Final Sacramento mayor vote won't be known for days
heidimclean at 5:57 AM PST Thursday, June 5, 2008 wrote:

The problem is that voters did not mail their absentee ballots

The problem is not with the registrar of voters office. People brought their absentee ballots to the polling places rather than mailing them in. It has nothing to do with technology. At some polling places there were huge numbers of absentee ballots that were brought to the polls. The provisional ballots also need to be counted. I don't think Kevin Johnson understands the democratic process very well. It's weird for him to act like he has already won the election when he has not.

4 out of 9 people found this comment helpful.


Marcos Breton: Johnson made Sacramento mayor's race matter
heidimclean at 7:34 AM PST Wednesday, June 4, 2008 wrote:

Not just "East Sac" parents decried the loss of Sacramento High

Mr. Breton please get your facts straight. There were parents from all over the Sacramento High School attendance area who opposed the closure of the school. That includes Mid-town, River Park, Oak Park, part of Curtis Park and other neighborhoods. It was "our" school, not just the school for East Sac. Parents from all over SCUSD with students in the Visual and Performing Arts Center program at Sacramento High opposed the closure. Community members opposed the closure. Did you attend the meetings at Sacramento High School in January 2003? There was a reason those meetings lasted until 2:00 a.m. or later. Parents and students didn't want the school to close. Please don't minimize the damage done to SCUSD students by the illegal conversion of Sacramento High School into Sacramento Charter High School. Kevin Johnson was part of that.

5 out of 8 people found this comment helpful.


Marcos Breton: Fargo may win, but not because she's earned it
heidimclean at 6:54 AM PST Sunday, June 1, 2008 wrote:

Kevin Johnson would not be a good mayor.

We have received 3 copies of each of the 5 or 6 different mailers from Kevin Johnson. He obviously has a ton of money and is trying to buy this election. He claims to bring communities together but all I've seen is division. There will be more proof of that after the election when St. HOPE's continued exclusive use of the Sacramento High School Facility comes before the SCUSD Board of Education. Since Kevin Johnson doesn't understand the difference between public good and private gain he shouldn't be elected to public office. In addition, I don't want someone that I would not let near my teenage daughters as the mayor of Sacramento. Kevin Johnson would not, to quote one of his mailers, "...be a mayor we can all be proud of."

11 out of 17 people found this comment helpful.


Sac City Unified to break ground on Pocket-area school
heidimclean at 4:28 PM PST Friday, May 30, 2008 wrote:

There are other uses for this bond money

The bond money doesn't have to be spent on building another high school. It could be spent on improving an existing facility. Blue330 you forgot to mention that Genesis High School is in the south part of the city. You also forgot to mention that the Social Justice small high school was going to be housed in an existing building: John Still Middle School. Now SCUSD is proposing to put that program at America's Choice because it has so few students. What a scam.

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful.


Sac City Unified to break ground on Pocket-area school
heidimclean at 7:38 AM PST Friday, May 30, 2008 wrote:

$33.7 million?

How much is coming from SCUSD and how much from the City of Sacramento to build this school? If the amount is more than what was originally set aside for this school the school board should have voted on it. The bond money wasn't just for building small high schools. Some of that money was supposed to go for educational program improvements at existing schools. Whatever happened to the bond oversight committee? How will the current budget crisis for the City and County impact this library once it is open? How will that impact the school. Where is the long-term planning that SCUSD needs? No money for the existing schools, plenty of money for these new schools. Sweet deal if you live in the Pocket. Pity that the school board is supposed to represent the interests of the entire district, but obviously doesn't. Meanwhile Oak Park, River Park, East Sac and Midtown neighborhoods don't have a comprehensive community high school serving their kids needs because the district can't afford it?

3 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


Sac City Unified to break ground on Pocket-area school
heidimclean at 7:12 AM PST Friday, May 30, 2008 wrote:

What a blatant misuse of bond money

Declining enrollment, budget cuts, cut the music program, but build another small high school for a few students. It is unbelievable with the number of underutilized schools in SCUSD that this board of education has authorized groundbreaking on this school. Perhaps it was slipped in on the Consent Agenda. When did they vote to break ground? Oh well, we should just thank our lucky stars that Manny Hernandez, Karen Young, and Rick Jennings (all from the Pocket) cannot continue their brand of high school reform (deform) after November. This is exactly why we needed elections by district for the SCUSD school board. It costs money to administer these schools, money to clean them, money to keep the lights on in them and it adds more square footage to a district that already has too many schools. Next year they will close small, neighborhood elementary schools but keep the small high schools. Why didn't they put Engineering and Science at Genesis High School? This is criminal. Shame on SCUSD.

3 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


Sacramento parents, teachers seek to save year-round schools
heidimclean at 10:03 AM PST Wednesday, May 28, 2008 wrote:

SCUSD needs to show the public the data on each school

SCUSD staff have yet to present the savings on a school by school basis for this decision. Staff also needs to present the academic comparison on a school by school basis for each year round school. SCUSD should have looked at the cost savings of not opening a new school (America's Choice), like Natomas did with their newly built middle school. They certainly should not be considering opening a new facility for the Engineering and Science small high school. Put it on the campus of a comprehensive high school and save on administrative costs. Is the California Department of Education sure that year round schools don't result in higher achievement or at least less time spent reviewing the material from the previous grade at the beginning of each school year? Since LSMFT58 feels so strongly about this I suggest he or she attend school board meetings and make public comment on the item.

0 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: For mayor: Eldredge, Jones, Padilla, Strand or ...
heidimclean at 4:57 PM PST Sunday, May 25, 2008 wrote:

Anyone but Kevin Johnson

Anyone but Kevin Johnson. Anyone.

7 out of 8 people found this comment helpful.


Waters endorses Johnson, slams Fargo for negative campaign
heidimclean at 8:57 PM PST Friday, May 23, 2008 wrote:

Robbie Waters doesn't represent me, thank goodness

I've always been sooooo happy not to live in Councilmember Water's district. I have no interest in his endorsement of Kevin Johnson. Frankly, all the Plumbers and Pipefitters have done is tell the truth about Kevin Johnson. I'm grateful that the truth about him is coming out, at last. A smear campaign is writing or saying something that has no basis in fact. That isn't the case with Mr. Johnson. Kevin Johnson and his misuse of public funds needs to be investigated. It's not surprising that Councilmember Waters supports Kevin Johnson-birds of a feather flock together. Yuck.

