| Two-year-old Encinitas charter school faces conflict North County Times March 22, 2008 By: BARBARA HENRY Some parents charge management needs to make changes Two years ago, when several Oceanside teachers proposed starting an Encinitas charter school to serve the needs of intellectually gifted students, dozens of parents eagerly came forward. They donated money, hunted for vacant buildings that could be used for classrooms and even assembled desks for what became the Theory into Practice Academy ---- the first publicly funded charter school in the Encinitas Union School District. But that initial joy has recently been overshadowed by conflict among the very people who created the kindergarten through sixth-grade school on Melba Road. Over a period of several months last year, most of the school's volunteer board members resigned. Now, some of them and a few other people who played key roles in the school's establishment are saying publicly that school administrators have lost their focus. "Unfortunately, a great school is only as strong as its administration," said Ginger Relyea, the former leader of the school's parent/teacher organization and its fundraising foundation. Relyea and others say that the school's principal, Deborah Hazelton, should not have demanded that the board hire her husband, Michael, last year as the school's director of operations and development. They don't like the way he's running the school and object to his $95,000 salary. |
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| SAN DIEGO EDUCATION REPORT |
| mauralarkins.com |
| TIP Academy Encinitas SD meeting May 5, 2008 Investigation for conflict of interest NOTICE TO REMEDY |
| Vista USD emergency meeting |
| 54956.5. (a) For purposes of this section, "emergency situation" means both of the following: (1) An emergency, which shall be defined as a work stoppage, crippling activity, or other activity that severely impairs public health, safety, or both, as determined by a majority of the members of the legislative body. (2) A dire emergency, which shall be defined as a crippling disaster, mass destruction, terrorist act, or threatened terrorist activity that poses peril so immediate and significant that requiring a legislative body to provide one-hour notice before holding an emergency meeting under this section may endanger the public health, safety, or both, as determined by a majority of the members of the legislative body. (b) (1) Subject to paragraph (2), in the case of an emergency situation involving matters upon which prompt action is necessary due to the disruption or threatened disruption of public facilities, a legislative body may hold an emergency meeting without complying with either the 24-hour notice requirement or the 24-hour posting requirement of Section 54956 or both of the notice and posting requirements. (2) Each local newspaper of general circulation and radio or television station that has requested notice of special meetings pursuant to Section 54956 shall be notified by the presiding officer of the legislative body, or designee thereof, one hour prior to the emergency meeting, or, in the case of a dire emergency, at or near the time that the presiding officer or designee notifies the members of the legislative body of the emergency meeting. This notice shall be given by telephone and all telephone numbers provided in the most recent request of a newspaper or station for notification of special meetings shall be exhausted. In the event that telephone services are not functioning, the notice requirements of this section shall be deemed waived, and the legislative body, or designee of the legislative body, shall notify those newspapers, radio stations, or television stations of the fact of the holding of the emergency meeting, the purpose of the meeting, and any action taken at the meeting as soon after the meeting as possible. (c) During a meeting held pursuant to this section, the legislative body may meet in closed session pursuant to Section 54957 if agreed to by a two-thirds vote of the members of the legislative body present, or, if less than two-thirds of the members are present, by a unanimous vote of the members present. (d) All special meeting requirements, as prescribed in Section 54956 shall be applicable to a meeting called pursuant to this section, with the exception of the 24-hour notice requirement. (e) The minutes of a meeting called pursuant to this section, a list of persons who the presiding officer of the legislative body, or designee of the legislative body, notified or attempted to notify, a copy of the rollcall vote, and any actions taken at the meeting shall be posted for a minimum of 10 days in a public place as soon after the meeting as possible. |
