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Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Last minute additions to OUSD Agenda
ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent
insight into OUSD
a news service of
Orange
Net News
/O/N/N/
Last minute additions to OUSD Agenda
OUSD adds Interim Superintendent consideration and
dumping executive search consultant
In
a late agenda "Addendum" added
to the public posting of the OUSD Board of Education's regular agenda for the
August 17, 2017 meeting this Thursday,
the OUSD Trustees will consider the appointment of an Interim
Superintendent and dumping the controversial executive search firm of McPearson & Jacobson.
After
posting the original August 17th Meeting
Agenda early Monday August 14th (with nothing related to the search for a
superintendent) late that same day an agenda Addendum was added that included
items related to the ongoing superintendent search.
The
agenda Addendum changes the time of the Closed Session from 6:30 pm to 5:30 pm
and adds two items. First it adds Closed Session Agenda Item 4. C- "Consideration of Appointment of
Interim Superintendent". Under
Action Items, it adds Item 12 G- Consultant Agreement that states:
"The Board will consider to abandon
the work under the Consultant agreement for Superintendent Search Services at
its sole discretion".
This
newest twist to the current OUSD Superintendent search comes after last week's
Special Board Meeting was to appoint an Interim Superintendent and outline
steps to McPearson & Jacobson on
finding a new superintendent. The August
10th Special Meeting was called to order by the Board Clerk Trustee Kathy
Moffat with Board President Rick Ledsma, Board Vice President John Ortega and
Timothy Surridge all absent after they had attended the earlier Closed Session.
Item 10 A on the Special Meeting Agenda was to be a discussion with, and direction given to, Dr. Jacobson (the owner of the consultant firm McPearson & Jacobson) chosen to help find the new OUSD Superintendent. Trustee Moffat however
started the agenda item by stating that discussions had taken place about the
Interim Superintendent appointment (Closed Session Agenda Item 4 B) and that
she was now putting into the meeting record that she requests that the renewed
contract that the OUSD Board had negotiated with Superintendent Michael
Christensen in February be placed on the Regular Session meeting on August
17th.
With
the Addendum agenda item going back to appointing an interim superintendent and
based on the surprising Special Meeting of August 10th, many Greater Orange
stakeholders on social media are hoping that the August 17th meeting could
bring Michael Christensen back as that "Interim Superintendent" to
provide stability while the Board
Leadership regroups to move forward on
recruiting a replacement. The
OUSD Board might also consider under the agenda one of the four names given to
them by McPearson & Jacobson at the July 27th OUSD Board Meeting, although
it is unclear whether any of those candidates have been interviewed.
The
rapid developments over the search for
an OUSD Superintendent since the official departure of Superintendent
Christensen on August 2, 2017 (after he gave a two month notice of his
retirement) has plunged the OUSD District Office into disarray with three major
administrative positions empty.
An
Acting Superintendent was named in a departing email from Christensen as the
Board Leadership has now twice blundered in moving to fill the Superintendent post. First in a compressed internal search and now
with a controversial consultant firm that the Trustees appear ready to fire
(click on ONN on McPearson & Jacobson).
Adding
to OUSD's current administrative disarray are two currently open Measure S building
critical positions -Assistant Superintendent for Business Services and
Executive Director for Secondary Education, plus a recently hired Assistant
Superintendent for Facilities and Planning Ronald Lebs. (A new Executive
Director of Secondary Education is due to be appointed Thursday).
Fifteen
months ago in April of 2016 the area petitioned to leave Orange Unified. In May
of 2016 the petition was turned down by the
Orange County Committee on School Organization (OCCSO) after holding two
Public Hearings.
