Teachers Have No Rights in Nevada

The situation is critical in northern Nevada, as WCSD's superintendent insists the schools will open WITH STUDENTS on Monday.  Never  mind the very high infection rate in the county.  I did a vid this morning about it:



Ongoing reports about the situation are available--for free--from the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Another lengthy report is here.

Washoe County School District Gossip

Although I haven't worked at this shithole for over a decade, I still have a somewhat morbid fascination with it.  I now understand just how corrupt the outfit was and how the district never follows the law when it comes to employee relations.

The Traci Davis case will likely be settled out of court; however, according to this article, a trial date has been set for 2020.

In her suit, Davis is seeking additional money for damage to her reputation and violation of her due process rights, and she alleges the district broke Open Meeting Law when they considered her character by providing secret documents only made available to board members.

The district is disputing those claims in a 17-page motion filed in October to dismiss, including that the "attorney-client privileged, and attorney work product documents would be excluded under the law."

Speaking of Davis's possible job in Las Vegas:

Traci Davis could be the new leader of West Prep Academy.Davis is the former superintendent of the Washoe County School District.

Clark County School District says she is the recommended candidate for principal at West Prep Academy near Owens Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The district says she was recruited through a selection process involving educators and parents that included a reference check.

link

I don't think Davis did anything wrong as WCSD superintendent. The community there was and is quite racist, not cutting her any kind of slack whatsoever, plus I think there is more than a little sexism involved. She made less money than predecessors Pedro Martinez and Heath Morrison made, but the public didn't get so outraged over them.

WCSD Gossip: Is It About Racism or Something Else?

Embattled WCSD superintendent Traci Davis was shocked and "flabbergasted" with the district shutting down operations today because Davis and her attorney are perceived as threats as Davis plans to return to work today.

It might be strictly office politics here on the part of acting superintendent Kristen McNeill, who obviously wants the big cheese job so she can be tossed out by the dysfunctional Board of Trustees three or four years hence and get HER million-dollar severance package.

In an interview with the Reno Gazette Journal Wednesday evening, Davis said, "this is a defamation of my character," after seeing the statement from the district.

“I was flabbergasted. This is a clear indication of racial issues in the school district," she said.

Davis continued: "This story is similar to the Central Park Five, and I am now the Washoe County School District One."

Naturally, the district denies it and accuses Davis of jockeying for position for a major settlement.  The district's insurance carrier is going to be coughing up a seven-figure settlement when this is all done, and Davis will never have to work again.

ETA:  By the way, Davis didn't show up.  McNeill has egg on her face.  This is like Al Capone's vault.

WCSD Gossip: You Can't Make This Shit Up

It appears the WCSD Board of Trustees, as is their manner, fucked up bigly with Traci Davis, so the district office personnel have made the determination the offices will be closed tomorrow when she returns to work.

The Washoe County School District sent an urgent statement to employees Wednesday evening saying it will close down its buildings on Thursday because Superintendent Traci Davis plans to return to work.

"The concern is that Ms. Davis and her attorney intend to create a disruptive confrontation at the expense of our District and Central Administration Staff. Such tactics are abhorrent, and I am, therefore, doing all in my power as Acting Superintendent to protect you all and the interests of our District," McNeill said.

It is called covering your ass, I guess. I can't believe the district is even stupider than when I was last there eleven years ago.

WCSD Gossip: Where Are the "Leaks" Coming From?

The controversy surrounding Superintendent Traci Davis gets even murkier, with WCSD now accusing her attorney, William Peterson, of "leaking" information involving other individuals who have sued the district.

In a release sent Tuesday, the district said it had received information that Peterson and his firm represented three other district employees in workplace investigations and used that information to benefit Davis.

Peterson, who was hired by Davis last week, denied that claim in an interview Tuesday with the Reno Gazette Journal.

He said he has represented many people in workplace investigations against the district. In 2014, Peterson represented Superintendent Pedro Martinez when he was ousted from the district's top post.

The district said in the statement that they and a former client believe that Peterson's law firm, Snell and Wilmer, used that person's information to benefit Davis. The district did not name the former client or say whether he or she was still employed.

"In fact, this ex-client's supposition is that this firm leaked critical information about the investigation and the case about Traci Davis," the district wrote in a release. "There should have been no sharing of confidential information by the firm of Snell & Wilmer, as it appears has occurred. "

If the district is using trumped-up shit against Davis in order to force her out, the district is in deep, deep shit.

