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| Home Why This Website SDCOE CVESD Castle Park Elem Law Enforcement CTA CVE Stutz Artiano Shinoff Silence is Golden Schools and Violence Office Admin Hearings Larkins OAH Hearing |
| mauralarkins.com |
SAN DIEGO EDUCATION REPORT
Page 68
2 Q. Uh-huh. No, actually we're -- the question is a
3 hypothetical. We're going to assume that it's a legitimate
4 document.
5 MS. ANGELL: Have you qualified this witness as an
6 expert?
7 MS. LARKINS: She's got a California teaching
8 credential. I'm sure -- and I happen to know her and she's
9 an intelligent person. I'm sure she has the reading
10 comprehension to read every single word on these two pages.
11 MS. ANGELL: I think you're attempting to get this
12 witness to authenticate this partial document which is not
13 something she can do unless you ask her whether she printed
14 out this document and got it and brought it.
15 MS. LARKINS: Well, you're -- now you're making a
16 false assumption.
17 MS. ANGELL: Well, then obviously your question is
18 vague and ambiguous because I can't understand it. I mean, I
19 think you're trying to get her to authenticate this document
20 and say that it is something that she's already told you she
21 doesn't know, she has no knowledge of --
22 MS. LARKINS: Well, you're wrong.
23 MS. ANGELL: -- so why do you keep asking the
24 question.
Page 69
1 I'm not trying to get her to authenticate this document.
2 Q. Ms. Myers, would you look at the bottom of the
3 page, the last paragraph that says 432.7. Could you read
4 that paragraph to yourself, please.
5 Okay. Do you understand that this case in which
6 you are testifying as a witness regards this section of the
7 Labor Code?
8 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Seeks to invade attorney/
9 client privilege.
13 Q. Ms. Myers, do you have any idea why you're here
14 today?
15 A. Based on what Ms. Angell has said.
22 Q. Ms. Myers, before you were represented by an
23 attorney in 2004, did you become aware that some teachers at
24 Castle Park Elementary had been sued by me?
25 A. Yes.
Page 70
1 Q. And what did you understand that they had been
2 sued for?
3 A. I don't know.
4 Q. Who told you that they had been sued by me?
5 MS. ANGELL: Objection insofar as it seeks to
6 invade attorney/client privilege, and as to any
7 attorney/client communications I would instruct the witness
8 not to answer.
9 But please, answer as far as you know on any other
10 communications.
11 MS. LARKINS: Your objection is -- is preposterous
12 because I'm asking her about -- I specifically prefaced the
13 question by saying before you were represented by an attorney.
18 Q. When someone told you before you were represented
19 by an attorney that teachers at Castle Park Elementary had
20 been sued by me, who was that someone who told you?
21 A. I don't recall.
22 Q. How did you feel when you found out that
23 information?
24 A. I don't remember.
25 Q. How do you feel as you sit here today about the
page 71
1 fact that I sued teachers at Castle Park Elementary?
2 A. I really have no feeling one way or the other.
3 Q. Do you think that the teachers who were sued by me
4 felt stress and anguish as a result of being sued?
5 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Calls for speculation.
6 Vague and ambiguous as to what teachers were sued by you.
7 BY MS. LARKINS:
8 Q. You may answer.
9 A. I'm not sure of the question.
10 Q. Did you feel stress and anguish when you were told
11 that you were being transferred out of Castle Park
12 Elementary?
13 A. Is this a new question?
14 Q. Yes.
21 MS. ANGELL: And it's being asked for the purpose
22 of harassing this witness.
23 MS. LARKINS: No, it is not, Ms. Angell.
24 MS. ANGELL: Yes, it is. There's -- it's
25 absolutely totally irrelevant to the allegations in this
page 72
1 case, a transfer in August of 2004 when you last taught in a
2 district school in April of 2001. And you've not been an
3 employee for a number of years, at least you weren't an
4 employee during August 2004 for certain. It's simply
5 irrelevant, and it can't be done for any other reason than to
6 harass this witness.
7 MS. LARKINS: Ms. Angell, if the district had
8 acted properly and followed the law regarding my situation in
9 2001, then it might be irrelevant. But the fact is,
10 Ms. Myers and other teachers have been covering up the
11 situation that happened in 2001, and you have been covering
12 it up since October 4th, 2001, and that's why it's still
13 relevant because the coverup has been continuing.
14 Actually, this Labor Code Section 432.7 which is a
15 misdemeanor, the statute of limitations has passed on this.
16 The people who committed these crimes are not going to be
17 brought before the criminal justice system. The statute of
18 limitations has passed, but the coverup continues. And just
19 as so often happens in Washington, the coverup is worse than
20 the original crime.
21 In fact, when I came back to work at Castle Park
22 in April of 2001, if the people who had comitted the crimes
23 against me had simply let me be, I could never have sued
24 anybody because I wouldn't have had any damages. But they
25 couldn't let me be because the atmosphere at Castle Park was
page 73
1 so poisonous with hostility, and there was such a struggle
2 for power, some people were just so intent on controlling
3 things. And that is exactly what has happened now this year,
4 2004, when these same people who were -- have been struggling
5 for years and years to control everything at Castle Park,
6 finally the administration just got tired of it and said wait
7 a minute. You know, we're going to have something other than
8 this little committee of teachers that -- that runs
9 everything.
10 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Move to strike everything
11 after when I returned to Castle Park in April 2001. No
12 question pending.
13 MR. HERSH: I will join in that objection. But I
14 do want to add that I'm personally moved by plaintiff's
15 story.
16 MS. LARKINS: Okay. That's your first point for
17 the day, Michael. That was good.
18 MS. ANGELL: Mr. Hersh, humor won't reflect well
19 on the written record.
20 MS. LARKINS: Actually, it will look like it was
21 sincere and it will make you seem like a nice guy. And then,
22 Mr. Hersh, they'll think that C.T.A. cares about all teachers.
23 MR. HERSH: Well, I appreciate your concern for
24 what people think about the California Teachers Association,
25 but I guess my thought is that in light of your soliloquy
page 74
1 that the matters concerning the alleged coverup of the
2 wrongdoing might be better left for your next lawsuit since
3 that isn't what's being alleged in the current lawsuit that
4 brings us to this deposition today.
21 MS. LARKINS: Well, Mr. Hersh, the felony
22 obstruction of justice occurred in February of -- well,
23 started in February of 2002, but the coverup preceded that by
24 quite a long time, and C.T.A. was involved in the coverup
25 long before the obstruction of justice happened. So the
page 75
1 coverup -- I'm interested in the coverup that started before
2 the obstruction of justice and continued after the
3 obstruction of justice, but was not -- but people who were
4 involved in this coverup did not all commit obstruction of
5 justice.
6 MR. HERSH: I sincerely appreciate your interest
7 in the topic, and I understand that this is your life at the
8 center of all of this litigation. But we're here because you
9 have the right to depose witnesses concerning their personal
10 knowledge about things that are relevant to the allegations
11 in your complaint. And the line of questioning that you've
12 been pursuing most of this morning is not relevant to those
13 matters, nor apparently intended to elicit information that
14 would lead to the discovery of relevant evidence.
15 MS. LARKINS: That's just an excuse to continue
16 your coverup. It's very relevant. I have no proof -- I have
17 no smoking gun. I didn't see people with my arrest records.
18 I have to show the whole story of everything that happened at
19 Chula Vista, and I have not heard any other explanation that
20 makes any sense for what happened at Chula Vista other than
21 the ones I have alleged in my complaint.
22 MR. HERSH: And other than those that have already
23 been provided to you on a multitude of occasions by the
24 association defendants?
