Pleased as punch to get that ‘D’
By Eric Kurhi
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 at 3:24 pm in Hayward, Odds & Ends, Schools, Transportation.
We’re whole again! Ok, I suppose we may still be short-staffed, but at least our sign isn’t.
Here’s a couple of other things to look at, while I’m posting:
The Hayward Fire Department took some dramatic footage of last week’s apartment fire near Cal State East Bay.
And that DMV that used to be in Hayward? Sounds like it won’t be back for a while. Here’s the letter.
And in case you heard about a million sirens going off around noon today, here’s the skinny on that.
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
October 5th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Didn’t hear the sirens but heard the helicopter overhead again. If I had a $1000 for each time the school district told me HUSD was safe, I could move to say Dublin.
October 5th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Thanks for the update. I posted on this on the following entry. As far as I know there were no calls made to the board members to inform them of what was happening. It would seem to me that board members should be made aware of incidents such as this, if for no other reason then to be able to respond to a reporter’s questions, should they be called. I heard about it on the radio. I still want to know where was District Office staff?? Were they there to assist parents with updates???
October 5th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Eric, your update in the Daily Review is most excellent. The entire incident should be studied by professionals to see if the reactions from staff and the police were actually appropriate. I am not talking about those with vested interests but unaligned professionals. Somehow the swarm at lunch time at a high school appears undermanned and underplanned. This cowboy behavior is what creates serious public disturbances.
October 6th, 2010 at 7:55 am
I attended the Parent Engagement Kick-Off last night at Burbank. Considering the events of the day, I was surprised to hear only a few parents (mainly elementary) speak to the concern of safety and communication.
Eric, thank you for working so hard to keep the community up-to-date. From what I have heard, parents were in a panic when they heard the helicopters, sirens, etc. over HHS. Some follow you on twitter and others immediately turned to other on-line sources such as the Daily Review on-line, Facebook and texting. Your account of the situation was very different from that of the teens discussing stampedes and tasers.
I know that at this point parents are watching to see how the District (Board) handles the discipline of those involved and related policies following a serious situation like this. As M Moore points out, there should be a big red flag on how prepared or unprepared we might be for this type of thing.
I agree with Qodrn, because I too am tiring of always hearing how safety is a top priority of the District and our children are safe. I heard it again last night at the meeting from our Superintendent. Until more members of the community make this a priority, we can expect more chaotic situations with sporadic (at best) communication from the District.
October 6th, 2010 at 9:23 am
I thought it was both interesting and shocking that there was no district office administrator to be seen on the tv reports that I saw only HPD. I wonder if anyone came right away to assess the situation or to speak to the parents? Perhaps we need more personnel at the school sites and less at the district office.
October 6th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
A Hayward High Parent told me that at the Kick Off, high school parents wanted to discuss the safety issue, and what happened at that school in the morning, but the organizer told them; the conversation did not have “student achievement” in mind. They had to change the topic. In other words, they did not want it to hear about it. Armas was there, may be parents talked to him. He was in full campaign mood!
October 6th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
It is so sad to see that things really have not changed in HUSD in the past few years. Always there is a pledge to listen to parents, students and teachers, particularly when there are safety concerns. Instead what seems to be given is lip service, excuses and statements such as Lucy’s Mom reported.
While I am all for giving students who have behaved inappropriately a second chance I believe in the case of those who decided that they would “take on the cops” there should be no second chance. They should be expelled asap. Messages, that are more than words on the student handouts on the first day of school, need to be loud and clear…This type of behavior will not be tolerated.
October 6th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
HUSD had these issues before you were a student in high school. No candidate for any office has said that they did not want to listen to parents, students or teazchers. This is not new.
What is new is the extreme over reaction and swarming of the campus by multiple polilce jurisdictions without adequate command and control. This problem of over reaction is symptomatic of a depraved and mismanaged district without training and experience. What a surprise. Misbehaving high school students will be victimized as the cause if there is an official and public investigation.
Given the historical, current and ongoing inability of the HUSD to be transparent and honest; do not place faith on full disclosure. The school and district management have not been involved or present because they were not in a position to offer anything, even if they were aware.
The responding agencies, as well as the district and school staff should be the ones brought to task. Fully investigated and if found to be malfeasant, should be dealt with as extremely as allowable by code and law. As to the students involved, they too should be held accountable to the same extent as the SRO, Deans, Pricipal, District Officers, Superintendent and respoding officers and their supervisors.
This should not have happened and it should not be allowed to occcur again. Swarming cops on campus due to lunch time fights is new. The actual incident has happened in high schools for many generations. It is all about teenagers, hormones and growing up.
Hold the authorities responsible for their irrensponsible over reactions.
October 6th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Mr. Moore,
I have probably been alive longer than you and have had students in HUSD in the 70s-90s. Neither when I was in high school or when they were did any such behavior take place. 200-300 students out of control would never have happened. Students respected the on site school administrators and teachers and more than anything they respected the reputation of their school and themselves. Furthermore, if there was any indication that there were potential problems, the District Office, starting with the Superintendent was “Johhnie on the spot” at the campus to diffuse it.
Where was the District Office staff, especially the superintendent yesterday? Woefully absent!
Schools did not have anymore resource officers or campus security than is currently present. It is the lax discipline and the lack of expectations that promogates such behavior. If such a scene took place during that time you can bet your a.. that there would have been police presence in large numbers.
I do agree that the District Office staff needs to be held accountable for their lack of attention to brewing problems. But given the current make up of the board of education, I am certain nothing substantial will be done.
October 6th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
Ms. Booth, while I will adjure to your experience, I was in high school between 1966 and 1969. Fights between girls and boys at lunch and after school occurred regularly. There was always a crowd around the fight. I do not recall administrators and teachers breaking up the fights. They knew what happened and they did follow up with discipline.
