artiano Shinoff
& Holtz
Silence is Golden
Schools and Violence
Office Admin Hearings
Larkins OAH Hearing
Sweetwater legal fees effort fizzles
Proposal to fund them for 3 current and one former official dies
Jan. 31, 2012 UTSD
Shame on the teachers union for not calling a halt to corruption years earlier. There were articles for years in
the San Diego Union Tribune about the strange legal fees paid to Bonny Garcia. Why was CTA silent?
Because CTA gets cooperation behind the scenes from corrupt board members in most districts.
Proposal to fund them for 3 current and one former official dies
Jan. 31, 2012 UTSD
Shame on the teachers union for not calling a halt to corruption years earlier. There were articles for years in
the San Diego Union Tribune about the strange legal fees paid to Bonny Garcia. Why was CTA silent?
Because CTA gets cooperation behind the scenes from corrupt board members in most districts.
DA: 5 Charged in School Corruption Case
Investigators call it a corrupt, "pay-to-play" bribery scheme
By Sarah Grieco
NBC San Diego
Jan 4, 2012
I think that skimming money off an agency is not as serious as subverting the functioning of the agency. Of
course, skimming money does undermine the agency, but often it's a small potatoes operation. The folks
who use agencies for their personal goals and those of their political allies might not skim as much money
illegally, but often they take vastly larger sums legally. They do it in plain sight.
Investigators call it a corrupt, "pay-to-play" bribery scheme
By Sarah Grieco
NBC San Diego
Jan 4, 2012
I think that skimming money off an agency is not as serious as subverting the functioning of the agency. Of
course, skimming money does undermine the agency, but often it's a small potatoes operation. The folks
who use agencies for their personal goals and those of their political allies might not skim as much money
illegally, but often they take vastly larger sums legally. They do it in plain sight.
San Diego
Education Report
Education Report
Calexico Unified School District's Similarities with
Sweetwater
Susan Luzzaro
San Diego Reader
Jan. 16, 2012
A tipster recently brought to the Reader’s attention the fact that Calexico Unified School
District is beginning to look like Sweetwater Union High School District.
To begin with, Calexico’s district counsel is GCR, LLP, the attorney firm that recently was
suspended by Sweetwater’s interim superintendent Ed Brand. The firm used to include
Bonifacio Garcia, Yuri Calderon, and Rogelio Ruiz. However, Ruiz is now suing his
former partners for, among other things, “making thousands of dollars in political
contributions to favored political candidates in an effort to influence government officials…,”
according to court papers filed in Santa Clara County in April of 2011.
Yuri Calderon of GCR was hired as Calexico district council in January 2011. Shortly after
GCR was hired, Eric Hall and Associates was hired by the district to work as a financial
consultant.
Hall & Associates was also recently contracted by Sweetwater Union to conduct an audit of
Proposition O funds and came under fire for using David Randolph to conduct the audit.
Randolph had worked with Seville Group, Inc., the suspended Proposition O bond program
manager.
Bond money caused problems in Calexico as well. In 2004, Calexico's Measure J, a $30 million
construction bond, was passed. A 2010-2011 Imperial County Civil Grand Jury stated that they
had “uncovered irregularities” in Measure J spending.
In a January 16 interview, Diana Harvey, a Calexico teacher, said, “In April of last year,
Calexico Unified began an audit into Measure J spending. But on October 27, before the
results of the audit were even made available to the public, a new bond proposal was brought
before the board which named Calderon and Hall as those responsible for the bond.”
Board minutes from October 27 indicate that Calderon advised the board, “The proposed
bond would consolidate both bonds and any costs incurred would be borne by the bond funds,
and there would be no cost to the District if the bond was not approved by the community.”
The board voted down consideration of the bond measure. However, on December 14, 2010,
the Imperial Valley Press reported that “Calexico Unified School District directed its
superintendent to find an accounting firm outside the community to conduct a forensic audit of
Measure J funds as well as to ask the District Attorney's Office to review implications of fraud
related to the misuse of Measure J funds.”
On January 12, 2012, the Calexico board voted down trustee Joong S. Kim’s
resolution to terminate the services of GCR. In the same board meeting they voted
to censure Kim for “unprofessional behavior.”
[Maura Larkins' comment: Mr. Kim didn't know that the law doesn't rule in schools; school
boards do whatever they want, and the lawyers to whom they've channeled large amounts of
tax dollars protect them. On the other hand, 110 out of 111 districts nationwide gave bond
management jobs to donors to board members' campaigns.]
Yuri Calderon is closely tied to the unfolding Sweetwater/Southwestern saga.
Calderon was treasurer for a political action committee that operated out of Garcia’s
office. The committee, called Citizens for Good Government in the South Bay, was a
political action committee that made generous contributions to Sweetwater and
Southwestern boardmembers.
Sweetwater
Susan Luzzaro
San Diego Reader
Jan. 16, 2012
A tipster recently brought to the Reader’s attention the fact that Calexico Unified School
District is beginning to look like Sweetwater Union High School District.
To begin with, Calexico’s district counsel is GCR, LLP, the attorney firm that recently was
suspended by Sweetwater’s interim superintendent Ed Brand. The firm used to include
Bonifacio Garcia, Yuri Calderon, and Rogelio Ruiz. However, Ruiz is now suing his
former partners for, among other things, “making thousands of dollars in political
contributions to favored political candidates in an effort to influence government officials…,”
according to court papers filed in Santa Clara County in April of 2011.
Yuri Calderon of GCR was hired as Calexico district council in January 2011. Shortly after
GCR was hired, Eric Hall and Associates was hired by the district to work as a financial
consultant.
Hall & Associates was also recently contracted by Sweetwater Union to conduct an audit of
Proposition O funds and came under fire for using David Randolph to conduct the audit.
Randolph had worked with Seville Group, Inc., the suspended Proposition O bond program
manager.
Bond money caused problems in Calexico as well. In 2004, Calexico's Measure J, a $30 million
construction bond, was passed. A 2010-2011 Imperial County Civil Grand Jury stated that they
had “uncovered irregularities” in Measure J spending.
In a January 16 interview, Diana Harvey, a Calexico teacher, said, “In April of last year,
Calexico Unified began an audit into Measure J spending. But on October 27, before the
results of the audit were even made available to the public, a new bond proposal was brought
before the board which named Calderon and Hall as those responsible for the bond.”
Board minutes from October 27 indicate that Calderon advised the board, “The proposed
bond would consolidate both bonds and any costs incurred would be borne by the bond funds,
and there would be no cost to the District if the bond was not approved by the community.”
The board voted down consideration of the bond measure. However, on December 14, 2010,
the Imperial Valley Press reported that “Calexico Unified School District directed its
superintendent to find an accounting firm outside the community to conduct a forensic audit of
Measure J funds as well as to ask the District Attorney's Office to review implications of fraud
related to the misuse of Measure J funds.”
On January 12, 2012, the Calexico board voted down trustee Joong S. Kim’s
resolution to terminate the services of GCR. In the same board meeting they voted
to censure Kim for “unprofessional behavior.”
[Maura Larkins' comment: Mr. Kim didn't know that the law doesn't rule in schools; school
boards do whatever they want, and the lawyers to whom they've channeled large amounts of
tax dollars protect them. On the other hand, 110 out of 111 districts nationwide gave bond
management jobs to donors to board members' campaigns.]
Yuri Calderon is closely tied to the unfolding Sweetwater/Southwestern saga.
Calderon was treasurer for a political action committee that operated out of Garcia’s
office. The committee, called Citizens for Good Government in the South Bay, was a
political action committee that made generous contributions to Sweetwater and
Southwestern boardmembers.