Ongoing dispute keeps charter school off Chico board's agenda

margaret reece makes over $100,000 a year. Paul Weber makes over $100,000 a year. Let's see them pony up 25 percent of their salary.

Face it, you people are overpaid. Give some of the money back, and maybe those of us skeptics out here will have some respect for you.

What Mrs. Staley said about waiting to publish the agenda is not true. I saw it on line on Friday. I hate it when they lie.

I have no complaints about the salaries of Margaret or Paul. They do their jobs and the school is in the black. CUSD administrators are making twice their salaries and are poor at their jobs. Who set their salaries, Juanita? I actually like your courage to write what you do. So much anger about education has to do with our local district not running well. But Juanita, don't fault some of us for trying to do it on our own.

Your comments about the neighborhood will be discussed. There are always some parents who are not considerate. That happens at all schools. Look at the garbage in the parking lots at PV and Chico, the double parking at Emma. I also live in the neighborhood and it's an improvement from when FairView was here. Those kids smoked on our lawn, did drug deals, and had gang issues right in front of our homes. When we would talk to the school, they never wanted us to say anything at the risk of ruining their reputation. The school looks 100 times better now. You didn't see CUSD wanting to improve the facilities when FairView was here.

Juanita,
Thank you so much for your willingness to advocate for justice in compensation. I too have done some research and nearly fell out of my seat when I discovered that there are CCDS each and every month cuts check to a number of the parents whose children attend the school. How can we allow this to stand?

To my dismay I discovered this corruption does not end at CCDS. I have discovered that there are parents of CCDS public schools who also receive checks from CUSD every month. How can this conflict stand?

Juanita, if no one parent can be compensated for a service provided to the institution in which their child is educated how can we allow any parent to receive compensation?

You so passionately advocate that no individual should receive financial compensation from CCDS if they have a child who is a student at the school. Perhaps you should step up your fight and demand the immediate resignation of each and every teacher, administrator or service provider who receives compensation from CUSD while they have students in attendance at a CUSD school.

Bowto Artifice

They want to triple the rent? CCDS should hold firm and not allow that kind of extortion. Those people at CUSD are nothing short of criminals!

"Oh no, I don't see CUSD mistreating a charter school!" Should we let the whole building fall down first? Don't you love the concern CUSD gives at meetings about charter proposals and the charter's efforts to create a nice environment? What a crock. Sometimes I think if the charters would say, "We're going to let our facility be run down and give our students a lousy education," they would get approval quicker from CUSD.

This is a perfect example of why charters should not have to be approved by the local school district.

Unvelievable.

Of course CUSD is requiring as part of their agreement that they are NOT required to provide any written documentation for exactly what the three percent will be used for.

Extortion: ex·tor·tion (k-stôrshn)
n.
1. The act or an instance of extorting.
2. Illegal use of one's official position or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage.
3. An excessive or exorbitant charge.
4. Something extorted.

I can't believe that the district can get away with this. The community should be OUTRAGED. Putting this off again is all part of their "plan". ARTIFICE.

The school district is holding Country Day School hostage. They will not allow the school board to even vote on approval of grant money unless Country Day agrees to pay more rent and maintenance fees and not ask how those numbers are calculated.

How can this even be legal? Why is the school board willing to talk about carbon footprint two weeks in a row but not this?

It seems to me that prop 1D and the school's maintenance fees are two separate issues. They should try to take over Parkview and then they wouldn't need the grant money.

juanita wrote:

margaret reece makes over $100,000 a year. Paul Weber makes over $100,000 a year. Let's see them pony up 25 percent of their salary.
Face it, you people are overpaid. Give some of the money back, and maybe those of us skeptics out here will have some respect for you.

Why does this matter? They aren't broke at CCDS.

Why does the ER continue to let them get away with this? Another article taking dictation from involved parties instead of investigating these claims.

Refusing to produce documentation of their claims? Haven't we heard that a few hundred times over the years? What an organization!