| GIN011882 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY DASTMALCHI, CANDIS North County Civil 04/04/2001 SN038500 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY DUDAS, RAYMOND North County Civil 08/30/2006 SN038499 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY IZBICKI, LAURA North County Civil 08/30/2006 GIN029917 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY INC SCOTT, PETER F North County Civil 05/16/2003 GIC753597 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY INC ASHLEY, LOIS San Diego Civil 08/25/2000 GIC851569 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY INC ALVAREZ RENEE San Diego Civil 07/29/2005 GIN012541 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY, INC HENDERSHOT, ALBERT HENDERSHOT North County Civil 05/07/2001 |
| School Adequate Yearly Progress Chart 2005 Accountability Progress Report California Department of Education Policy and Evaluation Division Revised December 21, 2006 School: Guajome Park SIATech School Type: High LEA: Vista Unified County: San Diego CDS Code: 37-68452-0106120 Direct-Funded Charter School: Yes (An LEA is a school district or county office of education.) Reports of other schools in this local educational agency (LEA): 6107031 Alamosa Park Elementary 3732039 Alta Vista High (Cont.) 6040588 Beaumont Elementary 6040596 Bobier Elementary 6110399 Breeze Hill Elementary 6040604 California Avenue Elementary 6069124 Casita Ctr. (K-5) for Scienc 6040612 Crestview Elementary 6108708 Empresa Elementary 0105882 Foothill Oak Elementary 6040620 Grapevine Elementary 3730942 Guajome Park Academy Charter 0106120 Guajome Park SIATech 0100933 Hannalei Elementary School 6107585 Lake Elementary 6059802 Lincoln Middle 6112221 Madison Middle 6110407 Mission Meadows Elementary 6040638 Monte Vista Elementary 6040646 Olive Elementary 3730785 Palomar High (Indep. Study) 3730728 Rancho Buena Vista High 6107577 Roosevelt Middle 3730207 Sierra Vista High (Special E 0100925 Temple Heights Elementary Sc 6040653 Vista Academy of Visual and 3731288 Vista Focus Academy 3738705 Vista High 3730868 Vista Home Education (Alt) 6059810 Washington Middle LEA report http://ayp.cde.ca.gov/reports/A PR/2005APR_Sch_AYP_Chart .asp?AllCds=3768452010612 0&SchCode=0106120&DistC ode=68452 |
| PDF] 476-New Study Revise 4File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Guajome Park Academy/SIATec h is a California Public Charter School .. One division of Guajome Park Academy/SIATech provides instruction to Job Corps ... teacher.scholastic.com/pro ducts/research/pdfs/R180 _JobCorps.pdf |
| Charter Schools in San Diego County (CA Dept of Education) Guajome Park Academy, 0050, 2000 N. Santa Fe Ave. .... SIATech, 0627, 217 Escondido Ave., Suite #7 Vista, CA 92084, 11 - 12, Site-based Instruction ... www.cde.ca.gov/ds/si/cs /ap1/countyresults.aspx ?id=37 - 97k - |
| 37-2008-00052832-CU-HR- NC GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY SHERMAN, SANFORD North County Civil 04/03/2008 NCT comments TO Guajome Park [-] wrote on May 24, 2008 1:20 AM:It is a good thing you did some serious research, perhaps you should have read the North County Times articles as well. Guajome Park Academy, Inc. v. Beau DuPerry; David McCulloch District of California Case Number 3:06CV00658 North County Times Articles Changes at Guajome Academy Ripple onto Web Guajome Park Academy Seeks to Expand Lawsuit MLRC's Legal Actions and Developments Involving Blogs GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY VS. SANFORD SHERMAN 37-2008-00052832-CU-HR- NC North County Filed 04/03/2008 |
| Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal brief can be found HERE. |
| Guajome Park Academy (part of VUSD) sues student who exposed teachers who changed grades |
| Charter Schools |
| Guajome Park Academy Guajome Sues Student Guajome Park lawsuits Beverly Kanawi v. Bechtel Shinoff bully booklet Peters v. Guajome Park EAGLES PEAK |
| Sanford v. Guajome Park Academy 37-2008-00052834-CU- HR-NC GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY SHERMAN, SANFORD North County Civil 04/03/2008 37-2008-00052833-CU- HR-NC GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY SHERMAN, SANFORD North County Civil 04/03/2008 |
| Home Why This Website SDCOE CVESD Castle Park Elem Law Enforcement CTA CVE Stutz Artiano Shinoff Silence is Golden Schools and Violence Office Admin Hearings Larkins OAH Hearing |
| Daniel Shinoff is counsel for this school district, as well as for Poway Unified School District, where grades were also changed. |
| Boy must pay $11,000. |
| Peters v. Guajome Park Academy (discrimination case) |
| District lawyer Dan Shinoff protected teachers who changed grades |
| Charter Schools Guajome Park Academy (Vista Unified SD) TIP Academy (Encinitas) SIA tech (everywhere) |
| Attorney Dan Shinoff works for both sides! In the case above, he is representing GPA: Peters v. Guajome Park Academy But he's representing the opposition, SIAtech, in this case: Guajome Park Academy v. SIAtech |
Charter schools, created by parents or
organizers who must submit petitions to
school district boards, have a special status
in the state education code. They receive
public funding, but can opt out of many of the
requirements placed on regular public
schools. They get their special status
because they are considered to be innovative
---- places where new ideas to improve
education can flourish.
