Hmmm… I nearly missed this in today’s LA Times:

Santa Ana Unified School District administrators created false class rosters and misused substitute teachers to qualify for state funding earmarked for small classes for elementary students, according to eight teachers, school documents and state officials.

At Washington Elementary School, for instance, documents reveal that school officials created a second-grade roster showing students in a class that didn’t exist. The phantom classroom diluted the number of second-graders in existing classrooms – allowing the average class size to fall below 20.5 and giving the district an additional $1,024 per student per year.

So what exactly is happening in Santa Ana? Is the school district lying about classes? Are they desperate for money… And if so, why? Follow me after the flip for more…

So what is the latest problem that the SAUSD is experiencing?

A substitute teacher at Washington Elementary was assigned to the nonexistent class. Several teachers at the school said she only spent a few hours over the past month in each classroom instructing students on her roster. Since then, school officials said, she has been assigned to cover full time for a teacher on medical leave and no longer visits the classes.

State officials said the district’s actions appeared illegal – even if substitute teachers were used for part of the day – and plan to launch an investigation.

“That would clearly be a blatant attempt to violate the intent of the law,” said Jack O’Connell, the state superintendent of public instruction who wrote the class-size reduction legislation in 1996 while a member of the state Senate. “We make it real clear to schools that they need to make sure they have 20 students to a class.”

I guess this shouldn’t come as such a great surprise to me. I mean, they did not want to divulge the names of who would replace School Board Member Sal Tinajero once he was elected to City Council. And oh yes, they have to be so secretive… ABOUT THEIR TOTAL INCOMPETENCY…
Well, I guess this really shouldn’t come as a surprise to me.

But anyways, I digress. Here’s more from The LA Times story:

At Washington Elementary, eight teachers said in interviews that school administrators asked them to sign class rosters that show they had significantly fewer students than were assigned to their classrooms. Second-grade teachers Alma Olivares, Sahara Green, Donna Araujo, Christina Moreno and Rose Copes, third-grade teachers Eugenia Pedraza and Olga Escobar, and first-grade teacher Eva Zamarripa said students’ names were deleted from their rosters, but they have continued to teach these children, sign their report cards and meet with their parents.

“I’m teaching them,” said Olivares, who had four children removed from her roster. “They’re in my class. They’re my responsibility.”

Since the new district policy was enacted about a month ago, several Washington teachers said they had refused to sign the new rosters.

“If I sign it, I’m agreeing to the lie,” Araujo said.

A teachers union official, who has heard concerns about the altered rosters from teachers at four schools, said he requested legal justification from the district two weeks ago and had yet to receive an answer.

“When [teachers] are asked to sign rosters that aren’t accurate, it makes them nervous, and justifiably so,” said David Barton, president of the Santa Ana Educators Assn.

Despite the teachers’ objections at Washington Elementary, four students were removed from Olivares’ roster, five from Araujo’s, one from Green’s, three from Moreno’s and two from Copes’.

So is what my school district has come to??!!

But of course, I also must wonder that if the school district really was fudging its class rosters for extra cash, then WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE DISTRICT SPENDING THE EXTRA CASH ON? If they still had to cut programs and close schools, then what exactly was all this extra money being spent on? And why should we trust what the district leadership has to say?

(Great work guys. Another reason to love Huey 😉 – promoted by juls)

We have some amazing news! Over the last four months, Nick Shepard and I (Neil Pople) have been struggling to begin Ripples of Hope. We’ve been talking with important officials, meeting with potential donors, taking advice from some of the most respected non-profit organizations and their staff, and making contact with potential board of advisors and even celebrity supporters. And now, we’re happy to report, that progress has begun moving along at an alarmingly rapid pace.

We have officially recruited our first two Board of Advisors member, Denise Gilpatrick and Wendy Doromal. Denise is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in sexual and pre-teen abuse. Her work is what got her interested in the Marianas, and has been working through volunteering, researching and internet blogging to bring awareness to the public on the islands’ plight. With her experience and knowledge, we now have a great start to our board. Wendy Doromal, as many of you may know, is a high school teacher from Orlando, Florida. She was an investigator for the Department of the Interior in the late 1990’s and documented the abuses on the Mariana Islands for President Clinton and Congress. She has since worked tirelessly to help the victims of the Marianas, and adds a tremendous amount of experience to our team.