That there are no initial reports of weapons or injuries leads me to believe that there was an extreme over reaction by the SRO and the caller in to the police for back up.
When I was in school, there were no SRO’s or campus security. There were 746 in my graduating senior class, so that should give you a sense of the school, which was Fresno High. Rampant hormones are what I believe underlies the problem. You may disagree and I think that you should if it makes you feel responsible. The police do not belong on campus. They did not belong there then and they do not belong there now.
Do not presume to think that the late sixties were less volatile than today. They were not. The authorities did a better job then of avoiding the streets of Chicago, San Francisco State, Berkeley and Kent State in those days in high school.
The problem is the administration and the lack of command and control of the responding Law Enforcement Officials. There were way too many cowboys being heroes here. It started with the SRO and the school employee who called HPD.
That no students were hurt and no weapons were found is testimony to the lack of import of the event.
This should not happen, but will always occur when the authorities do not have a clue what is wrong. Same set of circumstances led to the Oscar Grant riots in Oakland this year.
October 6th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Mr. Moore,
Perhaps I ngelected to state that that during the 80s and 90s when my brood was attending HUSD schools,while there was 1 rotating SRO for Sunset High School, his purpose was to work with students to find a higher ground when it came to settling disputes. He was not the “commando” type that is currently present. Of course he did handle the occasional student involved thefts and whatever criminal acts that may have required “arrest and transport”. The SRO was a respected mentor, I would venture to say that none of the students would ever think of “swinging at, hitting or in any other way attempting to hurt the SRO”..likewise it was rare to see any physical force used by him. It was a positive relationship for all.
October 7th, 2010 at 9:17 am
Ms. Booth,
I think that you and I in tacit agreement. I believe that the SRO and HHS will likely be found to have been poorly trained and to have over reacted. I believe that the command and control structure at HHS and in the HUSD is ill prepared and poorly trained to deal with the incidents that occurred at HHS.
This incident should be examined in detail by an impartial third party. The findings should be distributed publicly to the community. The recommendations should be implemented. This incident should not be allowed to disappear over time.
That this issue has arisen in the district should not be a surprise. The incident is the same as what has been seen in the HUSD meetings. The district has not shown much ability to identify and correct its failures. I suspect that things will get worse until such time as the entire group, from school principals through the Trustees are retrained or replaced. This could well happen through State control of the district.
October 7th, 2010 at 9:17 am
Lucy’s Mom – I am disappointed to hear that subject of safety was discouraged when addressing student achievement. These two topics are not in competition, but closely linked. There seems to be acceptance that a well fed, well rested child is more open to learning. When will we figure out that a child in fear is not focused on learning?
While the number of fights may be down over the years, seriousness of injuries is up. I’m also guessing that 30 years ago there weren’t many websites dedicated to videos making stars out of school fights.
When discussing the response from law enforcement agencies, I think it is important to look at the situation. Lunch time, large student population, as one fight was handled another breaks out, SRO feels surrounded and threatened and calls for assistance. If this were at any other type of venue, would you find it acceptable to send one officer in to handle a crowd? I believe the show of force may have been in response to what was already pandemonium. You might find it odd, but I have not heard a single parent complain about the number of officers on scene to get this situation under control quickly.
Just FYI: The revised SRO MOU was approved on June 23rd for July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011.
October 7th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Ms. Rocchio,
And I believe that the re was a good deal of controversy regarding that MOU; with the chief of police stating “It’s our way or the highway”. This was followed by many threats of what would happen if HPD was not on campus with its SROs. I believe the issue at the time was for there to be more cooperative relations between HUSD and HPD with respect to how our campus’s are monitored and controlled. Somebody dropped the ball in thiis partnership. I am not one bit surprised that parents of HHS students did not complain about the police presence.
October 7th, 2010 at 11:18 am
Ms. Booth,
I believe the majority of the discussion on the SRO was around cultural sensitivity training for the officers based on the diversity of the community. There was a feeling by some that parents were feeling threatened by the presence of the SRO based on culture, language and immigration status. This seemed to be what concerned the Board in regards to the MOU. You can review the comments from the January 13th Board Meeting. I believe the role of the SRO states that they are to work to resolve conflicts and that they are entitled to aid from other law enforcement agencies. Perhaps more focus should be on the procedures at each site and how the entire staff should respond to any type of escalating situation. Keeping this about the safety of the students, I believe many HHS parents felt the response, in the case, put the safety of the students first! I agree that we need to work on these policies and procedures, and until then we must always err on the side of safety for the majority!
October 7th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
I totally agree with what you posted. I just remember that there was a speech given by the chief that essentially said they would cooperate. I just felt that it was a high-handed way of dealing with parental concerns. We truly need to do something in the area of staffing and training. These very same issues, of teenagers existed for as long as I can remember, however the difference was there was an attitude from the on site administrators to stop things from escalating to the degree that we have seen lately.
Perhaps if HUSD kept administrative staff for more than one year at a school site this would happen. Continuity is lacking. Thank you for your insight and for refreshing my memory.
October 7th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
I do not hear any of you calling for an indepth investigation by an impartial party. Believe me, no one wants that to happen. HPD, CHP, ACSO and BPD do not want to allow anyone to look at their operations, policies or responses. They all believe that they are right to do it their way. No one at HHS or HUSD wants someone to look either. They canot stand to have their failure under any scrutiny. The parents of the students involved have not spoken up. No doubt under duress of some kind or another. In short, no one wants to learn what happened and how it can be prevented. The one thing I am sure of is that this will occur again and again and it will escalate. When that happens, everyone will be truly saddened.
Do not be surprised that this will be hushed up, just as the Winton Teacher arrested for felony child pornography has been hushed up.