25 MS. LARKINS: That was just more coverup, more
page 76
1 baloney.
12 THE VIDEOGRAPHER: This is the end of Tape 1 and
13 Disk 1. We're going off the record at 12:53 p.m.
14 (Recess taken.)
15 THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Today is Monday, November 29th,
16 2004. The time is now 1:01 p.m. We're beginning Tape 2,
17 Disk 2 of the deposition of Peggy Myers. We're going on the
18 record.
PERJURY
20 Q. Ms. Myers, before you were represented by an
21 attorney in 2004, did anybody tell you that I had been
22 arrested?
23 A. No.
24 Q. Okay. Did anybody say anything about a police
25 report?
Page 77
perjury
4 Q. Before you were represented by an attorney
5 regarding me, did anyone -- did you hear anyone talk about a
6 police report that had anything to do with me?
7 A. No.
8 Q. Ms. Myers, do you recall a meeting that was held
9 at Castle Park Elementary School, an unusual meeting on a
10 Friday afternoon after school when all the teachers were told
11 to come to the auditorium after school on a Friday and then
12 the teachers were told that I would be coming back to work?
13 A. I do not recall.
14 Q. Do you recall saying to anyone that it wasn't fair
15 that I would be coming back because my substitute had worked
16 so hard on open house?
17 A. I do not recall.
18 Q. Do you recall feeling that way? Do you recall
19 thinking that it was unfair that I would be coming back when
20 my substitute had put so much work into open house?
21 A. What's the question?
22 Q. Do you recall thinking that it was unfair that I
23 was coming back because my substitute had put so much work
24 into open house?
25 A. I do not recall.
Page 78
1 Q. Okay. I'd like to talk about Exhibit 4 which is a
2 computer printout from the La Prensa web site. Ms. Myers, do
3 these photographs and this article look familiar to you?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Okay. Ms. Myers, have you ever contacted anyone
6 who works for La Prensa?
7 A. You need to be more specific.
10 Q. Okay. Did you ever make a phone call to the
11 La Prensa offices?
15 THE WITNESS: I do not believe I phoned La Prensa.
17 Q. Did La Prensa phone you?
18 A. When?
19 Q. In 2004.
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Who was it who phoned you?
22 A. I don't remember his name.
23 Q. If you look on the second page of this document,
24 at the end of the article in which you are featured it says
25 "photos by" and then it's followed by a name. Could that be
page 79
1 the person who called you?
2 A. It could be.
I never found out who it was at La Prensa who called her.
6 Q. Does the name Hawk sound familiar to you? It's
7 regarding the reporter from La Prensa.
8 A. Say that again?
9 Q. Does the last name Hawk sound familiar to you
10 regarding the name of the reporter from La Prensa?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Okay. About how many times did you speak to the
13 man who called you? Or was it a man? Is J.D. Hawk a man?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Okay. And did you see him taking photos at the
16 board meeting on September 14th, 2004?
17 A. Prior to this board meeting I had never seen him,
18 so I don't -- I wouldn't be able to say whether I saw him
19 taking these pictures or not.
20 Q. Did you see somebody taking pictures at the board
21 meeting?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Did that person come and talk to you then?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Okay. And did that person -- and was that person
page 80
1 a man?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. And did he represent himself as being a reporter
4 from La Prensa?
5 A. I don't recall that he said he was a reporter. He
6 said he was taking pictures for La Prensa.
7 Q. Okay. And did he take notes when you spoke to him?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. On the first page of this document, the -- would
10 you read just to yourself the last three lines.
11 MS. ANGELL: And I'll renew my objection that this
12 entire line of questioning concerning activities in
13 October -- or sorry, August thereafter related to this
14 witness's transfer from one school to another within the
15 Chula Vista Elementary School District is wholly irrelevant
16 to Larkins V. Werlin et al. and any cause of action therein.
17 MS. LARKINS: Well, I would like to say that the
18 attitudes of teachers at Castle Park are intricately involved
19 in this case since I was removed from my classroom because
20 two teachers called up Rick Werlin and said I was going to
21 kill them, and other teachers looked the other way.
22 MS. ANGELL: Mrs. Larkins, is that your purpose in
23 conducting this deposition today is to do discovery on the
24 issue that you just described, your removal from your
25 classroom while other teachers allegedly looked the other way?
They looked the other way regarding the issue in this complaint. They said I
would kill them based on the Kathleen Elton report.
Page 81
1 MS. LARKINS: I'm not the deponent.
2 MS. ANGELL: Because you've just stated that
3 that's your purpose in deposing this witness and that is an
4 improper use of discovery. It is abuse of discovery process
5 because that is not the subject of this litigation. The
6 matter of your dismissal from employment with this school
7 district has been adjudicated with finality some time ago.
8 And it's --
9 MR. HERSH: I would join in the objection just
10 stated by counsel for Ms. Donlan.
11 MS. LARKINS: I have agreed that you can have -- I
12 have stipulated to a standing objection here and yet you keep
13 repeating it and repeating it. It's now past the time for
14 the next deponent to -- the deposition to start, and this
15 constant objection, objection really delays the progress of
16 this deposition. So I'd really ask you to kind of shorten
17 your soliloquies a little.
Page 82
Page 83
7 Q. Could you tell me what point you were trying to
8 make here, Ms. Myers, when you made the statement that's
9 contained here in these last three lines on this page?
13 THE WITNESS: I think that the point is very clear
14 here actually.
Apparently not. It wasn’t really rotating subs that she thought was a bad thing.
16 Q. Do you think rotating subs is bad for students?
17 A. Yes, that's what I said.
18 Q. Did you think it was bad for my students when my
19 classroom had rotating subs in 2001?
20 A. I actually didn't have an opinion about it, Maura.
21 Q. So you only have opinion about whether or not
22 rotating subs are a bad thing when it's you that's involved --
23 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Argumentative.
24 BY MS. LARKINS:
25 Q. -- not someone else?
Page 84
6 Q. Okay. But I do want to get this clear. When
7 Robin Donlan was transferred, you thought it was a bad thing
8 that she was replaced by rotating subs? Is that true?
9 A. Regarding this issue, yes.
10 Q. And what issue are you talking about, the issue of
11 rotating subs?
12 A. The issue of the response in this exhibit.
13 Q. Okay. I'm really not understanding your answer.
14 Ms. Myers, in what situations are rotating subs a bad thing?
18 Q. Ms. Myers, in your opinion are rotating subs
19 always a bad thing when there is a full-time teacher
20 available to teach a class?
25 A. I would need you to be specific.
Page 85
1 Q. Are there some situations in which you think
2 rotating subs are acceptable as replacing a teacher, a
3 full-time teacher?
4 A. Once again, I'm confused. I would need a specific
5 example in order to give an opinion.
6 Q. So it depends on who the person is that's being
7 removed from the classroom.
8 A. That's not what I said. What I said is I would
9 need specific -- a specific situation as to determine whether
10 a sub, a rotating sub, would be correct or not.
11 Q. But you don't need a specific name of a person.
12 A. No.
13 Q. Okay. Here, I'll give you a situation. You have
14 a bilingual teacher and in the middle of the year she is
15 replaced by someone who hasn't even done her student teaching
16 and doesn't speak Spanish who is then replaced by a sub,
17 another sub, who does speak Spanish for a few weeks, and then
18 is replaced by another sub. Do you think that's a good thing
19 for the students?
Page 86
1 THE WITNESS: I don't think you can answer that
2 without taking other facts in.
4 Q. Okay. What would be the other facts you would
5 need to know?
6 A. No. My point is other facts being not said that
7 are being assumed here.