On February 20th, Nick and I signed and sent our request to be recognized as a corporation with the California Secretary of State’s office. This is a critical first step in being recognized as an official non-profit. It has been incredibly difficult to start an organization from scratch, but we aren’t giving up now that we’ve come so far and we are on our way to being able to help the people who need it most.

To top off a fantastic February and begin another great month in March, we received a wonderful gift from actor/comedian Jorge Garcia. Jorge, who plays “Hurley” on ABC’s smash-hit television series `LOST,’ has joined our efforts to help bring justice to the Mariana Islands. He has been committed to helping those less fortunate whenever he can, from playing in celebrity charity poker tournaments benefiting Katrina reconstruction to volunteering time to help with a children’s theater group in Hawaii. Now he has thrown his support behind building up Ripples of Hope, and we couldn’t be happier!

Ripples of Hope has also garnered the attention of two American heroes: former California Congressmen Jerome Waldie (D) and Pete McCloskey (R). The interest of these great statesmen to RoH only goes to show that this is not a left vs. right issue, but indeed something both sides of the political spectrum can come together on. This is indeed an issue of right vs. wrong.

Our next step is to finally file for official 501(c)3 status with the IRS. With Mr. Garcia’s generous assistance, we are days away from doing just that. We are also continuing our work in recruiting a strong board of advisors, and will be opening a bank account in the upcoming days as well.

However, we still need your help.

We need to ensure that the men, women and children of the Mariana Islands are cared for. There’s no reason why immigrant workers should be sold into sex slavery, forced to abort their babies, work in sweatshop conditions and get paid a fraction of our minimum wage.  We need pledges to help us get started. A pledge to help Ripples of Hope will ensure that the people on the islands have a voice. When we get up and running, we want to help support Karidat, the Catholic social services group on the islands, as well as developing our own programs like those designed to help the pregnant immigrants have a safe place to have their babies free of worry or fear.

Help us begin our work with a contribution pledge by visiting our website at www.ripplesofhope.org and continue to send us your thoughts and comments. We appreciate all that you have done so far.

We also need your help in identifying and finding people of influence that can help us build this organization. Does anyone have contact with  political figures like Congressman George Miller or former Secretary of State Madeline Albright? Bloggers like Howie Klein? A TV or film actor that might be sympathetic to the plight of the people on the Marianas? If so, tell them about what we are working to achieve and what their support could mean. We are looking to find people that are committed to helping create positive change in the Marianas and eventually elsewhere around the world. If you’re a former campaign worker like Nick and myself or just an astute political enthusiast, you understand how an endorsement or statement of support can help a long way. We appreciate all the kind words and the encouragement we have seen so far.

(Clearly, Andrew and I don’t agree on this one. I think that democracy is worth fighting for, even if you don’t like the people involved. To me, accuracy is more important than finality. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

The board is complete. The healing process begins. The unity starts now.

– Ryan Gene on Orange Juice

Mr. Nguyen ran a good race, but he should put an end to any more legal action. The county should wish Ms. Nguyen the best as she becomes the first Vietnamese-American county supervisor.

– Today’s OC Register Editorial

Mr. Nguyen, the only way to save face now, if that is even possible, is to accept your defeat gracefully and fade off into the shadows of history.

