TJUSD - Educational Disaster Zone

[tronagirl]

From everything I've heard, the last school board meeting was extremely contentious. Two school board members actually had meltdowns after being yelled at by several angry parents. Some of the parents even used rather rude language, but that's understandable given the circumstances. The main complaint has to do with the firing of the principal. The community sees him has effective and capable. He's well-liked and so why get rid of him? The main problem is the do-nothing superintendent who hides and whimpers in his office in hopes of avoiding any work or confrontations. Also the school board itself is a huge problem which is obviously why a couple of them had tantrums at the last school board meeting. The other problem has to do with the recently appointed K-12 coordinator, also known as the teacher who hugs too much. Other staff members see her as incompetent and unintelligent. Why would you put the least qualified person on the staff in a leadership position? What kind of message does that send to students, staff, and the community? It's almost like the school board and the superintendent want the school to fail!

[panamint_patty]

Here's some background from the "TJUSD DRAMA: Rodeo Clowns, Mean Girls, and Mumbles" thread. Both these posts were made back in March.

Lots more information came my way over the weekend. I had already heard some of it, but there's more. Apparently the daughter of one of the board members who is a teacher over at Burroughs has been bragging for the last few weeks that she's going to be the principal here in Trona next year. She was bragging before the principal here even had any clue that he was being fired according to the information I have. That would mean that her mother who is on the board was sharing sensitive information with her which according to what I was told is a violation of something called the Brown Act. The newly appointed K-12 coordinator (aka, teacher who hugs too much) was part of the dealings behind the scenes to can the principal. It's not clear if the board didn't like the job he was doing or if they just wanted to create an opening for the board member's daughter. Something stinks to high hell in any case and the nepotism is astonishingly brazen. How people in positions of public trust can be so obviously corrupt is mind-blowing. Don't they know there are laws against what they're doing? Don't they think that at least some people in Trona are smart enough to see what's going on? And what do you think that will do to teacher morale? Firing a competent person and bringing in a low functioning idiot to take his place, that's beyond stupid!

Certain school board members seem to be misusing their positions of public trust in order to do favors for friends and families.

tronagirl: Well, they already have a low functioning idiot as superintendent and they recently hired a low functioning idiot to be the k-12 coordinator and so it only makes sense to complete the set with a low functioning idiot as principal. That way they can mass produce hordes of low functioning idiots at the school. An organization is only as good as its leadership and the school has reached an all-time low at this point and they are trying to figure out ways of making things even worse!

There are lots of good people in Trona, it's just that the good people are busy and so the jerks with axes to grind wind up on the school board. It's definitely a "disaster zone" and someone needs to sort things out. Get rid of the lazy-good-for-nothing superintendent, the worthless board members and maybe a few of their sycophants and there's still hope! (Notice that I used the term sycophants and not the more appropriate, but rude alternative.)

[twister]

There are various theories regarding plans for a new principal. Although the daughter of the board member has bragged about it being her, there are some people who think it may be a couple other individuals who are currently employed by Sierra Sands and who graduated from Trona High School. It sounds like the school board is dead set on hiring a Trona graduate and the strange thing is that none of these individuals seems adequately prepared to serve in a high level leadership position. The current principal, on the other hand, has proven himself to be fully capable of serving in that capacity and he is respected by the staff. Anyone replacing him will have a difficult time earning the respect and confidence of the staff, students, and community.

[torn80]

Apparently the daughter of one of the board members who is a teacher over at Burroughs has been bragging for the last few weeks that she's going to be the principal here in Trona next year. She was bragging before the principal here even had any clue that he was being fired according to the information I have. That would mean that her mother who is on the board was sharing sensitive information with her which according to what I was told is a violation of something called the Brown Act.

This was going on way back in March! It's astounding that anything like this could happen. Basically, this means that other people outside the school board and the superintendent knew the principal was being fired before the principal was told. Someone in the inner circle is incredibly irresponsible and cannot be trusted. Some sort of legal action should be taken against the people who leaked this information.

[MojaveMike]

It's definitely a "disaster zone" and someone needs to sort things out. Get rid of the lazy-good-for-nothing superintendent, the worthless board members and maybe a few of their sycophants and there's still hope! (Notice that I used the term sycophants and not the more appropriate, but rude alternative.)