8 Q. What do you feel that is being assumed here?
9 A. Maura, you have just described your position.
10 Q. Right.
11 A. And I have no opinion on your position.
12 Q. How about if the same thing happened to someone
13 who wasn't Maura Larkins? Then would it be bad? Then would
14 you have an opinion?
19 Q. If I had asked you the same question only it was
20 someone else other than myself that had been involved, then
21 would you have an opinion?
22 A. Once again, I have to defer to the fact that this
23 whole proceeding deals with you, and for me to answer it
24 seems difficult for me to answer when I feel that you are
25 just trying to get me to respond to you specifically.
Right!!! Why does she refuse to say how she feels about me specifically?
Because she is so hostile to me that she is involved in covering up crimes to
get rid of me. I have the right to find out how she feels about me specifically-it
goes to her coverup of illegal police records—contempt for the law. She feels
she doesn’t have to talk about my situation. That’s what I want to know. The
records offense led to my being taken out of my classroom—otherwise I never
would have known about it, and wouldn’t have had any damages from it.
Page 87
1 Q. Well, I am very curious about your attitudes
2 toward me. I'm extremely curious why rotating subs are a bad
3 thing in 2004 but they weren't bad in 2001. I'm just trying
4 to figure out how your mind works.
5 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Misstates the evidence.
6 Argumentative. The prior testimony was that in the situation
7 described in this news article, which based on my quick scan
8 the article talks about a special education teacher and a
9 transfer of a special education teacher, I think that was the
10 testimony about rotating subs. There was no reference I
11 don't think to yours or other situations.
12 THE WITNESS: Right. This comment was made based
13 on this specific situation of a noncredentialed special ed
14 teacher in a classroom and rotating subs. So in response to
15 that specifically I can, but --
18 A. -- this hypothetical is too difficult.
19 Q. How about if it was at another school and a
20 different credentialed special ed teacher was replaced by
21 noncredentialed rotating subs at another school other than
22 Castle Park? Then would you think it would be a bad thing?
25 THE WITNESS: So am I to understand that what
page 88
1 you're asking me is that if a special ed teacher were removed
2 from a school and a noncredentialed special ed teacher
3 replaced, would I think that that is not the right thing to
4 do?
11 Q. The question is, if you have a credentialed
12 special education teacher at a school other than Castle Park
13 who is replaced at the beginning of the year by rotating subs
14 who are not credentialed special education teachers, do you
15 consider that to be a bad thing?
22 THE WITNESS: And I believe you've just said what
23 I am thinking. Being able to answer this without other --
24 with knowing other things, I cannot make -- I don't think I
25 can answer the question.
Page 89
2 Q. What are those other things that you need to know
3 in order to answer the question?
4 A. It's not other things I need to know. It's other
5 things that I do know regarding this specific question about
6 a special ed credentialed teacher.
7 Q. Okay. What are those other things that you do
8 know?
A farce—I swear we didn’t rehearse this or have a script
14 MS. ANGELL: I'm not going to let her answer that
15 question.
16 MS. LARKINS: She's the one who said it. She said
17 that there were other things she knows about this.
23 Q. Okay. You said that the reason you were able to
24 make this statement which is contained here in Exhibit 4 is
25 because you knew other things about this situation than those
page 90
1 that are contained here. I'd like to know what are those
2 other things that you know about this situation?
3 A. You did not -- that is not what I said. You asked
4 me a question, and Ms. Angell objected saying that it was
5 ambiguous based on things that I do know. And it is
6 difficult for me to answer the question that you are asking
7 me because this situation involves me, and I do have
8 information other than what I have stated here.
9 Q. What is that information?
10 A. I'm sorry, but that is under the grievance
11 process, and I really don't believe that it has anything to
12 do with you, and it's not anything that you need to know.
13 Q. Well, I will be adding that to my motion to compel
14 because I think it has a whole lot to do with me. And I
15 think you never would have been transferred if what had
16 happened to me hadn't happened. You'd be still happily
17 teaching at Castle Park Elementary School if you and others
18 hadn't worked together to get rid of me. Okay.
19 THE WITNESS: I'm really warm. I want to take my
20 jacket off. Is that going to mess with your ears?
22 Q. Okay. When you spoke to the man from La Prensa on
23 September 14th, 2004 at the board meeting, what did you mean
24 when you said there's not a whole lot of learning going on
25 there?
Page 91
4 Q. Ms. Myers, did you go to Castle Park Elementary
5 School on the night that they were having open house recently?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Was your purpose to disrupt Castle Park School and
8 the -- okay, period. Was your purpose to disrupt Castle Park
9 School?
10 A. No.
11 Q. What was your purpose?
12 A. To pass out fliers regarding Jill Galvez.
13 Q. Were you -- why did you choose Castle Park School
14 as a place to do that?
15 A. Because many parents would be coming to open
16 house, and that would be a good forum to pass out fliers
17 regarding Jill Galvez and her election to the school board.
18 Q. Why didn't you go to another school where there
19 would also be many parents?
20 A. This was open house. Actually, it was back to
21 school night, so unless they were having a back to school
22 night it would not be in our best interest to hand out fliers
23 at a school that wasn't open.
24 Q. Okay. Is Castle Park the only school in Chula
25 Vista Elementary School District that has open house?
Page 92
1 A. No.
2 Q. Did you attend the open houses of other schools
3 other than the one you're teaching at in order to pass out
4 fliers for Jill Galvez?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Why did you choose Castle Park of all the schools
7 in Chula Vista?
8 A. I didn't necessarily choose Castle Park, but I had
9 conflicting things at other back to school nights that I
10 wasn't able to attend. So did I target Castle Park, no. It
11 worked into my schedule.
12 Q. Do you think Ollie Matos should be removed from
13 Castle Park?
14 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Not reasonably calculated
15 to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
16 MS. LARKINS: Well, it's certainly calculated to
17 reveal the hunger for power of this witness and her desire to
18 destroy other people's careers.
[which was her motivation for covering up criminal receipt and use of criminal
records]
page 93
6 Q. Did you consider your words that were published in
7 this article about Dr. Billings to be an attack on
8 Dr. Billings?
9 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Vague and ambiguous. Are
10 you referring to what's marked as Exhibit 4?
11 MS. LARKINS: Yes.
14 Q. When you said that Billings had misinterpreted his
15 rights, did you intend that as an attack on Lowell Billings?
16 A. No.
17 Q. How did you intend that?
18 A. That goes along with the whole grievance process
19 that is in the works right now and has nothing to do with
20 you, and I do not want to answer.
21 MS. ANGELL: But insofar as statements that you
22 made to the press that you've already made public, I'd like
23 you to answer the question concerning --
She really thinks she has no obligation to cooperate with the discovery process
regarding a lawsuit for crimes. Lawyer makes her answer question she claims
is protected by grievance process
24 THE WITNESS: So what is the question again?
25 MS. ANGELL: Anything that you've already made
page 94
1 public by talking to the press about it as separate from your
2 pending litigation.
3 THE WITNESS: Right. But specifically what is the
4 question that --
8 [Q.] Why didn't you just quietly rely on the grievance
9 procedure rather than making statements about Billings to the
10 press?
