Too many of our children are overweight and out of shape. According to the 2005-06 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report, 22 to 31 percent of children are overweight and 30 to 41 percent are physically unfit. We’ve got a problem, but the good news is we are moving in the right direction.
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Kamei Drops Out of Supervisors Race; Endorses Williams
Rosemary Kamei emailed supporters and posted to her campaign website earlier today to announce that she is dropping out of the race for Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage’s seat. In a telephone intervew this afternoon, she said she’d made the decision partly because of the crowded field.
“I thought long and hard about this after looking at the race and considering all the candidates,” she said. Pressed to elaborate, Kamei laughed. “There’s a lot of candidates! You know—they are good candidates, and for me personally, it was a decision I’ve made for myself. I chose to step down.”
Gates Foundation’s Education Deputy: Reform Teachers’ Pay Structure
One Charter Summit conference participant wrote “John Deasy rocked” on her conference evaluation form. Who is John Deasy anyway? Dr. Deasy is the recently hired deputy director of education for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and former superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland. He was an afternoon speaker at Santa Clara County Office of Education’s Charter School Summit.
Audit Clears Nuñez; Places Blame On East Side District Board
Last July, an audit by the Santa Clara County Office of Education found a series of financial irregularities in the East Side School District. A series of articles in the Mercury News cast a cloud of suspicion over superintendent Bob Nuñez and other district officials. Nuñez went on administrative leave three months ago, as the investigation into what really went on in the district continued.
Dear Giants: How Much?
I continue to be amazed, and at times, amused by the quality and tone of some of the arguments being made by some politicians and fans wanting to bring the A’s to San Jose. One of the central arguments being put forward is that the Giants don’t have a “right” to deny the people of San Jose a baseball team. In fact, they do. Major League Baseball extended the territorial rights to Santa Clara County to the San Francisco Giants. That’s a fact, and nothing’s going to change that, unless, and until, the baseball owners change their minds and vote to reverse their decision. Not likely.
Bad Teachers Should Go
Why is public education failing too many of its client students? Why does the achievement gap still persist in most of our schools? Taking the macro view I wonder: Is this a systems problem or a human capital problem? Or both? On Friday of last week I attended the professional development seminar sponsored by the Santa Clara County Office of Education and SJ2020. During the morning presentation by nationally renowned researcher Dr. Robert Marzano, the 250 conference attendees learned he believes it is a systems problem not a teacher capital problem.
Man to Be Freed Due to Prosecutor’s Misconduct
In 2006, Augustin Uribe was convicted of child molestation and sentenced to 38 years to life. He will be a free man this week after Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Andrea Bryan ruled yesterday that Deputy District Attorney Troy Benson, who prosecuted the case, engaged in “numerous acts of misconduct.”
Wanting to Learn
It is very difficult with an overwhelmed system of public education for teachers to nurture the needs of children who have experienced a sordid life. Most times these youth who need just one person to “really” care come from homes and neighborhoods filled with crime, drugs, gangs, and ridden with violence.
As I have discussed on this blog before I began my career as a teacher at Osborne School at Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall. I quickly learned that what is essential in order to become an effective teacher for alternative youth is a professional relationship built with trust, care, and genuineness at its core. In a trusting student-teacher relationship there is a strong possibility that real academic learning and increased student achievement will occur.
Chavez Loses Soft-Money Lawsuit
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Emerson ruled yesterday that limits on campaign contributions by independent political committees violate those committees’ freedom of speech. According to City Attorney Rick Doyle, the ruling effectively invalidates the city’s existing soft-money contribution limits, capping individual contributions to campaigns at $250. In August, the City Council voted to maintain the cap.
Implementing Proposition 215 in San Jose
I support an ordinance in San Jose that allows for the cultivation and sale of medical marijuana dispensaries/collectives.
Proposition 215, which was passed with voter approval in 1996, called for the legalization of Medicinal Marijuana with 56 percent of the voters in favor. Santa Clara County supported this proposition by 64 percent. Since then, the legislature has passed SB420 which dealt with the actual implementation of Medical Marijuana.
Rosen Accuses Carr of Favoritism
Jeff Rosen, a deputy District Attorney running against his boss, Santa Clara County DA Dolores Carr, said yesterday that she played favorites to help a major campaign supporter.
The case began when Ali Yahya Valdovinos, a Stanford University student, was charged with felony grand theft. Valdovinos is represented by James McManis, a major contributor to Carr’s campaign. Reports claim that McManis called Carr, who intervened personally, and Valdovinos later pleaded no-contest to petty theft instead.
Just Short of Singapore
At the Rules Committee last week, there was a proposal to amend the Graffiti Abatement Ordinance for juvenile offenders.
When someone gets arrested for doing graffiti in San Jose or other cities in Santa Clara county they are punished via the County court system. However cities do have a municipal code where offenders may pay a fine. State law does an adequate job of prosecuting adult graffiti offenders, however, some would say not such a good job of dealing with juveniles, since county probation does not want to spend the resources to supervise their community service work.
Carr Opposes Prisoner Release
California believes that it can save as much as $1 billion by releasing non-violent inmates from prison. Santa Clara County DA Dolores Carr admits that, but says that in practice it amounts to decriminalizing property crimes—such as car theft, grand theft, commercial burglary, and writing bad checks—by reducing them to misdemeanors. “This is really going to cause an increase in crime in our local communities,” she wrote in a letter to the governor.
Federal Money to Help Local Schools
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has surprisingly reached my desk, in the form of $3.14 million of new revenue to the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE). These funds are one-time only and must be used within 18 months or be returned to the Federal government.
At last Wednesday’s Board meeting, I and my fellow SCCOE trustees were asked to approve a revision of the FY2009-10 budget to incorporate these new funds into our previously approved budget. I voted “aye” reluctantly, with an admonition to County Superintendent Weis and staff that every public dollar is spent wisely with strong accountability measures. It is also our obligation that we make certain that the ARRA funds help stimulate the local economy.
Don Gage: Headed Back to Gilroy
Citing “low morale” and “childish” political infighting on Gilroy’s city council, Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage announced that he will run for mayor of that city. Gage served on Gilroy’s City Council from 1981 to 1997, when he ran for a seat on the county’s Board of Supervisors.
A Dress Code for Court?
I reported for jury duty last week to the Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse on Hedding Street in San Jose. Once I checked in I was asked to report to Department 38. As I walked into the courtroom, I was brought back to a time when my job included monitoring a middle school dress code.
I sat there rather surprised by some of the attire worn to court by fellow prospective jurors. I felt similarly many times as a principal, when I had to reprimand students for inappropriate attire and ask them to change into something appropriate for class.