October 7th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
Ms. Rocchio,
Apparently, parents were at the school that day; because violence is present at HHS, and parents do not see solutions on the way. The mother that spoke about the incident brought her son to the kick off. Mom was not fluent in English, but the young man was expressing his fears well. I understand that he is very scared of going to school now! How could that be happening?
I do not want my daughter and her peers afraid of going to high school in a few years.
Something needs to be done and soon.
Mr. Moore, I agree with you on this one; Investigation is a must.
October 7th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
MR. MOORE;
WITH REFERENCE TO # 17 ABOVE…
IN DEPTH INVESTIGATION ?? AT WHAT EXPENSE? WOULD YOU TAKE THE MONEY FROM THE BUDGET ? HASTEN A TAKEOVER BY THE STATE ?
hpd, chp, acsd,and bpd (?) are secretive ? HHS parents are secretive ? THE PARENTS OF THE STUDENTS HAVE NOT SPOKEN UP?
FELLA, ALL THAT IS NEEDED ARE SOME SESSIONS IN THE WOOD SHED WITH THE ‘BOARD OF EDUCATION’ !!
EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT PARENTS FEAR THEIR OWN KIDS, THAT MIGHT WORK!
YOU WRITE AS THOUGH DESPONDENT ! HAVE YOU PRESENTED A WRITING TO BOARD OF TRUSTEES OFFERING PR0-ACTIVE SOLUTIONS ?
WHAT INFLUENCE IS INTRODUCED TO HUSD BY THE CHILDREN OF NUMEROUS PAROLLEES, LIVING IN HAYWARD AND WHOSE NUMBERS ARE CLIMBING WITH THE EARLY RELEASE PROGRAM….. FORCED UPON THE DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS!
HAYWARD AND OAKLAND, THE TWO OLDEST CITIES IN THE COUNTY PROVIDE THE BULK OF LOW INCOME HOUSING…….. SO WHERE WILL THE NEW RELEASE TYPES CONGREGATE ? DO THEY HAVE CHILDREN?
ARE YOU AWARE THAT MANY ARE BEING RELEASED WITHOUT SUPERVISION BY A PAROLE AGENT ?
PERHAPS A SUCCSFUL ‘TOWN HALL MEETING’ WILL SEE CREATION OF ‘VOLUNTEER GROUPS’ ( SEE THE EXPERIENCE OF MOST CITIES, INCLUDING HAYWARD, HERE ‘PLANNING COMMISSION‘. ‘LIBRARY COMMISSION’ ETC ( 10 in Hayward,) contribute much toward governance….. By unpaid volunteers !
Do you think that there is at least a possibility of forming a ‘commission’ or ‘ad hoc’ group to aid parents in assuring their kids are actually attending classes???
Or, ARE YOU LIMITED TO LAID BACK ‘CHEAP SHOTS’ ?
October 8th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
The state of California should appoint a board to investigate the event at HUSD. The investigation should be paid for from the state general fund. Findings of the investigation should be included within the research in to whether the state should take over the running of the HUSD.
HPD, CHP, BPD and ACSO will resist any investigation by an outside agency. They all believe they are right. I call that secretive. They are not talking abut the incident and will not divulge anything.
Your advocacy of beatings behind the woodshed have been outlawed as felonious assault for more than fifty years. Your advocacy of felonious child abuse speaks to your character.
The investigative agency will speak for all, including the parents.
I recommmend that the existing board and Superintendent resign immediately. Their conduct is an insult to all of the citizens of Hayward.
Children of parolees is an issue that needs to be investigated if it is in fact true. I suspect that it belongs in a category of alleged and not true.
All parolees are subject to control by a parole agent. If you are aware of a violation, you are responsible for notifying the department. If you post the names of the parolees and your own, I assure you that I can connect up the parties.
The time for meetings is over for the HUSD. They have failed now for five consecutive years. All concerned parents should begin moving their children to Castro Valley.
The state and district all have very effective methods for ensuring that tardiness is eliminated. No new commisions or groups are needed. The trustees are responsible for this implementation. That is one of many reasons why they should resign or be replaced.
October 9th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
I just took a quick scan of the agenda for Wednesday. Looks like a possibility for a short meeting. However the revisions to the current board by-laws may lead to some disagreeable discussions/debate.
I wonder if the superintendent will address the recent incident at Hayward High. I hope that parents come ready to take the district office to task over the safety issues that seem to be present on many of our campuses.
October 9th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Well, if Superintendent Duran does not answer those questions, perhaps she will want to talk about the teacher at Winton charged with felony child pornography. Specifics might have something to do with the union’s stand on defending their membership charged with child pornography distribution and whether the principal and vetting apparatus should not be replaced. But asking for responsible dialog is unlikely to be a result.
October 9th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
I sure hope the Daily Review is covering the global 350.0rg event today and tomorrow. I just spent a wonderful afternoon at the ProspectHill/Hazel garden with some really creative people. Tomorrow are two more events in Hayward worth noting. This is the grass roots at its best. (Is that the right person, Michael?)f you can’t be there, go out into your own field and garden and connect through the earth.
October 9th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Ms. Blair,
You seem to always post calming thoughts..While I don’t have a garden, I do enjoy just walking at the shore line and enjoying the water and the wild life.
October 10th, 2010 at 8:27 am
After reading this string of comments, as usual, things are a bit over blown. The incident at Hayward High was about a couple having a tiff/fight in the lunch area where hundreds of other students could watch them. The first officer arrived and called for back up. If you ever encounter the Hayward Police they tend to arrive in packs.. which they should do to quell any situation. All of the students were going to have their homecoming taken away from them due to a few problem students involved in this incident. Fortunately, the PTA, Police, and the City came together after prodding from a very involved PARENT to salvage the Homecoming.
Yes, there have been problems in the high schools since the 70′s but guess what? Castro Valley had the same problems and probably Dublin too. You just don’t hear about it. Castro Valley had it’s own “undercover” narc, so did San Lorenzo.