2 out of 4 people found this comment helpful.


Johnson agreed to pay teen girl $230,000, draft of document shows
heidimclean at 10:55 PM PST Tuesday, May 20, 2008 wrote:

If there was no pay-off he would be talking

It seems obvious that if this draft agreement was completely made up Kevin Johnson would be talking. That he refuses to talk leaves readers to infer that there must be some truth to it. So what has the SCUSD investigation shown up? Just what kind of an investigation did Superintendent Mejia start? Anyone know?

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful.


Sacramento district won't open new high school this fall
heidimclean at 8:26 AM PST Saturday, May 17, 2008 wrote:


I have to take issue with "which have been worked over endlessly by the SCUSD staff at community forums" statement. For whatever reason (board pressure, the Superintendent, or their own bias) staff has not worked towards implementing the Consent Decree in an honest, transparent manner. The manipulation of public input and the disregard shown for what parents wanted was unbelievable except in the context of ensuring that a high school to serve the former Sacramento High School attendance area was not built. It is true that the current board is incapable of resolving the issue. The board member who has done the most, publicly, to undermine the intent of the consent decree is Karen Young. November cannot come soon enough for the students, parents, and non-charter schools in SCUSD.

5 out of 5 people found this comment helpful.


Marcos Breton: Mystery man behind hit pieces blasting Kevin Johnson refuses to talk
heidimclean at 7:49 AM PST Wednesday, May 14, 2008 wrote:

How about a spotlight on Kevin Johnson's backers?

How weird to only want to pull the curtain back on Mr. Rotz. If people want full disclosure it has to be equal on all sides. Some of the postings just seem like anti-union rants. If the person/entity behind the anti-Johnson mailers was a developer would this be a story? I wish one of these mailers would come to my house. I would love to get one.

5 out of 9 people found this comment helpful.


St. Hope withdraws petition for middle school charter
heidimclean at 11:05 PM PST Monday, May 12, 2008 wrote:

Now the district needs to provide transportation for Oak Park students

Now SCUSD needs to provide transportation to Oak Park students so that they have the same access as other students to the district's middle schools. The withdrawal of the charter is not a surprise. What is a surprise is that Rick Maya is saying St. HOPE has to lay off 12 teachers because of the state's budget woes. That sounds like a lack of students not a budget shortfall. What percentage of the faculty is represented by these 12 teachers? It is interesting that Mr. Maya brings up the investigation as not being the reason for the charter's withdrawal. Maybe the investigation is the cause of a different problem: parents unwilling to put their students at the school. If enrollment is down so much that St. HOPE has to release 12 teachers SCUSD better have a plan in place for relocating the program to a smaller site, or what to do if it is about to fold. 12 teachers could represent a fourth or more of the total teaching staff. Hopefully SCUSD is asking these questions, too.

2 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: Time to professionalize charter school practices
heidimclean at 11:13 AM PST Sunday, May 4, 2008 wrote:

The Bee is still covering up for St. HOPE

Professionalize charter schools? The Sac Charter problem is not about being "professional". It is about following the law. Listing all charter schools located in SCUSD on the district website has nothing to do with the professionalization of charter schools. This is a lame attempt to divert our attention from the lack of compliance with the law at Sac Charter to the non-issue of professionalizing charters. Fondling? I believe the proper word is child molestation. Please stop covering up for Kevin Johnson and St. HOPE Public Schools. It's nonsense to put any charter school that's not run by the SCUSD Board of Education on the district website. ST. HOPE Public Schools is not run by SCUSD. Parents vote with their feet. That is why Sac Charter has seen it's enrollment drastically decline. SCUSD Board Member Karen Young thinks Sac Charter High and St. HOPE should have access to all SCUSD non-charter students for recruitment purposes. She should resign from SCUSD and join St. HOPE's board.

2 out of 4 people found this comment helpful.


From The Editor: Johnson story calls for reporting in depth
heidimclean at 10:29 AM PST Sunday, May 4, 2008 wrote:

Thank you Ms. Sill for a well written editorial and explanation.

I was relieved that the Bee assigned reporters with a history of thorough, investigative, reporting to the Kevin Johnson story. There is nothing wrong with these news stories. The headlines aren't written by the reporters (or so I have been told). Those commenting about bias have been silent or gushing about the editorials which have appeared in the Bee over the past 5 years favorable to Kevin Johnson and St. HOPE. The important issue, currently, is Kevin Johnson's position at Sacramento Charter High School when these allegations were made and how the administrative staff responded to the complaint. On top of that there's the inherent conflict of interest of the 'Sac Charter attorney/Kevin Johnson's business partner/Kevin Johnson's personal attorney' interviewing the student before the authorities. I'm sorry that Kevin Johnson's friends and fans don't see that as a problem. Requiring Hood Corps members to attend church is a problem. It's news, too. That's why it's in the newspaper.

7 out of 11 people found this comment helpful.


Sacramento mayor debate focuses on empty seat
heidimclean at 9:38 AM PST Sunday, May 4, 2008 wrote:

Going door to door is not the same

Going door to door is not the same as having to answer questions in a public debate, or debate an issue of importance. Regardless of how many people were there, Kevin Johnson should have filled that empty chair. Maybe this is a real indication of what his meeting attendance would be like if he were elected. What a horrible thought that he might succeed in opening up other charter schools. Sac City Unified needs to do its job and oversee Sacramento Charter High School. If Rob Fong were to head a Blue Ribbon Committee on Sac Charter the public might finally get the truth about how and why Kevin Johnson was given a school. As for the poor attendance at the debate that is probably more a matter of publicity and timing than anything else.

6 out of 7 people found this comment helpful.


Kevin Johnson defends St. HOPE, denies improper conduct
heidimclean at 9:32 AM PST Sunday, April 27, 2008 wrote:

Witnesses, please come forward

Erik Jones was a huge supporter of St. HOPE and Sacramento Charter High School. He reported the incident. If Sac City Unified was told about this, why didn't they investigate? Sacramento Charter High School needs to be investigated from top to bottom because it is supposed to be a public school. Anyone who has personal knowledge of actions that would not be acceptable in a regular high school should come forward. Kevin Johnson was a teacher at Sac Charter. Why didn't he know about mandatory reporting? Why didn't his attorney? When public money is being used there should be public accountability. The process used by St. HOPE and Sac Charter to handle this problem was wrong. Did SCUSD staff know about this during the charter renewal? Did they share the information with the board? I hope the Bee does a follow up story with Mr. Jones to find out if he told SCUSD about the process. If SCUSD knew.....