An Anniversary to Forget But Can't

Yesterday, April 21, marked the tenth anniversary of when I was illegally fired from my teaching position at Washoe County School District.  It seems long ago now, but again it seems like yesterday.  It was hell going through an illegal termination by an idiot principal who didn't do her job and wanted to cover her ass, spurned by an equally idiot human resources director who didn't do his job and wanted to cover his ass.  It has been a long, hard slog ever since.

What makes it bad is my age at the time I was terminated, 53, and how nearly impossible it has been to get back on track.  Even now, with a stable position, it is only classified, which means it pays peanuts, and it is part-time although it is PERS eligible.  The only reason I am working in my current job is to get the pension vesting,which will occur in about a year and half, provided I am still alive then.  Like Nevada the pension vesting is five years of service credit.  With the job, early Social Security that I had to take,  and the Nevada PERS benefit, combined they are only half what I made at WCSD a decade ago.  That is a tremendous hit in pay, and I damn every single one of those people responsible for all but destroying my professional career.

There are about nine people who were involved who I will never, ever forgive for what they did.  They have no idea how difficult it has been for me.  I am STILL living on a couch in my brother's house eight years later because I cannot afford to buy a place at this time, and I will absolutely not sink any money into an apartment, especially when so few rent to people with pets.  I will not live hand-to-mouth ever again, not when there are things I want to do in the time I have left and given that I am still pretty healthy overall.

And look how well those assholes have done in the years since:

I was messing around on Facebook a few weeks back, and I noticed the cunt who sabotaged me in WEA,  the then executive director, has apparently retired from WCSD, nine years after former HR head Anon 2 bought her off with a job he created in “labor relations.” I don’t know who her replacement is there, if there is anybody.  Good fucking riddance to that bitch.

What the kicker is is that upon research to find her successor there, the job is no longer in existence although a flowchart from the district shows “labor relations” under the “general counsel” department.  It should not surprise me the “job” no longer exists, for Anon 2 created this job out of whole cloth in order to bribe her  into taking it and therefore not being a witness for my side during my termination hearing.  This should have gotten Anon 2 fired right then and there.

There are about nine people who I will never forgive for ruining my life economically but not knocking down my spirit of determination, at least in the medium long-term, when I was illegally “dismissed” nearly ten years ago.  No forgiveness of these assholes:

Anon 1: WEA executive director, later bought off by crooked HR head, who created a job for her in a quid pro quo-type of arrangement.

Anon 2:  The asshole who was head of HR and spearheaded my “investigation” and never bothered to find out the truth; he just wanted to save money by getting rid of me on totally fabricated charges.  He wanted to get at my pension and my teacher license or my special education endorsement , and he failed to do either.   Prick was demoted by then-superintendent Heath Morrison in 2011 to head housekeeping services; he retired in 2014 or 2015 from the district.  He then went to work for the Nevada State Education Association in Elko as a uniserve officer, or whatever the fuck they call it.  He just recently returned to Reno and took Anon 1's old job at WEA after her replacement  retired.  That is reason enough never, ever to join WEA.

Anon 3:  The lawyer who supposedly “represented” me in the termination hearing but was actually in bed with WCSD and failed to tell me I needed to file a claim with EEOC.

Anon 4:  The worthless principal who threw me under the bus, thus damaging if not destroying my career and making it impossible for me to ever be able to retire.  She was moved as “punishment”  by then-superintendent Paul Dugan for her illegal termination to another school.  Bitch was there for two years, then she got a make-work job in the “green house” being a “TIF grant coordinator.”  She did that for a year, then, under new superintendent Pedro Martinez, she got moved to another school.  She lasted there for two years, and then went back to the central office to be a “principal on special assignment”; i.e., a principal given yet another make-work job when she couldn’t cut it as a principal, this time being involved in “professional development.”  This is where she is currently at.  She will likely fart around there for the next three or four years until she gets her thirty years in for full Nevada PERS, all done on the back of my career.  A worthless sack of shit of a human being.

Anon 5:  Corrupt attorney who was involved in my illegal termination.  Lied his ass off in his brief about me.  A total piece of shit who is still employed by WCSD.

Paul Dugan:  At the time the WCSD superintendent.  Totally worthless, rubberstamping a dismissal he knew was illegal.  He retired in 2009, got widowed and shortly thereafter got remarried to a much-younger girlfriend he had in the central office.  He moved to the Portland, Oregon, area, getting something around 160,000 a year or more pension, plus his current wife gets a fat pension of around 60,000 a year.

