Dedicated to Empowering and Informing the Burlingame Community

Dysfunctional School Board-Superintendent

In summer of 2003, the SMUHSD Board silently slipped Sam Johnson into the chair of the superintendent. Why members Cohn-Lyle, Hanley, Vranes, and Griffen chose the summer for this move is quite clear. No one would be watching. The Board did not review a single resume, put together a public interview committee, or conduct any type of search for a new leader. The Board did not perform due diligence on Mr. Johnson's qualifications for the position or research his employment history.

Since becoming Superintendent of the SMUHSD, Sam Johnson has turned a deaf ear to public comments that are contrary to his personal agenda. School Board meetings with an angry public are become the norm under Johnson's short leadership and are sure to continue with his latest financial debacle. Johnson is blind and deaf to the public will as evidenced by his own comments regarding the public's response to his attempts to reduce counselors, eliminate librarians, the arts, and vocational courses in an attempt to implement a budget reorganization? to fund the seven period day.

Johnson said the tone and language of speakers at the board's last meeting, when opponents of the plan queued for more than four hours to take on the trustees, was unwarranted to me as a human being and as a superintendent.' (SM Daily Journal March 5, 2005)

Public sources also reveal that Sam Johnson and the SMUHSD Board have been consistently reminded of the financial problems facing the district, yet they have ignored these warnings and have forged ahead with expensive spending programs like the seven period day.

In 2003 the SMUHSD began to feel financial constraints of decreased revunues but it has failed to establish and carry out a long term financial plan.

Although the district squeaked by with enough reserves this year to stave off Sacramento, the level will fall well below the state mandate in a few years if it does not change its course fast. The reserves will be whittled away by increases in expenditures the district faces, such as a 15 percent jump in healthcare costs and adjustments in the cost of living. It is also safe to assume the state will not restore the funding cuts it made this year,' said Associate Superintendent Robert Arnold. If we continue in the same pattern, the reserves will be at about a about 1.6 percent by 2004,? he (Arnold) said.' (SM Daily Journal June 12, 2003

SMUHSD Superintendent Sam Johnson has surrounded himself with a district level cabinet and site principals of yes? men and women who refuse to challenge his will. He is flanked by a dysfunctional Board members Cohn-Lyle, Hanley, and Griffen have stood by as Johnson destroys a once great district. As Board President, Cohn-Lyle has abdicated her responsibility to the public by claiming that the Board has joined with Johnson as a Team of Six.? The Board's role in the policy process is one of oversight, not concurrent action.

Mr. Hanley's embarrassing speech to the public at the last meeting entrenched the divide between the teachers and the administration. Hanley lashed out at the teachers, blaming them for the financial disaster and spreading fear among the students and parents.

Mr. Griffen is calm and collected, but he is also a CPA and should know better.

Its time to tell the Emperor that he has no clothes. The $3.5 million budget fiasco is just the warm-up act to the soon to be released $298 million facilities bond disaster. Hello, Enron? These are not the smartest guys in the room.

The time for change is now.

– Written by JC

Posted in

72 responses to “Dysfunctional School Board-Superintendent”

  1. ASE

    Joanne, I hope you’ve taught your child more respect than you demonstrate, because with the way you treat his teachers, they’re not going to pick up the slack for you.

  2. Joanne

    ASE, asking for clarification is not disrespectful. Everyone is anxious to have the contract resolved so that the teacher slowdown ends. It’s important to everyone to know what the open issues are. KRN, has stated that one of them is salary related and I don’t understand his answer. So I’ll ask it again: KRN, you made the statement that “the district wants us to leave our “base” the same on paper but would leave us 3% less in wages.” What do you mean by that statement? I thought one possible explanation, given what you have posted above, is that you mean that the SMUHSD is proposing no raise, but you believe that effectively leaves you 3.8% behind (because 3.8% is the inflation rate). But you also said that the union has agreed to no raise, so that didn’t make sense to me. Could you please explain.

  3. KRN

    First of all there is no teacher slowdown. No one has called in sick and we have not stopped assignements. We have not spared any of our contractual duties. Your post above regarding clubs and work make-ups in again misleading in this area. The contract requires supervision of activities as agreed upon by the teachers and Administration. BHS teachers have taken on clubs but the are NOT required to meet with them at lunch. Teachers MAY give up their lunch to advise the club, but they may also meet after school if they so choose. Also, clubs are not covered as supervision at the other school sites. As far as athletes and make-up work, there is no time built into the day for make-ups and teachers once again CHOOSE to give up their lunch to support the athletes and other students who need help. As I have posted before, in the past teachers were able to use the late start Wednedsday mornings for make-up work and student help but the district has claimed this time for teacher collaboration, thus leaving the students out.