6 out of 8 people found this comment helpful.


Federal probe targets Johnson's St. HOPE
heidimclean at 8:21 AM PST Saturday, April 26, 2008 wrote:

Cassandra Jennings is the wife of SCUSD Board Member Jennings

Just to clarify what Rhys01posted: Cassandra Jennings is married to Rick Jennings who is a sitting board member on the SCUSD Board of Education. Rick Jennings voted to close Sacramento High School, and voted to approve all the versions of Sacramento Charter High School. He voted to give Sacramento Charter High School exclusive use of the former Sacramento High School facility. Rick Jennings did have a relationship with St. HOPE in the past. I can't remember whether he was on the board, or was an employee.

11 out of 11 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: Sacramento High mishandled abuse allegation
heidimclean at 7:02 AM PST Saturday, April 26, 2008 wrote:

Sacramento Charter High mishandled this

The name of Kevin Johnson's school is Sacramento Charter High School. Sacramento High School was closed in 2003. There is no Sacramento High School. There is only Sacramento Charter High School now. Yes, the police should release the report, but they should also explain why, of the four Yosemite witnesses, only Mr. Jones was interviewed.

5 out of 5 people found this comment helpful.


Federal probe targets Johnson's St. HOPE
heidimclean at 6:32 AM PST Saturday, April 26, 2008 wrote:

Does Superintendent Mejia mean it?

So SCUSD is going to investigate? Really? After so many years of not investigating Sac Charter High, I'll believe it when I see it. Many letters were written and meetings were held with the Superintendent and nothing of consequence ever happened. Did any Hood Corps members ever contact SCUSD, the Superintendent, or the Board of Education? Under whose supervision were these Hood Corps members supposed to be when they renovated properties in Oak Park? What kind of compliance monitoring is built into the Americorps program? I hope the Bee continues to follow this story. Thank you Terri Hardy and Dorothy Korber for a great story.

3 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


Feds investigating Johnson's St. HOPE
heidimclean at 4:30 PM PST Friday, April 25, 2008 wrote:

This is a news story, not slander

The Bee has a breaking story about the Feds investigating Kevin Johnson and how his organization did not follow the rules while taking federal money. That is news, and the Bee should cover it. I'm glad it is being covered. It is a good news story, and Dorothy Korber has done an excellent job of reporting the story. If anyone reading this knows of another person who has abused the system in this way, please report it to the Governor's Office. The "news" is that the Feds are finally investigating. Now, will the Sacramento Unified School District do its job and investigate, too?

7 out of 8 people found this comment helpful.


Investigation of girl's allegations against Kevin Johnson raises questions
heidimclean at 7:33 AM PST Friday, April 25, 2008 wrote:

When will SCUSD act?

Where was Sac City Unified during all of this? Mr. Jones appeared before the board during the charter renewal process for Sacramento Charter High School and voiced his concerns about the charter. There was never any information given to the public that staff had investigated his concerns. What else happened at Sacramento Charter? There needs to be a thorough investigation of Mr. Johnson and St. HOPE Public Schools. What kind of an investigation did the police conduct if they did not contact any witnesses except for Mr. Jones? If anyone else has information about specific incidents at Sacramento Charter High School please come forward now. I hope that Sac City Unified pays attention. I believe they are scheduled to vote on a new St. HOPE charter next week. I am so grateful that there are still excellent investigative reporters at the Bee and at the News and Review. Without their work Sacramento would still be in the dark about Kevin Johnson. He should not be Sacramento's Mayor.

6 out of 7 people found this comment helpful.


Kevin Johnson wins Central Labor Council, Metro Chamber support
heidimclean at 7:29 AM PST Tuesday, April 22, 2008 wrote:

An auto mall?

Where is the substance in Kevin Johnson? I want a mayor who understands how a democracy is supposed to work. Kevin Johnson's record of public participation seems to be limited to taking redevelopment money, and being given exclusive use of a public high school facility for a charter school program. An auto mall... now there's a new idea! It is not amazing that the chamber of commerce has endorsed him. It is amazing that the Central Labor Council did. Why does the performance of Sacramento's schools even enter into this. That is the business of the school boards which govern them, not Sacramento's mayor. We live in a democracy and he has every right to run for Mayor. However, the money he raises and spends cannot undo what happened in Phoenix or in Sacramento. He has zero history of bringing people together to work out a solution. It is his way or no way. Sac Charter's high staff turnover says it all. An auto mall to solve all of our problems. Sweet.

7 out of 8 people found this comment helpful.


Sacramento parents say time's too short to create new high school
heidimclean at 7:48 PM PST Sunday, April 6, 2008 wrote:

No student can be forced to go to a charter.

Charter schools were never meant to replace non-charter public schools. It is absurd for supporters of Sacramento Charter High School to continue to say that those who live in the former Sacramento High School attendance area should enroll at Sac Charter. If parents don't want to send their students to a charter school there is supposed to be an alternative. Every other attendance area in SCUSD has its own comprehensive high school except for ours. There is nothing wrong with parents wanting equity and access for their students. Charter schools cannot have attendance areas and are required to be available to any student in the state of California. Sacramento Charter High School can be located anywhere it chooses. St. HOPE can either share the facility with another high school or locate to a stand alone facility that is better suited to its shrinking enrollment. The facility that currently houses Sac Charter belongs to everyone who lives in SCUSD. It does not belong to St. HOPE.

2 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: What if they build a school and nobody comes?
heidimclean at 10:46 PM PST Tuesday, April 1, 2008 wrote:

What is wrong with the Bee Editorial Board

Don't the editors at the Bee have anything more important to write about than Sacramento Charter? Maybe whoever is writing the editorials should run for the school board and get it out of their system. If the editor who is penning these diatribes would run for office then parents would be able to check for a financial link or connection. There just has to be a reason for this continued drumbeat for ST. HOPE at the expense of everyone else who lives in SCUSD since there is no obvious, logical and rational explanation for the misleading content. Yes, readers know these are "opinion" pieces. However, that doesn't mean that all journalistic integrity and honesty should go into the trash.

2 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


Public Editor: Public is public and there is just no hiding that
heidimclean at 1:51 AM PST Monday, March 17, 2008 wrote:

I look forward to the Bee listing how much charter schools pay

I look forward eagerly to the day the Bee tells the public what has happened to the money paid to charter schools, what the teachers are paid vs the administrators. I hope the Bee does it soon. Maybe the information will even show which schools employ family members. If you are going to show public salaries, then include charter schools since they are supposed to be public schools.