Anon 6:  Evil, evil bastard principal who started this whole mess of scapegoating me when I refused to violate NCLB regarding special education students.  Spent the rest of the 2006-2007 year in retaliation.  Completely mentally ill, likely a sociopath.  I demanded to be moved as a result of him writing up a bullshit “letter of admonition” regarding my taking students to the store without giving him two weeks’ notice.  He was full of shit.  He later got demoted to teacher after one of his girlfriends’—he has been married since the mid-1980s and has two grown children—husband complained to the higher ups that Anon 6 was having an affair with his wife, who just happen to be a subordinate of Anon 6.  He caught them together at a local motel.  He reported them, and he was demoted to teacher at an area high school in 2011.  He did that for about three years, with nary a peep heard about him.  But then he thought he was good enough to apply for an assistant principal job up at another school.  He did that job for about two or three years, but just this year he got promoted to principal.  Unbelievable this harasser was allowed to remain with the district, when in fact he should have been fired for what he did.  His track record in this regard goes back many, many years.  He was known to have sex on campus during school hours with other faculty.  The man is pure evil.

Anon 7:  Colleague at my last Nevada school who lied under oath at my hearing.  Took off with her husband to Canada about a month-and-a-half after my hearing.

Anon 8:  Speech pathologist at my last Nevada school who was Anon 4's “useful idiot.”  She was off-her-rocker batshit crazy.  She, too, was willing to lie for Anon 4 at the hearing, but she was kicked out of there after about two or three minutes of testimony.  Still employed with the district, but she is currently at an elementary school in Sparks, where she has been for several years.  For a couple of years she would follow me around on the internet trying to rub it in, just like the immature idiot she is, until I got fed up with her and sent her a nasty email in 2012.  She never pulled her little shit ever again.

No way in hell will any of these people ever be forgiven for what they did to me.

In the meantime, I will likely have to work until I die.  I still have a fear of applying for teaching positions because of the weeding out questions on the applications.  My age also works against me.

Washoe County School District Gossip

And to think this guy was a replacement for one of the members who was involved in the Pedro Martinez mess.

The voters down there sure know how to pick 'em:

Smith's alleged misconduct did not involve his role as trustee and didn't occur on district property, said School Board President Angela Taylor at a press conference Friday afternoon in Reno.

The alleged misconduct occurred at Smith's private workplace and involved a high school student, Taylor said.

Pathetic, But That Is Typical of How Substitutes Are Treated

in school districts all over the country. Nevada doesn't require substitutes to have a four-year degree as in Oregon, only two years of college.

Considering substitute pools are traditionally used as hiring pools for regular teaching jobs, any increase is good, but I made about that much for a half-day gig in Oregon as the WCSD subs will be making this coming school year.

For years, the starting salary for Washoe substitutes has been $82 per day. All nearby school districts pay more, from $90 in Carson City School District to $115 in California's Tahoe Truckee Unified School District.

To become more competitive, Washoe district officials will increase substitutes' starting salary to $90 per day when classes start Aug. 10, which is still shy of the $96 average in surrounding districts.

"We're still not the highest paying, but that's OK. We're competitive," said Ellison, emphasizing that the district doesn't have to offer the highest salary because most substitutes live here in the Reno area.

Washoe County School District Gossip: Passing the Trash

It's musical chairs time at my old school district, with assistant principals moving into principal jobs and worthless pieces of shit getting cushy administrative office jobs so as to not be held accountable when they don't measure up as site administrators.

The principal who illegally terminated me has once again been moved to the central office, no doubt as insurance against being kicked to the curb when she can't get those all-important test scores up.

This is the fifth "job" in seven years she has had.

There is no justice in the world.

Washoe County School District Gossip

The Board of Trustees and its law firm are mum about the details as to the deal negotiated with dumped lead general counsel Randy Drake to avoid a lawsuit.

"Gag orders" are standard operating procedure in these cases.

I don't really believe Drake, an experienced attorney no matter how inept he may be, will simply take a vastly lower-paid job and do it until he retires.

I am sure he's polishing up resumes and applying at various law firms.

Then again, maybe not.

These details were more or less explained at yesterday's Board meeting:

In response to the district’s original termination attempt, Drake offered to entirely leave the district for $180,000 and threatened legal action if he was terminated. Board members lacked interest in paying Drake for his resignation, according to Maupin’s invoices.

...

In the wake of these pricey settlements, the school board agreed Tuesday to a compromise: relinquish Drake’s status as head attorney with $145,500 in base salary and reassign him to assistant director of grants program compliance, earning $83,515.

