| North County Times September 26, 2006 FUHS board meeting draws heated comments By: TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer FALLBROOK ---- During a brief regular meeting Monday night, the Fallbrook Union High School District Board of Education heard 20 minutes of heated public comments on everything from teacher morale to the upcoming Nov. 7 general election... Fallbrook High School Teacher's Association President Tim Oder accused Anthony of running the campaigns of Fran White and Jim Hutcherson, who are both seeking re-election for the board in November. "We have a tremendous problem in the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District ---- it is people who have abused their power and abused taxpayers' money," said Oder. Last week, Anthony denied any involvement in the school board campaign after being accused of meddling. During the summer, he raised questions about the three school board candidates supported by the teachers association ---- Bill O'Connor, Mike Schulte and Marc Steffler. Early in the election season, he suggested that because all three have spouses employed by the district, they may have conflicts of interest that would prevent them from serving on the board. The allegations were quickly refuted by the teachers association, which pointed out that current board member Ed Puett's wife works for the district. ...O'Connor also questioned Anthony's statement last week that he was authorized by the board to look into the allegations, refuting claims that he inappropriately did so on his own. "Did the board authorize the superintendent to look into this matter? Was this done in closed session? A private meeting? Or is it something the superintendent has decided to do on his own?" asked O'Connor. "Did the two board members that are running for re-election vote on this issue? When did this vote take place?" After the meeting, Hutcherson said that it wasn't necessarily during a meeting that the board asked Anthony to find out what constitutes a conflict of interest for a school board member with a spouse employed by the district: "It doesn't require a meeting to direct him to get in contact with the district's attorney." ...After the meeting, Hutcherson declined to comment on most of the issues brought up by the teacher's association during public comment, saying, "I don't campaign during a board meeting." He did, however, voice support for Anthony, whose involvement in the conflict of interest investigation has sometimes placed him in a bad light. "He errs on the side of supporting the district and following the law," Hutcherson said of the superintendent... |
| By Maura Larkins from SD Ed Rpt BLOG Thursday, December 13, 2007 Superintendent Tom Anthony has been sent packing from Fallbrook Along with Ed Brand, Tom Anthony exerted a lot of control over San Diego County Office of Education. Or would it be more correct to say that through Ed Brand and Tom Anthony, Diane Crosier of the SDCOE-JPA exerted a lot of control over school districts? Either way, the personal advancement of individuals in high places has taken precedence over the well being of students in San Diego County. The system will stay the same as long as Diane Crosier, her insurance buddies and her unethical lawyers call the shots. Fallbrook has gotten rid of Tom Anthony. But has the rest of the county gotten rid of him? |
| North County Times October 20, 2007 FUHSD to pursue costly firing of superintendent By: TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer $265K buyout would open door to new top leader, officials say FALLBROOK ---- Tom Anthony may not be superintendent of the Fallbrook Union High School District for much longer, as the school board pursues a plan to pay upward of $265,000 to get rid of him, officials said Friday. The move comes after years of tension with many of the district's teachers. Bill O'Connor, president of the school board, said that the board voted 4-1 Monday to get legal advice about how to end Anthony's contract. Dennis Allen cast the dissenting vote. Anthony, 62, has been unpopular among many teachers, who have told the school board during its meetings that they believe his style of leadership had been abrasive and intimidating... When polled in March, 122 of the district's 150 teachers answered "Strongly disagree" to the statement "I have confidence in the leadership of the superintendent." When reached by phone Friday, three of the four board members who voted to pursue ousting Anthony declined to comment on whether poor performance on the superintendent's part contributed to the decision. Other than the discontent expressed by many teachers, it was unclear why the board would spend upward of a quarter-million dollars to get out of the three years remaining on Anthony's four-year contract. O'Connor, Marc Steffler and Mike Schulte were all elected to the board last year on a platform, that some say included getting rid of Anthony. Allen also declined to comment on the specifics of Anthony's performance as superintendent, but said that, overall, "He's done a good job." Anthony, who has retained legal counsel for the buyout negotiations, said Friday that he was in a wait-and-see mode, now that the board had initiated the process of removing him from the district's top office... Anthony makes approximately $177,000 a year, plus benefits, and O'Connor said a buyout would entail paying him 18 months' worth of salary. There are three years left on his contract, which was last extended in October 2006. He was hired to lead the district in July 1997... Longtime Fallbrook High School teacher Tim Oder was an outspoken critic of the superintendent as president of the teachers association during last year's contentious school board election... O'Connor stressed that the decision to look into the buyout through the San Marcos law firm Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost is only a preliminary step toward firing Anthony... |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Tom Anthony |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Tom Anthony has held a powerful position in the committee that oversees SDCOE's legal tactics. What exactly is his relationship with Diane Crosier? |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| SAN DIEGO EDUCATION REPORT |
| mauralarkins.com |
| NORTH COUNTY TIMES December 11, 2007 Fallbrook high school district will pay superintendent $320,000 - to leave By: TOM PFINGSTEN FALLBROOK -- Tom Anthony, the embattled leader of the Fallbrook Union High School District, will resign as superintendent Jan. 11 under a $319,931 buyout agreement that took effect Tuesday, officials said. The arrangement requires the district to pay Anthony 18 months of salary -- or $281,000 -- plus health and other benefits through June 2010. Those figures are spelled out in Anthony's contract, which would have ended then. In addition to the salary and health benefits, the buyout includes $22,731 for 30 days of unused vacation time, $9,000 for 18 months of automobile allowances, and $7,200 for 18 months of expense allowances. While no one contacted for this story would discuss the reasons behind Anthony's departure, district teachers have complained for years about what they call his intimidating leadership style. Anthony, who is 62, took over as superintendent in 1997. The school board approved the agreement in a split vote during a regular meeting Monday night, with Trustees Bill O'Connor, Mike Schulte and Marc Steffler approving the buyout and Trustees Lynn Colburn and Dennis Allen opposing it... The problems between the teachers and Anthony reached a head during last year's election, when the teachers association helped elect O'Connor, Schulte and Steffler on a platform that included getting rid of the superintendent... The friction extends as far back as 2001, when then-technology director Doug Newton was fired after accessing the telephone voicemail of several teachers who were protesting salary issues. Newton later charged that Anthony ordered him to gain access to the district-owned voicemail system... |