December 2007 Archives

The PUSD board approval of the consultant contract a few weeks ago continues to aggravate the same people who tried to dissuade their colleagues from voting "yay" on an issue they gave two thumbs down on.

Some members of the school board are not happy about the result or with the actions of their colleagues.

Pasadena Unified board members not all content
Hiring of consultant stirs up old concerns
By Caroline An, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 12/29/2007 10:40:21 PM PST

PASADENA - The new school board and district leadership promised improved openness and accessibility. At least two board members complain it's business as usual at the school district.

The divisiveness that marked the five-year tenure of former Superintendent Percy Clark may be back after a consultant was hired Dec. 18 at the urging of new Superintendent Edwin Diaz and over the objections of two board members.

Percy Clark, PUSD's former superintendent who was given a polite boot out the door last year, is still around. For board member Renatta Cooper, that's not good news. In the story, Cooper said that the district can't move forward if people associated with Clark and his senior administration are in decision-making positions.

From the emails I have received, the general feeling is that the issue comes down to the old boys, or in this case, old girls network and just how much power the PEF'ers have over the board. In an earlier story on the board approval of the contract, Edwin Diaz said that all consultant contracts - including Kristin M's - would be re-evaluated.

Additionally, Diaz acknowledged that based on strong sentiments - translation: irritation - expressed by certain board members at the Dec. 18 meeting, Maschka's work would be evaluated frequently and presented to the board.

With winter break comes a lot of free time and for most students that means catching up on shut-eye or shopping. It was a little upsetting to hear about the shooting that took place in Old Pasadena Wednesday. I happened to be in the area (returning gifts and buying myself some new ones...I'm so awful!).

City officials and Old Pasadena merchants say that it is an isolated incident and the area is still very safe. However, I'm sure that little comfort to families with school-age children and teens.

As the New Year approaches, here's a little sprinkling of advice: look your best, keep your wallet on you at all times and don't talk to strangers. :)

School districts remind me of soap operas - minus the romance and other rather risque elements, of course! There's money, intrigue and plenty of personalities. The smallest plot element - a consulting contract in this case - draws the ire of parents and a few school board members.

PUSD's board recently approved a nearly $100,000 consulting contract for Kristin Maschka, who was brought to the district in similar post under Percy Clark nearly four years ago.

While the board approved the contract, there is a back story to this. While she was the sole candidate, her resume was not submitted to the board, outside candidates were not considered, and as one board member told me, the Percy Clark era left much to be desired.

Edwin Diaz said that all consulting contracts will be reviewed over the next six months. The district has relied a little too much on outside people to do internal work, he said.

As for the resume? Diaz admits that he should have just made copies and sent it over.

Hi All,

I'm Caroline An, the new education reporter at the Star-News. You might have noticed that this blog has been a bit quiet over the last month, but it's back!

Cortney Fielding, my friend and colleague, has moved on to a job (congrats!) so I'm taking over as the goddess of education news.

A quick bio - I grew up in the Pasadena area and went to college in New York. I have a bachelor's degree in English and Journalism. Before coming to the Star-News, I covered education for our sister paper, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Send along any e-mail or comments to: caroline.an@sgvn.com. I look forward to chatting with you all!