“This is a very favorable compromise to the district and board, and I recommend it to you,” Maupin lawyer Michael Malloy told the school board on Tuesday.

The school board hasn’t only hired Malloy’s firm to negotiate Drake’s demotion. The board then hired the firm to replace Drake as its legal counsel — no longer looking to the school district’s staff lawyers.

Incidentally, Drake, who helped engineer the railroading of former superintendent Pedro Martinez out of WCSD, employed the same lawyer Martinez used.


Just from what I saw yesterday, this outside attorney for WCSD replacing Drake appears to be more than competent and ethical.

He might not last long as a result.

_____

Well, it looks like a lot of the current APs at WCSD got principal jobs, for there are a slew of AP openings in the district (elementary schools first seven):

Anderson
Booth
Cannan
Double Diamond
Dunn
Hunsberger
Sepulveda
Pine Middle
North Valleys High School
Spanish Springs HS

I wonder if old shitbag got a principal job at all or else some cushy do-nothing district job. Or perhaps her "association presidency" is actually a paid gig.

I am sure it won't be long and I will find out.

Above jobs, listed in the internal openings list, close on Friday.

Washoe County School District Gossip

The Board approved extending the contract of interim superintendent Traci Davis until a permanent one can be found, which will likely be her but the district Board has to follow the law.

They have a Maupin, Cox & LeGoy attorney to make sure the Board adheres to statute.

The Board also approved the settlement between it and former chief general counsel Randy Drake. In lieu of a lawsuit, Drake was given a demotion costing him some 60k a year in reduced salary. He is also probationary, which means the district can ditch him at any time before he gets it.

It was pointed out at today's Board meeting, which can be viewed on YouTube, that Drake's contract as chief general counsel was very specific and very narrow, and the Board had to follow it to avoid a suit. That's why he was given a second chance instead of being sacked like he should have been.

Teachers don't get this kind of kid glove treatment. Administrators flout the law in order to cover their asses, scapegoating teachers out in order to do it.

Washoe County School District Gossip

Well, it appears that WCSD had to cough up much more money in the Pedro Martinez settlement than previously believed. The insurance carrier didn't pick up as much of the tab as had been believed.

If the district's board had followed the law in the first place, none of this would have happened.

Speaking of which, the board whittled down the number of candidates for the open board seat position to five. None of them appear to be worth a shit.

The best applicant was one who was eliminated in the first round, perhaps because he had sued the district over the mistreatment of a teacher by a principal who is no longer there.

Washoe County School District Gossip

Outgoing superintendent Pedro Martinez will get more than a half million dollars in his settlement with the district. All told, WCSD will cough up more than 700k total for its illegal actions of July 22.

link

That amount includes the attorneys' fees on both sides. The district's insurance carriers will pay for most of it.

Total: $711,415

Insurance covers: $576,000

School district pays: $135,415

Meanwhile, the public will be treated to a public groveling next Tuesday when the district's former police chief goes in front of the Board to try and get his old job back, a job he thinks he deserves because he had been there a long time.

He's another entitled moron who is going to use a public meeting to possibly defame Martinez.

WCSD Trusteegate: "Questions" Remain

Somebody sent me a comment yesterday about how to get in touch with recall efforts on the Board of Trustees. I would do a Google search on that; I cannot at this time remember who is spearheading it. As I recall, there were two separate recall campaigns against the offending Board members.

The Reno Gazette-Journal yesterday did suggest an alternative to pressure Governor Sandoval to force the Board out via declaring an emergency and putting in an interim superintendent and Board since the legislative session is coming up in just a few months. The paper's reasoning was the current Board is permanently tainted and can't be trusted to do the people's business, which is the truth.

Video report of the "latest":

Of Course He Was Going to Turn Down the Offer

That ridiculously low amount was a pure political ploy that was designed to guarantee Martinez would turn it down. Then the public would be upset and call Martinez "greedy" when it was the BOARD that was entirely at fault.

Yes, it's going to cost money, mostly likely covered by the district's insurance carriers, but the right to due process, including the right to sue, is part of the American legal system. Martinez's rights were trampled upon. There is no question of it.

25K is absolutely nothing. Martinez should get many times that amount. The board not only breached his contract, they also defamed him.

Somebody Should Stick a Pacifier in His Mouth

Some whiny shit by the dumped WCSD police chief showing to the public Pedro Martinez was justified in kicking him to the curb.

"I'm owed a job, I've been here 20 years, I love my job, I have never had a bad evaluation." "We will know the truth."

All self-serving, delusional bullshit.