The idea for the academy came from a group
of Oceanside Unified School District
teachers led by Deborah Hazelton. In their
Gifted And Talented Education classes, the
teachers were using special curriculum
provided by Sandra Kaplan, a professor with
UC San Diego.
That curriculum, which emphasized seeking
multiple ways to solve problems rather than
the memorization of a single method, was
fabulous, Deborah Hazelton said. The
trouble, she said, was that it was hard to
make it work in a traditional classroom given
the recent federal emphasis on student
results on standardized tests.
Hazelton's husband, who had previously held
an administrative spot at Vista's Guajome
Park Academy charter school, suggested that
they establish their own charter school. He
wrote the academy's charter, which the
Encinitas School District's board of directors
approved in May 2006.
Encinitas was chosen in part because the
district lacked a special program for what are
termed gifted, or particularly bright, students.
It also had some vacant classroom space,
Deborah Hazelton said.
Initially, the new school was housed at St.
March Lutheran Church on El Camino Real,
but midway through its first year of operation,
board members negotiated a deal with the
school district to get part of the Ocean Knoll
Elementary School campus on Melba Road.
It was after that deal was arranged, but
before the school moved to Ocean Knoll in
August, that the conflict between the founding
parents and the administrators intensified,
the two sides said.
A deepening divide
Some of the board members who resigned
during that period said last week that they did
not want to speak publicly about why they
stepped down. David Hall, a San Diego
attorney with two children enrolled in the
school, was one.
"The dilemma is that we know things need to
change in a big way, but we don't want to
close the school," he said, declining to
comment further.
But while some have been reticent to talk to
the media, former board member Mark
Demos has been airing his concerns at
recent public meetings. Demos, who drafted
the compromise deal that gave Michael
Hazelton a job at the school, said last week
that he deeply regrets that decision, as well
as his resignation from the board last year.
"In retrospect, we all say we should have
stayed ---- we should have fought (the hiring
proposal)," he said.
The board only went along with hiring
Michael Hazelton in March 2007 because his
wife told them she wouldn't stay with the
school if her husband wasn't hired, Demos
contends.
That's not quite what happened, said school
employee Cordelia Manis, who has two
children enrolled in the academy.
"What Debbie said is, 'I'm not doing this
alone next year,' " Manis said.
Deborah Hazelton said Wednesday that she
believed the school needs two
administrators because a charter school is
more like a tiny school district than an
individual school.
It conducts its own contract negotiations with
teaching staff, it produces its budget and it
determines what will be taught, she said.
Long before her husband was put on the
payroll, he was helping her out around the
school, she added.
Critics have said that Hazelton's salary is
excessive --- $95,000 for part-time work.
Technically, his contract is for only 180 days
a year while his wife's is for 200 days.
However, he's at the school as much as she
is, Deborah Hazelton said.
"We come together and we leave together,"
she said.
Reviewing the budget
Some parents have charged that the school
shouldn't employ Hazeltons at the academy,
essentially calling it nepotism.
Having two relatives as leaders wouldn't be
allowed at a traditional public school, but it's
not unusual in charter schools, the Hazeltons
said.
That's true, said Gary Larson, spokesman for
the California Charter Schools Association.