20 MR. HERSH: Thank you. Well, of course, I object
21 to this entire line of questioning. It's quite -- quite
22 absurd and ridiculous. But I would advise the witness that
23 in this matter, insofar as the plaintiff is attempting to ask
24 you about matters that have to do with your activities as a
25 Chula Vista educator, member of the Chula Vista Educators and
page 95
1 your union activities, I will be representing you, and I will
2 object to any questions that attempt to elicit the reasons
3 why a grievance was filed or any confidential communications
4 between you and any staff or officers of the Chula Vista
5 Educators.
8 A. I have a problem answering the question because I
9 believe that responding to this question goes beyond what I
10 have said to the media. So in that respect, I believe that
11 I'm going beyond what I should in responding.
12 MR. HERSH: Ms. Myers, if responding to the
13 question requires that you divulge any sort of confidential,
14 internal Chula Vista Educators information, you should let me
15 know that and I will then instruct you not to answer the
16 question.
17 THE WITNESS: I believe that this would require me
18 to discuss things that I discussed with C.V.E. regarding this
19 matter.
20 MR. HERSH: And were those discussions
21 confidential?
22 THE WITNESS: Yes.
23 MR. HERSH: Okay. On that basis then I would
24 instruct the witness not to answer the question posed by the
25 plaintiff.
It’s quite obvious that CVE suggested she talk to the press
Page 96
2 Q. Just because you talked about this to someone at
3 C.V.E. doesn't mean that you're -- you can refuse to answer
4 it here in a deposition regarding very serious charges that
5 are actually crimes.
6 A. I am not refusing to answer anything that wasn't
7 confidential. I'm refusing to answer based on discussions
8 that were made in a confidential discussion with C.V.E. --
9 Q. Okay.
10 A. -- specifically dealing with this issue and the
11 pending grievance.
12 Q. Okay. I want to know what were your thoughts and
13 your motivations? Just because you also happen to tell those
14 thoughts and motivations to someone at C.V.E. doesn't mean
15 that you have a right to refuse to talk about them here in
16 this deposition for Superior Court.
17 A. I beg to differ, because specifically one instance
18 that I'm thinking of it was a definite confidential statement
19 that was made about all of this dealing with the grievance in
20 particular, so --
21 MR. HERSH: Ms. Myers, you don't need to argue
22 with the --
23 THE WITNESS: Thank you.
24 MR. HERSH: -- with the plaintiff here, Ms. Larkins.
25 I've instructed you not to answer her question.
Page 97
1 THE WITNESS: Okay.
2 MS. LARKINS: Okay. And what question was that,
3 Mr. Hersh?
4 MR. HERSH: The question as to her motivation for
5 filing the grievance.
6 MS. LARKINS: Oh, it certainly was not, Mr. Hersh.
7 My question was about her motivation for going to the press.
9 MS. ANGELL: That's not what I heard you ask. I
10 didn't hear you ask what was her motivation for going to the
11 press in the last question. If you'd like to strike the
12 prior questions and start over with that question, maybe you
13 won't have an objection.
14 MS. LARKINS: I asked something along the lines of
15 why did she not rely on the grievance proceeding and instead
16 she went to the press. I'm asking her for -- about her
17 actions apart from the grievance proceeding.
18 MS. ANGELL: Actually, I think you're asking about
19 the rationale behind the grievance procedure which is what
20 counsel there is making objections to I think.
22 Q. Okay. I want to know your rationale about going
23 to the press. Why did you go to the press?
24 A. Actually, I did not go to the press.
25 Q. Okay. Why did you make these statements? Why did
page 98
1 you make this statement about Lowell Billings to the press?
2 A. The press came to me.
3 Q. And then you made this statement to them?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Why?
6 A. I was asked about what happened.
She’s also being asked in the deposition about what happened, but doesn’t
want to talk about it now.
7 Q. Well, you sure are good at not answering questions
8 here. You seem to think --
12 Q. You felt because a reporter asks you a question
13 you have to answer it?
14 A. I will respond this way. You asked me about this.
15 I did not go to the press. They asked me a question, and I
16 responded.
17 Q. Right. They just caught you by surprise maybe and
18 it just popped out of your mouth?
24 MS. LARKINS: I really would like an answer to
25 that.
Page 99
10 MS. ANGELL: She said that he asked her a question
11 and she responded. You said why did you give that answer;
12 she said because I was asked a question.
19 [Q.] Why did you answer at all?
Page 100
2 Q. Why did you answer the reporter when he asked you
3 the question?
4 A. He asked the question and I answered it, and I
5 didn't feel that it went beyond a simple answer.
6 Q. Okay. Were you aware that your words might be
7 printed in the press?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Were you aware that you were making a negative
10 comment about Lowell Billings to be printed in the press?
11 A. When I made the comment, no. I mean, the way --
12 the question you're asking -- what is it specifically that
13 you want to know, because I'm getting -- you're asking one
14 thing, but I have the feeling you're asking something else
15 without saying it.
16 Q. No, I really want to know. But I'll tell you
17 what. I'm going to move to something different. On
18 Exhibit 4 would you look at the third and -- the third line.
19 In the middle there's a sentence that starts "the
20 controversial transfer"? Could you read that sentence to
21 yourself?
22 A. Where is this?
23 Q. The third line on the first page.
24 A. Okay.
25 Q. In the middle there's a sentence that starts "the
page 101
1 controversial transfer"?
2 Did you make a statement to the man from La Prensa
3 that you thought the transfer was a mere power play by
4 Superintendent Lowell Billings?
5 A. I can't remember if I made the comment or not.
6 Q. Do you consider that to be a -- whether you made
7 it or not, do you consider that to be a negative comment
8 about Lowell Billings?
9 A. What?
10 Q. That the transfer was a mere power play.
11 A. Do I perceive that to be --
12 Q. Negative.
page 102
7 MS. LARKINS: Well, this witness seems to be
8 uncertain whether saying Billings has misinterpreted his
9 rights is a negative thing. So I'm just trying to figure out
10 what her motivations are and if she understands or if she
11 believes that she was attacking Lowell Billings in the press.
12 MR. HERSH: Well, Ms. Larkins, as I've instructed
13 you or informed you at previous depositions, the purpose of
14 depositions is really not for you to satisfy your personal
15 curiosity about the deponent's state of mind, and it really
16 is in order to obtain evidence relevant to your claims.
22 MS. LARKINS: Well, Mr. Hersh, I understand that
23 C.T.A. has been trying to cover up the facts of this case for
24 three and a half years. And you and Ms. Angell can instruct
25 this witness to leave at any time or instruct her not to
page 103
1 answer, but I believe that these questions are absolutely
2 necessary. This witness was an important person at Castle
3 Park Elementary School with a great deal of power and
4 influence, and I believe that this witness is covering up
5 information that I need about my case.
11 MS. LARKINS: This witness was transferred because
12 of her habits of behavior which contributed to my loss of my
13 career. This witness was very much involved in the -- in the
14 destruction of my career, and she certainly was involved in
15 covering up, and she is today right now involved in covering
16 up.
(covering up the illegal use of illegally-obtained police report of Kathleen Elton’s
false and financially motivated allegations.)
17 MS. ANGELL: Okay. Based on your statement that
18 you think that you have evidence of the reasons for this
19 person's transfer, why don't you ask her if she has
20 information about the reasons for her transfer and we'll see
21 how the questions come out.
22 MS. LARKINS: What I'm trying to find out here is
23 this witness's motivations and actions in destroying other
24 people's careers.
25 MS. ANGELL: What does that have to do with this
page 104
1 employee's school assignment in 2004.
8 MS. LARKINS: This witness is showing in public a
9 pattern of behavior of feeling that she's the one that's
10 supposed to be in charge, and she's happy to -- to say bad
11 things in the press about Ollie Matos, Lowell Billings. And
12 she thinks it's perfectly okay for people she doesn't like to
13 be removed from their positions, but all of a sudden when
14 it's a friend of hers or it's herself, all of a sudden it's a
15 terrible thing.