    One of the reasons that I have not posted tonight is because I have been giving online help to my students preparing for a test.

    Money:
    Teachers salary is a public record, many districts post the scale on the web but the SMUHSD does not. The district would like to leave the salary scale the same but actually pay us 3% less until the reserve has been restored.

    Suppose I were to be contracted to earn $100 per day. The district would like to leave that contract in place at $100 per day but only pay me $97. I would still be contracted at the $100 per day rate but would only be receiving $97. Hence, the district is asking for a salary cut even though they would leave the scale as is. There is no time line for this process to end and the 97% of pay could go on for years if the reserve is not paid back.

    As for how things are playing out, ASE is correct. The teachers are offering a 0% raise which is a defacto 3.8% loss in purchasing power. If we were to take the district’s offer, it would be a 6.8% loss.

    So, to clarify YOUR post. The Teachers are proposing NO RAISE, and the SMUHSD wants the teachers to take a PAY CUT.

    It is very clear that the teachers are (and always have been) willing to help the district get through this mess, but the district wants more from us.

  4. Joanne

    Thank you, Krn. This finally answered my question.
    “The district would like to leave the salary scale the same but actually pay us 3% less until the reserve has been restored… The district would like to leave that contract in place at $100 per day but only pay me $97.”

    Are there other non-monetary issues that are holding up the contract too? If so, what are they?

  5. Joanne

    A ps to KRN: In the Sunday, October 1 edition of the Burlingame Daily News your union prez Childress was quoted as saying that the teacher “protest” would continue until the contract was signed….I no longer have that paper so I can’t tell you whether he used the word “slowdown”, “duty-free lunch”, “protest” or whatever but he definitely linked the locking of the doors at lunch to a protest move on behalf of the teachers. This is why I am asking for details on what is holding up the contract. If the teachers want to make a “duty free” lunch permanent, then it would be nice to know this and the schools can adapt their schedules accordingly…..clubs were always an after-school activity at my high school and it worked fine. I suspect the biggest conflict would be for athletes who need to make up tests that were administered on game days, but I suspect that a solution to that problem could be found too. Everybody wants the outstanding issues resolved so that the SMUHSD can move forward.

  6. KRN

    “Teachers’ Association President Craig Childress said the union is still encouraging teachers to close their classroom doors to students during lunch periods as contract negotiations with the district continue. The teachers are still doing their jobs, he emphasized – just not going above and beyond in the way they typically do.”

    The duty free lunch is permanent, its state law. Teachers MAY choose to work on their lunch, it is not mandatory. BHS teachers have been very generous with their lunch time and now the public is angry because they have taken it back to help advance a a serious issue.

    Lets get back to the topic at hand… the teachers would never have to do ANY of these things if it were not for the district office screw up! We are not asking for more money, more benefits, more anything. Teachers are asking to simply keep what we have! If the public would like to rally around an education issue (see Sue Lempert’s Daily Journal article 10/9) then lets get back to producing what is best for our schools.

    A quick review of Mr. Johnson’s administration will reveal a series of “TOP DOWN” decisions that start at the Academic Core, move through the loss of in-school athletics, an attempt to remove librarians and counselors, the implementation of the 7 period day, and now the firing of new teachers who should not have been hired in the first place. We are also losing support staff which will put an even greater burden upon the teachers.

    All of these issues did not have the support of the classroom instructors, the people who would be delivering the education. Is it any wonder that teachers are angry? There is a SERIOUS breach of trust at this time, one that may be very difficult to re-establish.

