No Lindamood Bell violates the LEA Plan scream ANTIs

Our ANTI friends in their newest attack on VUSD claim that because the Lindamood Bell ownership has refused to sell VUSD its program this year that the Local Educational Agency (VUSD) Plan submitted and approved by the federal government has been violated.

The LEA Plan has reading, math and English Language Learner components. In the reading section, our district mentioned among many other strategies for improving student reading the Lindamood Bell reading program. The final plan was sent approved by our school board in August--two months ago.

VUSD Local Education Agency Plan
http://www.vusd.k12.ca.us/news/News%20Archives/2008%20LEAP.pdf


Withing weeks of approval of the final plan LMB ownership threatened our district with what amounts to blackmail. The LMB folks said either implement the program at ALL sites in the VUSD or we won't sell any of the program to you.

As folks may recall the School Site Councils of several elementary schools did not want their school site money taken away from their sites and used to purchase LMB back in the spring of 2008. Joyce Bales by fiat took all SSC funds and spent it on LMB. The parents were angry and went to the board. The school board at the time sided with Bales. The parents organized and elected two of their own to replace two board members at the last election. The new school board with the addition of the two new members gave the SSC's permission to use their SSC site money as they saw fit. Only five schools chose to continue with LMB.

Parents at several VUSD sites noted that LMB was very expensive and wanted a cheaper program for their site for instance Successmakers. Success makers a math, language arts, and reading program that EVERY student gets to use cost the district $45,000.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/vista/article_d63a449e-eb76-57d7-9697-a11d2dcb60b1.html

In addition VUSD parents as their NUMBER ONE idea for budget cuts last year was the very expensive Lindamood Bell reading program.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/inland/vista/article_9e875c6a-fe5e-52b4-a889-b5f88a987d95.html

The LMB folks were furious. VUSD was the VERY first school district in the entire state of California to use LMB at all its elementary schools.Read the article here:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_7e639d4a-5af6-5aa1-967c-aca683a94d7f.html

Quote from this North County Times article: "the district became the first in the state to adopt the program in more than a couple campuses last year, it has paid about $3.4 million for the program."

Apparently the LMB folks wanted to use VUSD as their foot in the door to getting more districts hooked on LMB in California. When the VUSD board changed membership in November and then changed positions on SSC funds, our LMB folks just could not stand it. So the "black mail" letter was sent to our board by the LMB folks carefully timed so it arrived after the LEA Plan was finalized.

read: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/vista/article_669d07a7-14a4-5f7d-9983-fd7f45ce7227.html

QUOTE from the article: "The future of a controversial reading program in Vista schools remains uncertain, after the company that administers the program told the district it won't renew its contract unless school officials change their plan." Blackmail? How else can this threat by LMB be explained?


Now our ANTI friends, not understanding, the ability of a school district to revise its LEA Plan has conditions change are screaming to the North County Times that the district should be investigated for its "violation" of the LEA Plan. Of course their complaints will go nowhere except to bounce around back and forth in the small den of discontent formed by their ever shrinking group.

Here is the Joan Brubaker, "Vista Teachers Union Wants Total Control" Forum that the NCTimes allowed them to have on their "standards free" editorial page:

http://nctimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/article_ca1b424c-156c-52d7-8169-d3eb741bc3be.html

Here is one of the comments by ANTI advocate, "Roxy"

1) whether the VUSD made a contractual agreement under the LEA to offer LINDAMOOD BELL.

(2) Whether this program mentioned in the LEA was is implement.

If it is not then, it is called FRAUD and VIOLATION of a CONTRACUAL AGREEMENT.

It is just that simple, now if VUSD did not want to implement this program it should have never (a) accepted MILLIONS of DOLARS in FEDERAL FUNDS. (b) VUSD should not have lied to the federal government and perpetrated a fraud upon the students and the government.

Here is another ANTI post from "Dorothy":

LindaMood Bell was used because Title 1 funds state that you cannot use a program that has not shown success, such as Success Maker. This is just another way that the VTA driven board is trying take away successful programs that benefit the children who truly need it. Aw, the children who already can read don't need it.

Here is more from blogger, "Dorothy":

Since the LEA is already a fraudulent contract, and the teachers/administrators are just like lambs to the slaughter, ok, unemployment line it is only a matter of time before the State takes over this district. LindaMood Bell only revoked its license after they found out about the diminished capacity of the program cut by the VTA from 10 schools to 5 and afterschool at that! It isn't hysteria but truth, parents of the District, wake up!

Another "Roxy" comment:

It is about VUSD having a contractual agreement with the federal government. VUSD is claiming that they are offering LindaMood Bell and intervention programs when in reality they are not.

Yet one more of "Roxy" well reasoned and moderately expressed opinions:

OK all you spectators and wise a****~~~this article is about LINDAMOOD BELL. It is very typical when someone has something serious to hide they attack those who are apt to expose the criminal activities and element. Not a single one of these comments is RELEVANT to the issue, which is in the article. What else is new with union thugs and politics?
The article says that LINDAMOOD BELL Leaders cut the cost by some NINETY PERCENT to about @ 2,000 per student.

Even though FIVE SCHOOLS wanted the program used in their schools the UNION BOSSES sent out their thugs and rubber stamp puppets to knock down the program.

The LindaMood Bell program was FRAUDULENTLY placed on the LEA Plan to be submitted to the federal government as an adopted intervention program. However the program was not and will not be implemented making the contractual agreement between the VUSD and the federal government FRAUD and FLAWED.
Finally comments by a blogger named "shadow" who my guess in the son of Jim Gibson. "Shadow" claims that LMB helped him to learn to read. According to ANTI bloggers Gibson's son learned to read using it that's why Gibson knows it is a good reading program even though he has never visited a VUSD school site to see it in action here.

"Shadow" uses terms about Vista Teachers that only Gibson and his group of ANTIs use, "I would never live in Vista where the teachers and the Board they control believe that helping students learn to read is a waste of money"

and " I am VERY glad that I was not a student in Vista---it is evident that teachers just want the good investment of public title 1 money diverted from teaching students what they need to have in order to learn to spend it on whatever they want---perhaps thinking they could divert money for a raise?"

and "Shame on VUSD!! I hope that Roxy is right and that someone figures out that the LEA Plan has been violated."

So there you have it. The ANTI's new attack on VUSD. Not using LMB is the evil teacher's fault even though we use what ever we are given. No position on LMB for or against was ever taken by VTA. Only SSC parents objected and not because LMB was not a good program but because of the expense that was so much greater than other equally good reading programs. Parents elected new board members who sided with the SSC parents as expected. LMB owners threw a hissy fit and tried to black mail our district. VUSD said no. Somehow to our ANTI friends the fault is the teachers.