So if you want to move please do because then Hayward will be less crowded, and have more positive people left in town.
What you will find is that every town/city has problems. What are you doing about them, other than whining? Are you a reading tutor? Do you run a lunchtime chess club? Do you help raise money for your schools PTA/Ed Foundation?
Step away from the computer and get busy with some positive work for the community!
October 10th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Mr. Moore; OCTOBER 10, 2010 ( 10- 10- 10 )
Triple 10 day, a very lucky day in some cultures. But a great day to respond to your number 20.… with the end…. (‘30’ written on the last page.)… You would be well advised to end your negativity. Become a bit more positive?
Your # 20 is quite revealing when…
A.) You suggest that the State if Calif., conduct an investigation and that the concurrent expense be borne by the State. Oddly, I thought the State a bit short of cash. Is that no longer true?
B.) You continue castigation of HPD, CHP and ACSO when stating that they will resist investigation by an outside agency. Which agency? Certainly not the FBI ?
You speak of those with police power as being possessed of need for secrecy! Standard operating procedure there ! Why bust a case before it is presented to a court? Did you think about factors such as that before your ‘scribble’? I’ll bet not. You impress me as the type which gets caught up in rhetoric of their own attempts at self expression..
C.) I do not advocate beatings behind the woodshed. I was being a bit hyperbolic. With a single exception I never beat my four children…. an open handed slap up the rear of a skull, on a single occasion being the only exception. It worked!
D.) The investigative agency will speak for all, including parents. Unless, of course you personally disagree! Right?
E.) You recommend that the existing Board and the Superintendent resign immediately. Well fella, many voters including myself, resent your judgment upon their selections made through the ballot box. If you want to change conditions….. run for office! Do not just stand there holding someone’s coat while they role up their sleeves for a political fight! Your simplistic suggestion is insulting!
F.) You state : “All parolees are subject to control by a parole agent”. Mr. Moore… get yourself up to the mark before your quick lip results in public embarrassment!
A Federal Court handed down the edict that the crowded condition of California prisons was unhealthy and a violation of the inmates’ rights. ‘We’ are obligated to release 40,000 and the first of these at about 10% were released early this year. Of that number at least 10% are released without supervision…… seems we are broke and unable to hire more parole officers. So cross your fingers and accept the fact that the revolving door at Calif. Prisons will see 40% returned in the first year of their release. 50 % by end of second year and 59 + % at end of third year per the data released by the state in July 2009 for the ‘class of 2005‘. A privately undertaken research suggests that between 65 and 70% are back in the slammer by the end of the 5th year of release,…. But supervision by parole office is concluded at end of third year.
Posting the names of parolees is not permitted but here in Alameda County fewer than 100 are living in Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton.
Hayward and Oakland have the highest count due to the availability of older housing in those two cities established in 1876 ( Hayward) and 1851 ( Oakland). Oakland’s share exceeds 2500 and Hayward’s count in second at a number nearing 600. The total in Alameda County nears 4,000. Pleasanton ? Just 12.….. And you wonder why their test scores are higher than ours?
G..) You prattle on a bit with…”if you post the names of parolees and your own, I assure you that I can connect up the parties..” just exactly what did you say when digging that hole for yourself. First, parole offices do not release names of the paroled felons…. It violates their rights to privacy and when you threaten to connect my name to that of particular parolees…. You step over the line. I see it as a threat!
H.) “the time for meetings is over for HUSD. They have failed now for five years. All concerned parents should begin moving their children to Castro Valley”
Mr. Moore… have you discussed that with Castro Valley School folks ?? Then too the trouble has been brewing for years…. The last five Superintendents have been fired.
I.) “The State and district all have very effective methods for enssuring that tardiness is eliminated. No new commissions or groups are needed. The trustees are responsible etc etc. “
Well now, what have you to say about the following facts: in School year 2009 2010 the truancy rate nearly doubled over the experience of 2007 – 2008 ( Two years ago.) Last year the truancy rate at the elementary level was 36% for all schools it ran 49.6 % which implies that the Middle schools and High Schools run very much higher, ( 60 % to 75%.)
Is that problem a consequence of the fact that attendance clerk staff was seriously reduced? So that some schools share an attendance clerk.
Perhaps the State Dept of Education is purposely negligent in utilizing laws to compel parental action in fighting truancy. Or, is the State purposely neglectful so that it can hang on to our lost ADA money ?
Finally you state: “No new commissions or groups are needed“
Using your skewed logic, would you suggest to the City of Hayward that they collapse use of ten (10) commissions, ( Library, Planning, Clean and Green etc.,) and tell those 100 plus volunteers who aid the City with free, unpaid efforts in aid of governance, to get the hell away ?
You are simplistically, wrong! HUSD needs several commissions or ad hoc groups dedicated to logical use of the time and energy of those civic minded folks who would volunteer on an unpaid, consistently competent basis as for example: Attendance clerks who also make home visits to find if the truancy is solvable and/or just determine that the truancy should actually be categorized as transience due to foreclosure or a lockup at the juvenile hall. How about a sports and promotions commission where folks such as myself would engage in fund raising activity to support music or sports programs.
As for your self, is it not possible that even you can become proactive rather than destructive?
(10 + 10 + 10) 30
October 10th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Kathy, the shoreline is one of my favorites also. My doggy Stella just loves it too. We’re so lucky to be so close to the bay.
October 10th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
Sherry, I’m really bummed that I had to miss this event. FYI, the Green Festival is coming to SF in November.
October 11th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Mr. Kyle. You win.
October 11th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Mr. Moore’
Is there a chance that you might take a proactive role in promotion of a Town Hall meeting?
October 11th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Don’t give up Mr.Moore it looks as if Kyole has met his match. The rest of us can continue to post about concerns, suggestions, opinions and provide information without being attacked. U do a fine job of refuting kyle. Thanbks for giving us a break.