  7. Joanne

    KRN, I understand that you are angry. I also understand that state law says that you don’t have to work during your lunch.
    What I have been attempting to do is separate the contract issues from your anger/disappointment over Johnson and the Board. As I’m sure you must be aware, the National Labor Relations Act mandates that unions and management bargain in good faith.? Refusal to bargain is an unfair labor practice that can subject either side to sanctions. You have been very vocal about wanting to see the board recalled and Mr. Johnson fired. I, and I suspect your union, would encourage you to try to separate those those actions/feelings from the contract negotiations. Wanting to stick it to The Man’? is not bargaining in good faith. Teachers or other members of the public who want to pursue a recall can do so, but they need to separate those actions from the bargaining table.
    It is in everybody’s best interests to get the contract resolved. An unresolved contract is stressful for the teachers, for the parents and I suspect the administration. The article from the Burlingame Daily News that we both mentioned in prior posts said that one of the new teachers at Hillsdale quit before he was laid off… one of the reasons he gave was that he just wanted to teach? and all the meetings and bitterness were too stressful for him.
    You like using this blog as your communication tool. While your passion and anger clearly comes through, I have also encouraged you to clearly and accurately state the facts — most importantly the open issues in the contract. Honest and clear communication is in everybody’s bests interests. If the public knows the open contract issues we can contact the SMUHSD and the elected board and let them know our opinions. It probably won’t surprise you to know that I am quite willing to give my opinions to the SMUHSD, as well as the board. I have done so and continue to do so. In fact, after finally learning what you meant by the 3% pay-cut this morning I promptly sent out more than one e-mail expressing my views on this position. I would encourage other members of the public to do the same. Similarly, if the teachers clearly know what the union is attempting to bargain for on their behalf they can let you know whether those issues are important to them (or conversely, as the quote above from the college professor indicated they can also let you know if the union is pursuing something that is meaningless to them). Hopefully, open, respectful and clear communication will encourage win-win dialogues and a solution-oriented approach.
    With respect to the lunch issue, if teachers want to permanently reassert their right to 30 minute lunches, then open and clear communication on that issue also would be important. Clubs, homework help and make-up tests can be rethought and rescheduled. Frequently, I believe, anger comes from unmet expectations. If expectations are clear whether or not people agree with them — then people can adjust accordingly.

  8. KRN

    If I want counseling, I’ll go to a professional. Your solutions may create a short-term solution, but real problem solving requires that the root of the problem be discovered and treated or removed.

    I will hold back my urge to comment on your “stick it to the man” in relation to “bad faith” bargaining comments as they are irrelevant to the discussion. Neither of these actions have taken place and your assertion that they have only misleads the public more. There has been no assertion that bargaining and a recall are associated. If a recall takes place, it must be initiated by the voters, not the union.

    The teacher who left Hillsdale, he left because the SMUHSD District Administration came to each of the school sites, called all of the new teachers together and told them if they wanted to take another job that it might be a good idea because the SMUHSD was most likely going to lay them off. (This was a nice way of letting the new teachers know that they could leave and get a new job without penalty) By the way, the Hillsdale teacher wasn’t the only one who left before the fall-out.

  9. Pete

    Kumbayah, dude.

  10. Mac

    There’s a bigger picture here and it relates to the A.P.I. (Academic Performance Index) scores. This administration is inclined to do whatever it takes to get all district schools above 800, even if it means spending money that isn’t there. A.P.I. scores are directing the dicisions being made.

  11. Mac

    Investigate how the A.P.I. score is determined, particularly which groups are considered statistically significant, and it will provide some insight as to what gets funding and what does not. For example, “Students with Disabilities” are only considered statistically significant at one high school in the district. I wonder just how far it goes? Would the administration manipulate numbers to create contrived results? Food for thought…

  12. student X

    so i’ve just browsed over this thread upon my return, which was prompted by ASE’s unwillingness to allow me to forget that i ever left, and the main thing that stuck out to me were the comments about lunches and the teachers and that whole pile of stuff. lets not forget that the teachers of BHS and i assume the rest of SMUHSD willingly and enthusiastically gave up their lunch to advise clubs, help students, give make-up test, and everything else until they were asked to pay the price for the district’s mistakes. all the comments left about the teacher’s needing a break, etc, are all true. yet our teachers are ultimately still willing to do everything we(the students, parents, administrators) ask of them as long as they are treated fairly. is it too much to ask to be treated fairly? if the answer is yes, it may just turn my whole world around…and who knows what will happen.

  13. ASE

    Joanne, I never said asking for clarification was disrespectful. I did however imply that rejecting a perfectly good explination based on my age is grossly unfair. In anticipation of Joanne’s comment, can I get KRN and any other teachers out there (perhaps a teacher who teaches econ or one very involved and up to date on the contract negotiation) to discuss the validity of my explination? And Joanne, have you taken any courses in Economics either in high school, college, or since? If not, your dismissal of my explination is all the more unjust. Don’t be jealous of my education, and don’t try to ruin it either. You’ve been so caught up in your self righteous fight for what you think is best for you child that you have completely forgotten what is best for me, and the rest of you son’s peers, and our teachers, administrators and their children. Wake up, and realize that there is more to life than just you.

  14. student X

    also, in response to the opening comments of this thread, if someone who is knowledgeable could elaborate on Mr. Johnson’s pre-superintendent record. from what little i’ve heard, it seems like not only was his appointment as superintendent quiet, but his entire rise within the district system was such after the teachers of cappuchino seemingly forced him out of his job as principal. but thats just the word on my street.

  15. RCC

    Mac that there is some food for thought, I would doubt your suspicions though.