0 out of 1 people found this comment helpful.


Jimmie Yee endorses Johnson for Sacramento mayor
heidimclean at 12:46 PM PST Thursday, March 13, 2008 wrote:

Read the News and Review

Pick up a copy of the News and Review and read the "Bites" column which is about an interview with Kevin Johnson. Very interesting and informative. When will the Bee cover the other candidates? There may be one who is better than either Mayor Fargo or Kevin Johnson. Please cover the other candidates, too. Now, not later. Maybe they have more substantive plans for Sacramento.

8 out of 10 people found this comment helpful.


Ex-Sac High teacher's accusation against Johnson unfounded, police say
heidimclean at 9:31 AM PST Saturday, March 8, 2008 wrote:

Oh, and by the way

The story said that Mr. Johnson admitted to showering with the girl in Phoenix. If he showered with her, he obviously let her into his house. That was Mr. Johnson saying it, not his accuser.

3 out of 7 people found this comment helpful.


Ex-Sac High teacher's accusation against Johnson unfounded, police say
heidimclean at 9:27 AM PST Saturday, March 8, 2008 wrote:

The Bee should do a follow-up story and explain the process

It would be very helpful if the Bee would do a follow-up story and explain the process in a case involving this type of allegation. If the student or her family didn't want to pursue the case, could there be a case? I need more information about what CPS does and what the police can do if, for whatever reason, the victim doesn't want to press charges (or whatever it would be called). It also would be a service to readers of the Bee to print when the back taxes/liens were paid by Mr. Johnson. Context is everything. I believe Erik Jones when he states that no one else was involved in his decsion to hang the banner. He came before the school board last October or November and asked SCUSD to look into many things that had happened at Sacramento Charter High School before they voted on the charter's renewal. This has nothing to do with Richie Ross or Heather Fargo. There are other stories similar to this one that have circulated through the community over the past few years.

3 out of 4 people found this comment helpful.


Fierce faceoff likely as Johnson, Fargo vie for Sacramento mayor
heidimclean at 1:46 PM PST Thursday, March 6, 2008 wrote:

Please cover all the candidates

Please, please, please cover all the candidates. Kevin Johnson, his supporters, and the Bee continue to manipulate the truth when they say that Sacramento High School was a failing high school that was going to be closed by the State of California and that Kevin Johnson saved it. Do your homework and look at the SAIT report. There was a whole process that would have taken place before Sacramento High School was taken over. Closure would have happened only if all else had failed. The state intervention team was never given a chance to help because the SCUSD board of education closed the school so that they could illegally convert it into Kevin Johnson's charter high school. Please, no more lies about the former Sacramento High School. I hope some strong sunlight gets shed on Kevin Johnson and his activities both good and bad.

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful.


Kevin Johnson to run for mayor
heidimclean at 1:26 PM PST Wednesday, March 5, 2008 wrote:

I'm sure others will run, too

I'm sure others will run, too. The News side of the Sacramento Bee should cover all the candidates equally. However, we cannot hope that the editorial/opinion side of the paper will show restraint on the "opinion" page. I hope that Sacramento voters look long and hard at Kevin Johnson's record. I also hope that voters show better critical thinking skills than the majority of the members currently sitting on the Sacramento City Unified School District's Board of Education have shown. I'm looking forward to reading substantive, fact based news articles about Mr. Johnson and his activities in the news section of the Bee. Once he has made a formal declaration I hope there is a story about how he is going to balance running for Mayor with his involvement in opening a school in New York City, and his responsibilities as a property owner in Oak Park.

3 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: $8 million for a school nobody wants or needs?
heidimclean at 5:58 PM PST Saturday, March 1, 2008 wrote:

Parents in the former attendance area deserve a comprehensive high school

There is nothing wrong with parents who live in the former Sacramento High School attendance area wanting a comprehensive high school that is not a charter. Editors of the Bee: Believe it or not, not every parent and not every student wants to be pigeonholed into either a themed small high school, or themed small learning community. Sacramento Charter has a case of the "declining enrollment" blues that is worse than SCUSD's. Perhaps the problem with the Bee Editors is that they, like SCUSD Board of Education members Karen Young, Rick Jennings, and Manny Hernandez cannot admit that the closure of Sacramento High School was a mistake for the communities that were once served by that school. Why should taxpaying parents be told that because they live in the former Sacramento High School attendance area, they no longer deserve a school in their own community? The real issue is facility useage. Why isn't the BEE blasting SCUSD for building America's Choice for a little over 100 kids?

0 out of 1 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: $8 million for a school nobody wants or needs?
heidimclean at 5:58 PM PST Saturday, March 1, 2008 wrote:

Parents in the former attendance area deserve a comprehensive high school

There is nothing wrong with parents who live in the former Sacramento High School attendance area wanting a comprehensive high school that is not a charter. Editors of the Bee: Believe it or not, not every parent and not every student wants to be pigeonholed into either a themed small high school, or themed small learning community. Sacramento Charter has a case of the "declining enrollment" blues that is worse than SCUSD's. Perhaps the problem with the Bee Editors is that they, like SCUSD Board of Education members Karen Young, Rick Jennings, and Manny Hernandez cannot admit that the closure of Sacramento High School was a mistake for the communities that were once served by that school. Why should taxpaying parents be told that because they live in the former Sacramento High School attendance area, they no longer deserve a school in their own community? The real issue is facility useage. Why isn't the BEE blasting SCUSD for building America's Choice for a little over 100 kids?

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful.


City schools chief to retire
heidimclean at 9:41 AM PST Saturday, March 1, 2008 wrote:

Yes, she does have a lovely retirement package

SCUSD will be paying for her health benefits, and those of her family, for life. At least that is how the original contract was constructed. Do a public records request for her contract and you can see for yourself how the 2003 Board of Education (not every board member voted for it) sold the students and taxpayers down the river. I hope that SCUSD never offers that kind of a package again.

3 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


School's class shift criticized
heidimclean at 9:27 AM PST Saturday, March 1, 2008 wrote:

Maybe this is why Superintendent Mejia is retiring.

