Posted by
Mark on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 10:35:27 PM
After reading the comments in last week’s edition of the Placer Herald by the Rocklin School District Board of Trustees, on why they voted against the request to grant a charter for the Western Sierra Collegiate Academy, I am convinced that Superintendent Kevin Brown must have an extra bounce in his walk around the district office. Mr. Brown has always wanted a school board where he can have complete control over every district program and policy. He does not want even one board member to get in the way of his personal agenda. Hats off to Mr. Brown. He handpicked all 5 of the current board members and used school district funds to help get them elected. Each of these board members has gone through the brain-sucking machine that is tucked away in a secret back room at the district office.
When I served on the school board from 2000 – 2004, I was able to avoid the brain-sucking machine. By avoiding the machine, I was able to represent the families and children of Rocklin, I was able to stand up to the California Teacher’s Association, I was able to eliminate a math program that did not have a text book and did not meet California state standards (you can ask Greg “I am a Communist” Daley about how our math test scores have gone up since we got rid of the old program), we overhauled the out of control Rocklin High School grading system, we opened 2 charter schools in Rocklin, and I made sure our school district would never release our children for a medical appointment without first notifying the parents (Camille “I can dumb down our schools” Maben did not agree with this policy). I could not of done this on my own. 2 other board members who served with me, but are no longer on the school board, also avoided the Kevin Brown’s brain-sucking machine.
A school board member that is elected needs to bring with him/her an agenda. When I was elected, I did have an agenda. My agenda are the items I listed above. While being able to avoid the brain-sucking machine, I could not counter the tens of thousands of dollars donated by the California Teacher’s Association to board members/candidates such as Steve Paul, the “Grand Poobah,” Greg “I’m a Communist” Daley, Camille “I can dumb down our schools” Maben, Todd “slick attorney” Lowell, and Wendy “ I can cry like Hillary” Lang. As a result I lost my re-election bid in 2004 and a comeback in 2006. None of these people have brought any of their own ideas to the board. Since 2002, they have acted only as cheerleaders for Kevin Brown’s personal agenda. His agenda is to eliminate school choice. He even admitted at a public hearing that he blackmailed (he did not actually use the word blackmail) the Rocklin Academy into signing a possible illegal document before he would even discuss a charter for WSCA. The head cheerleader for Mr. Brown’s agenda is Steve Paul, the “Grand Poobah” of the school board. Below is a picture our photographer took of the Grand Poobah providing a cheer for Kevin Brown and the other board members after they voted down the request from the Western Sierra Collegiate Academy to grant a charter.
