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The Pleasanton school board voted Tuesday to approve a certification of compliance declaring the sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials.
Trustee Jamie Hintzke dissented in the 4-1 approval vote.
According to the school district staff’s report to the board, principals have verified that all teachers report that they have issued a district-adopted textbook to their students, students are not being required to download and print instructional materials as a part of the mathematics pilot process, and, if needed, all students have been provided either access to online instructional materials or a hard copy of material for use at home.
Amador Valley principal Thomas Drescher and Foothill principal Jason Krolikowski reported to the board that — at the site-level — they have not heard any parent complaints about students not being provided a textbook or having to print materials.
“If it’s happening, we’d like to know and we will work with those parents,” Drescher said.
Tuesday’s meeting also included a presentation about the 2015-16 Senior Experience Pilot Proposal.
The current board policy requires all students to be enrolled in six classes, which limits opportunities for eligible students who may want to enhance their college- and career-readiness preparation experience by participating in off-campus learning opportunities, such as college/university dual enrollment, work experience, internships/externships, online courses or volunteer work, according to district staff.
The pilot proposal is to request, during the 2015-16 school year, a waiver of the board policy so eligible Amador Valley and Foothill High seniors can participate in the Senior Experience. According to staff, students with a 3.0 GPA and 180 credits entering senior year are eligible for the pilot program.
Staff also addressed potential unanticipated consequences associated with the program, such as reduced staffing, reduction of elective classes and fewer teacher aides — which officials said could be solved by maintaining the current 27:1 staffing ratio, formalizing staffing ratios with the Association of Pleasanton Teachers and allowing more underclassmen to enroll in elective classes.
The board provided their suggestions to staff, which included finding a way to not limit students with special needs from utilizing the program.
Drescher and Krolikowski said they are planning to create a survey for students and parents while continuing to develop more of the program’s details.
In other business, two representatives from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) spoke during the community comment session, which is when the public is allowed to comment on non-agendized items.
Lamont Allen, from the NAACP Hayward branch, addressed the board about recent blogs posts and how some of the negative comments toward the superintendent and school board can be seen as “hate crimes,” which will be investigated by the NAACP president.
“We, the NAACP, highly support what your school district is doing, and the superintendent’s office and her staff,” NAACP official Othella Jordan said.
Mary Snell — a Pleasanton employee who has appeared at many board meetings asking for a public apology from the school district, alleging her reputation was damaged by unsubstantiated claims made against her by a teacher during the investigation surrounding former Walnut Grove principal Jon Vranesh — appeared before the board Tuesday questioning accountability within the district.
Snell said she filed complaints because of the teacher’s claims, leading to a subsequent investigation by the district’s legal team. The attorneys returned preliminary findings stating that the teacher “never violated any Code of Ethics” and that Snell’s perception of the events was “skewed,” Snell told the school board.
“Tell me, when did it become OK to lie during an investigation and be handsomely rewarded for it,” she said.
Kenny Altenberg, from the Community of Character Collaborative, also spoke and commended the school district for its exceptional students — adding that they had many great applicants for the annual Juanita Haugen Memorial Scholarship.
During Tuesday’s closed session, the board approved 3-2 the suspension of a certificated employee without pay, with trustees Valerie Arkin and Hintzke voting against the resolution.
The resolution includes the authorization of the superintendent, or her designee, to issue a notice of intention to terminate and statement of charges. The name of the employee was not released.
Also during closed session, the board appointed Harvest Park vice principal Kathleen Rief as Coordinator 2 of the Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support Project, and Marla Cooper as the interim vice principal of Valley View and Walnut Grove elementary schools.
Cooper comes from Dublin Unified School District as a fifth-grade teacher, but worked for Pleasanton Unified School District prior to her move to Dublin.
The next school board meeting is scheduled Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. in the district’s boardroom, 4665 Bernal Ave.
I am still shocked how NAACP members personally attacked Ms. Aguilar in the public comments. One of the members referred to her as a “bad little apple” from the Pleasanton Weekly because she asked them their reasoning for attending the meeting. But isn’t that the purpose of reporters… to get down to the nitty gritty truth? Ask the hard questions… especially questions the community wants answers to. The bullying done by the NAACP on a local reporter who was simply doing her job is unsettling, does not sit right with me and is plain appalling.
“Lamont Allen, from the NAACP Hayward branch, addressed the board about recent blogs and how some of the negative comments toward the superintendent and school board can be seen as “hate crimes,” which will be investigated by the NAACP president.”