– Chris Prevatt on The Liberal OC

Want to see how Orange County feels about this hard-fought election coming to an end? Well, follow me after the flip for more…

Here’s more of today’s Register editorial. Now keep in mind that I rarely ever agree with The Register’s editorial page. This is one of those rare occasions:

Mr. Nguyen’s attorneys argue that the recount was done improperly because the Registrar of Voters manually recounted the absentee ballots, but chose a quick download of the electronic ballots cast on Election Day. They called that gaming the system, but Judge Michael Brenner tossed out Mr. Nguyen’s claim that the recount was illegal, arguing that it was done in a logical manner and compliant. […]

Any time a race is won by a handful of votes, it’s a heartbreaker. Supporters of Mr. Nguyen argue that more voters intended to vote for him, but ultimately had their votes disqualified because they followed the campaign’s instructions and checked the last spot on the ballot. That spot actually was the place for write-in candidates. But the purpose of campaign law is not to find out who was the winner in some cosmic sense, but to follow a fair, deliberative, consistent and legal process to determine the winner. That appears to have been accomplished through a series of challenges and counterchallenges.

Mr. Nguyen ran a good race, but he should put an end to any more legal action. The county should wish Ms. Nguyen the best as she becomes the first Vietnamese-American county supervisor.

Here’s more of what Chris Prevatt has to say at The Liberal OC. Now remember that this is a progressive local blog, and that Chris (like me) backed Umberg for Supervisor:

Janet Nguyen was sworn in yesterday as the first Vietnamese-American elected Supervisor in Orange County and the youngest as well.  This election has been a roller coaster ride for both Janet and Trung Nguyen.  Both candidates have held the lead at different points in time.

Both candidates have also been accused of promoting anti-Latino sentiments, Trung Nguyen pretending to be a border guard, and Janet Nguyen calling on Vietnamese voters to vote for her with this comment “She also has votes from other ethnic communities, women, seniors, Republicans who do not like Mexicans”.

Now is the time for healing and repair.  Janet Nguyen needs to reach out to the Latino community and demonstrate that she is not the racist that her comment to the Vietnamese community portrays.

It is also time for Trung Nguyen to accept defeat at the hands of a woman.  Mr. Nguyen, the only way to save face now, if that is even possible, is to accept your defeat gracefully and fade off into the shadows of history.

And btw, here’s what Chris has to say about the whole Bush v. Gore comparison:

In Gore vs. Bush, Gore moved on once the court ruled. Also, I believe it was Bush who appealed to the Supreme Court. I see that as Bush not moving on rather than Gore.

As far as the determination of Legislative Counsel goes, ot [sic] has no legal weight. I also do not believe there would be any change if the VVPAT’s were to be reviewed. The 1 percent review showed no errors in the electronic tallies.

The only reason Darth Schroeder raised the issue was in effort to invalidate the reount [sic]. His objection had nothing to do with an accurate counting of the votes. Team Trung did not ask for the VVPAT’s to be audited. They just wanted the original tally to stand unchanged.

Team Trung needs to move on, challenge Janet in 2008 if they want, but give the recount a rest.

Here’s more of what Ryan Gene has to say at Orange Juice. Sure, he’s a Republican… But he’s a good guy who sometimes makes some very good points:

“Wow, what a journey!” Those were the first words spoken by newly seated Supervisor Janet Nguyen, as she addressed a standing room only forum this morning. Janet’s inaugural speech also spread thanks to her loving family, her friends, supporters, and mentors former-Supervisors Bill Steiner and Cynthia Coad.

She also addressed the sizable Vietnamese observers in the room in Vietnamese, which drew applause.

The real spotlight today though, at least that I felt, was the talk of unity.

A sentiment shared this morning by Janet, and pretty much everyone in attendance including Chris Norby, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and state senator Lou Correa, both of whom gave notable speeches on the topic. Lou left right after the swearing-in ceremony to fly back up to Sacramento and present some bills in the Senate. […]

Other notable electeds in attendance were Santa Ana councilmembers Carlos Bustamante and Michele Martinez, Garden Grove mayor Bill Dalton, Orange councilman Jon Dimitru, Westminster mayor Margie Rice, SAUSD trustee Rob Richardson, and county treasurer Chriss Street. […]

Now that she’s in, Janet will quickly begin to put her staff together and hit the ground running. I can see from the OC Gov. website that her name is now listed among the other four supervisors.

The board is complete. The healing process begins. The unity starts now.

So what do I think? Well, I think that this thing needs to come to an end. Trung Nguyen, Mike Schroeder, and Van Tran need to let it go. Central OC is already suffering from not having anyone to serve us at the county level for so long, so why should we delay any longer?

