Former state Assemblyman Robert Pacheco is blogging for us from the Republican National Convention. Here's the link:

http://mt.insidesocal.com/sgvrnc

While budget concerns remain the top priority of the many school districts, charter schools facilities requests will be on tap at Tuesday's PUSD board meeting.

Four facilities requests will be discussed, but Rhythms of the Village is the only charter to come a with negative recommendation. If the board rejects the proposal - 15,000 sq. feet of space at Edison - the charter may not have a home to come back to.

The charter's financial difficulty - sparked by low enrollment - continues to hamper its growth. Last month, the district sent a second letter to the school, informing them of their concerns over enrollment and instructional methods. Apparently, on a few school visits, PUSD officials observed students "putting their heads on their desks."

I'm told to expect a pretty large group of the school's supporters at the meeting. District officials say they don't want to punish the school and Esteban Lizardo, board president, even said the school's focus on the arts offers students a different curriculum and should be supported.

The Star-News' "Under the Dome" blog - lovingly cared for by my friend and colleague Todd Ruiz - is now the property of Fred Ortega.

Mr. Ortega joined the Star-News staff today as the new Pasadena reporter. His byline should be familiar to those who read the paper because he covered the cities of West Covina, South El Monte and Rosemead for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Todd is still around...but be nice and visit Under the Dome to view gossip and tidbits posted by Fred.

Videos of sick cows being mistreated by workers at the Westland Meatpacking Co. leads to the largest beef recall in U.S. Department of Agriculture's history. Officials estimate that about 37 million pounds of the 143 million pounds recalled beef went to school programs, but they believe most of the meat probably has already been eaten.

About 150 school districts around the nation have stopped using ground beef from Hallmark Meat Packing Co., which is associated with Westland.

In observance of Presidents Day, the school districts are closed today, but I'm fairly certain letters will be sent to parents regarding school lunch programs.

I'll be working on a story regarding the local school response tomorrow.

If a 5,000-year-old relic from space can't grab the attention of students (especially if the display is in the middle of the room) then I don't know what will.

That's a little harsh, but if you are bored, a space lover, or just a museum-enthusiast, Kidspace Museum has a 379-pound meteorite on display.

The meteorite landed a long, long, long time ago in Argentina and was discovered a long, long, long time ago. It now sits on a stand - with its own elevated platform - for the public to coo over. There was a lovely unveiling ceremony on Tuesday, but when I was there today, the swarms of children were more interested in the climbing tower than staring at a large rock (an unattractive one, too.)

I waited about 90 minutes before one child decided to take a breather from running around the room to stop at the exhibit. I sprinted over and had a lovely chat with Roy Marquez, who thoughtfully informed me that the rock was ugly and at least one side reminded him of a turtle.

My story on Joan Hillard's contract not being renewed by the Temple City Unified School Board ran today.

A brief recap: Hillard has been the superintendent since 1999, survived a no-confidence vote in 2004, and apparently has a "strained" relationship with the teachers union, according to the union president.
Oh..and in the most recent school board election, three incumbents were shown the door. It probably comes as little surprise to people that Hillard's time in the district was coming to an end.

In the last 18 months of covering schools, I've covered at least four districts looking for a new superintendent. Unfortunately, the applicant pool is very small and as one search firm official told me last year, not everyone wants to go into the administrative side. Lots of politics and in some cases, not a lot of satisfaction. :(

Just in case the link doesn't work..the story is here.

Temple City Unified's Superintendent was given a polite shove out of the door Friday. Joan Hillard has served as the top administrator since 1999.

I'm doing a follow-up on the story. I've posted below the press release sent out late Friday afternoon.

At a Special Meeting held on February 6, 2008, the Temple City Unified School District Board of Education took action not to extend the Superintendent’s contract beyond June 30, 2008. The Board recognized Dr. Joan Hillard’s steadfast leadership and dedicated years of service, serving as Superintendent since 1999.

The Board will immediately begin the Superintendent search process.

Before my long night of covering local elections Tuesday, I ventured out to John Muir High School for a meeting between the staff and Edwin Diaz, PUSD superintendent. The meeting was to answer questions regarding the reapplication process - teachers go first and they have till the end of the month to submit a resume and sample lesson plans.