Wow. Just wow. What’s next, sending in NAACP and union thugs to shake down parents in the parking lost while picking up their kids? You know what, Lamont? Go ahead. Should Mark Miller’s election be invalidated because clearly every vote for him was based on racism and hatred?
Sorry Lamont, you are the one with a heart full of hate. You clearly feel our community is full of racists. News flash Lamont…you are the racist.
Superintendent Amahdi, your tactics are despicable and I speak for many when I say that you are no longer welcome in our community. Not once but twice you have invited outsiders to our community to agitate and race bait. Enough is enough. You must know that your time here as almost up and want want to completely trash our town before you go. Shame on you. On behalf of our kids, shame on you.
We should all be thankful that we still live in a place where we can voice our opinions freely, have lively debates and let the electoral process take place without the fear of retribution. Lamont doesn’t seem to understand those principles or perhaps he simply doesn’t believe in them. Amahdi clearly doesn’t either.
I urge all of my fellow Pleasanton residents to take a stand against thuggery and corruption. Speaking your mind here is a great way to do it, but however you do it, take a stand. If we don’t we are ultimately responsible for the consequences.
Don’t the police investigate hate crimes? Have the police been notified?
Did they provide examples of hate crimes?
If Amadhi is the victim of a hate crime she should call the police, I know I would.
As a non-white, I’m a bit concerned about how the term “hate crime” has been brought up by this NAACP representative. I am not aware of any racially-based attacks on Ms. Amahdi. In fact, in all of my reading about Ms. Amahdi and the PUSD here in the PW and in these forums, I’m only aware of one poster who has even mentioned Ms. Amahdi’s ethnicity. I hope that the Hayward NAACP doesn’t dilute the very serious accusation of “hate crime” by constantly throwing around the accusation too casually as it appears to have done in this case.
Was it during the public comments or afterwards that the NAACP commented on the reporter, I wasn’t at the meeting and it wasn’t televised.
Are we all bad little apples because we ask questions and don’t follow the herd?
Personally I think it is despicable that feet from the superintendent office, thousands of Indians were cheated out of their money through fake course offerings, fake online classes, and fake instructors through an orchestrated Visa Scam.
Whoever though that the Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit from the DHS would do an undercover operation on PUSD property resulting in the arrest, conviction and 16 year prison sentence, forfeiture of a Livermore condo, 2 Boulder Ct commercial properties, a Victoria Ridge residence previously owned by a PUSD administrator, a Germano Way mansion, a Mercedes and $1,000,000 in fines?
Ahmadi is a Caucasian woman, but in now a new twist, is she now claiming she is African American?
If Ahmadi had at all been subjected to any sort of ‘hate crimes,’ she would have called the police as mentioned above. However, if it is all in her head (say, like the community believes about the women teachers who received payouts from Walnut Grove), she would not contact the police because otherwise she could be arrested for filing a false police report.
Ahmadi’s incompetence is what is at issue here, but she now is attempting to pretend she is a ‘victim.’
And in doing so, Ahmadi is now having her proxies bully the Pleasanton Weekly reporter for simply doing her job and interviewing people at the Board meeting. Ahmadi is interfering with freedom of the press and attempting to intimidate the Pleasanton Weekly reporter from asking questions and doing her job.
I look forward to the PUSD hiring a competent superintendent one day.
I hope that Ahmadi, Farragin and the school board have asked PPD to investigate the alleged hate crimes against our Superintendent and that an update will be provided. If true, then file the appropriate charges. If false then see if that warrants charges against anyone. These are very serious accusations that can’t go unanswered or used as bargaining chips.
The upshot is this: with the election, Ahmadi’s reliable stable of supporters on the School Board is one horse short.
On the superintendent’s good days, the superintendent is needlessly secretive and manipulative of the personnel under her command. A hint of this emerged this week on the discipline/dismissal closed session agenda. So who was the target of the discipline/dismissal? Perhaps the Pleasanton Weekly should inquire further.
From the beginning, Ahmadi seemed less intent on becoming a unifying figure than a galvanizing one with repeated divisive measures, pointless battles and stray adventures. Support dwindles by the day.
Rather than providing a child-centered education environment, PUSD has become a never ending 3 ring circus.
What a pity it has come to this.