Wow wrote:

Unvelievable.
Of course CUSD is requiring as part of their agreement that they are NOT required to provide any written documentation for exactly what the three percent will be used for.
Extortion: ex·tor·tion (k-stôrshn)
n.
1. The act or an instance of extorting.
2. Illegal use of one's official position or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage.
3. An excessive or exorbitant charge.
4. Something extorted.
I can't believe that the district can get away with this. The community should be OUTRAGED. Putting this off again is all part of their "plan". ARTIFICE.

You should go to a televised board meeting and say these things.

Farmer wrote:

Refusing to produce documentation of their claims? Haven't we heard that a few hundred times over the years? What an organization!

I do not understand this complusion to demand transparency from CUSD. They are an elected body that has ben empowered with the authority to implement policy. If they feel that a 3% fee is merited then let that be. Who are we to question thier authority?

We demand transparecy from big business because of the financial implications of their policies. Quite different, CUSD, is a governing authority. Shouldn't we and CCDS get out of the way and let them have their way?

Bowto Artifice

Dante wrote:

<quoted text>
You should go to a televised board meeting and say these things.

Does Chico Country Day School televise their board meetings? Do they keep minutes?

CUSD is so jealous of the success CCDS has had. Do you think that if Chico Unified had opened the old Fair View campus for students that they would have 600 students?

I think CCDS should tell them to shove it. They should do what Blue Oak did and take over a nicer facility and build a school so that they wouldn't have to deal with CUSD. Then the school district would be left with nothing for rent and a dilapidated building.

Someone said that CUSD should ask Margaret Gazda to train Kelly Staley how to be a superintendent. It's a great idea but that assumes the people are willing to learn. I don't think Kelly Staley is capable. Although it's worth a try, my guess is that Mrs. Staley would refuse to get advice from anyone.

Bowto Artifice, Your statement is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! "Stay out of their way and let them do what they please?" Are you kidding me? They are ELECTED officials and it is our responsibility to keep them honest and avoid corruption. "Who are we to question their authority?" We are the people that have the authority to vote them into office. It is their responsibility to represent us!
We have given up the request for them to "show their work" and even agreed to pay the fee given that it be reduced when it comes time for us to re-pay to the state. We signed the contract with this stipulation along with a request to add Prop 1D on the agenda. CUSD has refused AGAIN to allow Prop 1D to be heard.
For me, the bottom line is that CUSD is acting illegally in that they are charging us for services and goods that we are not receiving. Secondly, they are tying the propositions together: we sign the contract and they will put Prop 1D on the agenda. This is ILLEGAL! Let us not forget that the real issue is that our children are trying to learn and grow in a facility that is well below safety standards and seriously outdated!

Kathleen Teal wrote:

Bowto Artifice, Your statement is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! "Stay out of their way and let them do what they please?" Are you kidding me? They are ELECTED officials and it is our responsibility to keep them honest and avoid corruption. "Who are we to question their authority?" We are the people that have the authority to vote them into office. It is their responsibility to represent us!
We have given up the request for them to "show their work" and even agreed to pay the fee given that it be reduced when it comes time for us to re-pay to the state. We signed the contract with this stipulation along with a request to add Prop 1D on the agenda. CUSD has refused AGAIN to allow Prop 1D to be heard.
For me, the bottom line is that CUSD is acting illegally in that they are charging us for services and goods that we are not receiving. Secondly, they are tying the propositions together: we sign the contract and they will put Prop 1D on the agenda. This is ILLEGAL! Let us not forget that the real issue is that our children are trying to learn and grow in a facility that is well below safety standards and seriously outdated!

Do you really believe that CUSD would resort to illegal tactics or lies?

Why do we even need to have the choice of charter school?

Shouldn't we just leave this up to the government? Some would say that as the government is taking a stonger hand in the affairs of big business so should it do so in public education. Some beleive that no parent should have the right to a choice in how their child is educated. Don't you understand that the government knows what is best for you child?