Great reporting. There is no excuse for SCUSD not hiring enough teachers for the Hiram Johnson students at the beginning of the school year. It is horrible that a student with no background in French was put in a French class. I hope that the next Superintendent will hold district staff and school administrators accountable for poor planning. Board President Manny Hernandez needs to encourage discussion amongst board members on important issues. Instead our public representatives seem to be limited by him to making statements because the President is obsessed with ending board meetings on time. I'm so glad that the Bee did another story on Hiram Johnson so that the public now knows that SCUSD is still not taking care of these students. Hopefully there will be a full airing of the problem at the next board meeting. The vision of educating "every student by name" is not being carried out at Hiram Johnson. Those responsible need to be held accountable, including Superintendent Mejia.

5 out of 6 people found this comment helpful.


Nader picks former S.F. supervisor to be his running mate
heidimclean at 3:23 PM PST Thursday, February 28, 2008 wrote:

I hope they allow him in the debates

Let's see if the Democrats and Republicans dare to allow a third party candidate into the presidential debates. Ralph Nader is anything but irrelevant. If he was irrelevant the media would pay no attention to him. Neither would the Democrats. I'm glad he is running again. Neither Republicans nor Democrats are willing to stand up for working people against big corporations. His candidacy is his effort to get some issues back on the table for discussion. Let Ralph Nader have equal time at the debates. Prove that we live in a democracy where all voices can be heard.

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: Speak up for good sense
heidimclean at 12:07 PM PST Thursday, February 28, 2008 wrote:

Where was the Bee when SCUSD built America's Choice?

Now the Bee is recognizing that there is declining enrollment! Where were you when the Board voted to build the miniscule America's Choice charter (less than 130 students) it's own campus? Where was/is the Bee on the Engineering and Science small high school having a new campus built for it? Suggestion: revoke America's Choice charter and move Engineering and Science there. The district is bound by the consent decree to open a new school by Sept. 2008. This isn't new. It is not unreasonable for the parents and community members who live in the underserved former Sacramento High School attendance area to expect the same equity and access that other areas receive. Get your facts straight. Even Editorial board opinion pieces should have some basis in fact. By the way, the word "small" in the agreement was defined as a minimum of 500 students. The board chose to limit the maximum number to 800, which is really West Campus size. Would St. HOPE/Kevin Johnson agree to a postponement.

2 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: Dropout problem gets some welcome attention
heidimclean at 8:00 AM PST Thursday, February 28, 2008 wrote:

What about charter high schools?

I hope that students who start at charter high schools and then transfer or dropout will have their scores reflect back on the charter where they started, too. It appears that the intent is to hold public high schools accountable for the students that they put into alternative schools. It should work both ways. The alternative high school, which a charter high school is, should be just as accountable for not serving students. Currently it is as frustrating to try to evaluate a charter school's dropout rate, as it is to evaluate a non-charter.

1 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


Rally offers voters sneak peek
heidimclean at 11:46 AM PST Sunday, February 3, 2008 wrote:

Why is the focus of the article Kevin Johnson?

Was this a rally for Obama, or a rally for Kevin Johnson and why is the Bee writing so much about Kevin Johnson? A "sneak peek"? Kevin Johnson at a rally is news? Will the Bee assign reporters and dedicate space to any other potential candidate that steps forward? Or is only Kevin Johnson newsworthy? I suggest the Bee run an article that tells potential candidates whom to contact if they are considering running for mayor? I was considering subscribing to the Bee again, but with the merger of the newsroom and editorial board on "Kevin Johnson" I don't think I would have the intestinal fortitude to survive it on a daily basis. Surely there are other real news stories out there begging for a reporter to cover them.

1 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


Fargo faces a cash crunch
heidimclean at 11:28 AM PST Sunday, February 3, 2008 wrote:

The Bee refuses to print Kevin Johnson's good stuff?

Dodgerguy obviously doesn't read the Bee often. Kevin Johnson's supposed "good stuff" fills the editorial pages regularly. His slum lord activities are not a sincle "incident", they occurred over a long period. It is extremely short-sighted to suggest that anyone would be better than Heather Fargo. All those who claim that anyone would be better than Mayor Fargo should run for Mayor themselves. Dumpfargo is living in a dream world to think Kevin Johnson is any less beholden to others than Fargo. He received an enormous amount of redevelopment money, too, and was handed the Sacramento High School facility by SCUSD board members Young, Jennings, Fong, and Schenirer. Kevin Johnson is extremely beholden to others. The last thing Sacramento needs as Mayor is a former basketball star, who can't maintain and run his own businesses. The real question: Why is the Bee writing so much about Kevin Johnson who isn't an official candidate? Has the newsroom merged with the Editoral page?

3 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


Harlem is next for St. HOPE
heidimclean at 10:25 PM PST Monday, January 28, 2008 wrote:

Saving kids?

I sincerely hope that all those who praise Mr. Johnson are correct about how well his school serves those who attend. However it is ridiculous to conclude that he is serving all the students who would have attended Sacramento High School (if it had not been closed over the objections of parents and students) better than SCUSD would have. There is no proof, no data. As for "leavingsac"'s comment that Sacramento High School was a "failing" school, please stop lying. It may not have served all students well, but neither does Sac Charter. If Sac Charter was truly as wonderful as it is portrayed by its supporters it would be overflowing with students. It is not. Students would not be leaving Sac Charter to attend C.K. McClatchy. Does Mr. Johnson really have enough time to run for Mayor, clean up his properties, and open more schools? Why is this Harlem story considered newsworthy? It's old news. Charters are the new fad in New York. I just hope they are held accountable.

1 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


Kevin Johnson considering mayoral run
heidimclean at 10:23 PM PST Thursday, January 24, 2008 wrote:

Well, arrogance obviously is alive and well in Sacramento!

This is mind boggling! Kevin Johnson wants to run for mayor. Why would anyone vote for him? He's a slumlord. You can douse him with perfume, but those dead goats still stink!

1 out of 4 people found this comment helpful.


Some unhappy as school takes shape
heidimclean at 12:37 PM PST Monday, January 21, 2008 wrote:

What is Susan Miller talking about?

Health Professions is the only small high school that has no problem recruiting students. Genesis and America's Choice have seen a decline in enrollment. New Tech is the best off of the four charters. Sadly "Citizen4BetterSac" doesn't understand that charter schools are open to any student in California. Sacramento Charter High School cannot have an attendance area because it is a charter and cannot be an assigned school. Any student can choose to attend. Any student can choose not to attend. The district had to redraw the attendance boundary because they left the students in the closed Sacramento High School attendance area without an assigned school. Kevin Johnson chose to create a non-SCUSD affiliated charter school. Charter schools get to choose how to spend their money. If St. HOPE and Kevin Johnson want to spend it on advertising their program they can. SCUSD needs to give the students who live in the former attendance area a quality neighborhood high school again.

