 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
[Note: The lawyer for Sweetwater
Union School District and its
Superintendent, Ed Brand, was
Daniel Shinoff of Stutz, Artiano,
Shinoff & Holtz.]
$678,000 Worth of Wrongful
Termination
Mary Anne Weegar was the head of
categorical programs for the Sweetwater
Union High School District until 1999.
Categorical programs are programs and
money allocated for specific educational
purposes by both the state and federal
governments. Sweetwater received over
$2.5 million in categorical aid from the
Federal government and over $4.5
million from the state of California in
fiscal year 2001.
There are stringent requirements on
how categorical money can be used and
Weegar attempted to see that the
money was spent properly. This was not
appreciated by those above her and her
authority as watchdog over categorical
spending was slowly eroded. A computer
whiz student aide who helped Weegar
with her computers noticed a form in the
Superintendent’s part of the computer
network called “Reacquiring of
categorical funds.”
When it was discovered that someone
had accessed this part of the network,
Weegar was locked out of her office,
forced to retire,and the young computer
whiz was accosted in the parking lot by a
well known Sweetwater sociopath and
threatened with denial of graduation.
The young man’s father was a cop and
soon straightened that out, but Weegar
was out of a job and soon filed a
wrongful termination lawsuit against the
District.
The main witnesses called from the
district were Superintendent Ed Brand
and Chief Financial Officer Barry Dragon.
Dragon was formerly with Arthur
Anderson and when he was asked
recently by a concerned citizen what the
Superintendent’s annual salary was,
($200,000), since no one else at the
District Office knew, he reacted as if the
concerned citizen had threatened to
crash a plane into the District Office.
When reminded that he and the
Superintendent were public servants
and that their salaries were from public
funds, his venom and hostility subsided
and he belatedly divulged the evidently
little known fact that Brand (at $200,000
per year) makes more than the
Governor of California ($175,000 per
year).
When Brand testified, he stated that he
had a vast and thorough knowledge of
all of Sweetwater’s policies and
regulations, but when asked which policy
gave him the authority to lock Weegar
out of her office, he sat slack-jawed and
speechless for over a minute and never
could come up with any legal justification
for locking out the 30 year veteran
employee.
The District was eventually found guilty
of wrongful termination and ordered to
pay Weegar $678,000. When asked to
comment about the Weegar case at the
August 26th Board Meeting, Brand
stated that he couldn’t since it was under
appeal and that they were confident they
would prevail.However if they appeal,
they will have to pay 10% annual interest
on the judgement when they ultimately
lose. But its not their money, so what do
they care?
One can’t help but wonder, how many
teachers could have been hired with
$678,000? How many classrooms could
have been repaired for $678,000
dollars? How many books and supplies
could have been bought for $678,000.
Evil and injustice always has a price and
the Mary Ann Weegar case is a good
example.
P.S.
Sometime in July, a bullet was fired
through Weegar’s attorney’s office
window. He said the only case that it
could have been related to was the
Weegar case.
http://spiderwebsites.com/SSSTory.htm
Union School District and its
Superintendent, Ed Brand, was
Daniel Shinoff of Stutz, Artiano,
Shinoff & Holtz.]
$678,000 Worth of Wrongful
Termination
Mary Anne Weegar was the head of
categorical programs for the Sweetwater
Union High School District until 1999.
Categorical programs are programs and
money allocated for specific educational
purposes by both the state and federal
governments. Sweetwater received over
$2.5 million in categorical aid from the
Federal government and over $4.5
million from the state of California in
fiscal year 2001.
There are stringent requirements on
how categorical money can be used and
Weegar attempted to see that the
money was spent properly. This was not
appreciated by those above her and her
authority as watchdog over categorical
spending was slowly eroded. A computer
whiz student aide who helped Weegar
with her computers noticed a form in the
Superintendent’s part of the computer
network called “Reacquiring of
categorical funds.”
When it was discovered that someone
had accessed this part of the network,
Weegar was locked out of her office,
forced to retire,and the young computer
whiz was accosted in the parking lot by a
well known Sweetwater sociopath and
threatened with denial of graduation.
The young man’s father was a cop and
soon straightened that out, but Weegar
was out of a job and soon filed a
wrongful termination lawsuit against the
District.
The main witnesses called from the
district were Superintendent Ed Brand
and Chief Financial Officer Barry Dragon.
Dragon was formerly with Arthur
Anderson and when he was asked
recently by a concerned citizen what the
Superintendent’s annual salary was,
($200,000), since no one else at the
District Office knew, he reacted as if the
concerned citizen had threatened to
crash a plane into the District Office.