    I’m curious. Was the original bargain between the district and the union that teachers would EITHER take a pay cut OR teachers would be fired? It seems like now it is both. At that dreadful meeting at cap it was said that cutting teachers was being pursued because teachers weren’t allowing a pay cut. It doesn’t look like a trade off anymore.

  16. RCC

    ATTENTION: all parents and students who think field trips are a good learning experience. Department heads are no longer allowed to allocate department head days for field trips. This means for example where i first heard this news: in cases like that of the Italian Exchange program instead of using department head days for the days to cover the five school days missed while in Italy the district would like her to use her sick days or they would like the Italian Exchange students and teacher to raise enough money to pay for five days of subs. The money raised was formerly used to sponsor students who couldn’t pay for the entire $2800 the trip costs. The district must either think the children in the program are made of money and that it isn’t real work to chaperoning 39 students in Italy 24 hours a day for two weeks. One of those weeks is spring break and week that is considered time off and is not a paid vacation.

    PLEASE voice your opinions on this. Things like field trips can’t be cut back they help so much in the learning experience.

  17. ASE

    This news about needing to raise money for subs is especially disappointing. I was going to Italy under the assumption that I’d get almost a 100% scholarship, but now I might not be able to attend because the money I fundraise will go towards a sub so that my teacher can chaperone. It’s pretty sad since I already have an established relationship with my Italian host, who spent two weeks with me last spring and we built a strong friendship.

  18. KRN

    ASE, RCC, and Student X

    I’ll look into the issue. The days known as Department Chair Days are part of the Department Chair’s compensation. If the Chair wants to use them to cover the Italy trip, the so be it. If the use of these days is past practice (and I know that it is because they have been used for Italy and Close Up-Wash.DC) then the district can’t just change the practice overnight. What the district wants is to have the days go unused and then they don’t have to spend the money.

  19. Mac

    Everything being done by the administration is couched in the guise of being “best for the students”. Who can argue with that? Unfortunately, this is a page out of Noam Chomsky’s theory about media manipulation and propaganda. The truth is that what the administration touts as “best for the students” is having A.P.I. scores above 800 for all schools in the district, and doing anything necessary to reach that goal. Having A.P.I. scores above 800 may be “best for the students” in a district that has extremely low perfomance results, like Oakland Unified, but may not be best for students in SMUHSD. Field trips don’t contribute to increased A.P.I. scores, so they aren’t important to this administration. Athletics don’t directly improve A.P.I. scores, so they aren’t important to this administration (I could go on…). It’s a very myopic vision coming from the administration, but it is what it is. The A.P.I. is what holds the administration accountable with the State, thus it reflects poorly on the adminstration to have scores lower than 800 in such an affluent community.

  20. Lois Lane

    Just as a general statement, it is quite ironic that everyone here is emphasizing the need for communication, yet are unable to converse without insulting someone.

    What bothers me most is that there are constant questions for clarification followed by accusations that the answers are incorrect. There is a lot of misinformation floating around, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t two sides to every story.

    I am a student at BHS so of course I support my teachers- they always have time for me and put a great deal of work into their classes. Many of my teachers continue to help their students during their lunch period and those that do not make time before, after, and during school (many students have one period off)to help. They are professionals in every sense. As professionals with master and bachelor degrees, their opinions should not be disregarded in this situation.

    Recently, I interviewed Linda Lees to gain a different perspective and two of her major regrets were the inability to communicate among adults involved in the school, and the amount of misinformation that circulated. My point being that with two sides to this story it is important that everyone at least tries to see it from a different perspective.

    To those who commented on the quality of education at BHS as opposed to private schools: I have attended Burlingame public schools my entire life. I will be graduating this year and I am applying (with a good chance of acceptance) to the SAME COLLEGES my friends in private schools are looking at. It is a student’s responsibility to maintain grades and make wise educational decisions. If your child is receiving an F, I’m willing to bet it is your child and not the teacher who is at fault.

    So everyone please act respectively towards each other so a decision, and not a hurtful comeback, can be reached.

  21. student X

    Ms. Lane-the of course you used in your blog is not as inherent on this website as you may think.

  22. Robbr

    http://sexsy-woman-google.f-a-s-t-search.info/

Leave a Reply

RECENT COMMENTS

RECENT POSTS

CATEGORIES

ABOUT THE VOICE

The Burlingame Voice is dedicated to informing and empowering the Burlingame community.  Our blog is a public forum for the discussion of issues that relate to Burlingame, California.  Opinions posted on the Burlingame Voice are those of the poster and commenter and not necessarily the opinion of the Editorial Board.  Comments are subject to the Terms of Use.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All content subject to Copyright 2003-2026

Discover more from The Burlingame Voice

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading