Correct History of 1994 Recall--Refute revisionism

Dr. Stephen Guffanti and his followers have created a "revised" version of the actual events that occured leading to the recall of two extremist school board members in 1994. Their revisionist history has been often repeated and recently gave rise to a factual incorrect editorial published by Jim Trageser in the nctimes here:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/08/10/opinion/trageser/z354f6144e8d0282d8825749f0060debd.txt

Jim Trageser frequently writes editorials for the NCTimes. Most of his editorials are reasoned and rational, but when he writes about unions his writing drifts off into a weird fantasy worldview, what Steven Colbert might called paranoid truthiness. His comments get especially irrational when he mentioned the Vista Teachers Association--the 'teacher's union' as he calls the good people of the VTA.

Following the article Trageser posted a comment in the online comment section that was not just inaccurate, but kind of wild-eyed crazy sounding. His comment was still on line as of October 2, 2008. Surprisingly neither he nor the blog editor decided to 'disappear' his comment.

Here are a few of snippets of Trageser's wildest charges found in the online post:

"Nor did any of them (the extremist majority) ever move to put creationism in the classroom - they may have talked about it during the election, but once in office, none of them ever made a formal proposal to do so." Not true on so many levels. First the extremists were STEALTH CANDIDATES. They never mentioned creationism at any public forum or in their campaigns. They launched into their creationism crusade after they were elected. Stealth candidates are trained (yes, there are training sessions at 'special' churches by invitation only) to hide what they believe and intend to do before elections, only after do they spring their surprise hidden agenda on an unsuspecting public.

"the VTA brought just about every VUSD board meeting to a screeching halt with chanting and yelling" Not true, their are district audio recordings for all those meetings proving this fantasy is a pure fabrication.

"Various other political groups also demonstrated outside VUSD board meetings" There is no evidence of these groups or demonstration in the coverage of the newspaper accounts of the time. In addition I attended those meetings. I saw no members of other political groups or demonstrations outside the board meetings, ever. The meeting were well attended and there were over flow crowds but no demonstrations. If there had been demonstrations somewhere else, the demonstration would have been newsworthy. News of it would have made it into one of the couple of dozen reporter's stories from over a dozen national newspapers, wire services, and television networks. Yet there is ZERO reporting of any organized demonstrations.

'part of a national campaign against Christian conservatives on school boards" This is the most paranoid and over-the-top writing by a newspaper editor that I have ever read. In the eighty year history of the VUSD board every single VUSD board has been a majority of Christians if not exclusively Christian and always very conservative. If there were a "national campaign" against Christians why were only these board members recalled?

Here is a summary of the false facts pushed by Guffanti's group and swallowed whole by a gullible Jim Trageser:

SIX REVISIONIST FALSE STATEMENTS

FALSE (1) there was a meeting to start a recall against the extremist majority on the night they were elected in 1992.
FALSE (2) the teachers union started the recall because of a salary dispute
FALSE (3) the teachers union disrupted the board meetings and this disruption brought a half dozen satellite trucks from CNN, FOX, NBC and other major networks news organizations and reporters from the New York Times, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle to several of our school board meetings.
FALSE (4) there was a nation wide campaign against Christian School Board members
FALSE (5) the 1992-1994 three person majority were the only three "real Christian" school board members to hold a majority in the history of VUSD
FALSE (6) the extremists never tried to put creationism into the curriculum

Here is the truth from a post that I sent to the nctimes and the blog editor actually allowed to be put on line. Its long but it answers all those charges.

Charge (2)--There are minutes of the Executive Board and Representative Assembly meetings of the VTA for the last thirty years including all of the ones for 1992 through 1994 time period that disprove (2).

Charge (3)--There are recordings of all VUSD board meetings from that time period that disprove (3)teachers disrupting meetings. (of course major national media would not show up for local school board meetings because teachers were loud and obnoxious--that charge does not pass the smell test.

Charge (6)--There are school board minutes and recordings that disprove (6) and there is a creationist board policy the extremists passed that is still on the books but not enforced (VUSD Board Policy 6019). It mandates teaching creationism in the public school classroom and encourages students and parents to challenge the teaching of evolution and other scientific theories if the student or parent decides the teacher is "teaching dogmatically." This is an intimidation tactic and it has been successful. In a year long high school biology class in one of the high schools in our district the organizing principle of all life sciences--evolution--was mentioned on only ONE DAY!


Here are answers to the other charges in more detail it is addressed to the comments of Jim Trageser in his fact challenged editorial and his emotional (paranoid?) charges in the follow up comment section:

Jim has a bias and he is willing to fit his "facts" around that bias.

How can he write about what happened at the VTA meetings that he did not attend?

FALSE CHARGE: The union started recall over a salary dispute

FACT: The VTA has Executive Board and Representative Assembly minutes for that whole time period on file at the VTA office. There was NO ACTION concerning recall or even discussion of recall until MONTHS after the new board majority took office in December. Never was salary given as a reason for VTA to consider joining the community effort to recall the Extremist VUSD School Board members.

Besides there are salary disputes nearly every year. Has the "union" (VTA) ever participated in any school board recall before or since in the over eighty year history of the VUSD? NO, NEVER NOT ONE TIME--this charge does not pass the smell test.

FALSE CHARGE: The 1992-94 board majority never tried to put creationism into the VUSD classroom

FACT: At the VERY FIRST meeting of the new Extremist VUSD School Board Majority in December creationism WAS the major topic. I was there. I saw the scientist hold up the fossil and ask the extremist if they thought it was only 6 thousand years old. They took the bait.

FALSE CHARGE: The teachers disrupted board meetings

FACT: I attended virtually every board meeting after that while the Extremist held the majority. I NEVER once heard any chanting or disruption of the school board meetings by teachers. All the Vista School Board meetings are ON TAPE. I defy Trageser and the editor who allowed his nonsense to be published to find even one incident where teachers are heard chanting or disrupting the meetings. The teachers were extremely respectful at all the meetings I attended. The craziness and boos came from the other side during public comment by teachers and parents asking questions about the new board’s policies.

FALSE CHARGE: The recall of 92-94 board was not caused by any action they took. it was already a done deal on the night they were elected.

FACT: There is no evidence of this meeting. Trageser cannot say where it happened or who was there. I have never heard of such a meeting. Without a second source Trageser, as a good newspaper man, should never have made this unfounded charge. The story more likely was a "sour grape" story told by those who were recalled. Besides so what if some tiny group of people discussed a recall somewhere? Without the actions by the extremists no one else would have joined in and the recall would have been a miserable failure instead of a glorious success.