Now I wasn’t all that happy last month when Umberg lost, but I moved on. It’s time for Schroeder and Tran to do the same. They have exercised their legal right to challenge the election, and that legal process has now been exhausted. The court has ruled that Janet won fair and square, and now Janet’s new colleagues agree. It’s time for everyone to move on.

Janet won. Janet’s in. It’s time to move on.

We have yet another instance of a blogger taking to ink and dead wood to write an important piece on a topic that the blogger has written extensively about online. This time, it is Left in SF writer Sasha Magee in today’s San Francisco Bay Guardian. In a follow-up blog post, Sasha writes:

In my fantasy world, Gavin Newsom would read my Guardian op-ed and think, “damn, he’s right. I need to work with the Board on the wi-fi deal.”

Let’s hope that it isn’t just fantasy, because Sasha is spot-on.

Calling all Democrats who are supporting John Edwards for President! You have a house party to go to tonight!

We’ll watch a John Edwards DVD and join in a phone call where he will answer questions from around the country. You don’t need to donate to come to the party.

Here’s a chance for you to make a difference, and to build grassroots support for Edwards here in California. Come on, now! How hard is it to hop on over to your neighbor’s house to find out more about the candidate that you like? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:

Why not take advantage of this real chance to revitalize the California Democratic Party? I am hoping that we in the progressive movement here will take this unique opportunity to breathe some new life into the Democratic Party here, as well as to get our neighbors excited about voting again. There’s nothing like telling someone that his or her vote really matters… And now that our primary will be early and important, ALL OF OUR VOTES REALLY DO MATTER AGAIN!

We can continue to bitch and moan and whine and complain about everything that’s wrong right now, and just see more of the same…
Or we can get up and take action to change this! If we really care about building a grassroots movement here, then why don’t we use this primary as a way to start growing it? If we’re so concerned about the “media ad buys” and all the consultants, then why don’t we get out there and start growing some real grassroots? No, the candidates cannot meet all of the voters in California… BUT ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER CAN! If we don’t like the status quo, then why do we keep whining about it? Why not just get out there and CHANGE IT?!

The opportunity is now here… We just have to get off our duffs and TAKE IT!

And yes, the opportunity is now TONIGHT in Santa Cruz, Anaheim Hills, Irvine, and elsewhere in the state. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start growing those grassroots! : )

Brad Friedman, of BradBlog fame, has been paying passing attention to the Nguyen feud in the Orange County. He’s actually based in LA, but his focus is on national election issues.  And boy, these ones are a doozy.  So, yesterday he waded into the muck of the OC Special:

Election Integrity advocate Tom Courbatt of Riverside County points us towards an October 31, 2006 statement [PDF] from former CA Sec. of State Bruce McPherson, who said: “The mandatory paper audit trail will be used for a full recount if necessary.” That statement is at the bottom of the 5-page press release. Guess he was just kidding. Or the judge in Orange County didn’t care. Or “paper trails” don’t actually matter after all, no matter what any law or elections officials try to tell you…Which is why we need a paper ballot — one that is actually tabulated — for every vote cast in America! (BradBlog 3/27/07)

As adtleft mentioned below, the non-partisan Legislative Counsel agreed with McPherson’s 2006 statement (PDF). So, before the OC wingers at OCBlog or another of the winger OC blogs goes off on the “Democrat lawyers”, let’s review that: in response to the request of Republican Sen. Ackerman, the Leg. Counsel agreed with Republican SoS Bruce McPherson.

Regardless of who is the better candidate, or who is insane and photoshops himself into photos, election integrity matters. What is the point of having elections if the guy with the most votes doesn’t win? Sure, there are plenty of allegations that Trung attempted to cheat and get votes illegaly. Fine, then investigate those incidents. But don’t ignore the paper audit trails.

Or do we really trust Diebold (Common Dreams) and the voting machines (Total Buzz) that much?