There have been many suggestions in this forum that a state takeover is a good idea. It has also been suggested that the district is jealous of CCDS. I don't think it is jealousy, I think they are desperate and have no qualms about just squeezing the schools. Nord and Forest Ranch have been very quiet during this fiasco and of course, the ER can't be bothered to contact them and ask about their experiences. How is rent calculated for those facilities? Nord has also added portables, what is going on there? Blue Oak is not a CUSD charter, they are a Butte County Office of Education charter like CORE and I believe 4 Winds and Hearthstone.

There is a lot of information available about state takeovers, none has been reported. I have heard that the state charges for their consultants and the district will have to pay for that. How does that help us? Maybe we should have paid for a consultant to fix us instead of a survey.

Kathleen Teal wrote:

Bowto Artifice, Your statement is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! "Stay out of their way and let them do what they please?" Are you kidding me? They are ELECTED officials and it is our responsibility to keep them honest and avoid corruption. "Who are we to question their authority?" We are the people that have the authority to vote them into office. It is their responsibility to represent us!
We have given up the request for them to "show their work" and even agreed to pay the fee given that it be reduced when it comes time for us to re-pay to the state. We signed the contract with this stipulation along with a request to add Prop 1D on the agenda. CUSD has refused AGAIN to allow Prop 1D to be heard.
For me, the bottom line is that CUSD is acting illegally in that they are charging us for services and goods that we are not receiving. Secondly, they are tying the propositions together: we sign the contract and they will put Prop 1D on the agenda. This is ILLEGAL! Let us not forget that the real issue is that our children are trying to learn and grow in a facility that is well below safety standards and seriously outdated!

Kathyleen.

When you give in to a bully then you are just as guilty as the bully. All prisons have a no hostage policy. If a prisoner takes a guard hostage and comes to the front gate saying they will hurt the hostage unless the gate opens, it remains closed or it would happen all the time.

What CUSD is doing is underhanded. We all know that. The whole community knows it. It's time you put your foot down and refuse to sign ANY document that you know is wrong, unethical, or illegal. Unless CCDS refuses, the bully will win and it will happen again and again.

Don't allow them to get away with it. 560 students and 1120 parents should show up tonight and all tell them "NO." Only then will you feel okay. I think CCDS has to be willing to have their school in tents next year if need be. The entire community will help you build the best school ever. If we have to build it brick by brick we will, but at least we will be proud instead of allowing those people to make cowards of us.

Say no to all their demands. Don't give them one penny more than you know is ethical. Now it's a lesson for all our community. So many people have tried to stop those people. You have the numbers and you have integrity on your side. We will all help you if we have to build your school tomorrow.

One by one, each of you can tell them you will not negotiate with criminals any more.

juanita wrote:

margaret reece makes over $100,000 a year. Paul Weber makes over $100,000 a year. Let's see them pony up 25 percent of their salary.
Face it, you people are overpaid. Give some of the money back, and maybe those of us skeptics out here will have some respect for you.

The free market dictates compensation. These salaries are standard for their positions. Salaries are significantly higher in the Bay Area and L.A. May we assume you think teacher salaries are too high also? Luckily you don't get to set compensation, but you are welcome to your (uniformed) opinion. Are you willing to vote for a temporary parcel tax to help out the local schools or is it just the administrators who should sacrifice $25,000 each? Even if every administrator in the district took a pay cut, it wouldn't put a dent in the district's budget crisis. Your simplistic suggestions aren't very helpful, but you certainly have the right to take your cheap shots, but we don't have to respect you either.

A large group of parents from CCDS were going to go to the board meeting tonight but we had to cancel because the school district refused to put the "Public Comment" section on the agenda. I checked with a lawyer and he said that it is REQUIRED to have public comment time and it HAS to be on the agenda. People called but the district refused. I think that is a Brown Act violation because you have to post the correct agenda at least 24 hours ahead of time. It was the lawyer's opinion that the meeting will have to be cancelled and rescheduled in order to do it correctly. At this point, we all cancelled our plans because there was no "Open Comment" time allowed. I am sure it was not a mistake because too many people have told them. If they go ahead with the meeting, they will be in violation. I don't think they care about any laws anymore.