Questions for Jim Gibson's re-election bid in 2010

The following are some questions Jim Gibson should be asked in next campaign at the various forums. Assuming of course that he will show up at the forums. His ANTI allies, Guffanti, Anderson and Fernandez were 'too terrified' of the danger they faced from PTA moms to go to the PTA forum. So there is no guarantee Jim Gibson will show up for a forum either. But I would like to think that he will. If he does I hope the audience will get answers to questions at the end of this post.

It would be nice if our local newspaper would ask Jim Gibson some hard questions, but we know from past experience that that will not happen. The North County Times, especially its editorial staff, has a long history of siding with the ANTI public education forces in our district. The NCTimes editors are virulently anti-union and anti middle class. They have pilloried the Escondido Police, the Oceanside Police, the Oceanside Firefighters, and the grocery clerks in their editorials when they are not insulting the Vista teachers. Since our ANTI folks are also anti union, the NCTimes editorial staff became their natural allies.

I only hope that someone has a chance to ask Jim Gibson these questions.

FIFTY MILLION TAXPAYER DOLLARS WASTED BY JIM GIBSON
(1)Construction of our new third high school was projected to have cost 50 to 52 million dollars had construction started in 2002 at the Strawberry Hill/Kawano site. Today the cost of the new third high school is 100 million at the secondary site on Melrose, are you sorry that you prevented the taxpayers of VUSD from acquiring the cheap, level, Kawano site?

GIBSON'S SECRET MEETINGS WITH GUFFANTI AND BALES
(2) One of your supporters who blogs at the North County Times under the name Vista Watchdog 1 claims that two school board members had numerous meetings with Joyce Bales at Vista Watchdog’s residence. Have you ever had meetings with Joyce Bales and another board member at a private residence? If so, please estimate the number of times? Can you tell us why you had those meetings or the nature of the topics discussed?

CREATION SCIENCE
(3) If the courts would allow and you had the power to require the teaching of creation science, intelligent design, or any other form of creationism in the science classroom, would you?

EVOLUTION
(4) Do you think it is fair that evolution in taught in schools without any alternative theories being taught? If you do not think this is fair, what alternative theories would like to see be taught?

MIS-USING POLITICS TO GAIN ADVANTAGE IN A NON-PARTISAN OFFICE
(5) Is it appropriate for a candidate for a non-partisan political office to seek the endorsement of a political party as you have done repeatedly? Why when seeking a non-partisan office do you always include references to being endorsed by a local political party?

GIBSON NO KNOWLEDGE OF AND NO STAKE IN SUCCESS OF VUSD SCHOOLS
(6) How long did your now adult children attend VUSD schools? What schools did they attend? In the past you said you withdrew your children from VUSD schools because they were harassed by teachers. Please tell us, what that harassment was. Who did the harassment? Did you file a police report? If not, why not? Did you file a complaint with the school district? If not, why not? Did you attempt mediation? If not, why not? Was there really any harassment at all or was this a story you created as a political ploy? Weren’t the real reasons you took them out of VUSD schools, personal religious beliefs? Why should someone who has no stake in our schools, be running our school district?

GIBSON USES POSITION ON VUSD BOARD FOR PERSONAL POLITICAL ADVANCEMENT
(7) Can you name any other VUSD school board member who has run for any other political office besides, yourself? Why do you keep running for other political offices such as Oceanside City Council and California State Assembly? Do you not like being a VUSD trustee? or Is being a VUSD school board member just a first step in your hoped for political career?

JIM GIBSON'S FIASCO: CARRIE PREJEAN DAY
(8) What motivated your attempt to have a Carrie Prejean Day? Why is she the first VUSD graduate that you ever felt needed to have a day in her honor? What about Leon Hall who graduated from Vista High School and is now a professional football player with the NFL? What about Dr. Kira Jorgensen who is now a NASA scientist? What was it about the a beauty queen contestant that made her more worthy of having a day named in her honor than many other fine graduates of our school system?

Here is what Gibson told the North County Times:

He said the proclamation idea wasn't political, although he thought other people could take it that way.

Gibson's proposed proclamation calls Prejean an "exemplary student leader" who "showed integrity, leadership, dedication and high moral standards" in the Miss California and Miss USA pageants.