Who cares what the democrat lawyers who work for Fabian Nunez and Don Perata think? It has no force of law. The campaign is over. Schroeder needs to stand down. He is only hurting the GOP’s chances of keeping this seat next year.

So why is “Been Around” on OC Blog angry at the “democrat lawyers”? Well, it looks like those “democrat lawyers who work for Fabian Nunez and Don Perata” have just contradicted Judge Brenner’s ruling in favor of Janet Nguyen by opining that the County Registrar was required to use a voter verified paper trail (VVPAT) in conducting the full recount. So have these “democrat lawyers” now given new life to Trung’s insane effort to overturn the election results? Follow me after the flip for more…

So is Team Trung now getting giddy all over again? Well, judge for yourself. Here’s some of what Trung Nguyen’s campaign had to say about the surprise opinion, courtesy of OC Blog:

The day after a Superior Court judge ruled that a full recount was conducted in the February 2, 2007, special election for Orange County First District Supervisor’s race, the Legislative Counsel for California Legislature released its 4-page legal analysis and finding that “a county registrar is required to use a voter verified paper trail (VVPAT), and not an electronic record, in conducting any full recount of an election in this state at which votes were cast on direct recording electronic voting system.”  (Legislative Counsel Finding #0710444) 

“The Trung Nguyen campaign filed its election contest stating that a full recount was not conducted by the Orange County Registrar.  Janet Nguyen gamed the system for tactical reasons” stated Michael J. Schroeder, attorney for the Trung Nguyen campaign and former GOP Chairman.  “We believe an appeals court will likely 1)agree with this legal finding; 2)overturn the trial court’s decision; 3)rule that a full recount was not completed; 4)find that the recount was null and void; and 5)uphold the first certified winner Trung Nguyen. 

“This legal finding by the very body that wrote the applicable Elections Code sections completely validates and supports all of the litigation positions taken by the Trung Nguyen campaign,” stated Schroeder.

“The law does not allow someone to game a recount so that the counting methods switch back and forth depending on whether the votes are favorable to them or not.  This is what happened here,”  stated Schroeder.

Oh yeah, so you don’t believe them? See the opinion for yourself…

“We conclude that a county registrar is required to use a voter verified paper audit trail, and not an electronic record, in conducting any full recount of an election in this state at which votes were cast on a direct recording electronic voting system.”

And here’s some more insight from Peggy Lowe at Total Buzz:

Brenner admitted yesterday that two sections of the law conflict eachother, but he also said he didn’t want to do what Schroeder had asked of him, which is rewrite the statute. Brenner did agree with Schroeder that there is a need to “harmonize” the two conflicting sections of the law.

You’ll also notice that the opinion says that “where uncertainly exists, consideration should be given to the consequences that will flow from a particular interpretation.” This is what Schroeder mentioned many times during his closing arguements yesterday, saying if the judge didn’t side with Team Trung’s interpretation, a kind of political Pandora’s Box would be open and chaos would ensue.

So what does this all mean? It means that the air of uncertainty has just crossed “The Orange Curtain” again. Now perhaps Janet Nguyen has an extra leg up now that she’s the duly elected Supervisor for the First District…
But the sense of closure that was gained yesterday may, all of a sudden, slip away once more if Team Trung gains some new traction in their appeal process. We all knew that Trung and his political sugar daddies were planning to whine their way to the next court, desperately searching for another chance to undo the election…

But do they now have a legitimate chance of turning our world upside down once again? Hell, many more people here in Orange County might get angry at the “democrat lawyers” if this were to happen…

( – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

Barbara Boxer has moved to Rancho Mirage, replacing Mary Bono as the California desert’s star legislator.  Someone seems a bit put out.  No wonder, it will be much harder for Mary Bono to pose as an environmentalist in this desert now that a real one has come to town.  Especially as Bono continues to serve as a loyal Bushie, even voting against HR 580 (US Attorney oversight) last night.  That’s hardcore.  But I digress.

Last week at the Gore hearings Mary Bono insinuated that Senator Boxer represents a threat to her district’s constituents.  Boxer is using global warming as an excuse to play politics, says Mary.  I dealt with the credibility of her witness and the extreme nature of her position on global warming here. 