October 11th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
miz Boot
More logic from the only neighbor assicauting with, John G. the famous former pricipal and leader of the ‘Right Group’, istigators of the recall attempt,against his wife’s cousin his chosen advocate at Personnel Commission just prior to his retirement!
Did you preside at that hearing?
October 11th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
I promise never to mention your name again in any post Mr. John Kyle. your question makes no sense and I can’t even begin to formulate a response. Again, I promise never to use your name in a posting or to refer to anything you may choose to say. I am so sorry that I forgot my own pledge to ignore.
October 11th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Ns. Booth
I promise, as an exchange of promises, not to go into detail about your law suit against HUSD.
October 12th, 2010 at 8:33 am
You are more than welcome to go into what you think is the details of my lawsuit against HUSD. Be my guest Mr. Kyle. When all is said and done you will be the one to have egg on your face. Do not threaten me anymore with your garbage. I have nothing to defend regarding Booth, etal vs HUSD. It was a rightous case and one that was done to protect the health and safety of CHILDREN AND TEACHERS. YOU DO NOT SCARE ME MR. KYLE. HAVE AT IT. THE GLOVES ARE OFF. AND FOR THOSE WHO CARE, I AM NOT ONE BIT SORRY THAT I RESPONDED TO THIS THREAT.
October 12th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Mr. Kuhri,
This man has gone one step too far, and you MUST stop him. Your newsgroup has the power and is morally bound to stop this type of threat. While I am not ashamed nor afraid of the above posting, it is beyond appropriate. DO SOMETHING NOW.
October 12th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Be advised John Kyle there were 25+other plaintiffs in that case….most of them innocent children. Additionally there were many cases that were settled prior to a court trial. NO GENERAL FUNDS WERE EVER USED BY HUSD TO DEFEND ANY LAWSUIT. While it is many years later, I don’t think that any of them would like to resurect such a painful and frightening time in their lives. If you choose to go down this road you are a fool. Your beef, whatever it is with me, should not involve innocent victims. For the first time in your life be wise, think about innocent victims, chidren who could not defend themselves against the actions of HUSD. STOP MR. KYLE. STOP YOUR VENDETTA. STOP HURTING INNOCENT VICTIMS IN YOUR EFFORT TO SOMEHOW DISCREDIT ME.
October 12th, 2010 at 11:01 am
I can see that there is a lot of pain here. I remember some of the stories, but not all. I think if we get into past pain here, we could lose this opportunity to be fully present here and now, where we can actually do some good together.
Let’s take it for granted that we all have stories to tell and some are very painful. If we are to work together, we must put our personal pain aside and open to the possibility of a better future.
If we do that, we will attract other people to help, people like Fernando Hernandez who left because of the tone.
October 12th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Booth:
Yawn !
October 12th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Kathi, don’t feel like you need to explain yourself to this blog. Any action taken in the best interest of your family or other students needs no explanation. I think it is interesting that Mr. Kyle thinks it is relevant to bring up any past dispute you may have had with HUSD and not address Board Members and their legal history with the very district they now represent. Come on John, don’t you want to talk about that? Would you leave one of your kids in a class that you declared the teacher unfit? You have no problem with some members of the community “taking one for the team” and trying to do what is right for the majority, but if Ms. Booth stands up for the rights of others you take issue. Are you not the same person who keeps prompting Mr. Reynoso to file suit against the Board if he feels they are doing wrong? Do you know for a fact that this has not been pursued? We can’t play by the rules of what is OK for one is not OK for all here. If we see HUSD violating rights, it is the right of the people to bring them into check.
I hope everyone can look back at the comments of M.Mueller and get back to the task at hand, making HUSD a better place by supporting each other and our students.
October 12th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Thank you Observer.
Unfortunately Mr. Kyle’s reference brought up some very painful experiences for me and the children.
While we were victorious and the victory led to parents, students and teachers having their rights restored, led to the health protection of countless numbers of employees and students that have come after, and put the district on notice that they could not just turn their backs on safety and health issues; it was still a very painful time; watching children being cross examined and accused of being liars by the attorneys representing HUSD.
Enough. I firmly believe that what was done on behalf of children was right. Again thank you for your support.
October 12th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Mr. Kurhi,
Why is it that #34 is allowed? Please let us know.
Thank you!
October 13th, 2010 at 8:03 am
There was a story yesterday that I saw on Channel 4 that stated that the Hayward DMV is not reopening because the former DMV employees don’t want to return to Hayward and they have to find new ones who will in the DMV system. It doesn’t have to do with the economic crisis apparently. How about that?
October 13th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
I here there was a candidates forum at Cherryland yesterday and that Armas, Walker and Sims did not show. If I was a member of that community, I would think that perhaps they weren’t interested in my community. Or maybe 2 of the three thought they have the election sewn up and didn’t need to appear????
Anybody have anymore info on the forum?
October 13th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Well I can no longer watch the board meeting tonight. Forget Mr. Reynoso’s constant arguing over the minutes (that’s a subject for another posting), I just watched Paul Frumpkin, the man who reminds us so very often how sensitive he is to people and their disabilities, in fact the subject of a resolution tonight, Disability History, put a speaker from the audience down for the umpteenth time because this man cannot say Frumpkin correctly. The President of the Board said, and this is a direct quote “The name is Frumpkin, if I can say your name correctly then you can say mine”. For the umteenth time this gentleman explained that he has a speech problem, A Disability, and he again apologized for the mispronunciation. Frumpkin, the President of the board did not bother to apologize to this gentleman, nor did he acknowledge the reminder of this gentleman’s Disability.
He of course was not loud like Reynoso, but he was far ruder, disrespectful and disdaining to this member of the public. He should be ashamed of himself.