When reminded that he and the
Superintendent were public servants
and that their salaries were from public
funds, his venom and hostility subsided
and he belatedly divulged the evidently
little known fact that Brand (at $200,000
per year) makes more than the
Governor of California ($175,000 per
year).
When Brand testified, he stated that he
had a vast and thorough knowledge of
all of Sweetwater’s policies and
regulations, but when asked which policy
gave him the authority to lock Weegar
out of her office, he sat slack-jawed and
speechless for over a minute and never
could come up with any legal justification
for locking out the 30 year veteran
employee.
The District was eventually found guilty
of wrongful termination and ordered to
pay Weegar $678,000. When asked to
comment about the Weegar case at the
August 26th Board Meeting, Brand
stated that he couldn’t since it was under
appeal and that they were confident they
would prevail.However if they appeal,
they will have to pay 10% annual interest
on the judgement when they ultimately
lose. But its not their money, so what do
they care?
One can’t help but wonder, how many
teachers could have been hired with
$678,000? How many classrooms could
have been repaired for $678,000
dollars? How many books and supplies
could have been bought for $678,000.
Evil and injustice always has a price and
the Mary Ann Weegar case is a good
example.
P.S.
Sometime in July, a bullet was fired
through Weegar’s attorney’s office
window. He said the only case that it
could have been related to was the
Weegar case.
http://spiderwebsites.com/SSSTory.htm
| SAN DIEGO EDUCATION REPORT |
| mauralarkins.com |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| SD County Superintendents |
| San Diego County Office of Education - Joint Powers Authority |
| Predictably, the California Court of Appeal reduced Weegar's verdict amount to $5,000. |
The Ethnical [sic] Principal
Speaker(s):
Gretchen Donndelinger,
Mary Anne Weegar,
Shirley Willadsen
Leadership/Distributed Leadership
Duration: 90 minutes
Saturday, 04/05/2008 10:30 AM - 12:00
PM Room: Canal E
Description:
Principals are confronted with ethical
dilemmas daily. HOw do they know they
are using the best tolls to make good
decisions? What criteria do you use to
shoose the right path? How can
principals create an environment that
promotes ehtical behavior?
Learning Objectives:
*Participants will have a better
understanding of the dilemmas teachers
face on a daily basis.
*Participants will learn
how to choose when
values clash.
*Participants will learn to handle
unpredictable behavior.
*Participants will explore what is
right and wrong - how do you
know?
*Participants will learn how to maintain a
neutral voice when everyone is yelling?
*Participants will learn how to choose the
correct reinforcement?
*Schools have formal, informal and the
hidden curriculem - how can you make
the school inclusive so everyone
succeeds?
Speaker(s):
Gretchen Donndelinger,
Mary Anne Weegar,
Shirley Willadsen
Leadership/Distributed Leadership
Duration: 90 minutes
Saturday, 04/05/2008 10:30 AM - 12:00
PM Room: Canal E
Description:
Principals are confronted with ethical
dilemmas daily. HOw do they know they
are using the best tolls to make good
decisions? What criteria do you use to
shoose the right path? How can
principals create an environment that
promotes ehtical behavior?
Learning Objectives:
*Participants will have a better
understanding of the dilemmas teachers
face on a daily basis.
*Participants will learn
how to choose when
values clash.
*Participants will learn to handle
unpredictable behavior.
*Participants will explore what is
right and wrong - how do you
know?
*Participants will learn how to maintain a
neutral voice when everyone is yelling?
*Participants will learn how to choose the
correct reinforcement?
*Schools have formal, informal and the
hidden curriculem - how can you make
the school inclusive so everyone
succeeds?
Hear these and other great speakers
at NAESP’s [National Association of
Elementary School Principals] 87th
Annual Convention and Exposition in
Nashville, Tennessee, April 4-8.
at NAESP’s [National Association of
Elementary School Principals] 87th
Annual Convention and Exposition in
Nashville, Tennessee, April 4-8.
Four days to network, share ideas,
and learn what you need to know to be
a better school leader. And enjoy a fun
city!
"You will return to your school
empowered because you will have the
necessary tools to grow and glow! "
What makes NAESP Annual
Convention and Exposition so special?
Nowhere else can you spend four days
with your peers focused on issues that
are important to building-level
leadership and administration.
Whether its guidance on school
policies, teacher recruitment/retention,
meeting AYP, or bully prevention,
NAESP's Convention workshops,
sessions, speakers, and networking
sessions provide leaders, like you, with
the information you need to do your
job better.