Totally agree with choloslovechild. We aren’t full of hate, we just want people who aren’t like us to leave. As the spokespeople for our community, we are united in saying that Ahmadi and her kind aren’t welcome here anymore.
I also agree that I am thankful that I live in a place where I can speak my mind anonymously on Internet forums without fear of retaliation. I can call people out by name and attempt to shame them publicly without using my own name. I am strong in my resolve. Take an anonymous stand, like choloslovechild and me, and let your voice be heard on these forums. Together, all six of us can make change happen.
Oh yeah, and Ahmadi is totally caucasian. Have you met her? She’s not black, so she’s caucasian. Everyone from the Middle East is caucasian, just like us. But not like us, because she’s evil. You know what I mean.
I really would like to hear the whole story from Ms. Aguilar. This is really unsettling, the Hayward branch of NAACP is monitoring us and accusing us of hate crimes. If a hate crime has been committed the Pleasanton police should do a complete and transparent investigation.
It is really important to know why the NAACP is involved and who initiated contact with them. Did superintendent Ahmadi invite them? If she did something is really wrong with the school district leadership.
How convenient this meeting was not streamed or televised. Looking forward to channel 28 rebroadcast.
I’m really going to go out on a limb here and say there are no hate crimes. This is race baiting pure and simple. Amahdi is dumb but she isn’t stupid. I’m sure she figured the day after she is ousted, she can get a big payday by claiming racial discrimination as opposed to her gross misconduct. Her ivory tower is crashing pretty quickly. PUSD is about to change dramatically and she isn’t going to be a part of it. Ultimately the Vranesh debacle will be her undoing. The honorable thing for her to do is resign, I’m guessing that honor isn’t part of her core values. The interesting thing with the NAACP Is that they also mentioned criticizing the board as a potential hate crime. I guess Bowser has figured out a way to make schmucks a protected class.
Just wondering: “Are we all bad little apples because we ask questions and don’t follow the herd?”
Thank you! I could not have put this any better myself. I attended the meeting and one of the members made this comment to the reporter girl, Ms. Aguilar. I did not feel comfortable nor welcome to ask any questions after this personal attack to the poor girl. In addition, I felt the comments made not only to the reporter, but the whole night were rude and unjustified.
Well all I can say is the world needs more “bad little apples”.
Like someone else mentioned I have only seen one out of line troll, on the subject of the superintendent, and that troll was promptly deleted. I have seen many many people question the job she is doing based on her actions and nothing else.
I can’t help but think the NAACP people have been fed a bunch of half truths and suddenly anyone who questions the ACTIONS of the superintendent is committing hate crimes. It’s unconscionable to use such an important organization to incite fear, and intimidation.
Thank you NAACP! Finally a group with the guts to point out the blatant racism that is found in so many comments on this blog over the last 6 years so (since Obama got elected of course). 99% is right wing bigotry of the highest order. Of course Pleasanton Weekly has done literally nothing to rein in bigots because of so-called “free speech” but hypocritically censors far less controversial comments that go against their agenda. My guess is that that they don’t want to censor comments that help stoke the Jon Varesh/incompetent school board narrative, so the bigots run free. This whole Jon Varesh saga was a thinly veiled attempt to get more right-wing ideologues on the school board. It is that simple. Did the Cult of Varesh, in their blind loyalty to Saint Varesh, ever once consider that he might be responsible for his actions. Nope, the deity and martyr Varesh is beyond reproach according to these right-wing evangelists. Don’t be fooled, right-wingers had it in for Ahmadi from the beginning because she wasn’t some whitebred, Sarah Palin clone. Is Pleasanton really not catching on to this?
Really not worth commenting on the above post, but I’m amazed that 12 people ‘like’ it!?!
Using the race card/political party card? I don’t care what race she is or what political party she aligns with. The problem has been a board majority who lets the superintendent do what every she wants with no real oversight. There are tremendous problems at the top that are seen by the community as well as teachers and other staff. It has nothing to do with race or political parties.
When Casey was the superintendent, people criticized him saying he was a white man and was not reflective of the community. There are always going to be those people who will use race, color, or political party as their excuse instead of sticking to the issues. That just shows their ignorance.
Let me start out by saying that I am as liberal as they come and proud of it. At on point in my life I was a card carrying NAACP and ACLU supporter and member. I voted for Clinton twice and Obama twice and would have voted for each of them a third time if I could. I have worked in private sector and am currently a PUSD employee. I have worked with brilliant and competent Hispanics, Asians, Persians, Caucasians, Blacks and Native Americans. I’ve also worked with incompetent Hispanics, Asians, Persians, Caucasians, Blacks and Native Americans. Incompetence crosses all ethnic, religious, gender and sexual preference boundaries.