I’m just trying to get her to tell me the truth about the crimes behind my removal-
she knew about them long before I did
24 MS. LARKINS: Well, I think it's very interesting
25 that this witness seems to think that saying things in the
2 Q. Uh-huh. No, actually we're -- the question is a
3 hypothetical. We're going to assume that it's a legitimate
4 document.
5 MS. ANGELL: Have you qualified this witness as an
6 expert?
7 MS. LARKINS: She's got a California teaching
8 credential. I'm sure -- and I happen to know her and she's
9 an intelligent person. I'm sure she has the reading
10 comprehension to read every single word on these two pages.
11 MS. ANGELL: I think you're attempting to get this
12 witness to authenticate this partial document which is not
13 something she can do unless you ask her whether she printed
14 out this document and got it and brought it.
15 MS. LARKINS: Well, you're -- now you're making a
16 false assumption.
17 MS. ANGELL: Well, then obviously your question is
18 vague and ambiguous because I can't understand it. I mean, I
19 think you're trying to get her to authenticate this document
20 and say that it is something that she's already told you she
21 doesn't know, she has no knowledge of --
22 MS. LARKINS: Well, you're wrong.
23 MS. ANGELL: -- so why do you keep asking the
24 question.
Page 69
1 I'm not trying to get her to authenticate this document.
2 Q. Ms. Myers, would you look at the bottom of the
3 page, the last paragraph that says 432.7. Could you read
4 that paragraph to yourself, please.
5 Okay. Do you understand that this case in which
6 you are testifying as a witness regards this section of the
7 Labor Code?
8 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Seeks to invade attorney/
9 client privilege.
13 Q. Ms. Myers, do you have any idea why you're here
14 today?
15 A. Based on what Ms. Angell has said.
22 Q. Ms. Myers, before you were represented by an
23 attorney in 2004, did you become aware that some teachers at
24 Castle Park Elementary had been sued by me?
25 A. Yes.
Page 70
1 Q. And what did you understand that they had been
2 sued for?
3 A. I don't know.
4 Q. Who told you that they had been sued by me?
5 MS. ANGELL: Objection insofar as it seeks to
6 invade attorney/client privilege, and as to any
7 attorney/client communications I would instruct the witness
8 not to answer.
9 But please, answer as far as you know on any other
10 communications.
11 MS. LARKINS: Your objection is -- is preposterous
12 because I'm asking her about -- I specifically prefaced the
13 question by saying before you were represented by an attorney.
18 Q. When someone told you before you were represented
19 by an attorney that teachers at Castle Park Elementary had
20 been sued by me, who was that someone who told you?
21 A. I don't recall.
22 Q. How did you feel when you found out that
23 information?
24 A. I don't remember.
25 Q. How do you feel as you sit here today about the
page 71
1 fact that I sued teachers at Castle Park Elementary?
2 A. I really have no feeling one way or the other.
3 Q. Do you think that the teachers who were sued by me
4 felt stress and anguish as a result of being sued?
5 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Calls for speculation.
6 Vague and ambiguous as to what teachers were sued by you.
7 BY MS. LARKINS:
8 Q. You may answer.
9 A. I'm not sure of the question.
10 Q. Did you feel stress and anguish when you were told
11 that you were being transferred out of Castle Park
12 Elementary?
13 A. Is this a new question?
14 Q. Yes.
21 MS. ANGELL: And it's being asked for the purpose
22 of harassing this witness.
23 MS. LARKINS: No, it is not, Ms. Angell.
24 MS. ANGELL: Yes, it is. There's -- it's
25 absolutely totally irrelevant to the allegations in this
page 72
1 case, a transfer in August of 2004 when you last taught in a
2 district school in April of 2001. And you've not been an
3 employee for a number of years, at least you weren't an
4 employee during August 2004 for certain. It's simply
5 irrelevant, and it can't be done for any other reason than to
6 harass this witness.
7 MS. LARKINS: Ms. Angell, if the district had
8 acted properly and followed the law regarding my situation in
9 2001, then it might be irrelevant. But the fact is,
10 Ms. Myers and other teachers have been covering up the
11 situation that happened in 2001, and you have been covering
12 it up since October 4th, 2001, and that's why it's still
13 relevant because the coverup has been continuing.
14 Actually, this Labor Code Section 432.7 which is a
15 misdemeanor, the statute of limitations has passed on this.
16 The people who committed these crimes are not going to be
17 brought before the criminal justice system. The statute of
18 limitations has passed, but the coverup continues. And just
19 as so often happens in Washington, the coverup is worse than
20 the original crime.
21 In fact, when I came back to work at Castle Park
22 in April of 2001, if the people who had comitted the crimes
23 against me had simply let me be, I could never have sued
24 anybody because I wouldn't have had any damages. But they
25 couldn't let me be because the atmosphere at Castle Park was
page 73
1 so poisonous with hostility, and there was such a struggle
2 for power, some people were just so intent on controlling
3 things. And that is exactly what has happened now this year,
4 2004, when these same people who were -- have been struggling
5 for years and years to control everything at Castle Park,
6 finally the administration just got tired of it and said wait
7 a minute. You know, we're going to have something other than
8 this little committee of teachers that -- that runs
9 everything.
10 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Move to strike everything
11 after when I returned to Castle Park in April 2001. No
12 question pending.
13 MR. HERSH: I will join in that objection. But I
14 do want to add that I'm personally moved by plaintiff's
15 story.
16 MS. LARKINS: Okay. That's your first point for
17 the day, Michael. That was good.
18 MS. ANGELL: Mr. Hersh, humor won't reflect well
19 on the written record.
20 MS. LARKINS: Actually, it will look like it was
21 sincere and it will make you seem like a nice guy. And then,
22 Mr. Hersh, they'll think that C.T.A. cares about all teachers.
23 MR. HERSH: Well, I appreciate your concern for
24 what people think about the California Teachers Association,
25 but I guess my thought is that in light of your soliloquy
page 74
1 that the matters concerning the alleged coverup of the
2 wrongdoing might be better left for your next lawsuit since
3 that isn't what's being alleged in the current lawsuit that
4 brings us to this deposition today.
21 MS. LARKINS: Well, Mr. Hersh, the felony
22 obstruction of justice occurred in February of -- well,
23 started in February of 2002, but the coverup preceded that by
24 quite a long time, and C.T.A. was involved in the coverup
25 long before the obstruction of justice happened. So the
page 75
1 coverup -- I'm interested in the coverup that started before
2 the obstruction of justice and continued after the
3 obstruction of justice, but was not -- but people who were
4 involved in this coverup did not all commit obstruction of
5 justice.
6 MR. HERSH: I sincerely appreciate your interest
7 in the topic, and I understand that this is your life at the
8 center of all of this litigation. But we're here because you
9 have the right to depose witnesses concerning their personal
10 knowledge about things that are relevant to the allegations
11 in your complaint. And the line of questioning that you've
12 been pursuing most of this morning is not relevant to those
13 matters, nor apparently intended to elicit information that
14 would lead to the discovery of relevant evidence.
15 MS. LARKINS: That's just an excuse to continue
16 your coverup. It's very relevant. I have no proof -- I have
17 no smoking gun. I didn't see people with my arrest records.
18 I have to show the whole story of everything that happened at
19 Chula Vista, and I have not heard any other explanation that
20 makes any sense for what happened at Chula Vista other than
21 the ones I have alleged in my complaint.
22 MR. HERSH: And other than those that have already
23 been provided to you on a multitude of occasions by the
24 association defendants?
25 MS. LARKINS: That was just more coverup, more
page 76
1 baloney.
