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Three examples of “Cantankerous Old Guys” getting it done for the Kids.
Example one:
“Cantankerous Old Guys” are Getting it Done for the Kids
The other day, someone was complaining about a “cantankerous old guy harassing” the Board of Mountain View Whisman School District (MVWSD). Apparently, that has been going on for years, which certainly sparked my interest. I then came across a similar story from Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD). And I recalled a public commenter at a SamTrans meeting doing the same.
These commenters weren’t really ‘cantankerous’. They brought real facts and concerns. They acted like watchdogs. These public commenters requested accountability from staff and provided the kind of oversight that many board members seem unable or unwilling to deliver anymore.
So here is my Thanksgiving tribute to all public commenters with three stories about watchdogs calling out School Segregation, Parcel Taxes and Empty Buses:
- Story 1: Mountain View Whisman School District (MVWSD)
- Story 2: Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD)
- Story 3: SamTrans
Mountain View Whisman School District (MVWSD)
A former school board trustee regularly goes before the board to demand accountability, advocating for better educational outcomes and services for “underserved” schools and students. Apparently, he persistently calls out a lack of commitment by trustees and staff.
Is The Public Commenter Correct?
The current MVWSD Board seems just fine with staff performance. But if MVWSD really was such a great school district with outstanding results and top leadership, why did they pay the former Superintendent, Ayindé Rudolph, almost $100k to go away quietly after the whole scandal with those ‘energy healers‘?
Instead of holding staff to the same standards, Board President Bill Lambert has been protective of them, despite clear evidence of subpar performance and excessive spending, as parents have criticized. Usually, people with such a “success rate” don’t get to stay long. Board presidents who care that little should step down. Instead, this board president is restricting public access. He wants to move public comment later on the Agenda. People would have to sit through hours and hours of boring bond money discussions and similar topics before they could speak up for the students.
School Segregation in the Bay Area
Some might remember how various school districts have school segregation as their top choice. Along the Peninsula, we have San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), San Mateo/Foster City School District (SMFCSD), Redwood City School District (RCSD), and we have Mountain View Whisman School District (MVWSD), all subscribe to that model. No one would classify any of these as “good” school districts. Each one seems to have problems with education and budgeting, despite being among the richer school districts in California and the US.
“Pro-Choice” in education is not as fun as it sounds. Schemes called “Choice School,” “School Choice,” or “School of Choice” must lead to “underserved” schools and “underfunded” school districts. That pattern is well known in education circles. This outcome is expected and accepted by these trustees. They use these phrases deliberately to hide school segregation.
For example, the MVWSD has essentially two schools on the same campus:
- Stevenson Elementary: 14% SED, 15% Hispanic/Latino
- Theuerkauf Elementary: 41% SED, 46% Hispanic/Latino
[SED = Socioeconomically Disadvantaged]
The first school is a magnet school, which requires a lottery to get in. Now the second school is the “underserved” and “underfunded” neighborhood school. As the statistics show, mostly affluent families seem to win this lottery, and only a few Hispanic kids get in. Let’s remember that Board President Bill Lambert and his trustees are in charge of the “funding”, the “serving”, and the “lottery” as well.
Why Does This Matter For Redwood City?
In comparison, Redwood City School District has a similar – actually even more outrages – scheme on one campus by using two magnet schools:
- North Star Academy (affluent magnet school): 8.7% SED, 8% SPED, 13.3% Hispanic/Latino
- McKinley Institute of Technology (low-income magnet school): 100% SED, 20% SPED, 100% Hispanic/Latino
[SED = Socioeconomically Disadvantaged, SPED = Students with Disabilities]
“School segregation refers to the separation of students in educational institutions based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, or socioeconomic status, resulting in unequal distribution of students across schools.” [The Law]
The numbers speak for themselves. They couldn’t shout “school segregation” any louder, and yet RCSD Board President Mike Wells and his trustees keep defending this setup.
Meanwhile, courts have forced SFUSD to desegregate. But the San Mateo Board of Education in San Mateo County (currently Patricia Love – Area 6) has a history of looking the other way.
Post.Scriptum
Next up, Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD).
PAUSD is not a “Choice School” district and is usually regarded as a much better district than MVWSD or RCSD. What could a public commenter be complaining about in this case?
More Information
- MVWSD Scandal around Devon Conley and Ayinde Rudolph
- MVWSD makes public commenting more difficult
- MVWSD YouTube: “cantankerous old guy” provides public input
- MVWSD YouTube: “cantankerous old guy” provides more public input
- MVWSD YouTube: Board President Bill Lambert comes after First Amendment
- SARC: MVWSD Stevenson Elementary
- SARC: MVWSD Theuerkauf Elementary
- SARC: RCSD – North Star Academy
- SARC: RCSD – McKinley Institute of Technology
Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in all blog posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Redwood City Pulse or its staff.
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