"Carrie Prejean has proven to be a positive example to Vista students of what great things can be accomplished with natural talent, hard work and dedication," the proclamation states.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/vista/article_15f6a72e-62c2-5b70-b1eb-efbc8a321009.html

His motion for a Carrie Prejean Day died for lack of a second.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/may/15/ca-miss-california-051509/?california


Carrie Prejean Update: According to New Jersey Star-Ledger, Carrie Prejean was dropped from (dropped out of) a "values" conference after a sex tape came to light in her fruitless lawsuit against Donald Trump's beauty pageant organization for 'religious discrimination.' She lost the lawsuit and now is no longer a 'values' speaker. I wonder how embarrassed VUSD would be had Jim Gibson gotten two more votes for his "Carrie Prejean Day."
Read more here:

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/celebrities/index.ssf/2009/11/carrie_prejean_dropped_from_wh.html

More on Carrie Prejean, see her send love to Sarah Palin and then blow up on Larry King Live. Also at this site is written information from TMZ indicating that her boyfriend says she was twenty years old not seventeen when she made her "sex" tape.

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b153404_carrie_prejean_hearts_sarah_palinlarry.html


JIM GIBSON HAS NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS VUSD TRUSTEE
(9) Name one thing you have accomplished as a VUSD trustee that has improved education in our district. Name one thing that you accomplished as VUSD School Board Chairman? Why did you feel it necessary to launch a "whine" campaign in the North County Times demanding that you be appointed VUSD chairman? After you were given that job by the other trustees, how long before you decided to run for Oceanside City Council?

A DECADE LATER, JIM GIBSON STILL HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF VUSD SITES
(10) You have a reputation as a trustee who is not seen often at school sites in your more than eleven years on our VUSD board. How many of our schools have you visited over the last four years? Why so few?

(11) Can you name six or more of our good VUSD elementary schools or their principals? Why not?

JIM GIBSON ADVOCATES FIRING 10% OF VUSD EMPLOYEES EVERY YEAR
(12) Do you still believe that Jack Welch's management style of firing 10% of all employees every year is a model we should emulate here in our VUSD?
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/20/perspective/15_87_545_19_07.txt

JIM GIBSON THE STORY TELLER WITH AN ACTIVE IMAGINATION
(13) You wrote in a Forum in the North County Times, "A teacher once spent a whole year in math class talking about the environmental impact of a cheeseburger."
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/20/perspective/15_87_545_19_07.txt

Could you tell us what teacher at what school in our district did that? Can you verify that this happened in any district anywhere in the country?

JIM GIBSON HAS NEVER COMPLEMENTED ANY VUSD SCHOOL OR VUSD TEACHER
(14)Is there any school in VUSD that you consider a good school? Are there any teachers in VUSD that you consider to be good teachers? Which and who?

WITH NO EVIDENCE, JIM GIBSON CONCOCTS TALES OF DIFFICULTY FIRING TEACHERS
(15) You said in a North County Times Forum that "(unions)make it difficult and sometimes impossible to let poor-performing (sic) teachers go"
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/20/perspective/15_87_545_19_07.txt

Could you tell us exactly what they do to make it hard to let teachers go? Please elaborate. Do you feel that teachers having the right to hear and respond to charges against them is an example of "unions making it hard to let poor-performing (sic)go"? what rights should teachers have against arbitrary firings as have been alleged at Guajome Park Academy here in Vista?

JIM GIBSON HAS DONE NOTHING ABOUT PROBLEMS HE PERCEIVES IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
(16) You wrote in a North County Times Forum that, "public education is an organization that does not hold employees accountable for results."
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/20/perspective/15_87_545_19_07.txt

Since you have been a VUSD School Board member for eleven years, what have you done to solve this "problem" If nothing, why not?

JIM GIBSON SAYS TEACHERS ARE LAZY WITH A STORY BACKED BY NO EVIDENCE
(17) You wrote in a North County Times Forum, "One (teacher) was so bold as to say "those children (referring to English learners and poor children) just can't learn; this is the best we can do." This is what is known as "soft prejudice of low expectations." What a sad state for our children if their teachers feel this way about them."
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/20/perspective/15_87_545_19_07.txt

Which teacher said this to you? When did that teacher say that? Why should we believe this actually happened if you cannot give details? Others have accused you of making up convenient stories, is this one of them?

