CVE President Gina Boyd refused to allow Maura Larkins to enjoy the protection of the contract and the law. Why? Gina Boyd wanted to protect her close friends Robin Donlan and Linda Watson.
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Grievance Report Form Level 1
To be used only after informal conference has been held and grievance is not resolved,
or in cases where the grievance is initiated at Level II.
Type Only
Last Name First Name M.I. Date
Larkins Maura H. Nov. 12, 2001
School/Department Position
Castle Park teacher
The district violated contract Article 38
(Employee Discipline) on September 26, 2001, when Rick Werlin
notified me that my suspension with pay was being changed to
suspension without pay. His letter is enclosed. I had been
forbidden by Rick Werlin to enter my
classroom since April 20. Werlin did not give me a
proper 10-day notice on September 26, and in fact stopped my pay
26 days retroactively. I have received neither my September nor
my October paycheck.
The district also violated contract Article 38
on October 5, when my demand for a full
evidentiary hearing regarding the
suspension without pay was denied. Please
find Dr. Gil's October 5 letter of denial enclosed, along with my
response. When a teacher is not allowed to go to her classroom,
and she is not being paid, what possible status can she have other
than suspension without pay?
Werlin himself has provided a great deal of evidence proving that
the pay stoppage was a disciplinary action.
[CVE executive director] Tim O'Neill met with Werlin on
September 12.
Tim wrote to me, "I asked what actions Werlin would take
in light of the fact that you had not shown up for the meeting,
i.e. disciplinary actions for insubordination. He said that
he would make another directive for you to meet with him,
and withhold from any disciplinary action until "a pattern" of
insubordination was evident.
On September 17 Werlin wrote me, "Your repeated failure to
appear per earlier directives outlined in letters sent on September
7, 2001 and September 3, 2001 constitutes insubordination."
Werlin also said, "Failure to follow the directive to appear in my
office this Friday will be viewed as insubordination."
"Mental laziness and sloppy thinking were rewarded at Castle Park."
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EXHIBITS ATTACHED TO GRIEVANCES
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"The Superintendent shall not implement the suspension without pay until a final decision approving the suspension without pay is rendered by a hearing officer."
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Sending children out to raise the flag each morning became an act of hypocrisy at Castle Park School.
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The above contractual violations constitute an illegal attempt by the
district to put financial pressure on me in order to force me to
"forget the past, to give up my contractual and other legal
rights, and to submit without protest to the many illegal acts
the district has perpetrated.
This is a tactic from the middle ages. It's similar to a medieval siege
intended to force a city or castle into unconditional surrender by
cutting off food supplies, with no regard for right or wrong.
(Speaking of castles, my school, ironically, is named Castle Park
and has a medieval knight as its emblem.) Castle Park has been my
school since 1955, when I was six years old, attending first grade in
room 4 with Miss Dean as my teacher.
I am dismayed to have seen my school become what it
became during the past two years, as a result of the actions
of two administrators, Gretchen Donndelinger and Rick
Werlin.
Personal advancement for adults, not the wellbeing of children,
became the primary focus of the people in control of our school.
Mental laziness and sloppy thinking were rewarded at Castle Park,
but logical arguments were considered threats, and those who made
them were viciously attacked.
I discussed this with my principal/supervisor on
October 5, 2001
Date Signature of grievant
CVE/Level 1 Grievance
Werlin made it very clear that the retroactive pay stoppage was a result of what he claimed was insubordination. THEREFORE Maura Larkins was ENTITLED TO A FULL EVIDENTIARY HEARING.
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On September 26 Werlin wrote:
"REPEATED FAILURE TO FOLLOW OUR DIRECTIVES
CONSTITUTES INSUBORDINATION.
[Werlin is referring to himself in the plural here]
Please be advised that YOUR DECISION AND SUBSEQUENT
REPEATED ACTIONS TO REFUSE TO REPORT TO MY OFFICE
coupled with your failure to report back for duty this school year
HAVE PLACED YOU IN AN UNPAID STATUS."
Werlin made it very clear that the pay stoppage was a result of
insubordination. His and Gil's claims that I didn't "report for duty"
are preposterous. I COULD NOT "REPORT FOR DUTY" BECAUSE I
WAS NOT ALLOWED TO GO TO MY SCHOOL. I am a teacher. My
position cannot be changed to "Rick Werlin's office." Even if
Werlin's office constituted an actual teaching position, there was
never a superintendent's finding and conference to make Werlin's
office the position to which I must report for duty. Also, Rick
Werlin's false accusations and calls to the police put me at risk of
physical harm, and the contract clearly states that the district may
not require me to put myself in harm's way.
Please note that when my pay was stopped, there had STILL been
no attempt by the district to change my assignment legally.
In his September 26 letter, Werlin demanded that I meet with him
on September 28, with no mention of Libby. I wrote the enclosed
letter to Libby on September 27, offering to attend the meeting if
she wished to change my assignment. Libby's assistant called me
and said LIBBY WAS NOT AVAILABLE to meet with me on
September 28.
The pay stoppage was purely a punishment for not exposing
myself to Werlin's abuse and threats to my safety and attempts to
break the contract.
There is no possible way Werlin could have given me a
2001-2002 assignment, because I would not give up my current
assignment voluntarily. Only the superintendent has the authority
to change my assignment involuntarily.
Clearly, this pay stoppage had nothing at all to do with reporting
for duty.
It had everything to do with Rick Werlin's desire for excessive
control over teachers and his lack of regard for the contract and
the law, and his no-holds-barred approach to exerting his power.
Parts of the Bill of Rights were suspended, including the right to petition for redress of grievances. CVESD desperately need to be educated about American principles of justice and government.
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Why did Werlin want Maura Larkins in his office without witnesses?
To intimidate, to abuse, and to set her up so he could make more false accusations as in his April 4, 2001 letter?
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and the board wanted personal, arbitrary power at the expense of the proper functioning of the school district.
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Clearly, this pay stoppage had nothing at all to do with reporting for duty--because Werlin could not have given Maura Larkins an assignment.
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happened on 2001, Maura Larkins would have been foolish to ever again allow herself to be alone with Richard Werlin.
The pay stoppage was purely a punishment for not exposing herself to Werlin's abuse.
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It had everything to do with Rick Werlin's desire for excessive control over teachers and his lack of regard for the contract and the law, and his no-holds- barred approach to exerting his power.
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Grievance regarding Article 38
Principal/Supervisor
Rick Werlin
"Honesty and respect were treated as excess baggage, along with the State Education Code, the contract, and long-standing district policies."
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If the contract had been enforced, this problem would have been solved in February 2001
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Proposed remedy to grievance:
I propose that:
1) A full evidentiary hearing be held on
the charges that led to my suspension
and stoppage of pay;
2) The District obey the contract requirement that the
Superintendent or designee shall not implement the suspension
without pay until a final decision approving the suspension
without pay is rendered by a hearing officer;
3) Policies be implemented which will
discourage the district from similar illegal
actions in the future.
FIVE ADDITIONAL PAGES ENCLOSED
SAN DIEGO EDUCATION REPORT