It would be an gross understatement to say the teachers are livid over the process. Most of the frustration though stems from not having all of the information they want: how the school will be configured, what the themes of the small learning academies will be. That will all be figured out...but not till after the teachers submit their materials.

I think this quote sums up the situation:
"I feel bamboozled. I feel cheated. I accepted this position for this year, but on my first day I was told I was being fired." - a first-year Muir teacher to Diaz.

Hi readers -

I'm back to blogging again. I was pulled away from the schools beat to cover some gang violence in a neighboring city.

As I'm writing this, I'm only into hour 3 of my work day. It's election night and I'm writing a story on a few local measures - Measure D in Pasadena and Measure A in San Gabriel Unified.

UPDATE: It's 12:21 a.m. I'm a little tired but the 20 cups of coffee I've had so far are keeping me in good spirits.

With 75 percent of precincts reporting, Measure A has 70 percent of the vote. Translation: voters ponied up to paying the $48 per $100,000 of assessed home value. If the district does its job, then the school will get some technology upgrades they apparently need.

Measure D is winning...so far with 58 percent of the vote. My colleague Todd Ruiz, who covers the city of Pasadena for the paper, made a pit stop at the office about two hours ago to check on yours truly and see how the utility tax was doing.

He went home. I'm still here. Isn't life grand?

OK - no more rambling. Tomorrow (actually, later today) I'll have a few entries on the Muir Reinvention process. Highlights include some tart comments from Muir teachers to Edwin Diaz, PUSD superintendent, regarding the reapplication guidelines.

GOOD NIGHT!! POST SOME COMMENTS!

This isn't exactly education-related news: Schools reporter Caroline An now sports a stylish pair of glasses. Personally, I think the glasses give her a serious, focused look.

Here's the education tie-in: Sight for Students is a charity group that provides free vision exams and glasses to low-income, uninsured children. Most, if not all, of our area school districts are partners.

Expanding on the show of global unity between Edwin Diaz and Bill Bogaard - on full display at Rose Parade - the PUSD board on Tuesday is going to consider approving a resolution supporting Measure D.
The original resolution read: urges voters to support...: (Cue the red flags from the critics along with letter mailed to the DA's office.)

Staff quickly revised the resolution on Monday with more general and non-education code violating "NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Pasadena Unified Board of Education supports the passage of Measure D to continue the funding of these vital programs that help families and children, which will allow Pasadena to maintain existing services, including those that directly affect our schools, with no new taxes."

My story should have run in today's paper, but it didn't. I have no idea why.

Here's a version that my editor just re-worked so my long hours tracking down the superintendent, school board members along with a election-law expert weren't for nothing! Thanks Hector!

_____________________

By Caroline An
Staff Writer
PASADENA — Prompted by questions over whether it violated state law, a resolution putting the Pasadena Unified School District on record in support of a city utility tax measure has been re-worded.
The reworked resolution, which the district’s school board was expected to adopt at its Tuesday night meeting, eliminated wording saying that the district “urges voters” to support Measure D.
It now states that the “Pasadena Unified Board of Education supports the passage of Measure D to continue the funding of these vital programs that help families and children, which will allow Pasadena to maintain existing services, including those that directly affect our schools, with no new taxes.”
Under Section 7954 of the state Education Code, public school districts are forbidden from using funds to urge the support or defeat of any ballot measure or candidate.
Long-time district critic Rene Amy lodged a formal complaint against the original resolution with the Public Integrity Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He asked the office to look into whether the resolution violated any part of the code.
“You are not allowed to urge people,” Amy said. “What did somebody do, read the law and figure out how to break it?”
Superintendent Edwin Diaz said board member Ed Honowitz developed the original resolution.
Board President Esteban Lizardo said, after reviewing the resolution and state guidelines, he ordered staffers to revise the wording. Diaz said the district’s legal counsel then reviewed the revisions to ensure that “it is safe and in no violation of the education code.”
“Any language in which we urge people to go out and vote is not allowed in resolutions,” Lizardo said.
School boards can support a measure, but it is different from saying “please go out and vote for it,” Lizardo added.
Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, a watch-dog group, said the district might have received bad advice when drafting the original resolution.
“I would have advised them not to take a formal position on this. It looks like the government is telling you what do,” he said.
caroline.an@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4494
www.insidesocal.com/hallwaymonitor

Hey All,

My story on the PUSD chief of staff hiring did not make it into the paper today. That sucks.