The
original petition did not include the neighborhood section called "Lower
Panorama Heights" and affected about 54 students costing OUSD just over $400,000 in state average daily attendance
funding (ADA). The new July petition includes Lower Panorama Heights
and now includes over 90 ADA Panorama Heights
There
are nine Education Code criteria that must be met for the transfer to take
place. Last year OUSD argued that the
proposed transfer failed five of the nine mandated criteria:
- Criteria 2 -substantial community identity
- Criteria 3 -equitable division of property and facilities
- Criteria 6 -distribution of educational programs
- Criteria 8-that the petition was designed to primarily increase property values
- Criteria 9- a negative financial impact
Criteria
8 does not allow the petition to be made primarily to increase property
values. In the 2016 petition, one of the three petitioners was a realtor who does business in the area-Jennifer
Lampman. In the original hearings the
fact that Lampman was a realtor was not brought forward and the OCCSO
determined that property values were not a factor. In the initial paperwork
included in the 40 pages of paper work in the August 17th Agenda that is
associated with the transfer, Criteria 8 is again listed (Agenda page 13) with
OUSD contending "This is a
motivating factor in the proposed transfer".
After 16 years, Orange Unified looks at bringing back the controversial Public
Information Officer position
Item
13 B (page 94) is an informational item looking at the possibility of bringing
back a Public Information Officer position in Orange Unified. Since discontinuing the position in 2001, the
OUSD Superintendent has served as the spokesperson for the district.
The
last Orange Unified Public Information
Officer was Judy Frutig who was hired by the then Reactionary Board controlled
by Education Alliance Trustee Marty
Jacobson's anti-public education majority (that Board was eventually recalled
in the 2001 Orange
Recall Election).
Frutig's position became the
mouthpiece for the reactionary policies for a board majority out-of-control
with policies growing more and more unpopular. The information disseminated
by Frutig was directly dictated by Board President Marty Jacobson. Frutig
quickly became a lightning rod for uniting the Greater Orange Community against
the Jacobson Majority and the beginning of uniting local social media
communication under the Orange Citizens News Network-predecessor to Orange
Net News.
 |
| Anthony Colin at a Board meeting (OC Weekly) |
As the Recall pressure on the
Board intensified, Frutig was unable to meet the overwhelming challenge of the
growing community communication network and the state and national news
scrutiny brought on by outrageous Board actions and by the landmark gay student rights case Colin
vs Orange Unified. The under fire Board majority, now facing a recall election, abruptly fired Frutig.
For more information click on the landmark case click on Colin v OUSD
For information about El Modena student Anthony Colin's suicide click on
Anthony Colin Made El Modena High School a Safer Place
Anthony Colin Made El Modena High School a Safer Place
Frutig, now the ex-OUSD PIO, sued Orange Unified for wrongful termination and joined the Orange Recall leadership. Frutig used her expertise to help the fledgling Orange Citizens News Network to upgrade into a modern 21st Century watchdog alert organization- controlled by the tight-knit invitation only local leaders known as the Roundtable Committee of the Greater Orange Community Group (now the Greater Orange Community Organization and its semi-autonomous arm, the Orange Communication System).
After
the successful 2001 Recall, Frutig settled her lawsuit with the new OUSD attorneys and was instrumental
in helping the former OUSD Superintendent Dr. Robert French (forced out by the
Jacobson Majority) returning to OUSD as the Superintendent replacing his
replacement-Barbara Van Otterloo . Frutig then went on to host a local radio
show and eventually teaching journalism at CSULB.
Now
sixteen years later, OUSD is again looking at a hiring a Public Information Officer. Like in 2001, the question is-Who will control the
information that the position disseminates in the present-and in the future?
Inside the August 17 Board Meeting
Action Item 12 E.-One-year
contract extensions for three top OUSD Administrators- the Deputy Superintendent
and the Assistant Superintendents of Human Resources and Facilities and Planning.
Information Item 13 B. - Measure S
Update
NEXT OUSD BOARD MEETING Thursday August
17, 2017
CLOSED SESSION NOTE Time change 5:30 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00
pm
ARCHIVAL Information and direct news can be found
at:
the Greater Orange News Service
http://greaterorange.blogspot.com/
ORANGE
Unified Schools INSIDE
and the
Greater Orange News Service
are independent news services of /O/N/N/
Orange
Net News
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Will Christensen be asked back to OUSD?