Get in-depth programming designed
specifically for you and take home
ideas and strategies that can be
implemented IMMEDIATELY in your
school and community.
Who Should Attend?
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Administrators
Superintendents
K-8 Classroom Teachers
Curriculum Specialists
School Counselors
and learn what you need to know to be
a better school leader. And enjoy a fun
city!
"You will return to your school
empowered because you will have the
necessary tools to grow and glow! "
What makes NAESP Annual
Convention and Exposition so special?
Nowhere else can you spend four days
with your peers focused on issues that
are important to building-level
leadership and administration.
Whether its guidance on school
policies, teacher recruitment/retention,
meeting AYP, or bully prevention,
NAESP's Convention workshops,
sessions, speakers, and networking
sessions provide leaders, like you, with
the information you need to do your
job better.
Get in-depth programming designed
specifically for you and take home
ideas and strategies that can be
implemented IMMEDIATELY in your
school and community.
Who Should Attend?
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Administrators
Superintendents
K-8 Classroom Teachers
Curriculum Specialists
School Counselors
"...Universities should not assume that
students come to universities
understanding ethical principles and
how they are applied in academia..."
students come to universities
understanding ethical principles and
how they are applied in academia..."
| Mary Anne Weegar now works at National University in San Diego |
"...The behaviors that were judged the
most serious ethical violations
were...making derogatory remarks to
students about a colleague (92.6 %)..."
most serious ethical violations
were...making derogatory remarks to
students about a colleague (92.6 %)..."
| Ms. Weegar spoke in 2007 at the 72nd Annual Convention The Association for Business Communication October 10-12, 2007 Washington, D.C. |
...The media has recently brought to
the public’s attention many examples
of unethical behavior by
educators (i.e., public school
administrators, teachers, and
certificated staff) ... Teacher Education
Departments have debated their
responsibility in teaching ethics and
whether ethics is able to be taught...
Accreditation agencies such as the
National Council for the Accreditation
of Teacher Education (NCATE) require
colleges/universities to assess pre-
service teachers’ adherence to ethical
behavior standards before
recommending them for state
licensure... Despite efforts nationwide
to establish standards of professional
conduct for teachers, little has been
done to professionalize
public-school teaching...
the public’s attention many examples
of unethical behavior by
educators (i.e., public school
administrators, teachers, and
certificated staff) ... Teacher Education
Departments have debated their
responsibility in teaching ethics and
whether ethics is able to be taught...
Accreditation agencies such as the
National Council for the Accreditation
of Teacher Education (NCATE) require
colleges/universities to assess pre-
service teachers’ adherence to ethical
behavior standards before
recommending them for state
licensure... Despite efforts nationwide
to establish standards of professional
conduct for teachers, little has been
done to professionalize
public-school teaching...
"...a recent survey of 1652 companies
published in the annual 2001
Industry Report found that 24 percent
provided training on a regular basis,
17 percent provided
training on an as needed basis, and
38 percent provided no ethics training.
The percentage of
companies that provided training in
ethics suggest that the amount of
training that employees
receive is directly related to the value
that management places on
professional training, and they
are influenced by how strongly they
believe that ethical training will
increase corporate sales.
Hemingway and Maclagan (as cited in
Frisque et al., 2004) indicated that
ethical business
behavior, or lack thereof, is believed to
be an outgrowth of managers’
personal values. In 1994,
Dov L. Seidman, Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of LRN, identified a need
in corporate America
to provide organizations with services
that create ethical corporate cultures
that promote selfregulation
based on core values, as opposed to
establishing a set of rules for
employees to follow..."
published in the annual 2001
Industry Report found that 24 percent
provided training on a regular basis,
17 percent provided
training on an as needed basis, and
38 percent provided no ethics training.
The percentage of
companies that provided training in
ethics suggest that the amount of
training that employees
receive is directly related to the value
that management places on
professional training, and they
are influenced by how strongly they
believe that ethical training will
increase corporate sales.
Hemingway and Maclagan (as cited in
Frisque et al., 2004) indicated that
ethical business
behavior, or lack thereof, is believed to
be an outgrowth of managers’
personal values. In 1994,
Dov L. Seidman, Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of LRN, identified a need
in corporate America
to provide organizations with services
that create ethical corporate cultures
that promote selfregulation
based on core values, as opposed to
establishing a set of rules for
employees to follow..."
Here's what she said:
| Mary Anne Weegar sued Sweetwater Union High School District and was awarded $678,000 by a juryin a case reminiscent of the Pamela Settlegood case in Portland, Oregon. |
| Mary Anne Weegar |