5 out of 9 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: Celebrate � and work
heidimclean at 12:35 PM PST Sunday, December 23, 2007 wrote:

Students cannot be forced to attend charter schools

Students cannot be forced to attend charter schools. Charter schools are "choice" schools. Parents and students decide to attend charter schools. Sacramento Charter High School has declining enrollment because parents and students don't choose that school. It isn't SCUSD's business since they do not run the school. There's no reason for SCUSD to give St. HOPE access to their middle school students. St. HOPE is very good at media. They have no problem creating slick ads. Sac Bee Editors love St. HOPE. It is laughable that "andrewdykstra" thinks that Sac Charter's enrollment decline comes from lack of access. Students know about Sac Charter from the students that attend the school and from those who leave the school. The students are smarter than the board members and choose not to enroll. Board Member Bell read the charter and questioned some of the assumptions in it. She did her job and voted "No". She is not the one with a political agenda. The politics lie elsewhere.

3 out of 4 people found this comment helpful.


Sac High keeps charter
heidimclean at 4:09 PM PST Friday, December 21, 2007 wrote:

Just one more SCUSD "done deal"

I applaud board member Ellyne Bell for reading the charter and questioning staff about some of the assumptions built into the charter. It was reasonable to ask how the financial projections would be met when there wasn’t an explanation of how St. HOPE would be able to attract more students. The current 976 students represent a 19% decrease in enrollment when compared to last year. Member Bell didn’t vote for charter renewal and had solid reasons for her stand. The vote on Marian Anderson was just one more “done deal”. Associate Superintendent Miller’s rationale for holding all the community meetings in Oak Park was that this was the area the school would serve. She conveniently forgot that the former Sacramento High School attendance area included Mid-town, East Sac, River Park, etc. It is never a surprise when this school board rubber stamps a staff proposal. That’s how CASA happened. This was not a good faith effort to provide a public, non-charter alternative to Sac Charter.

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful.


St. HOPE's charter on the line tonight
heidimclean at 10:34 AM PST Thursday, December 20, 2007 wrote:

The lawsuit was about the illegal conversion of Sacramento High School

The basis of the lawsuit was about the illegal conversion of Sacramento High School into a charter school. SCUSD and St. HOPE did not follow the process outlined in ed code to change an existing school into a charter school. It was not about "wanting" or not "wanting" a charter school. It was about the law. There is an existing Marian Anderson Therapeutic Center. It serves severely emotionally disturbed students. There is also a Children's Center at Marian Anderson as well as the Success Academy which also serves children who need special attention because they have been removed from regular classrooms. Why doesn't the Bee do a story about the programs that would be displaced by placing a small high school at that site? I do have an 8th grade student. I would not consider sending my student to a small high school squeezed onto a 6 acre site. Equity and access, educate every child by name. That is what the board proclaims. They just don't want it for the former Sac High area.

6 out of 7 people found this comment helpful.


New high school site to be debated by public, trustees
heidimclean at 8:54 AM PST Saturday, October 20, 2007 wrote:

There was a survey, remember?

In response to Blue330 there was a scientific survey done to determine the level of interest in establishing a new high school. There was overwhelming interest. SCUSD has dragged its feet on establishing the high school which they must do in order to comply with the Consent Decree. St. HOPE has never had a problem spending money on bill boards advertising their charter high school. This isn't about a few parents. It is about SCUSD doing what it agreed to do. Sacramento Charter High School has less than 1,000 students. It makes sense to co-locate the two schools so that a high school facility is fully utilized. To spend bond money on making an elementary school into a high school is stupid when there is a half empty high school in the same area. I'm sure, since so many of Sacramento Charter's students are college bound, that there would be no problem housing the two side by side and sharing the facility.

3 out of 6 people found this comment helpful.


School hiring reviewed
heidimclean at 4:24 PM PST Sunday, October 7, 2007 wrote:

What a quote!

"I think, for the most part, the process works," said district spokeswoman Maria Lopez. "Every once in a while there are glitches. Most of the time those glitches stem from miscommunication." Is Maria Lopez, head of SCUSD Communications, pointing the finger at herself? How ironic. The Board Policy Committee made major revisions to the Principal Hiring Policy that was submitted by district staff. It will be interesting to see how Supt. Mejia and her Cabinet revise the "revised" policy before it heads to the Board of Education. Almost certainly there will a) be no public outreach from SCUSD before the board meeting and b) no press release about the policy revisions. The elected Board of Education is about to do, or is in the midst of, its annual evaluation of the Superintendent's job performance. The public can only hope that Board Members keep the numerous "glitches" in communication in mind. Perhaps they should look at how little verifiable data staff reports. Accountability

9 out of 10 people found this comment helpful.


Student protest comes in red
heidimclean at 7:46 AM PST Thursday, September 13, 2007 wrote:


Once again students and parents have been left out of the decision making process. Do students think the "no red" policy will make them safer? Were parents involved in the "red ban"? No. At the high school level students and parents in SCUSD schools are supposed to be involved in these decision. I agree with Bob. Everyone needs to wear red (if they like that color), and take back the color from gangs. Since when did the people of Sacramento decide that gangs get to determine what colors all of us should or should not wear. The focus at McClatchy should be on what goes on in the classroom, not what color your clothes are. If administration proposes to ban colors, all the students have to be involved in the process.

4 out of 7 people found this comment helpful.


Iraq veteran sues over school job
heidimclean at 12:21 AM PST Wednesday, September 5, 2007 wrote:

Sac City Unified does the darndest things!

I continually wonder why the Sac City Unified school district does what it does. I completely agree with Ceyley's post that the superintendent is responsible for how the district is run. Don't blame the board for this. Blame the board if they don't hold the Superintendent responsible for this fiasco when they evaluate her. Lack of money can't be why there was no job for this returning vice-principal seeing as the Assistant Superintendents got pay raises and there are new administrative positions at the Serna Center. If there isn't lots of money then maybe they got rid of site personnel, like vice-principals or building maintenance personnel, to pay for those raises. Of course this vet should have been given a job. Who pays for cash awards in lawsuits? Does SCUSD have insurance that covers these costs, or will this be another under-reported legal cost that is paid from the General Fund? Meanwhile C.K. McClatchy's main building had no air conditioning on the first day of school.