I admire your restraint! The only cure for bad leadership is to get rid of the bad leader. The superintendent and the school board are obviously the problem here and it is clear that they are attempting to scapegoat the principal. Everyone I've talked to has indicated that the principal is actually quite capable and is good leader who cares about students and staff and is responsive to parents. I've also heard that the majority of teachers are quite capable of doing a good job. The problem is the superintendent, the school board, and the cabal of sycophants and opportunists who have ingratiated themselves to the superintendent and school board. In another thread these individuals were characterized as the rodeo clowns and the mean girls and the superintendent was given the nickname Mumbles as well as a few others. There is also strong indication that there is an overall pattern of dysfunctional behavior which has developed since the current superintendent took over.

[CrustyOldFart]

In regards to the war in Ukraine, I stated that the Biden administration is worthless. It would seem that the people leading TJUSD are doing everything they can to emulate the incompetence and idiocy of the Biden administration. And if that's their intention, then they are succeeding!

[blackturtle.us]

This was sent to me by a member of the TJUSD staff. I don't know for sure who wrote it, but it was probably a teacher. Arellano and members of the school board are considered to be quite vindictive and so it is understandable that anonymity is the best policy.

Dear Board Members,

I'm sure you have heard some of the backlash regarding your announcement at March 11th's board meeting. If you haven't, just to fill you in, there are a lot of extremely upset and hurt staff members, parents, students as well as community members. Having conversations with many of these people, our question to you is, “Why?" Why would you take away the one and only person who has not only been our constant, but has been our one and only true leader in this district over the past few years. He has always done his best to make this district a better place. Why would you want to put a stop to the progress our school has been making to be stronger, not only for the community, but for our students? Just when we felt we were starting to recover from all the chaos that has hit our district, and were making progress with the ability to plan ahead instead of fixing things from the past, you go and do this. Why?

As we all know, both the high school and the elementary staff were greatly impacted when the elementary principal retired and the Board decided to not rehire for the position, but to combine the position to a K-12 principal. Having to share Mr. Wolfe between the sites was a huge adjustment for him and for the staff, but with patience and understanding from the staff, we adjusted and made it work. Mr. Wolfe stepped up for the elementary staff when the previous Superintendent wasn't giving them the support they needed. One would see Mr. Wolfe constantly driving back and forth from the high school to the elementary school so he could support both sites as needed. When his title was “upgraded" from a high school principal to a K-12 principal, he was seen being pulled in multiple directions every day, but because of his love and determination for the students and school district, once again he made it work. Was it the perfect situation? No. Looking back could we, as a district, have done better? Probably, because there is always room for improvement.

TJUSD has been hit with so many changes and challenges the past few years. Mr. Wolfe has stepped up and filled in while we were lacking leadership from our past Superintendent, while we had an interim Superintendent and while we were searching for a new Superintendent, all the while still being a principal. He has been there for us during the chaos from the earthquakes, and then with covid. He continues to work with his colleagues to help plan and make the best decisions possible for our students and staff. In the midst of all the changes in management, earthquake and covid we as a staff were struggling. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it Dr. Arellano's idea to bring in an outside consultant as a way to find out what our struggles are within the district and what we can do to pull together as a district and make things better? The staff was shocked when Dr. Arellano didn't show up to the In-Service Day, when we all met with Anne. There was no communication from him giving us a reason for his absence. The reaction from the staff was unanimous. Why was Dr. Arellano not there? Wasn't this his idea to begin with to help us move forward as a district? I also believe that the results from the consultant concluded that Mr. Wolfe was someone that everyone looks up to and is our leader. Didn't the conclusion also include that some of the issues stem from other areas such as the lack of communication from the Superintendent and the Board? Why didn't the Board participate in the training? Why is it that our own Superintendent doesn't get to know or communicate with the employees? There is currently an absence in trust and leadership from not only the Superintendent, but the Board as well.

There is a strong disconnect between the staff and Board members. Why is it that the Board can't or won't talk to staff about anything? If the Board is supposed to be representing the school, where is the communication? Isn't there times where getting input from staff would be beneficial in making decisions or at least get an understanding of how things run? Where is the transparency that we are supposed to have? There is a strong feeling amongst the staff that the Board is also overstepping their boundaries. The Board is supposed to work as a team with the Superintendent and staff to make this district the best it can be for our students. Instead, the Board is creating so much tension and now taking away one of the best people in our district. To be honest, it appears as if this move from the Board was deliberate as a means of retaliation towards Mr. Wolfe. Not to be making accusations, but instead of only getting your information from one person, the Superintendent or from another Board member, keep in mind that there are two sides to every story. So, in the event that someone is accusing Mr. Wolfe for things that he may or may not have done, it would be nice if someone actually TALKED to him. If you are going to hold someone accountable for something, communication between the parties involved needs to communicate, instead of taking the word of one person.