JIM GIBSON REPEATS SAME URBAN MYTH STORY WITH SLIGHT VARIATION. AGAIN NO DETAILS.
(18) You once wrote in a North County Times Forum, "I once heard a teacher claim she was an excellent teacher but her students were not capable of learning." Please document the facts surrounding this claim. Is this the same story you were referring to in (17) above? Why can't you give details? Are you story telling again?

JIM GIBSON TEACHERS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR CHILDREN LEARNING; PARENTS, BACKGROUND, CIRCUMSTANCES DO NOT MATTER
(19) You once wrote, "Rather than concern himself(re: Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of education) with ethnic or economic differences, perhaps the state superintendent of public schools should begin by holding public education employees accountable!"
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/20/perspective/15_87_545_19_07.txt

Do you still think that economic factors have no effect on performance of our children? Do you think that 'public education employees'(teachers) should be penalized if their student classroom is made up of students whose families are too poor to afford medical or dental care for their children? How can children learn as well with a sore tooth or who are sick? What about children whose parents have no residence of their own? who do not know what bills will not be paid? do not know if they will be in same place each night?

JIM GIBSON: PUBLIC SCHOOLS FAILING OUR CHILDREN
(20)You wrote,"Our public schools are failing our children"
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/20/perspective/15_87_545_19_07.txt

Do you still feel public schools are failing our children? What about our good VUSD schools, are they failing our students? In what way? Whose fault is it? Do you have any responsibility as a VUSD School Board Member?

JIM GIBSON FAVORS PRIVATIZING VUSD SERVICES
(21)In February 2007 you were quoted in the North County Times as being in favor of privatizing our VUSD transportation department. You were quoted as saying,
"I think it's a good thing," he said. "If outsourcing is going to give us the results we need at a lower price, then fantastic."
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/25/news/coastal/20_40_012_24_07.txt

Did you consider the VUSD bus drivers who would lose their jobs or have greatly reduced wages and benefits under a private company? How many other parts of VUSD would you like to privatize? Does that include turning our schools over to private companies or charters to run? In LAUSD schools are being turned over to the Green Dot organization, do you envision doing the same thing here in VUSD?

PROP 8, JIM GIBSON SEEMS TO USE VUSD RESOLUTION PROCESS FOR PERSONAL POLITICAL GAIN
(22)In October 2008, three weeks before the election in which you were running for an Oceanside City Council seat, you asked the VUSD school board to endorse a resolution in favor of Prop 8 the proposition to take away gay marriage in California.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/vista/article_6e38405a-a769-5803-8285-f7c88b4ed396.html

JIM GIBSON OUT OF STEP WITH OVER FIVE THOUSAND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS IN CALIFORNIA
(23) How does bringing up non educational societal issues into our school district help our VUSD students? Why do you think that other school districts in the North County did not try to take an official position on Prop 8 for or against? Do you think the school board members in those districts did not do their jobs? Did you think that your resolution in support of Prop 8 would help in your bid to become an Oceanside City Councilman? Out of 1,131 school districts in the State of California,in only three was a proposition to support Prop 8 brought up--VUSD and Paradise Unified and Grossmont High School district. Only Grossmont passed a resolution in support of Prop 8, why do you suppose the at least five thousand five hundred other school board members in those eleven hundred and twenty eight other school districts did not bring up a resolution to support Prop 8. What do you know that they do not? Only ONE city in California passed a resolution in favor of Prop 8 (Porterville) and only one school district passed a resolution in favor of Prop 8 (Grossmont High School), what do you think was wrong with the city councils and school boards in all other California towns, cities, and school districts?

SEX EDUCATION

(24) How would Jim Gibson change the sex education curriculum in VUSD if he had the power?
Would he bring back the withholding of facts from our students as in abstinence only sex education with no mention of contraceptives? Would he bring back Sex Respect? How are his positions on sex education different from those of the 1992-94 recalled school board?

IF JIM GIBSON'S ALLIES CONTROLLED THE BOARD
(25) How would he change the VUSD curriculum?
(26) The certified salary schedule? He once said he did not favor step and column raises, has he changed his mind?
(27) Would he refuse to accept federal grants as the 92-94 board did?
(28) Would he seek to privatize school bus services? Would he seek to turn the our schools into charters? Would he privatize cafeteria and custodial services?
(29) How much money would need to be taken from teacher's salaries to balance the budget and finish construction at various school sites?