"I could rattle off a half a dozen to a dozen"
excellent charter schools run by
husband-wife teams, he said.
One area that both sides in the academy
conflict said could have been handled better
is the school's financial records.
The school operates on a $1.6 million
annual budget.
Demos said that during his time on the
board, he never met the school's bookkeeper
and never saw any employee contracts,
though he served on the board financial
subcommittee.
Michael Hazelton said the school's former
bookkeeper, who worked two half-days a
month, has been replaced.
"We all agreed (the financial information)
was lacking," he said.
He added that he would like to have the
school put 3 percent of its revenue in its
reserve account for emergencies, but at this
point the school is only achieving about half
that amount.
The school's financial issues also concern
officials with the Encinitas Union School
District, which has the power to revoke the
school's charter if it doesn't perform as
expected.
Superintendent McLean King said district
officials have worried about the fiscal viability
of the school since its establishment. At one
point during the last school year, the
academy was "as high as $60,000 in debt,"
he said.
Because of deficit concerns, the school has
been required to provide monthly updates on
its budget and those figures are receiving
extensive scrutiny, he said.
organizers who must submit petitions to
school district boards, have a special status
in the state education code. They receive
public funding, but can opt out of many of the
requirements placed on regular public
schools. They get their special status
because they are considered to be innovative
---- places where new ideas to improve
education can flourish.
The idea for the academy came from a group
of Oceanside Unified School District
teachers led by Deborah Hazelton. In their
Gifted And Talented Education classes, the
teachers were using special curriculum
provided by Sandra Kaplan, a professor with
UC San Diego.
That curriculum, which emphasized seeking
multiple ways to solve problems rather than
the memorization of a single method, was
fabulous, Deborah Hazelton said. The
trouble, she said, was that it was hard to
make it work in a traditional classroom given
the recent federal emphasis on student
results on standardized tests.
Hazelton's husband, who had previously held
an administrative spot at Vista's Guajome
Park Academy charter school, suggested that
they establish their own charter school. He
wrote the academy's charter, which the
Encinitas School District's board of directors
approved in May 2006.
Encinitas was chosen in part because the
district lacked a special program for what are
termed gifted, or particularly bright, students.
It also had some vacant classroom space,
Deborah Hazelton said.
Initially, the new school was housed at St.
March Lutheran Church on El Camino Real,
but midway through its first year of operation,
board members negotiated a deal with the
school district to get part of the Ocean Knoll
Elementary School campus on Melba Road.
It was after that deal was arranged, but
before the school moved to Ocean Knoll in
August, that the conflict between the founding
parents and the administrators intensified,
the two sides said.
A deepening divide
Some of the board members who resigned
during that period said last week that they did
not want to speak publicly about why they
stepped down. David Hall, a San Diego
attorney with two children enrolled in the
school, was one.
"The dilemma is that we know things need to
change in a big way, but we don't want to
close the school," he said, declining to
comment further.
But while some have been reticent to talk to
the media, former board member Mark
Demos has been airing his concerns at
recent public meetings. Demos, who drafted
the compromise deal that gave Michael
Hazelton a job at the school, said last week
that he deeply regrets that decision, as well
as his resignation from the board last year.
"In retrospect, we all say we should have
stayed ---- we should have fought (the hiring
proposal)," he said.
The board only went along with hiring
Michael Hazelton in March 2007 because his
wife told them she wouldn't stay with the
school if her husband wasn't hired, Demos
contends.
That's not quite what happened, said school
employee Cordelia Manis, who has two
children enrolled in the academy.
"What Debbie said is, 'I'm not doing this
alone next year,' " Manis said.
Deborah Hazelton said Wednesday that she
believed the school needs two
administrators because a charter school is
more like a tiny school district than an
individual school.
It conducts its own contract negotiations with
teaching staff, it produces its budget and it
determines what will be taught, she said.
Long before her husband was put on the
payroll, he was helping her out around the
school, she added.
Critics have said that Hazelton's salary is
excessive --- $95,000 for part-time work.
Technically, his contract is for only 180 days
a year while his wife's is for 200 days.
However, he's at the school as much as she
is, Deborah Hazelton said.