I see that there are three Board positions opening up for next year. Maybe before you decide to possibly run for office again, you should take a step back and self reflect. What good have you actually done for the district, for the staff and for the students? What have you done to make a positive impact? From our observation, all the Board seems to be doing is creating unnecessary drama. Parents now come to you first before using the chain of command. You, as a Board, have encouraged parents to come to you first and you take their word over ours. You have taught the parents to disrespect what the staff has to say or do when we are trying to uphold the rules of the school and your expectations. Then, when we follow through with these expectations, Mr. Wolfe is the one being penalized for it. You constantly want to hold Mr. Wolfe accountable. He comes to you, with his corrections, changes, and attempts time and time again to be part of a team. What you have now is not a team. A team works together and trusts one another. Each time you have held Mr. Wolfe accountable, he has done just as you have asked, to make this school district a place the community could be proud of. You constantly remind staff you want accountability for the district. Where is the accountability for the Board and Superintendent? Board policies have not been updated in how many years? How many years have some of you been on the Board? If we are going to be holding staff accountable, you as a board needs to be held accountable too. Keep in mind, respect is not given to people, it is earned. You as a Board and our Superintendent, have not earned anyone's respect when you constantly turn your back against us. We understand improvement is needed, but it feels like no matter how hard we work to improve our school for our students it is never enough for you.

I hope the people involved in wanting the removal of Mr. Wolfe, as the K-12 Principal, realize that they are making the biggest mistake ever. Is Mr. Wolfe perfect? No, but let's be honest, who is? We all make mistakes. Over the years, Mr. Wolfe has built relationships within the district and community. The majority of parents, students and staff, love and respect Mr. Wolfe, We all can see he is exhausted, but who wouldn't be? But given the situation and all the work thrown in his direction, he has done an unbelievable job making this school run and improve. No matter what was going on, his door was always open for anyone. No matter how crazy our ideas are he hears them and finds a solution or way to help our students. I know a lot of staff members appreciate him for that. He has been someone we can count on and have continued to count on. I know that students value him for he gives each and every student a voice. He sees a need and tries to fulfill the need through check-ins with the parents. Driving to the house to get a student to come to school. How many home visits have you done? How many homes have you gone to in an attempt to get the student to school? The parents too have come to rely on him and are appreciative for him.

Do you really think that getting rid of Mr. Wolfe, the way you are doing so now and by bringing someone else in is going to make things better? Open your eyes. There is so much tension within the district that no matter who you bring in, the trust, respect and that bond will be gone and it will take a long time for this district to recover.

Please make things right and take back what you have done. You are hurting the staff and the students by removing Mr. Wolfe from the Principal position.

A copy of this letter is being sent to each Board member, the Superintendent, Sarah Wright, Joseph Wolfe and the staff.

[dilbert]

In regards to the war in Ukraine, I stated that the Biden administration is worthless. It would seem that the people leading TJUSD are doing everything they can to emulate the incompetence and idiocy of the Biden administration. And if that's their intention, then they are succeeding!

Not just succeeding. EXCEEDING!

[wildrose]

I hope the people involved in wanting the removal of Mr. Wolfe, as the K-12 Principal, realize that they are making the biggest mistake ever. Over the years, Mr. Wolfe has built relationships within the district and community. The majority of parents, students and staff, love and respect Mr. Wolfe, We all can see he is exhausted, but who wouldn't be? But given the situation and all the work thrown in his direction, he has done an unbelievable job making this school run and improve. No matter what was going on, his door was always open for anyone.

Everyone I've talked to insists that the principal has basically run things with very little support.

The main problem is the do-nothing superintendent who hides and whimpers in his office in hopes of avoiding any work or confrontations.

The superintendent lacks interpersonal skills. He has no leadership skills. He is comfortable interacting with only a very limited number of people and he treats them better than the rest of the staff. He is perceived by most of the staff as a weak leader who is not prepared to handle the job of superintendent in even a district as small as Trona.

[CrustyOldFart]

What's wrong with the people running the school? They must be crazy or something. It sounds like they are doing everything completely wrong. I read through this thread and I skimmed through some of the others and it's just disaster after disaster! Shameful!