Our current superintendent is incompetent. She also happens to be Persian and a woman. That doesn’t mean that I think all woman and/or Persians are incompetent.
To have the NAACP from another town come in and call our town racist, accuse us of hate crimes and then tell us that our superintendent is doing a wonderful job is ludicrous! How do they know what kind of a job she is doing? Did they make this brilliant deduction based solely on what APT President, Janice Clark and Parvin’s husband told them? Or did they actually do research? I’ve also only seen a random racist post on the PW blog which has always been reported and removed promptly. Is this what they are basing their hate crimes accusation on?
Our incompetent administration is feeling the heat and grasping at straws.
I guess I am a bit cowardly not using my own name anymore. When I did post under my own name I was subjected to vile name calling by those who disagreed with me and I worried about the potential backlash against my children or as a district employee.
There is a lot of good in this district. There are more awesome teachers than there are bad teachers. Unfortunately the good get painted with the same brush as the bad. It is sad. It isn’t racist though and we don’t need Parvin bringing in people trying to bully us into accepting her professional incompetence simply because she is a Persian woman. That is an insult to all brilliant and competent women -Persian or otherwise!
I’m very confused by the NAACPs actions and think those are more racially motivated than the opinions regarding the ACTIONS of the Superintendent. I have no idea what ethnic or religious background Ahmadi is and honestly didn’t think of it before. Whatever it is, does it excuse her from treating the position of Superintendent like a dictatorship? Holding meetings about the change in calendar and a web survey when the decision had already been made was a farce AND waste of time and money! I have no issue with her ethnic or religious background, I have an issue of how she is doing the job.
I have only seen her a few times and she could be of Many backgrounds or combination. Italian? American Indian? African American? German? She has curly hair, but so did I in the 80s……
OH, I get it! This is a grand distraction for the REAL issues at hand such as: The Vranesh situation and the numerous employees that have or will sue. The VP at WG pulling political signs out of the ground in a rage, The Calendar, The textbooks……..Community of Character? HA
I would note, first of all, that the so-called ‘Hayward Branch’ is actually the “Hayward and South Alameda County Branch.” That is the closest NAACP office to Pleasanton, which is, after all, in the southern end of Alameda County. Would you have preferred Berkeley? Oakland? Richmond? Stockton? They all have branches, too, but a fair guess is that ‘they’ were ‘here’ because their chapter covers Pton issues in the ordinary course.
I would also suggest that Tone would have everything to do with the ‘why are you here’ Q. The theme of ‘outside agitators’ appears everywhere in the civil rights movement, and Pleasanton is, after all, quite white. I wasn’t there, but I can understand the sensitivity of an NAACP rep to the Q.
Query: was the other public commenter asked the same question? I have recently been to numerous local meetings, and as a white guy, I was NEVer asked why I was there, when I don’t live there, including in Pittsburg, Lafayette and Richmond.
Will the local streaming TV broadcast carry the public comments? http://www.tri-valleytv.org/school-pleasanton.html I know it’s more fun to just hurl invective based on preconceptions (see above and Tim’s blog), but might we consider withholding judgment, torches and pitchforks until we actually see what was actually said?
As I said, there’s only one poster I’ve ever seen on these forums who has ever mentioned Ahmadi’s ethnicity. I think that the regulars on these forums know who I’m talking about – the person who could never let a story pass without bringing up the subject of race and ethnicity – but thankfully that person seems to have vanished as a result of the forum changes in the PW. That’s the only person who ever brought up Ahmadi’s ethnicity. Given the multicultural nature of the Pleasanton community, I think that most Pleasantonians have moved beyond that.
BTW, with all this focus on the NAACP, it appears that the part of the article concerning the “suspension of a certificated employee without pay” with an intent to file a “notice of intention to terminate” slipped under everyone’s radar. In his blog, Tim Hunt suggests that this unnamed employee is Jon Vranesh.
Ferrin, you did not have to even state from your community selection in this forum that you are from another community, it was obvious from what you wrote. Pleasanton is not a white community. You go to any of the schools and look at the students and you will see that it is very diverse.