However, for you lucky blog readers, it's posted below! Take a minute to read it!

By Caroline An

Staff Writer

PASADENA — Pasadena Unified School District’s newly created chief of staff position was filled Wednesday, three months after the superintendent requested the post.

Stephen Brinkman, 59, who was a colleague of PUSD Superintendent Edwin Diaz when Diaz worked for the Gilroy Unified School District, will serve in the new job, beginning Feb. 4.

Brinkman’s appointment comes as the PUSD attempts to implement an array of recommendations from two 2007 audits and those contained in Diaz’s “Approach to Excellence” blueprint, his list of district priorities.

Brinkman, 59, is currently assistant superintendent of administrative services for the Gilroy district, overseeing its operations, accounting and finance divisions.

At Gilroy, he helped the district eliminate a $4.5 million budget deficit and oversaw a $200 million campus improvements plan.

Prior to coming to Gilroy Unified, he was chief financial officer, secretary and executive vice president for the Monterey Pasta Co. for six year.

The chief of staff job is a temporary position that comes with a $150,000 salary, which is being funded by the Helen and Will Webster Foundation, an Altadena-based foundation.

The PUSD board approved the position in September.
It was the second time Brinkman interviewed for a job at PUSD. Last year, he was considered for the job of interim assistant superintendent for business services.

Regarding his new role, which will be similar to an internal auditor, Brinkman acknowledged that in the upcoming months the district will be undergoing a major overhaul.

“It is a big challenge,” he said. “When you’re excited and anxious, it stimulates you to be creative and gets things done.”

Diaz said he is thrilled to have Brinkman part of his staff. His strengths, Diaz noted, are his hard-working nature and his high level of integrity.
“I expect he would move quickly and aggressively,” in making changes, Diaz said.
Esteban Lizardo, PUSD board president, said he was pleased that the job was filled by someone with a background in education and operations.

Along with making structural changes in staffing and school facilities, officials hope to make the district more responsive to parents and students, Lizardo said.

Brinkman said his first priority will be getting to know the staff and discussing where they feel improvements need to be made.
“We need to develop a positive culture within the district,” he said. “Anytime you have a transition, you need to develop a brand new team.”
[TAG1]caroline.an@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4494
www.insidesocal.com/hallwaymonitor

Edwin Diaz gets his wing-man...three months after the PUSD board approved the position.
Stephen Brinkman received the nod Wednesday - along with a $150,000 salary - and will start his year-long stint as the district's internal auditor on Feb. 4.

It's a tough job though - he acknowledged this in a phone interview with me today. His priorities include implementing changes from personnel to facilities based on three audits; two from Gibson Consulting and the third from Diaz himself.

Brinkman's background includes stints as a chief financial officer for the Monterey Pasta Company and his current position as Gilroy Unified's assistant superintendent. Edwin went with who he knew best - the same man who used to report to him when he was Gilroy superintendent.

Check for the story tomorrow.

I don't get the two weeks that students get off for break, but I'm not at work today (I know - I'm blogging so I guess I'm still in work mode). However, writing this entry from my parents house where the laundry is free and the food is good, is more fun.

This lovely work-free day came courtesy of Todd Ruiz, who decided to schedule a lot of activities last Saturday and didn't realize he had to work the weekly Saturday shift. It was not the most fun Saturday shift (writing a follow-up on stabbing doesn't translate to an easy, breezy 8-hour day).

Covering the Rose Parade yesterday was a lot of fun - especially sitting in seats on Orange Grove Blvd. Since I grew up in the area, joining the masses to see the parade is a yearly tradition. However, my friends and I usually get to the spot a tad late and I'm short so I usually get elbowed/knocked over by some tall meanie.

I hope everyone had a lovely New Year's and don't forget, school's back in session Jan. 7.