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The California State University, Stanislaus Foundation has selected Sarah Palin as the keynote speaker for the campus' 50th anniversary. Those of us who champion higher education are left to puzzle over how that decision could have gone so wrong.
I applaud Vietnam War veteran and former CSUS Alumnus of the Year, Michael Leaveck, for returning his alumni award in protest. A real hero like Leaveck would be a much better choice to speak at the event.
The problem with choosing Sarah Palin goes beyond finances, transparency, and the way that the foundation choose Palin absent any real involvement from the students, faculty and alumni whose aspirations are being represented by that choice.
Of course, the above transgressions do matter. The foundation should not spend so lavishly when all else is suffering from budget cuts; and the lack of transparency about the finances is suspect. Further, the lack of participation by the campus community makes clear that the foundation is forcing its will on the rest of the campus.
The main problem with the choice of Palin, the reason why the foundation's choice should be reversed, is because Palin represents the opposite values of the university as stated in both
But when it comes to appointing a state trustee, one sentiment was echoed by several people: They wanted someone willing to work with everyone in the district, from principals to parents, and someone who understands the town's diversity.
"Our trustee should be open, not set on this one way, and able to understand the community," said Carol Morris, who has grandchildren in the district. School standards are written in English, she said, but when the documents are sent home in English or Spanish, and nobody at home understands either language, "we have to help them."
The State Board of Education voted last month to appoint a trustee for Greenfield — and for Alisal Union School District — to help boost test scores. As part of finding a trustee, state board president Ted Mitchell and other state education administrators held a meeting Thursday to hear community concerns.
Greenfield's population is 88 percent Latino, and is home to a large population of Triqui and Mixteco, indigenous groups from southern Mexico whose primary languages are not Spanish.
It is not known how many indigenous Mexicans live in town, but officials estimate they account for about 3,000 of more than 17,000 residents.
The number of
indigenous children who attend Greenfield schools is not readily available, said Superintendent Elida Garza.
SCHEV coordinates higher education in Virginia, providing policy guidance and budget recommendations to the governor and General Assembly.
LaVista, 66, played a key role in revamping Virginia's system of public colleges and universities after passage of the 2005 Higher Education Restructuring Act, which gave schools increased autonomy as they met specific performance goals.
He came to Virginia from Illinois, where he served in a similar role overseeing that state's higher education system.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Daryl F. Gates, the blunt former Los Angeles police chief who waged war on violent gangs and skirmished with city leaders until his handling of the Rodney King police beating and ensuing riots forced him to retire, died yesterday of cancer. He was 83.
Gates died at his Newport Beach home with his family at his side, according to a police statement. His brother said recently that the former chief had bladder cancer that had spread.
One of the most polarizing figures in modern law enforcement, Gates served as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department for 14 years beginning in 1978, an era of tumultuous change as the nation’s second-largest city faced a surge in well-armed gangs, a burgeoning illegal drug trade and growing racial conflict.
He initially ran a police force that was enjoying a reputation as the embodiment of the professional, just-the-facts “Dragnet” mythology. Yet he left office with city blocks in ashes amid accusations he allowed a pattern of abuse of minorities to flourish among the rank-and-file.
“He was a man of deep convictions,” said former police chief William Bratton, who left the department last year. “He was very happy to stand up for them, whether you liked them or not. And he enjoyed being in the middle of the bull’s-eye. He thrived on it.”
Gates’ critics and admirers remain as far apart as ever.
“I don’t remember much that was good about him,” said Ramona Ripston, the longtime executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. “I think in many ways he gave policing a bad name. He certainly didn’t believe in civil liberties.”
Others saw a cop’s cop who sought to protect his department from political interference and corruption, even though his “shoot-from-the-lip” style repeatedly stirred anger and kept him at odds with the city’s first black mayor, former police lieutenant Tom Bradley.
Gates was credited with developing the policing plan, including a terrorism task force, that brought off the
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Unified School District has found possible conflict of interest violations in the hiring of some 300 construction contractors over the past eight years and has transferred two employees in charge of hiring.
Schools Superintendent Ramon Cortines said he has ordered further investigation of the possible violations and will turn over any evidence of conflict of interest to the district's general counsel and the city comptroller, who is performing an independent audit of the Facilities Services Division. He said they'll turn over information to the district attorney's office if warranted.
The review of some 2,000 contract hirings came after the district's regional director of new construction, Bassam Raslan, was indicted earlier this month on nine counts of conflict of interest
Is Lodi Unified School District's central office staffing excessive?
A News-Sentinel review tends to indicate the staffing level may be slightly higher than others in the area. But it also shows there is no easy formula for comparing central administrative staffing from district to district.
That's in part because of widely varying job titles and budgeting practices that can blur the lines among administrative, support and teaching jobs. Further complicating the task of discerning administrative costs are the layers of local, state and federal funding that swirl throughout the budget of a large district such as Lodi.
The issue has come front and center as Lodi Unified faces a $30 million budget deficit. Critics have called for the district to cut the number of employees at the James Areida Education Support Center office on East Vine Street. In a recent interview, Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer said she would, in fact, like to see further cuts from the main office. However, she said the school board majority has a different view, and she serves at their pleasure.
Currently, there is about one district office position for every 122 students. The ratio was calculated using