It almost looks like the superintendent is setting this all up. She knows there is a good chance she will be fired for failure to perform. She might have these people coming to the meetings so when the board asks her to leave, she will say that if she is fired she will be suing the district for racial bias. Somewhat of an extortion plot. I hope this is not right but the randomness of the NAACP coming in to support her makes this look possible.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. I have never heard of the organization interceding in school district politics unless it was during the days of segregation and then integration in public schools. I think the PW reporter asked a very relevant question, why is the NAACP spending time and resources to attend a Pleasanton school board meeting. Other speakers at the recent meetings had obvious vested interests in the meetings, their children attended PUSD schools or they were supporting candidates, or they had children in the PUSD in the past and wanted to ensure the same high quality education for future families or they were just simply concerned about the lack of transparency and disclosure of the school board and Superintendent.
Yeah, III, and all these comments are oh, so multi-cultural. Is that really all you have to say about my post?
Curious, does the NAACP look to you to define their mission for them? Or to decide whether somebody is ‘colored’ enough to fit under their banner? The Q asked may, in fact, be relevant, and only relevant, depending crucially on How it was asked, and whether other speakers were similarly asked why they were there. Do you know?
This incident so far smacks of a vendetta against those ‘outsiders.’ Granted that this board tends to be populated by damaged ceramics and may not truly represent the larger community, but isn’t Pleasanton better than this?
Geez, somebody is defensive!
This was a local school board meeting. Typically the only ones who have an interest in a meeting such as this are members of the community, or somebody from outside the community who wants to win a contract from the district. The school board members represent the community who elected them to represent the community (that is what representative democracy is about).
And what right do you have as an ‘outsider’ (as you call yourself) to say that this board does not represent the larger community? The board, whether anyone of us individually likes them or not, was elected to their positions by voters in this community. Through a democratic process. You are completely arrogant to come in from outside our community and say the board does not represent our community. That would be like a white person going to a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People meeting and saying you do not represent that person.
Comment board, not school board. Happier now?
Ferrin –
What’s your connection or interest in this? And why are you attending local meetings? Quote “I have recently been to numerous local meetings, and as a white guy, I was NEVer asked why I was there, when I don’t live there, including in Pittsburg, Lafayette and Richmond.”
I will confirm that one of the NAACP members did call me a “bad little apple” during her public comment to the board last night. Prior to the start of the meeting, I asked if the NAACP was speaking and why they were at a Pleasanton school board meeting, and they felt that was “rude” and “unwelcoming.”
Amanda,
I admire your courage in asking the question.
Please stay the course.
Let me start off by stating that, unlike Lou, I am as conservative as they come and proud of it.
Yet the two of us agree completely based on Lou’s comments above. Well, except for the bit on presidential candidates. Well done, Lou.
The original PW article states that Mr. Lamont Allen of the NAACP showed up at the last school board meeting to support an employee who has been the subject of intense scrutiny. It seems that Mr. Allen has done this at least once before in another district. Interesting reading.
http://fearnotlaw.com/articles/article45011.html
The NAACP representatives, had glowing accolades for Superintendent Ahmadi and the Board. Mr. Lamont Allen stated, “We’re here to support the superintendent. The school superintendent has, by her actions and accomplishments, accomplished much more than anonymous remarks of discontent.” As noted above, Ms. Othella Jordan added, “We, the NAACP, highly support what your school district is doing and your superintendent’s office and her staff.”
Really? The NAACP speakers sandwiched Ms. Mary Snell, a PUSD employee, who has had the courage to persevere in her decidedly uphill battle to clear her name and reputation. She has done so with dignity and respect – and not anonymously. Ms. Snell hit the nail on the head when she questioned the Superintendent and the Board: “Tell me, when did it become OK to lie during an investigation and be handsomely rewarded for it[?]” She went on to ask: “Why bother with a code of ethics at all when our leaders themselves refuse to follow or uphold it?” “Where is the accountability?” and “What are the consequences?”
Many of us in Pleasanton are asking those same questions. I find it odd that the NAACP representatives are not. From their remarks, they are, in fact, supporting just the opposite.
Is it a hate crime to ask, no, expect our PUSD Superintendent and Board carry out their jobs with the “core ethical values”/character traits they profess to teach our students? I think not. http://pleasantonusd.net/departments/educational-services/pupil-services/character-education/
Does it make us all “bad little apples” to question the actions of PUSD leadership when they seem to blatantly disregard our town and school’s “core ethical values”? So be it.