12 THE VIDEOGRAPHER: This is the end of Tape 1 and
13 Disk 1. We're going off the record at 12:53 p.m.
14 (Recess taken.)
15 THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Today is Monday, November 29th,
16 2004. The time is now 1:01 p.m. We're beginning Tape 2,
17 Disk 2 of the deposition of Peggy Myers. We're going on the
18 record.
PERJURY
20 Q. Ms. Myers, before you were represented by an
21 attorney in 2004, did anybody tell you that I had been
22 arrested?
23 A. No.
24 Q. Okay. Did anybody say anything about a police
25 report?
Page 77
perjury
4 Q. Before you were represented by an attorney
5 regarding me, did anyone -- did you hear anyone talk about a
6 police report that had anything to do with me?
7 A. No.
8 Q. Ms. Myers, do you recall a meeting that was held
9 at Castle Park Elementary School, an unusual meeting on a
10 Friday afternoon after school when all the teachers were told
11 to come to the auditorium after school on a Friday and then
12 the teachers were told that I would be coming back to work?
13 A. I do not recall.
14 Q. Do you recall saying to anyone that it wasn't fair
15 that I would be coming back because my substitute had worked
16 so hard on open house?
17 A. I do not recall.
18 Q. Do you recall feeling that way? Do you recall
19 thinking that it was unfair that I would be coming back when
20 my substitute had put so much work into open house?
21 A. What's the question?
22 Q. Do you recall thinking that it was unfair that I
23 was coming back because my substitute had put so much work
24 into open house?
25 A. I do not recall.
Page 78
1 Q. Okay. I'd like to talk about Exhibit 4 which is a
2 computer printout from the La Prensa web site. Ms. Myers, do
3 these photographs and this article look familiar to you?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Okay. Ms. Myers, have you ever contacted anyone
6 who works for La Prensa?
7 A. You need to be more specific.
10 Q. Okay. Did you ever make a phone call to the
11 La Prensa offices?
15 THE WITNESS: I do not believe I phoned La Prensa.
17 Q. Did La Prensa phone you?
18 A. When?
19 Q. In 2004.
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Who was it who phoned you?
22 A. I don't remember his name.
23 Q. If you look on the second page of this document,
24 at the end of the article in which you are featured it says
25 "photos by" and then it's followed by a name. Could that be
page 79
1 the person who called you?
2 A. It could be.
I never found out who it was at La Prensa who called her.
6 Q. Does the name Hawk sound familiar to you? It's
7 regarding the reporter from La Prensa.
8 A. Say that again?
9 Q. Does the last name Hawk sound familiar to you
10 regarding the name of the reporter from La Prensa?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Okay. About how many times did you speak to the
13 man who called you? Or was it a man? Is J.D. Hawk a man?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. Okay. And did you see him taking photos at the
16 board meeting on September 14th, 2004?
17 A. Prior to this board meeting I had never seen him,
18 so I don't -- I wouldn't be able to say whether I saw him
19 taking these pictures or not.
20 Q. Did you see somebody taking pictures at the board
21 meeting?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Did that person come and talk to you then?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. Okay. And did that person -- and was that person
page 80
1 a man?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. And did he represent himself as being a reporter
4 from La Prensa?
5 A. I don't recall that he said he was a reporter. He
6 said he was taking pictures for La Prensa.
7 Q. Okay. And did he take notes when you spoke to him?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. On the first page of this document, the -- would
10 you read just to yourself the last three lines.
11 MS. ANGELL: And I'll renew my objection that this
12 entire line of questioning concerning activities in
13 October -- or sorry, August thereafter related to this
14 witness's transfer from one school to another within the
15 Chula Vista Elementary School District is wholly irrelevant
16 to Larkins V. Werlin et al. and any cause of action therein.
17 MS. LARKINS: Well, I would like to say that the
18 attitudes of teachers at Castle Park are intricately involved
19 in this case since I was removed from my classroom because
20 two teachers called up Rick Werlin and said I was going to
21 kill them, and other teachers looked the other way.
22 MS. ANGELL: Mrs. Larkins, is that your purpose in
23 conducting this deposition today is to do discovery on the
24 issue that you just described, your removal from your
25 classroom while other teachers allegedly looked the other way?
They looked the other way regarding the issue in this complaint. They said I
would kill them based on the Kathleen Elton report.
Page 81
1 MS. LARKINS: I'm not the deponent.
2 MS. ANGELL: Because you've just stated that
3 that's your purpose in deposing this witness and that is an
4 improper use of discovery. It is abuse of discovery process
5 because that is not the subject of this litigation. The
6 matter of your dismissal from employment with this school
7 district has been adjudicated with finality some time ago.
8 And it's --
9 MR. HERSH: I would join in the objection just
10 stated by counsel for Ms. Donlan.
11 MS. LARKINS: I have agreed that you can have -- I
12 have stipulated to a standing objection here and yet you keep
13 repeating it and repeating it. It's now past the time for
14 the next deponent to -- the deposition to start, and this
15 constant objection, objection really delays the progress of
16 this deposition. So I'd really ask you to kind of shorten
17 your soliloquies a little.
Page 82
Page 83
7 Q. Could you tell me what point you were trying to
8 make here, Ms. Myers, when you made the statement that's
9 contained here in these last three lines on this page?
13 THE WITNESS: I think that the point is very clear
14 here actually.
Apparently not. It wasn’t really rotating subs that she thought was a bad thing.
16 Q. Do you think rotating subs is bad for students?
17 A. Yes, that's what I said.
18 Q. Did you think it was bad for my students when my
19 classroom had rotating subs in 2001?
20 A. I actually didn't have an opinion about it, Maura.
21 Q. So you only have opinion about whether or not
22 rotating subs are a bad thing when it's you that's involved --
23 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Argumentative.
24 BY MS. LARKINS:
25 Q. -- not someone else?
Page 84
6 Q. Okay. But I do want to get this clear. When
7 Robin Donlan was transferred, you thought it was a bad thing
8 that she was replaced by rotating subs? Is that true?
9 A. Regarding this issue, yes.
10 Q. And what issue are you talking about, the issue of
11 rotating subs?
12 A. The issue of the response in this exhibit.
13 Q. Okay. I'm really not understanding your answer.
14 Ms. Myers, in what situations are rotating subs a bad thing?
18 Q. Ms. Myers, in your opinion are rotating subs
19 always a bad thing when there is a full-time teacher
20 available to teach a class?
25 A. I would need you to be specific.
Page 85
1 Q. Are there some situations in which you think
2 rotating subs are acceptable as replacing a teacher, a
3 full-time teacher?
4 A. Once again, I'm confused. I would need a specific
5 example in order to give an opinion.
6 Q. So it depends on who the person is that's being
7 removed from the classroom.
8 A. That's not what I said. What I said is I would
9 need specific -- a specific situation as to determine whether
10 a sub, a rotating sub, would be correct or not.
11 Q. But you don't need a specific name of a person.
12 A. No.
13 Q. Okay. Here, I'll give you a situation. You have
14 a bilingual teacher and in the middle of the year she is
15 replaced by someone who hasn't even done her student teaching
16 and doesn't speak Spanish who is then replaced by a sub,
17 another sub, who does speak Spanish for a few weeks, and then
18 is replaced by another sub. Do you think that's a good thing
19 for the students?
Page 86
1 THE WITNESS: I don't think you can answer that
2 without taking other facts in.
4 Q. Okay. What would be the other facts you would
5 need to know?
6 A. No. My point is other facts being not said that
7 are being assumed here.