Again I say, I am glad that he is not running for re-election. It is time for him to go.
October 13th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
The DMV is one of the most depressing places to go to.
October 13th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
Kathi, Do yourself a favor and take a break from all this HUSD stuff. It’ll still be there when you check back in. I’ve been in Hayward since 1969 and nothing has changed.
October 13th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Thank you for the advice. I follow the HUSD board of Ed. because I believe it is important to be as informed as possible about what goes on with the education of children. Likewise, when I observe something that I believe should be noted for others I think it is my right and responsibility to report. I have lived in this community all of my life. I was educated in Hayward schools and I learned from that and many other experiences that community engagement and community involvement takes many forms. I learned it is my civic duty to watch and take action when I believe that something has been done that is agregious. I spent 25+ years advocating for people with disabilities and when I see someone belittled for being disabled then I must make notice of it. It is by simply ignoring such behaviors as Mr. Frumpkin’s and not speaking up that so many people live lives of ridicule for a “problem” over which they have no control. It is imperative that we not ignore Mr. Frumpkin’s behavior, there is no excuse for it.
October 13th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
At the end of tonight board meeting, everyone, except Reynoso joined in a merry laugh at his expense. They make fun of having a “legal opinion of something”
I heard the Supt. laughed, very loud. I hope when she was enjoying herself at the expense of Reynoso she looked at someone and not to the camera, as she usually does when “a certain trustee ask her questions”. They were acting like children. They criticize Reynoso and they are not any better. I hope those two don’t come back and I looked forward to 2012, when the remaining two will hopefully be gone!
It’s time for people with real manners decorum and dedication to our children represent our community. None of them showed those attributes tonight.
Voters, pay attention!
In another point, why is a former city manager using every building in Hayward, unoccupied, private or county owned with a multitude of Armas signs? If I am wrong please educate me on this.
Armas and Lockyer are trashing our city. How I want these remaining weeks to be over and see those two clean our city.
City council should review ordinances regarding this issue.
October 13th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
I am surprised that the board spent so much time tonight on the issue of health and other benefits for board members. The policy seemed straightforward to me: board members are entitled to the same benefits as those afforded to employees, in this case ZERO! Board members should know that HUSD employees pay for their own health, dental, etc. insurance, and at exorbitant rates, I might add. Our premiums go up at a far higher percentage each year than our salaries. If the board finds their benefits packages unsatisfactory they should find the district a new insurance broker, or start paying a portion of all employees’ health insurance.
October 14th, 2010 at 12:03 am
Ms. Boot
with reference to your contrinbution dealing with tonight’s HUSD meeting….
If you had bothered to read any issue of the HUSD Board of Education Agenda, you would have discovered that Mr. Paul Frumkon spells his name without a letter ‘P’.
I make an issue of it because as a law school graduate (who did not take the bar exam,) you fail recognition of your own faults. For example you avoided demonstartion of the request that you recognize the difference between ‘freedon of speach’ and ‘license’.
You avoided a response when you defended “O’bama nu age”, repeatedly and abetted that ‘lady’s’ continuing attempts to heap slanderous remarks made to cast negative aspersions upon Mr. Armas.
Perhaps your problem lays with the fact that you seem determined to ‘rack up’ a pointless ‘score’ on the number of your contributions to the blog!
Your senseless attack upon Mr. Frumkin is picayune (the adj. not the noun) !
You are related by marriage to one of the three trustees who travelled to Florida to vett Madame Kohl.the Supt who preceeded Vigil. Shall we discuss that failure ?
October 14th, 2010 at 8:50 am
Well Mr. Kyle,
Perhaps you are really so dense that you could not see that I spelled Mr. Frumkin’s name wrong deliberately, or perhaps it was a case of typos(a common event in your postings)…You have such a wonderful time jumping on my postings I just knew that you would take the bait.
What I posted was not a matter of any legal importance, it was simply calling out the President of the board for being so completely insensitive to members of the public and those who have disabilities. It doesn’t take a passing of the bar to note such behavior.
What threat do you intend to throw at me next?
October 14th, 2010 at 9:44 am
Ms. Booth, the meeting at Cherryland was for the San Lorenzo Unified School Board. The HUSD candidates were not supposed to be there. The Cherryland community was present. While the scores of San Lorenzo are not appreciably better than those of San Leandro and HUSD, the meetings are much more pleasant. The candidates, the existing board, and the public are pleasant. Not at all like the discordant painful ridiculous discussions that characterize this forum and the HUSD.
October 14th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Ms. Booth;
I do not ‘buy’ into your alibi. Yow wrote what you wrote… without thinking,… again!
I make no threats… no need for that, you are your own worst enemny!
It is now q10:05 by muy watch….. are you mot behind on your self imposed daily quota of advisory posts? All of HUSD community await your next ‘shot’!
…………………. 30 ……………….
October 14th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Ms. Bouth
Speakimg of mental density… why was it necessary to mis-spell the man’s name in two contributions? ( # 35 and # 38.)
It is now just past 3:00pm… are you not behind in your daily production schedule??
October 14th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
STOP ALREADY!!!
October 14th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Postings 35 and 38 have no mention of the President of the board. One happens to be from a poster named Sherry Blair.
October 14th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Usually skip Mr. Kyle’s postings. Just like I now tend to skip watching Mr. Reynoso going off on the minutes. Town Hall Meeting. Meeting Minutes. Important. We get it! Neither of you are getting far by putting people off. You both seem to really care for Hayward. You both have a lot of passion and drive. You put so much thought into what might work, but not so much thought on how to get people to join you (to make it work).
October 14th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Mr. Moore,
Thank you for telling us that candidates for San Lorenzo Unified Shools were also there at the Cherryland forum. This was a joint candidates’ forum, because many families have children who attend HUSD schools; Cherryland, Bret Harte and Hayward High. Thus, they “killed two birds with one stone” and combined the forum.
