A district under siege: Discord continues in Luther Burbank - San Jose Mercury News:
"In the tiny Luther Burbank School District, the office copy/fax machine is on the fritz, the phones go to voicemail for lack of a district secretary and teachers picket after school to protest stalled contract talks.
And yet, while some things in the central San Jose school district may be falling apart, eager students are tackling synonyms and long division, and the staff is celebrating test scores that indicate solid academic progress.
Three months after a scathing grand jury report questioned its very existence, and seven months after a audit critical of its financial practices, the one-campus district has shakily stayed its course, while the larger political and educational community has responded with a shrug of the shoulders.
'It just seems like the board and district are running amok and no one seems to care,' said Don Kawashima, foreman of the grand jury that in June suggested board President Antonio Perez step down, and the 566-student district merge with a neighbor. After alleging the board engaged in conflicts of interest, secrecy, intimidation, questionable spending and election malfeasance, the grand jury concluded that the district could not fix itself."
"In the tiny Luther Burbank School District, the office copy/fax machine is on the fritz, the phones go to voicemail for lack of a district secretary and teachers picket after school to protest stalled contract talks.
And yet, while some things in the central San Jose school district may be falling apart, eager students are tackling synonyms and long division, and the staff is celebrating test scores that indicate solid academic progress.
Three months after a scathing grand jury report questioned its very existence, and seven months after a audit critical of its financial practices, the one-campus district has shakily stayed its course, while the larger political and educational community has responded with a shrug of the shoulders.
'It just seems like the board and district are running amok and no one seems to care,' said Don Kawashima, foreman of the grand jury that in June suggested board President Antonio Perez step down, and the 566-student district merge with a neighbor. After alleging the board engaged in conflicts of interest, secrecy, intimidation, questionable spending and election malfeasance, the grand jury concluded that the district could not fix itself."