SPECIAL REPORT
OUSD Superintendent drama
continues...
 |
| OUSD Superintendent Michael Christensen |
Some Trustees call for
Christensen to return as Superintendent
The
Thursday August 10, 2017 OUSD Board of Education Special Meeting may go down in OUSD annals as one of the shortest Board of Trustee
meetings in district history and one of the most surprising.
The
Regular Session of the Special Meeting was called to order by the Board Clerk,
Trustee Kathy Moffat because Board President Rick Ledsma and Board Vice
President John Ortega were absent from the Regular Session. Also absent from
the Regular Session was Trustee Timothy Surridge. The three absences left a quorum of the
remaining four trustees- Moffat plus Trustees Dr. Alexia Deligianni-Brydges, Brenda Lebsack and Andrea Yamasaki.
Moffat had the Closed Session decisions ( as required by the Brown Act) reported by Ed Kissee, OUSD Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources ( the highest ranking administrator present at the meeting). Kissee reported that under Closed Session Item 4 A that the OUSD Board had voted 7-0 ( all trustees present and voting) to hire a new elementary principal and new high school assistant principal.
When
the Action Agenda Item 10 A was next presented- the meeting quickly became
unexpected.
Agenda
Item 10 A was to be a discussion with and direction given to Dr. Jacobson, the owner of
the consultant firm McPearson & Jacobson- chosen to help find the new OUSD Superintendent.
Trustee Moffat however started the agenda item by stating that discussions had taken place about the Interim Superintendent appointment (Agenda Item 4 B) and that she was now putting into the meeting record that she requests that the renewed contract that the OUSD Board had negotiated with Superintendent Michael Christensen in February be placed on the Regular Session meeting on August 17th.
Trustee Moffat however started the agenda item by stating that discussions had taken place about the Interim Superintendent appointment (Agenda Item 4 B) and that she was now putting into the meeting record that she requests that the renewed contract that the OUSD Board had negotiated with Superintendent Michael Christensen in February be placed on the Regular Session meeting on August 17th.
Trustee
Lebsack
stated that she agreed with the idea of bringing Christensen back as the
Superintendent.
The
meeting was then adjourned.
The
timeline of the OUSD Superintendent drama has become more clear since the
November 2016 election that brought OUSD the passing of its first Bond Measure-
Measure S.
On
January 19, 2017, the OUSD Trustees gave
the Superintendent an evaluation during the Closed Session.
During
the February 15th, 2017 meeting, the OUSD Board during Closed Session met with
OUSD Attorney Spencer Covert concerning the offer to Superintendent Christensen
for a new contract. The agenda item included the phrase "no final action will be taken in closed session". Sources in the district report that during
this meeting a contract for Christensen was agreed upon.
That
contract did not appear for approval on the March Agenda.
The
April 13, 2017 Agenda again had a Closed Session item concerning Christensen's
contract. Fifteen days later, on Friday March 28th, Christensen announced his
retirement.
The
February agreed to Christensen contract terms were not placed on the OUSD
Agenda for over two months-apparently eventually leading Christensen into
retirement.
The
first OUSD Board Meeting after Christensen's announcement May 17, 2017 had a closed session agenda item
for consideration of an Interim Superintendent. Now, three months later and OUSD still has no Interim
Superintendent and the process for replacing Christensen appears to be mired
in chaos. In addition, after Christensen's announced
retirement, OUSD Assistant Superintendent of Business Services "Joe"
Sorrera left OUSD.
After
a failed compressed attempt to find a candidate from inside OUSD, in June the
OUSD Board started the process to hire an consultant firm to recruit a superintendent.
The consultant firm that was decided on
was the controversial McPherson &
Jacobson. The problems with
McPherson & Jacobson became clear during the July 27th OUSD Board meeting featuring a teleconferencing call from Dr.