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful.


Ex-school official faces arrest
heidimclean at 7:52 AM PST Wednesday, August 22, 2007 wrote:


Now, why is it that the District Attorney didn't act in the same manner when SCUSD's former Superintendent Jim Sweeney and CFO Laura Bruno created CASA? It's great that action has been taken in this Natomas case, but there is no sign that anyone will ever have to pay - with jail time - for ripping off the students of Sac City Unified in the CASA pension scandal. There is also no sign that SCUSD's Superintendent Mejia and the SCUSD Board of Education will ever reveal how much CASA has cost the taxpayers. Hopefully the fact that Sac City continues to build high schools in the face of declining enrollment is just more poor planning.

3 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


Sac City stresses all of the angles
heidimclean at 10:01 AM PST Monday, August 20, 2007 wrote:

What about students who transfer from charter schools?

What happens to high school students who transfer to SCUSD from a charter that doesn't require Geography, Geometry, or any other non-state mandated requirements? If any student transfers as a senior into SCUSD, set to graduate in 2008, how can they graduate? We tried to find out, fall 2006, how our student could challenge the Technology requirement and were told the district was still creating the test. That is poor planning on the part of the district, not counselors or students. My student (a former VAPAC student) had to take Geography in Summer School because she transferred as a junior. CK McClatchy wouldn't allow my student to take Geography during the regular school year. Trying to cram the projects of a semester long class into a three week course made the entire experience a farce. The Bee's story doesn't mention that SCUSD's latest idea is that all freshman must take Geometry. Wow! SCUSD 8th graders have now mastered Algebra. That's an amazing assumption to this parent.

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful.


3 high school sites eyed by Sac City board
heidimclean at 11:28 AM PST Wednesday, June 6, 2007 wrote:

4 years later and they are just getting around to this?

SCUSD staff and board members had no problem hiring a principal for a new Science and Engineering High School (small of course), and are now searching for a principal for the new Waldorf Methods high school. SCUSD has known from the moment the consent decree was approved that it would have to create this new high school to rectify the illegal conversion of Sacramento High School into a charter. Is this slowness due to a lack of foresight and planning, or is it a purposeful discrimination against the communities that were negatively impacted by the closure of Sacramento High School? A staff report in August? Board President Hernandez and the rest of the Board need to make this a district priority. If this new high school is going to be successful in 2008 the planning needs to happen now, not next year. If the foot dragging is the fault of district staff then Superintendent Mejia should be held accountable.

0 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


Why bother? say parents who advised on principal
heidimclean at 11:58 PM PST Tuesday, May 22, 2007 wrote:

Maybe staff didn't tell the school board the parent's choice,

or the other committee's choice. Does anyone know if the SCUSD board of education receives more than just the Superintendent's choice(s)? I'm not willing to blame the school board unless they were given all the information they needed to make a decision. The hiring process, and the role of parents in the hiring process, needs to be explained. Next there needs to be a detailed explanation of what information is given to the board of education before they vote on a personnel issue like this. In the article the head of personnel made it sound like this was the board's decision. However, if the board voted for a candidate based solely on the Superintendant's recommendation, that is very, very different. The process needs to be changed. The Superintendent should be held accountable.

1 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


Why bother? say parents who advised on principal
heidimclean at 10:14 AM PST Tuesday, May 22, 2007 wrote:


The process is the problem. Sac City Unified is notorious for creating a process to achieve a predetermined goal. The Superintendent talks about the need to increase community involvement while her staff ignores the community input. This isn't the first time that parents have complained about their input being ignored in hiring a principal. Sac City Unified should stop wasting parents' time. Tell parents the truth upfront: your input is valued if it matches what the Serna Center, central administrative staff has already decided. Parents should complain. It's a waste of their time. The District's "Strategic Plan" calls for meaningful community and parental involvement. At this point it's hard to figure out the definition of "meaningful" for parents. It's a wonder any parent wants to be involved in an "advisory committee". I hope that these parents come to the next board meeting and explain the process to the board. Then the board should hold the Superintendent accountable.

5 out of 9 people found this comment helpful.


McClatchy shooting averted, cops say
heidimclean at 8:18 AM PST Friday, April 27, 2007 wrote:


What concerns me is that Superintendent Mejia was not told about this until 1:00 pm. Why did it take so long? Also, where was the meeting (about the March incident) between parents, students, and police going to be held? I need more information before I can decide that the school should have been locked down. It is very interesting that the two middle school students involved were from schools outside the McClatchy attendance area. I hope that the Bee follows up with more information about how the students involved were connected to each other.

5 out of 5 people found this comment helpful.


Whistle-blower gets $7.6 million
heidimclean at 8:27 AM PST Thursday, April 26, 2007 wrote:


Why does the state pay when it wasn't the only defendant? The case is James Lindberg v. California Department of Education et al. The case specifically names Delaine Eastin and Joan Polster.

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful.


Whistle-blower gets $7.6 million
heidimclean at 11:34 PM PST Wednesday, April 25, 2007 wrote:

Why won't Joan Polster be paying?

I don't understand why Joan Polster and Delaine Eastin will not be paying? Why will the State pay? If the state pays, does it then try to get the money back from Ms. Polster and Ms. Eastin? The defendants were the California Department of Education, Superintendent Delaine Eastin and former CDE administrator Joan Polster. MrMcDermott do you know for sure that the judgement will be paid by taxpayers?

2 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


School goals big at small sites
heidimclean at 7:48 PM PST Sunday, April 8, 2007 wrote:

How will we pay for it?

Of course smaller is better. Every student would benefit from a smaller teacher/student ratio? How will we pay for it? Is this society ready to fund small class sizes K - 12 and not just K- 3? Of course small doesn't automatically equal better academics, better test scores. If anyone is really interested in how these "small high schools" are doing, check out the California Department of Education website and look at the test scores. I don't believe test scores are the best indication of how good a school is or is not. However, since that is how the state legislature and the federal government are measuring success, we are not left with much else by which to guage a school's success. Our high school's "small learning communities" aren't reporting out test scores by each community. I don't know abut football or baseball, but since there is an obesity epidemic every high school, regardless of its size, should have a program that will help keep teenagers physically fit.

4 out of 4 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: Needed: A peas treaty
heidimclean at 9:53 PM PST Tuesday, March 27, 2007 wrote:

Upon what is the 30% based?