8 Q. What do you feel that is being assumed here?
9 A. Maura, you have just described your position.
10 Q. Right.
11 A. And I have no opinion on your position.
12 Q. How about if the same thing happened to someone
13 who wasn't Maura Larkins? Then would it be bad? Then would
14 you have an opinion?
19 Q. If I had asked you the same question only it was
20 someone else other than myself that had been involved, then
21 would you have an opinion?
22 A. Once again, I have to defer to the fact that this
23 whole proceeding deals with you, and for me to answer it
24 seems difficult for me to answer when I feel that you are
25 just trying to get me to respond to you specifically.
Right!!! Why does she refuse to say how she feels about me specifically?
Because she is so hostile to me that she is involved in covering up crimes to
get rid of me. I have the right to find out how she feels about me specifically-it
goes to her coverup of illegal police records—contempt for the law. She feels
she doesn’t have to talk about my situation. That’s what I want to know. The
records offense led to my being taken out of my classroom—otherwise I never
would have known about it, and wouldn’t have had any damages from it.
Page 87
1 Q. Well, I am very curious about your attitudes
2 toward me. I'm extremely curious why rotating subs are a bad
3 thing in 2004 but they weren't bad in 2001. I'm just trying
4 to figure out how your mind works.
5 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Misstates the evidence.
6 Argumentative. The prior testimony was that in the situation
7 described in this news article, which based on my quick scan
8 the article talks about a special education teacher and a
9 transfer of a special education teacher, I think that was the
10 testimony about rotating subs. There was no reference I
11 don't think to yours or other situations.
12 THE WITNESS: Right. This comment was made based
13 on this specific situation of a noncredentialed special ed
14 teacher in a classroom and rotating subs. So in response to
15 that specifically I can, but --
18 A. -- this hypothetical is too difficult.
19 Q. How about if it was at another school and a
20 different credentialed special ed teacher was replaced by
21 noncredentialed rotating subs at another school other than
22 Castle Park? Then would you think it would be a bad thing?
25 THE WITNESS: So am I to understand that what
page 88
1 you're asking me is that if a special ed teacher were removed
2 from a school and a noncredentialed special ed teacher
3 replaced, would I think that that is not the right thing to
4 do?
11 Q. The question is, if you have a credentialed
12 special education teacher at a school other than Castle Park
13 who is replaced at the beginning of the year by rotating subs
14 who are not credentialed special education teachers, do you
15 consider that to be a bad thing?
22 THE WITNESS: And I believe you've just said what
23 I am thinking. Being able to answer this without other --
24 with knowing other things, I cannot make -- I don't think I
25 can answer the question.
Page 89
2 Q. What are those other things that you need to know
3 in order to answer the question?
4 A. It's not other things I need to know. It's other
5 things that I do know regarding this specific question about
6 a special ed credentialed teacher.
7 Q. Okay. What are those other things that you do
8 know?
A farce—I swear we didn’t rehearse this or have a script
14 MS. ANGELL: I'm not going to let her answer that
15 question.
16 MS. LARKINS: She's the one who said it. She said
17 that there were other things she knows about this.
23 Q. Okay. You said that the reason you were able to
24 make this statement which is contained here in Exhibit 4 is
25 because you knew other things about this situation than those
page 90
1 that are contained here. I'd like to know what are those
2 other things that you know about this situation?
3 A. You did not -- that is not what I said. You asked
4 me a question, and Ms. Angell objected saying that it was
5 ambiguous based on things that I do know. And it is
6 difficult for me to answer the question that you are asking
7 me because this situation involves me, and I do have
8 information other than what I have stated here.
9 Q. What is that information?
10 A. I'm sorry, but that is under the grievance
11 process, and I really don't believe that it has anything to
12 do with you, and it's not anything that you need to know.
13 Q. Well, I will be adding that to my motion to compel
14 because I think it has a whole lot to do with me. And I
15 think you never would have been transferred if what had
16 happened to me hadn't happened. You'd be still happily
17 teaching at Castle Park Elementary School if you and others
18 hadn't worked together to get rid of me. Okay.
19 THE WITNESS: I'm really warm. I want to take my
20 jacket off. Is that going to mess with your ears?
22 Q. Okay. When you spoke to the man from La Prensa on
23 September 14th, 2004 at the board meeting, what did you mean
24 when you said there's not a whole lot of learning going on
25 there?
Page 91
4 Q. Ms. Myers, did you go to Castle Park Elementary
5 School on the night that they were having open house recently?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Was your purpose to disrupt Castle Park School and
8 the -- okay, period. Was your purpose to disrupt Castle Park
9 School?
10 A. No.
11 Q. What was your purpose?
12 A. To pass out fliers regarding Jill Galvez.
13 Q. Were you -- why did you choose Castle Park School
14 as a place to do that?
15 A. Because many parents would be coming to open
16 house, and that would be a good forum to pass out fliers
17 regarding Jill Galvez and her election to the school board.
18 Q. Why didn't you go to another school where there
19 would also be many parents?
20 A. This was open house. Actually, it was back to
21 school night, so unless they were having a back to school
22 night it would not be in our best interest to hand out fliers
23 at a school that wasn't open.
24 Q. Okay. Is Castle Park the only school in Chula
25 Vista Elementary School District that has open house?
Page 92
1 A. No.
2 Q. Did you attend the open houses of other schools
3 other than the one you're teaching at in order to pass out
4 fliers for Jill Galvez?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Why did you choose Castle Park of all the schools
7 in Chula Vista?
8 A. I didn't necessarily choose Castle Park, but I had
9 conflicting things at other back to school nights that I
10 wasn't able to attend. So did I target Castle Park, no. It
11 worked into my schedule.
12 Q. Do you think Ollie Matos should be removed from
13 Castle Park?
14 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Not reasonably calculated
15 to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
16 MS. LARKINS: Well, it's certainly calculated to
17 reveal the hunger for power of this witness and her desire to
18 destroy other people's careers.
[which was her motivation for covering up criminal receipt and use of criminal
records]
page 93
6 Q. Did you consider your words that were published in
7 this article about Dr. Billings to be an attack on
8 Dr. Billings?
9 MS. ANGELL: Objection. Vague and ambiguous. Are
10 you referring to what's marked as Exhibit 4?
11 MS. LARKINS: Yes.
14 Q. When you said that Billings had misinterpreted his
15 rights, did you intend that as an attack on Lowell Billings?
16 A. No.
17 Q. How did you intend that?
18 A. That goes along with the whole grievance process
19 that is in the works right now and has nothing to do with
20 you, and I do not want to answer.
21 MS. ANGELL: But insofar as statements that you
22 made to the press that you've already made public, I'd like
23 you to answer the question concerning --
She really thinks she has no obligation to cooperate with the discovery process
regarding a lawsuit for crimes. Lawyer makes her answer question she claims
is protected by grievance process
24 THE WITNESS: So what is the question again?
25 MS. ANGELL: Anything that you've already made
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1 public by talking to the press about it as separate from your
2 pending litigation.
3 THE WITNESS: Right. But specifically what is the
4 question that --
8 [Q.] Why didn't you just quietly rely on the grievance
9 procedure rather than making statements about Billings to the
10 press?
20 MR. HERSH: Thank you. Well, of course, I object
21 to this entire line of questioning. It's quite -- quite
22 absurd and ridiculous. But I would advise the witness that
23 in this matter, insofar as the plaintiff is attempting to ask
24 you about matters that have to do with your activities as a
25 Chula Vista educator, member of the Chula Vista Educators and
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1 your union activities, I will be representing you, and I will
2 object to any questions that attempt to elicit the reasons
3 why a grievance was filed or any confidential communications
4 between you and any staff or officers of the Chula Vista
5 Educators.
8 A. I have a problem answering the question because I
9 believe that responding to this question goes beyond what I
10 have said to the media. So in that respect, I believe that
11 I'm going beyond what I should in responding.
12 MR. HERSH: Ms. Myers, if responding to the
13 question requires that you divulge any sort of confidential,
14 internal Chula Vista Educators information, you should let me
15 know that and I will then instruct you not to answer the
16 question.
