North County Times Attacks School Teachers Rights Again--Seniority the Target

Another day, another attack on public school teachers by the uber conservative "editor" of the North County Times who apparently thinks teacher rights are evil.

Read his screed here:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-fresh-air-on-pink-slips/article_b40017df-8a63-5647-acc8-b346487f921c.html?mode=story

In his editorial, our uber conservative editor follows the typical script of billionaire bullies, Bill Gates and Eli Broad. His propaganda piece extols how wonderful beginning teachers are while casting aspersions on experienced older teachers. The agenda of the billionaire bullies is to get all school districts staffed exclusively with poorly paid young teachers. Our bully boy friends love the idea of education on the cheap because it means they can contribute even less to the community good and welfare of others even though they made use of tax funded opportunities that past generation gave them. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

As far as the billionaire bully lie that young teachers are better teachers, better human being, harder working and more exciting than experienced teachers, NO STUDY SUPPORTS THIS LIE. NONE. NOT ONE. All carefully controlled education studies find just the opposite. Experience in the classroom is the single most important factor in being an effective teacher.

What about the other billionaire bully lie that seniority is unfair to young teachers. The truth is just the opposite. All teachers are protected by seniority, even the newly hired ones. If seniority lay offs are scheduled, then even the beginning teachers are laid off in order. Here is an example, let's say that Joe was hired on August 2, Jill on August 3, and Jose on July 31. The lay offs go in reverse order of those hire date. In this example Jill is laid off first, then Joe and last Jose. Jose is more protected than Jill and Joe and knows that fact. That knowledge is security.*

Further being laid off as a result of seniority carries NO STIGMA when looking for the next teaching position. If a laid off teacher gets a good reference from their former principal, getting another teaching job at equivalent salary is more than easy. Districts are constantly looking for good young teachers with good references. Young teachers are very inexpensive. Because of the poverty wages paid to young teachers, they are about half cost of a more experienced teacher. Their low cost only becomes a liability if they are so inexperienced that they are ineffective. But there is no problem for an well referenced, "seniority laid off" teacher to get another job--those folks are gold. Often the districts, from which they are laid off, soon find another opening for them.

Once a young teacher has seniority with a district, they can feel safe to start a family and buy a house. That happens very quickly. Two years in a district and most get permanent status. At that point banks will make house loans. Homes can be purchased and families begun.

Right now we are in a very rare time of vicious blood letting that means even a very few of new teachers who have permanent are being laid off. This is not normal and will not last. No reason to change a seniority system that protects teachers from horrendous abuse of the past for this anomaly. Why go back to a time when teachers were laid off so principals could create an opening for relatives or school board trustees could make jobs for their political friends (patronage abuse). That is how it was in the fifties. Is that what we want to go back to?

Sacramento Republicans are entirely responsible for the current fiscal crises in our state and lack of funding for schools. About half California's state budget is spent on education. So when the state budget declines teachers are laid off.

Sacramento Republicans using the very UN-democratic and archaic two thirds rule, have forced revenues in only one direction--down. No state revenue, no money for school districts which get 80-90 percent of their money from Sacramento. Good bye to small class sizes and newly hired teachers (many of which are middle aged folks who wanted to start a second career.)

If you want new teachers not to be laid off, don't vote Republican. Say what? you ask.

All Republicans in our state capitol, Sacramento, have sworn an oath of loyalty to a Washington DC lobbyist named Grover Norquist. "King" Norquist has said he wants to strangle government (services for middle class and poor, school, roads, veterans, medicare social security, etc.) until it is small enough to drown in a bath tub. He controls a vast pool of money given to him by uber rich, uber right wing billionaire bullies. King Norquist uses this money to destroy any elected state house Republican who does not follow his imperial commands to destroy government services by de-funding them.

How you ask? His "imperial majesty' runs and funds a challenger in the next Republican primary against any Republican who will not take his imperial orders.

Our Sacramento Republicans are terrified of King Norquist. They NEVER cross him. Their loyalties are to him first and to you, the voter, never.

In the next election, VOTE for ANYONE but a Republican to stop King Norquist and get funding levels for schools, hospitals, the elderly, the poor, the disabled, state parks, veterans etc. back into reason.

King Norquist is extremely well paid for his disreputable service to the billionaire bullies. His salary and benefit packages are worth in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. He never has to worry about bills for house payments or health costs. He lives in a bubble of privilege and cares not what happens to those who don't. Remember the King and his Sacramento servants in November.


Read more about "the king" here:

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/05/washington-tax-activist-norqui.html

or here:

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/25/3651880/jerry-brown-grover-norquist-spar.html

or watch Samantha Bee's take on his pledge here:

http://sacramentofordemocracy.org/node/36142


*(Although if Jose has less than two years with a district, there is really not much security at all. He can be laid off for any or no reason at all because he is a probationary teacher with absolutely no rights at all (except seniority). One probationary teacher I know was laid off for refusing to coach a third sports team in his second year on the job. Each coaching position takes HOURS every day after school and there is little extra pay. Very tough for newbie teachers who need the time to prepare lessons for class but if you are probationary and refuse the "voluntary' extra coaching assignment you can find yourself fired--referred to in educational-ese as being non re-elected.)