Thomas Jacobson the owner of McPherson & Jacobson as conflicting
information was given by Dr. Jacobson.
Now
without three top administrators, school starting and Measure S High School Bond work pending, three
Trustees skip a Special Meeting on replacing the Superintendent and Trustee
Kathy Moffat is left trying to get the OUSD Board to place a contract for Superintendent
Christensen-approved seven months ago-on the agenda next week to approve.
The question now remains, will tonight's missing OUSD trustees try to block the move to return OUSD's "Superintendent of Excellence" and keep OUSD in chaos?
Tuesday, August 08, 2017
OUSD moves to find Interim Superintendent
ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent
insight into OUSD
a news service of
Orange
Net News
/O/N/N/
OUSD Special Meeting Thursday
OUSD moves to find Interim Superintendent
After
making his retirement announcement public three months ago in May 2017, OUSD Superintendent
Mike Christensen sent a final goodbye email to the OUSD family at the end of his last day, Wednesday August 2, 2017. The three paragraph email was a thank you to
the employees of OUSD and simply signed "Mike".
In
the email Christensen stated his great confidence in OUSD's top administrators in the Superintendent's
Cabinet and announced that Deputy Superintendent Dr. Hansen would be the Acting Superintendent as the OUSD Board conducts
a search for an Interim Superintendent.
The
search for that Interim Superintendent is on the OUSD Board of Education Special
Meeting Agenda for this Thursday August 10, 2017. Closed Session Item 4A is for "Consideration of Appointment of
Interim Superintendent".
At
the Thursday July 27th the OUSD Board of
Education received names from McPherson
& Jacobson, the school executive recruitment firm chosen to led
the search for a new OUSD Superintendent. According to on-line documents, McPherson & Jacobson does not
"recruit" for Interim Superintendents. The firm uses an internal list
of candidates who will provide interim superintendent services. The
four names provided to the OUSD Board by McPherson
& Jacobson are all retired former top school administrators and
do not appear to be up for consideration for the permanent OUSD Superintendent position:
Dr. Carmella Franco- The 67 year old is currently employed as a headhunter for the school executive search firm Hazard,Young, Attea & Associates. She has served as Superintendent of Whittier City School District for 12 years and as Interim Superintendent for both
Dr. Suzette D. Lovely- At 59 years old she is the youngest of the four and is currently a consultant to numerous entities including one of OUSD's legal firms- Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Rudd, Romo. Her numerous administration positions include serving as the Superintendent of Carlsbad Unified School District for four years and acting Superintendent of Capistrano Unified School District.
Dr. Roberta Mahler- The 73 year old Villa Park resident is currently a part-time employee of the Orange County Department of Education. She served for 13 months as an Interim Superintendent for Capistrano Unified and 12 months as Interim Superintendent of
Dr. Mary Willis - The 66 year old is currently listed as operating two consultant firms LBHI Consulting and Management Services and MWillis Inc., Educational Consultant Services. According to her Linked-In page, she started her consultant business while employed as Assistant Superintendent of Montebello Unified in 2010. She also serviced as Interim Superintendent for
The July 27th OUSD Agenda stated that an OUSD Special Board Meeting will be held at a later date for the OUSD Board to interview "potential candidates". The August 10th Closed Session begins at 5:30 pm with the Open Session beginning at 7:00pm.
Item
10 A states Dr. Thomas Jacobson of McPherson & Jacobson will be at the OUSD Board to receive input from
the OUSD Board on the process for the OUSD Superintendent search.
NEXT OUSD BOARD MEETING Thursday August 10, 2017
CLOSED SESSION NOTE Time change 5:30 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00
pm
For more information call the OUSD
Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at
714-628-4015
ARCHIVAL Information and direct news can be found
at:
the Greater Orange News Service
http://greaterorange.blogspot.com/
ORANGE
Unified Schools INSIDE
and the
Greater Orange News Service
are independent news services of /O/N/N/