October 14th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Ms Booth….GOOD CATCH
yOU KNOW HULL WELL THAT i MEANT #45 AND #52 WHERE YOU REPEATEDLY AND DELIBERATELY MISS-SPELL mR. fRUMKINS NAME.
sHANE ON YOU FOR DODGING THE ISSUE…. IT IS TYPICAL OF YOU!
i SEE YOUR ‘SCORE’ FOR THE DAY IS STILL A BIT BELOW YOUR USUAQL COUNT OF GBLOG ‘POSTS’
hURRY, YOU HAVE THREE MORE HOURS IN THE DAY!
October 14th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
MRS COOP MOM…
TOWN HALL MEETING IDEA IS ADMITTEDLY DRAGGING…… PART OF THAT PREOBLEM IS DUE TO MY ATTEMPTS TO DEFEND MR. ARMAS FROM THE SLANDEROUS REMARKS TOSSED BY ‘OBAMA NEW AGE’ THAT BLOG CONTRIBUTOR USED OUTRIGHT SLANDER IN ATTEMPTS TO DEFEAT mR. aRMAS CANDIDACY… SHE WAS AIDED BY mS. bOOTH WHO REFUSED RECOGNITION OF THE DIFFERENCE BEWTEEN FREEDOM OF SPEACH AND ‘LICENSE’.
IT DID NOT HELP TO HAVE MRS BOOTH DO A
‘PUT DOWN’ ON THAT IDEA BECAUSE OF MY DESCRIPTION OF THE NEED FOR VOLUNTEER HELP THOUGHT AVAILABLE FROM
‘EMPTY NEST FOLKS’ ‘RETIRED BUSINESS MEN ETC.’
BOOTH WAS THE FIRST TO ATTEMPT A SQUELCH OF THE IDEA BASED OM HER EXPERIENCE WITH ‘AD HOC’ GROUPS IN WHICH SHE IS REPUTED TO HAVE PARTICIPATED.
ONE lOCAL CHURCH WITH A LARGE ‘MULTI-ETHNIC’ ATTENDENCE IS EXAMINING THE ISSUES I HAVE RAISED. IT MAY FOLLOW IT’S OWN COURSE… WHICH WOULD BE WELCOME IF IT IS FOUND TO HAVE ENCOURAGED ENLISTMENT OF ‘OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE’( VOLUNTEERS NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVED WITH HUSD.) IT SEEMS DESIREOUS TO AVOID APPEARING TO BE IN VIOLATION OF ‘CHURCH AND STATE’ CONCEPTS… WHICH MIGHT EASILY BECOME VOLATILE GIVEN THE NATURE OF SOME WHO PROFESS THEIR OWN INVOLVMENT TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY ARE ADVERSE TO PARTICIPATION BY ‘OTHERS’ OUTSIDE THE HUSD CIRCLE OF ‘DIRECT INFLUENCE’.
I HAVE WRITTEN EXTENSIVELY ON THE SUBJECT IN THIS BLOG BUT AM AMAZED AT THE HOSTILITY TOWARDS THE IDEA DISPLAYED BY JUST ONE OR TWO INDIVIDUALS.
yOU MIGHT WISH TO SCROLL THROUGH SOME OF THE TOPICS POSTED BY MR KURHI SINCE THE MARCH APPOINTMENT OF MR. ARMAS BY THE bOARD. SINCE MARCH I HAVE POSTED 2 OR 3 ARTICLES ON THE TOWN HALL CONCEPT. NONE OF THE BLOG REGULARS HAVE DRAWN CLOSE TO THE IDEA….. PROBABLY IN FEAR OF SCORN BY YOU KNOW WHO…
IT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO YOU IF YOU SCROLL THROUGH ‘ARCHIVES’ AT RIGHT COLUMN AND PICK UP ON kURHI’S POST “2 (3 ?) FOR 1 AND 4 FOR 2… JULY / EARLY AUGUST.
BE AWARE THAT i WROTE A LETTER TO 16 CHURCHES SITUATED IN HAYWARD, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ASKING THEM TO POLL THEIR MEMBERSHIP AND COMMENT ON AN ENCLOSED COPY OF THE “MY WORD” PIECE PUBLISHED BY THE REVIEW IN APRIL OF THEIS YEAR. IT SPOKE OF THE TOWN HALL CONCEPT IN ABOUT 500 WORDS AND WAS AUTHORED BY ME.
SADLY ONLY ONE OF THOSE CHURCHES MADE A RESPONSE!
I AM NOT DISCOURAGED AND WILL CONTINUE EFFORT TO SEE THE PROJECT TO FRUITION.
PERHAPS MAKE ENQUIRY OF YOUR OWN CHURCH LEADERSHIP IF INVOLVED WITH ONE? mY SECOND LETTER TO THOSE CHURCHES WILL BE DELIVERED NO LATER THAN nOV. 1, 2010 SO SEE IF YOURS HAS AN ITEREST. iN THE NEW TESTAMNET 3 OF THE FOUR GOPSPELS WRITERES RELATED THE BIT BY cHRIST IN WHICH HE ASKED THAT THE CHILDREN BE BROUGFHT INTO HIS PRESENCE ON ONE OF HIS ‘WALKABOUTS’!( MATT,: 19-13-15 mark 10-13-16 and luke 9- 47 ” Let the Children come to me, do not stop them..”
Which I interpret as our civic ‘teaching’ mandate (responsibility) to learn how to teach, ‘to read and write as well as listen intelligently’!
I just haoppen to think that volunteers are available in the churches… we just need to draw them out…!
It is all about the children!
October 15th, 2010 at 8:02 am
Today is the deadline for the HEF Grant Applications. Has your school done their part? This is a great opportunity to support our students in learning and HEF is a wonderful partner to HUSD. I hope everyone is able to take advantage of this process!! A nice break to the complaints, here we have an organization extending a hand, let’s make the most of it!!