Is the 30% based on basal stem area or canopy area? Does anyone know?

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: Needed: A peas treaty
heidimclean at 12:20 AM PST Tuesday, March 27, 2007 wrote:

Amazing!

We should be encouraging vegetable gardens, not prohibiting them. We might not have so many overweight children if they were allowed to grow vegetables, and encouraged to eat what they had grown. How much money would the enforcement of such an ordinance cost? How do you estimate 30% vegetables? Are dandelions considered vegetables? How do ornamental vegetables figure into the equation? How much training would it take for code enforcement personnel to be trained in vegetable identification? Would root crops count? With all the problems facing Sacramento it is perplexing that regulating vegetable gardening could make it out of the law and legislation committee and come before the full council. I hope the full council shows some sense and votes against it.

2 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: Face the facts
heidimclean at 10:25 AM PST Friday, March 23, 2007 wrote:

We must evaluate the programs we use

It is impossible to evaluate any educational program without being able to look at how individual students respond to that program over time. There is no way to evaluate charter schools without this information either. Did an individual student's performance improve while they were at a charter? I agree with the editorial that having that information is essential. California has talked about a system for tracking individual student performance for years, but there is still no way to do that. More tests are not the answer. My fear is that the current system turns students off to learning instead of making students "life long learners". Recess times are curtailed, physical education is curtailed, so that low performing students have more time to spend on reading and math. For young children that is torture. For older kids its drudgery. All because the adults still haven't figured out how to analyze what does or doesn't work for each individual student.

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful.


McClatchy students questioned over plans for attack
heidimclean at 1:55 PM PST Thursday, January 25, 2007 wrote:

When will we read the rest of the story?

As a McClatchy parent I'm very interested in knowing why the students wanted to do something to their high school. Our school district promises to educate "every student by name". How many adults at McClatchy know these two students by name? How connected to their "small learning community" are these students? I'm also very interested in learning whether the students created their own maps, or got maps of the campus from an adult? I hope there is a better, more complete article to follow because the who, what, where, when, why of this story wasn't very complete.

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful.


LETTERS: MEASURING AN EDUCATION, ETC.
heidimclean at 2:05 PM PST Wednesday, December 27, 2006 wrote:

I agree with Rhiannah Gordon

I agree with Rhiannah Gordan's assessment of what McClatchy is like for students. It is not acceptable for C.K. McClatchy to resemble a military camp. When will there be a community meeting that includes students in the discussion about how to resolve the problems at all of our high schools? Another meeting, however, will be worthless unless the adults in charge are willing to follow through. More security doesn't automatically mean less violence in a high school. The issue of disrespect is still coming up from both students and adults. Added security has not changed that at all.

0 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


Officers pepper-spray McClatchy student in campus fracas
heidimclean at 1:20 PM PST Wednesday, December 27, 2006 wrote:

When will we get the "rest of the story"?

This story didn't have many facts. When will the Bee follow up? It is impossible to tell if the student lives in the McClatchy attendance area or is from Elk Grove. McClatchy already has too many students. If this student lives in Elk Grove why did McClatchy accept him when it turns down students in our own district? Was this a Special Education Student? According to principal Clark's automated phone call, the police were in the classroom investigating a stolen cell phone report. What was this student's connection to that incident? Why did he want to enter the classroom? Was it his class? Could we please have some better reporting than this? Parents need facts not just statements from those in charge.

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful.


Union cheers J and K victory
heidimclean at 1:38 PM PST Thursday, November 9, 2006 wrote:

Money isn't everything

I think Mr. Bowler's analysis of the election results is way off the mark. The new SCUSD Board has the same role as the current board. They need to hold their superintendent accountable for how he/she runs the district. "High School Reform" (whatever that is) cannot make up for the inequity the students face K-8 in the Sacramento City Unified School District. Creating academic success in high school is almost impossible if students haven't received a quality education prior to high school. "If you put people in power, then you should be held accountable for their success in educating our students," (Mr. Bowler). Has Mr. Bowler asked for that kind of accountablity, that kind of analysis of "High School Reform". If he has, I would like to see the report with verifiable results. Ellyne Bell won because voters thought she was a good person to have on the School Board. They must not have considered Mr. Bowler, in spite of his fund raising, as good a choice.

2 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.


Editorial: Peas in our time
heidimclean at 8:11 AM PST Thursday, November 9, 2006 wrote:

Which City Council Members support these restrictions?

Who are the City Council Members that support limiting the amount of vegetables people grow in their front yard?

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful.


Sacramento City Unified School District: Ellyne Bell
heidimclean at 3:08 AM PST Monday, November 6, 2006 wrote:

Ellyne Bell would be a welcome addition to the Board

It's a pity that the Bee did not cover the SCUSD Board of Education Candidates Forum. Ellyne Bell's responses were thoughtful and articulate. She was especially strong on a question relating to violence in our schools. It's obvious that she understands the role of a boardmember. Her son graduated from high school last June, so she knows what it is like to deal with this school district. Sac City needs her common sense!

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful.


Student wounded self on sealed campus
heidimclean at 9:30 AM PST Saturday, October 21, 2006 wrote:


Why was the teacher outside the classroom during the lockdown? This article says the student was alone in the classroom, yet later says that other students lied about how the student with the gun injured his hand. Was the student alone, or unsupervised? To what type of probation is the Bee refering? Thank you for fleshing out the latest message from Principal Clark. However, it would be nice if the Bee could answer the above questions.

3 out of 3 people found this comment helpful.


McClatchy High locked down after shots fired
heidimclean at 10:18 AM PST Thursday, October 19, 2006 wrote:


Thank you for your coverage. Now I have the details that were left out of the principal's telephone message that I just received. I have a student at McClatchy and I hope that the students are being reassured as well. This could have happened near any high school, anywhere.

19 out of 19 people found this comment helpful.


Audit hits two charter operations
heidimclean at 11:02 AM PST Thursday, August 10, 2006 wrote:


Great article. Clearly legislation is needed to make charter school operators more accountable for the public funding that passes through their hands. One obvious place to start is with the governance structure of charter schools. Non-profit corporation law isn't the best fit for a "public" school because it allows so much conflict of interest. The Visual and Performing Arts Charter School in Sacramento has had to deal with some of these same problems. I wonder how many more charters are out there operating in this manner?

1 out of 2 people found this comment helpful.