But Mary Bono’s scripted swipe at Barbara Boxer, on behalf of the nation’s poor, merits its own discussion.  Here’s the video. 

Before condemning Rep. Bono as an administration mouthpiece I talked to a staffer in Bono’s DC office.  I asked, as a constituent familiar with Bono’s benign statements on the environment here at home, how skeptical Bono actually was about global warming.  Did she really align herself with Bjork Lomborg, and btw, what she had done lately to alleviate energy costs for our district’s poor?

As we discussed it, I got the sense that Bono’s remarks embarrassed him, and he said he did not think that Bono was familiar with Dr. Lomborg’s work before that day.  I suspect, as usual, Bono was given a text to deliver and hasn’t done any homework on Lomborg’s discredited theories.  The only thing Bono’s done for energy costs is to support expanding LIHEAP, as far as I can tell.  That was all Bono’s staffer could offer at the time.  He was so attentive and pleasant I felt obliged to mention that I’m a Democrat, and not a supporter of Rep. Bono’s, however, her embrace of a discredited climate crisis naysayer was a surprise even to me.  Again, he just remained pleasant and professional, but he didn’t really have anything to say about that.  When we boot her out (please god) in 2008, perhaps he could stay on.  It would help ease the transition for the Republican establishment here.

Bono poses as a moderate at home, and votes for the extreme right wing back in DC.  And now she has the audacity to pose as a defender of the poor against Barbara Boxer, who apparently cares not if Palm Springs seniors wither in heat.  It’s pure theatre of the absurd.  The poor in this district know that Mary Bono can’t see them, and doesn’t want to hear from them.  Maybe now that Barbara Boxer is here, their needs will get the attention they deserve.  If we’d managed to elect David Roth, they’d be getting that attention right now.

Watch the video, then pop over to her home page for a dose of Mary Bono, Friend of Nature.  Notice the green theme, and the beautiful mountain view featured top right.  Looking at that, you’d never know her League of Conservation Voters score is 25%, up from 11% last year, nor that Bono is one of the most reliable corporate shills in Congress.

Transcribed (by me, not an official transcription) portion of the video:

Bono – There’s some thinking,  ummm, Barbara Boxer is a constituent of mine, we share a region, she moved to my area, I love working with her on most issues  but on this one I’m concerned.

Today I read in a local paper, RollCall, where she says:

“If the president chooses to veto a bill, that sets it up as a huge issue in the presidential election,” Boxer said.  She goes on to say,  “So we will do our best to get as many bills on his desk as we can to deal with green house gas reduction.  I think it’s key that we do that because I want to set it up for the presidential campaign which is another one of my goals.”

So as a resident of Southern California when I see people die every year because they can’t afford their cooling costs, this sort of thinking scares me.  And  I appreciate you’re bringing some common sense- trying to slow the pendulum down from going the other way.  [Looks at script] My question is simple, and perhaps I’m setting myself up for a loss, [still reading from script] but is it possible that we can enact and pass some of these policies and that will actually increase deaths in the immediate sense, that right away these cooling costs will get to be too high for my constituents and I’ll see more people die?  It’s a very simple question, but I’m very afraid of that.

Lomborg –  … bad political deals certainly possible.  Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do anything, but must weigh cost/benefit …

Bono –  …. it was 103 degrees on Saturday, March 17th  …..

The question that I have really – public policy in CA – they passed a very flawed bill that created the energy crisis that we lived through and we’re continuing to see the effects from, and so for me as a policymaker to be completely openminded and I appreciate your [Dr. Lomborg, the Skeptical Environmentalist] being here and again as my colleagues point out you’re not a traditional witness for us, but I appreciate that you brought to the dialogue a different point of view, and that is my concern this shouldn’t be set on election timetables it really ought to be set on public policy that really affects people’s lives.

Lomborg –  Right, …can’t force the issue and cut emissions right now because people will fall apart. …..

Run, David, run! 

Crossposted from DailyKos:  http://www.dailykos….