October 15th, 2010 at 8:12 am
Hello all:
After a long brake from posting and reading what is being discussed in the hayword, I see that it was a wise decision to do so.
Mr Kyle: I suspect the reason for the lack of interest in the idea of the town hall meeting might have more to do with your delivery of the message and your attitude towards other posters than to the validity of the concept. Your last note is typed 99% in capital letters, usually indicating somebody is yelling at you, which is not exactly conducive to dialogue (or reading).
Maybe the fact that only one of the churches has picked up on the town hall idea, and practically no other folks on the blog have rallied behind it ought to be taken as an indicator of the low level of interest on the concept, and maybe should make you reconsider whether you want to keep on taking so much blog space (and our time) by bringing the idea up time and again. I have no training in latin, but in spanish we have a saying : Al buen entendedor, pocas palabras. I’m sure there is a more elegant way of translating this (Zeremeño, are you there?) but it roughly means: Few words are enough for those who are listening.
Everyone’s insistence on commenting on miss-spellings and the intentional miss-spelling of names by folks in this blog is childish, and all those “yawns”?
If my 7 year old did that to me, she would be on a time out, facing a corner of the room and thinking about whether or not that is the correct way to treat people.
I’m signing out, and will come back in a couple of months to see if folks are being a tad more constructive and civil to one another. The last time I signed off like such, Mr Kyle commented in his ever so congenial manner “where have you been” or some such remark. I will tell you what I have been doing:
All are invited to a Days of the Dead exhibit at Meek mansion that I have organized in collaboration with the Hayward Area Historical Society. Included in this exhibit you will see the art works made by many students from Hayward, Castro Valley, San Leandro and Oakland. For further info. you can go to the Hayward Area Historical Society’s web site.
Associated with this exhibit (which runs through mid- Nov.) there is a big Community Celebration happening this Saturday (Oct.16) from 11-6 pm. (For those on a budget, entry to the exhibit is free this sat. only)
I still remember when in 2008, when my wife’s class from South Hayward was touring the exhibit I curated at the Oakland Museum, a little kid yelling ” we are famous,we are famous” when he saw his artwork on display. I can’t begin to tell you what that kind of affirmation does to a kid’s soul.
May you all find some kind of harmony,
Fernando
October 15th, 2010 at 9:08 am
Thank you Fernando for reminding me of a time years ago when I took my grandson to a Days of the Dead exhibit. He was so fascinated by all of the displays and artwork and was excited to see and learn about something that was a part of his multi-cultural heritage. It was that experience that led to his investigating and studying more about his hispanic roots. It helped to develop a sense of belonging and pride that he carries with him today.
As a 19 year old he is now beginning to trace some of the other cultures that are part of what makes him so unique. Again thank you for the opportunity to tickle my memory to a time where I experienced the “wonderment” and discovery of this very special child.
October 15th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
I attended the event last year. All the altars were so unique and beautiful. We’ll definetly come by tomorrow. Thanks for all your hard work.
October 15th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Days of the Dead is definitely worth a look. I wrote it up last year, Review is sending a weekend reporter and photographer down there tomorrow for the community event. Check it out!
October 16th, 2010 at 10:57 am
MR. KURHI,
BAY AREA NEWS GROUP, IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY, HAS ADVISED IT’S ENDORSEMENTS TO JUST ABOUT EVERY ELECTED POSITION IN THE EAST BAY AREA. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THIS MORNING’S EDITION, ANG HAS NOT DISCUSSED THE BURNING ISSUE IN HAYWARD.
WE SEEM MORE INTERESTED IN ‘DAZE’ OF THE DEAD THAN WE ARE IN THE ELECTION DAY NEED TO ENABLE LONGER, NORE VIABLE INSTITUTIONAL LIFE IN HUSD
MANY OF THE FOLKS IN HAYWARD LIMIT THEIR READ OF THE REVIEW TO THE ‘OBITUARY’ PAGES.
PERSONNALLY, I FEEL ALIVE WHEN VOTING WHICH IS WHY TWO ABSENTEE BALLOTS FROM MY HOME, ARE PRESENTLY STACKED IN THE OFFICES AT THE COUNTY BUILDINGS NEAR LAKE MERRITT.
INTERESTING THAT MONDAY THE FIRST DAY OF NOVEMBER IS COMMEMORATED AS ‘ALL SAINTS DAY‘ WHILE NOVEMBER 2nd IS SET ASIDE FOR COMMEMORATION OF THE DEPARTED.. ‘ALL SOULS DAY’
OCTOBER 31, ‘ HALLOWED EVENING ‘, IS SET ASIDE AS THE DAY FOR PREPARATION OF PRAYER FOR THE DEPARTED…..
PERHAPS THIS YEAR IT WOULD NOT DO ANY HARM TO PRAY FOR A SELECTION OF HUSD TRUSTEES WHO BRING BENEFIT TO THOSE WHO FACE CHALLENGE, IN THE NEAR FUTURE, OF THEIR CHALLENGING, YOUTHFULL LIVES.
October 16th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Kyle, everyone else: I’m off this week again. I stored up a lot of vacation time, the company wants me to get rid of it, hence all the time off recently. I see the four-year seat story ran today; no doubt the two-year deal is not far behind. I’m going to wait until that comes out and then post a note here about it with more links to candidate info and everybody can blah blah yawn yawn CAP CAP then. But if you can’t wait, here’s a link to the four-year story:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_16349691
Happy Saturday!
October 16th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Wow Mr. Kurhi, You certainly are a bit snippy today. Have a wonderful vacation/time off.
October 16th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Day of the Dead exhibit is outstanding. Thanks everyone for your hard work. It paid off!