More on Crazy Gary Cass founder of "Christian" Anti-Defamation Commission

Gary Cass was allowed to publish a fact free editorial in North County Times yesterday. It was full of sound and fury, hate and loathing for public school teachers in VUSD. Statements written as facts had no substantiation at all. Read the diatribe here:
http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/forum-labor-bosses-run-vista-school-district/article_a34db6e3-bafc-54c3-ba8a-fd5c8c9c8b0c.html?mode=story

More on Gary Cass--He was a Grossmont School Board member who was elected according to Concerned Women of America to get rid of pro gay agenda and crooks in 2002. Grossmont is the second most infamous school district in San Diego County, after VUSD, for conspiracy theorist's attacks on public education.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bush2003/message/3681,
"Voters in Grossmont School District Throw Pro-'Gay' Crooks Out of Office"
(The original article was removed from the Concerned Women of America website--hence its posting on yahoo groups).

Cass moved to Vista in 2008 where he vowed to form the "Christian" Anti-Defamation Commission. http://www.christianadc.org/about-us/founders

He is a member of an anti-Gospel, anti-Jesus group whose message of hate and rejection of those less fortunate or different is the very opposite of the Gospel message of love and tolerance taught by Jesus.

These folks are also known as "little god" Christians because their god is so small compared to the God of the Bible. They worship a god only six thousand years old whose rules a universe only six thousand light years across. The actual universe is just over 13 billion light years across. Their 'god's' universe is 2.2 million times smaller than the size of the actual universe we live in--hence their nick name "little god christians."

Gary Cass also believes Barack Obama is so different from 'real' Christians that he could not possibly be one. He intends to 'prove' that in a series of videos leading up to the this coming election in 2012.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/people/gary-cass

Gary Cass is also associated with the Family Research Council and Coral Ridge Ministries. Concerned Women of America have four audios featuring Gary Cass as speaker:

http://search.freefind.com/find.html?si=4208944&pid=r&mode=ALL&query=Gary%20Cass&t=s


BEST COMMENT about Gary Cass forum:
mac4me said on: March 20, 2012, 10:03 pm


Wow. This forum article totally panders to the uninformed, uneducated, and mindless followers who do not question what an author writes or its validity and truth. Cass writes like his statements are facts, yet there is no journalistic backup whatsoever. Reminds me of the Nazi propaganda against the Jews in WWII - all inflammatory/incendiary remarks, without any stated basis in fact as proof. Sentence after sentence is devoted to unfounded, gratuitous, vain attempts to influence folks who can't think for themselves. The only follower he may get is the Scarecrow in Oz. The rest of us have a brain, and see this article for what it is - one person's opinion.

Gary Cass attacks without facts. Paranoid screed published in North County Times

The North County Times continues the attack on Vista Unified school teachers. Today they published an attack on school teachers. This one was written by Gary Cass apparently the Gibson Group has been 'talking among themselves.' Whenever they do they turn their most paranoid fears into gibson group "fact". This process allows them to hate and still feel good about themselves.

Read the Cass crazy rant here:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/forum-labor-bosses-run-vista-school-district/article_a34db6e3-bafc-54c3-ba8a-fd5c8c9c8b0c.html

Below the three most inflammatory false charges highlighted in red:

Cass accuses teachers in VUSD of malfeasance and corrupt practices when he writes:

"Now the labor union bosses, who had been using the kids' reading money for their friends"

Where is his evidence? Why doesn't he take these charges to the district attorney? If his charges were true, then folks should go to jail.

But then we all know why he didn't. Cass is just making stuff up.

Sadly he has been allowed to get it published in the newspaper. Why?


"Union officials have in the past complained to the board that they wanted to give teachers a raise with the money required by law for reading improvement."

This is simply not true. Cass provides no evidence to back up this smear. It does not even pass the smell test. Where is the name of the person who asked for this? When did this happen? At what meeting?

There are minutes taken at EVERY meeting of any importance in the district, including school board meetings. Board meeting minutes are published on line. Yet Cass cannot reference any meeting or any speech or any person? He writes it, so we are to believe it's true? Really?

Without any evidence of any kind the North County Times publishes such an incendiary charge?

Remember when newspapers had standards?

Next paranoid raving:

"Because teachers get more pay when kids are not able to read English. That's right. There's an insidious incentive to hold kids back for the economic benefit of teachers."

Wow, that's pretty inflammatory stuff. Teachers are paid more when students learn less. This could be national news! Gosh darn his evidence must be rock solid to get such a contrary- -to-expectation charge, printed in a newspaper. So where is Cass' evidence?

Oh he doesn't give any? Therefore we must just trust that his OUTRAGEOUS, INSULTING, and INFLAMMATORY charge is correct because after all, he said it?

Really? What happened to standards and fact checking at the North County Times? So now anyone is allowed to get published any paranoid rant without anyone at the North County Times requiring the writer to verify his "facts"?

Apparently so. Another sad day in the slow, painful death of this once fine newspaper.