"We come together and we leave together,"
she said.
Reviewing the budget
Some parents have charged that the school
shouldn't employ Hazeltons at the academy,
essentially calling it nepotism.
Having two relatives as leaders wouldn't be
allowed at a traditional public school, but it's
not unusual in charter schools, the Hazeltons
said.
That's true, said Gary Larson, spokesman for
the California Charter Schools Association.
"I could rattle off a half a dozen to a dozen"
excellent charter schools run by
husband-wife teams, he said.
One area that both sides in the academy
conflict said could have been handled better
is the school's financial records.
The school operates on a $1.6 million
annual budget.
Demos said that during his time on the
board, he never met the school's bookkeeper
and never saw any employee contracts,
though he served on the board financial
subcommittee.
Michael Hazelton said the school's former
bookkeeper, who worked two half-days a
month, has been replaced.
"We all agreed (the financial information)
was lacking," he said.
He added that he would like to have the
school put 3 percent of its revenue in its
reserve account for emergencies, but at this
point the school is only achieving about half
that amount.
The school's financial issues also concern
officials with the Encinitas Union School
District, which has the power to revoke the
school's charter if it doesn't perform as
expected.
Superintendent McLean King said district
officials have worried about the fiscal viability
of the school since its establishment. At one
point during the last school year, the
academy was "as high as $60,000 in debt,"
he said.
Because of deficit concerns, the school has
been required to provide monthly updates on
its budget and those figures are receiving
extensive scrutiny, he said.
| More Cases |
| Guajome Park Academy |
| GPA founders expand into Encinitas with TIP Academy |
| Guajome Park Academy and SIAtech (New Education for the Workplace) |
Guajome Park Academy Federal Cases 1. GPA sues student 2. Lujan suit against GPA 3. Peters suit against GPA SN038500 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY DUDAS, RAYMOND North County Civil 08/30/2006 SN038499 GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY IZBICKI, LAURA North County Civil 08/30/2006 |
| VUSD Attorneys Dan Shinoff, Jeffrey Morris and Paul Carreli gloat that district doesn't have to pay even though girl was abused |
"I've got enough experience to recognize the
situation," said academy parent Tim Cusac, who
has helped established several local
businesses and once worked as corporate
acquisition specialist. "It's not that uncommon (of
a problem)."
The two-year-old school, commonly known as
the TIP Academy, is one of more than 70 charter
schools in San Diego County and more than 680
in the state, according to records kept by the
California Charter Schools Association.
situation," said academy parent Tim Cusac, who
has helped established several local
businesses and once worked as corporate
acquisition specialist. "It's not that uncommon (of
a problem)."
The two-year-old school, commonly known as
the TIP Academy, is one of more than 70 charter
schools in San Diego County and more than 680
in the state, according to records kept by the
California Charter Schools Association.
| Guajome Park Academy GPA connection with SIA tech |
| Guajome sues student and bloggers Conflict of Interest SIA tech Shirk case Peters v. GPA VUSD v. Dr. B.J. Freeman GPA is finally investigated |
| TIP Academy |
| Guajome Park Academy Lawsuits |
They also oppose the Hazeltons' recent plans to open two schools in the Los Angeles area, saying they shouldn't
be doing that when they haven't yet kept their promise to start a junior high program at the Encinitas academy.
The Hazeltons, other school employees and some parents said in interviews last week that the academy's
leadership was always supposed to be shared by the couple once the school had been established. They also said
that the proposed Los Angeles schools will fit perfectly with the academy's goal of being an incubator of innovative
teaching techniques.
Some parents who support Michael Hazelton also have declared that the recent conflict is simply "growing pains" that
any startup organization faces.
be doing that when they haven't yet kept their promise to start a junior high program at the Encinitas academy.
The Hazeltons, other school employees and some parents said in interviews last week that the academy's
leadership was always supposed to be shared by the couple once the school had been established. They also said
that the proposed Los Angeles schools will fit perfectly with the academy's goal of being an incubator of innovative
teaching techniques.
Some parents who support Michael Hazelton also have declared that the recent conflict is simply "growing pains" that
any startup organization faces.