17 THE WITNESS: I believe that this would require me
18 to discuss things that I discussed with C.V.E. regarding this
19 matter.
20 MR. HERSH: And were those discussions
21 confidential?
22 THE WITNESS: Yes.
23 MR. HERSH: Okay. On that basis then I would
24 instruct the witness not to answer the question posed by the
25 plaintiff.
It’s quite obvious that CVE suggested she talk to the press
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2 Q. Just because you talked about this to someone at
3 C.V.E. doesn't mean that you're -- you can refuse to answer
4 it here in a deposition regarding very serious charges that
5 are actually crimes.
6 A. I am not refusing to answer anything that wasn't
7 confidential. I'm refusing to answer based on discussions
8 that were made in a confidential discussion with C.V.E. --
9 Q. Okay.
10 A. -- specifically dealing with this issue and the
11 pending grievance.
12 Q. Okay. I want to know what were your thoughts and
13 your motivations? Just because you also happen to tell those
14 thoughts and motivations to someone at C.V.E. doesn't mean
15 that you have a right to refuse to talk about them here in
16 this deposition for Superior Court.
17 A. I beg to differ, because specifically one instance
18 that I'm thinking of it was a definite confidential statement
19 that was made about all of this dealing with the grievance in
20 particular, so --
21 MR. HERSH: Ms. Myers, you don't need to argue
22 with the --
23 THE WITNESS: Thank you.
24 MR. HERSH: -- with the plaintiff here, Ms. Larkins.
25 I've instructed you not to answer her question.
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1 THE WITNESS: Okay.
2 MS. LARKINS: Okay. And what question was that,
3 Mr. Hersh?
4 MR. HERSH: The question as to her motivation for
5 filing the grievance.
6 MS. LARKINS: Oh, it certainly was not, Mr. Hersh.
7 My question was about her motivation for going to the press.
9 MS. ANGELL: That's not what I heard you ask. I
10 didn't hear you ask what was her motivation for going to the
11 press in the last question. If you'd like to strike the
12 prior questions and start over with that question, maybe you
13 won't have an objection.
14 MS. LARKINS: I asked something along the lines of
15 why did she not rely on the grievance proceeding and instead
16 she went to the press. I'm asking her for -- about her
17 actions apart from the grievance proceeding.
18 MS. ANGELL: Actually, I think you're asking about
19 the rationale behind the grievance procedure which is what
20 counsel there is making objections to I think.
22 Q. Okay. I want to know your rationale about going
23 to the press. Why did you go to the press?
24 A. Actually, I did not go to the press.
25 Q. Okay. Why did you make these statements? Why did
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1 you make this statement about Lowell Billings to the press?
2 A. The press came to me.
3 Q. And then you made this statement to them?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Why?
6 A. I was asked about what happened.
She’s also being asked in the deposition about what happened, but doesn’t
want to talk about it now.
7 Q. Well, you sure are good at not answering questions
8 here. You seem to think --
12 Q. You felt because a reporter asks you a question
13 you have to answer it?
14 A. I will respond this way. You asked me about this.
15 I did not go to the press. They asked me a question, and I
16 responded.
17 Q. Right. They just caught you by surprise maybe and
18 it just popped out of your mouth?
24 MS. LARKINS: I really would like an answer to
25 that.
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10 MS. ANGELL: She said that he asked her a question
11 and she responded. You said why did you give that answer;
12 she said because I was asked a question.
19 [Q.] Why did you answer at all?
Page 100
2 Q. Why did you answer the reporter when he asked you
3 the question?
4 A. He asked the question and I answered it, and I
5 didn't feel that it went beyond a simple answer.
6 Q. Okay. Were you aware that your words might be
7 printed in the press?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Were you aware that you were making a negative
10 comment about Lowell Billings to be printed in the press?
11 A. When I made the comment, no. I mean, the way --
12 the question you're asking -- what is it specifically that
13 you want to know, because I'm getting -- you're asking one
14 thing, but I have the feeling you're asking something else
15 without saying it.
16 Q. No, I really want to know. But I'll tell you
17 what. I'm going to move to something different. On
18 Exhibit 4 would you look at the third and -- the third line.
19 In the middle there's a sentence that starts "the
20 controversial transfer"? Could you read that sentence to
21 yourself?
22 A. Where is this?
23 Q. The third line on the first page.
24 A. Okay.
25 Q. In the middle there's a sentence that starts "the
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1 controversial transfer"?
2 Did you make a statement to the man from La Prensa
3 that you thought the transfer was a mere power play by
4 Superintendent Lowell Billings?
5 A. I can't remember if I made the comment or not.
6 Q. Do you consider that to be a -- whether you made
7 it or not, do you consider that to be a negative comment
8 about Lowell Billings?
9 A. What?
10 Q. That the transfer was a mere power play.
11 A. Do I perceive that to be --
12 Q. Negative.
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7 MS. LARKINS: Well, this witness seems to be
8 uncertain whether saying Billings has misinterpreted his
9 rights is a negative thing. So I'm just trying to figure out
10 what her motivations are and if she understands or if she
11 believes that she was attacking Lowell Billings in the press.
12 MR. HERSH: Well, Ms. Larkins, as I've instructed
13 you or informed you at previous depositions, the purpose of
14 depositions is really not for you to satisfy your personal
15 curiosity about the deponent's state of mind, and it really
16 is in order to obtain evidence relevant to your claims.
22 MS. LARKINS: Well, Mr. Hersh, I understand that
23 C.T.A. has been trying to cover up the facts of this case for
24 three and a half years. And you and Ms. Angell can instruct
25 this witness to leave at any time or instruct her not to
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1 answer, but I believe that these questions are absolutely
2 necessary. This witness was an important person at Castle
3 Park Elementary School with a great deal of power and
4 influence, and I believe that this witness is covering up
5 information that I need about my case.
11 MS. LARKINS: This witness was transferred because
12 of her habits of behavior which contributed to my loss of my
13 career. This witness was very much involved in the -- in the
14 destruction of my career, and she certainly was involved in
15 covering up, and she is today right now involved in covering
16 up.
(covering up the illegal use of illegally-obtained police report of Kathleen Elton’s
false and financially motivated allegations.)
17 MS. ANGELL: Okay. Based on your statement that
18 you think that you have evidence of the reasons for this
19 person's transfer, why don't you ask her if she has
20 information about the reasons for her transfer and we'll see
21 how the questions come out.
22 MS. LARKINS: What I'm trying to find out here is
23 this witness's motivations and actions in destroying other
24 people's careers.
25 MS. ANGELL: What does that have to do with this
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1 employee's school assignment in 2004.
8 MS. LARKINS: This witness is showing in public a
9 pattern of behavior of feeling that she's the one that's
10 supposed to be in charge, and she's happy to -- to say bad
11 things in the press about Ollie Matos, Lowell Billings. And
12 she thinks it's perfectly okay for people she doesn't like to
13 be removed from their positions, but all of a sudden when
14 it's a friend of hers or it's herself, all of a sudden it's a
15 terrible thing.
I’m just trying to get her to tell me the truth about the crimes behind my removal-
she knew about them long before I did
24 MS. LARKINS: Well, I think it's very interesting
25 that this witness seems to think that saying things in the