He's also not being honest about PERS. Big deal if he was about to hit a "milestone" in serving 20 years. He can still get PERS, add to his pension working at another public sector job in Nevada, or retire early. He would be doing far better than most Nevada public retirees, hell, better than most retirees in the country, period. He's not being denied his pension since he was vested after five years.

It kills me that so many of these employees there act so entitled to jobs. They just live in a bubble with their own little cliques and have NO concept at all how people on the "outside" live.

Some video:




Report:

Among other things, Merias' lawsuit claims he was denied due process and was shorted in his payout of accurred sick leave and retirement benefits. He said, "I was 45 days away from my 20 year milestone with PERS (Public Employee Retirement System) and yes, I think that is problematic for them." His suit also alleges he was fired in retaliation for reporting "illegal and improper activities" by Martinez and the District Chief Counsel, Randy Drake. The lawsuit is vague on what those activities are and neither Mieras nor his attorney, Ellen Winograd, would provide any further details. Mieras said, "Because we are now involved in litigation, I can't really provide any more information on that at this stage."

Did you use public dollars and personnel to find "dirt" on Martinez and Drake? If so, that alone is a firing offense.

What a doofus.

They Are Only Sorry They Got Caught

The Washoe County School District board members aren't sorry about pulling their stunt against Pedro Martinez, they simply are sorry they got caught.

This crap happens all the time in the district, and it will continue to happen long after Martinez and the board members are gone.

The editorial is certainly naive in the extreme.

Meanwhile, one board member should have the hell known better than to go along with this stunt because he had been involved in a similar matter several years before.

Washoe County School District Gossip: Board is SOL

When you have the governor's wife criticizing you, you might just as well hang it up:

"I can honestly say because my husband is an elected official and my life is probably more transparent than anybody in the state, we are not above anyone else," Sandoval said to the board.

"I have been fighing for rights of kids for 20 years, trying to make our education in this state better," she said. "To see the progress we have started to make and now we have destroyed that stability."

She called the decisions by the board narrow and shortsighted and may cost the state federal grants and economic opportunity with new businesses questioning a move to the Silver State.

The district's tentative response to the Martinez suit is one of the most pathetic I have ever read. They have to put up something--anything--to defend themselves over the indefensible.

I would think once the Attorney General comes down hard on the Board of Trustees, the six offenders will have to resign.

The Attorney General's Office Gets Involved

Read more here.

Washoe County School District Statement

WCSD issued a statement regarding that "code yellow lockdown" when a parent entered district property yesterday.

Here is the district's side of the story:

Follow Up to Yesterday’s Code Yellow
At WCSD

Yesterday afternoon, the WCSD Administration Building located at 425 E. 9th Street was placed on a Code Yellow lockdown due to a report of an individual (Mr. Larry Dailey) causing a disturbance. A Code Yellow lockdown is a preventative measure used during an incident where heightened security is necessary on or near a school campus or district building.

Below is some background and factual information regarding WCSD and Mr. Dailey:

 Over the last several years, the District has expended many hours of staff time and District resources attempting to meet Mr. Dailey’s demands. These demands have oftentimes been unclear and unrelated to the services that the District provides to his child. These demands are usually made by way of dozens of emails and dozens of telephone calls to various District staff in very short time periods.

 Media reports have included information that the District “lost” a lawsuit to Mr. Dailey last year. That is not true. The District entered into a Settlement Agreement in 2013 with the express purpose and intent “to move forward with a relationship that is positive and problem-solving….and to work with Mr. Dailey to develop a plan moving forward to address any and all IEP-related issues pertaining to his [child].”

 The District believes it has worked diligently to comply with all aspects of the Settlement Agreement. The District believes Mr. Dailey has not met these efforts with a good faith attempt to satisfy the goals of the Settlement Agreement.

 Rather, it is the District’s opinion that Mr. Dailey has continued his pattern of making unclear, procedural-related requests and demands that are unrelated to the services provided to his child, which was the intent of the Settlement Agreement.

 Mr. Dailey has claimed to the media that the District has repeatedly violated laws and regulations. This is misleading. Any violations found by the State of Nevada pertaining to Mr. Dailey’s repeated complaints have been minor and procedural in nature and not related to any substantive services provided by the District to Mr. Dailey’s child.

 In March, 2014, Mr. Dailey filed a Complaint with the Washoe County School District Police Department, alleging criminal bullying by Superintendent Pedro Martinez and other District staff. Mr. Dailey was notified by the Washoe County School District Office of the General Counsel not to communicate with District Administration staff due to his filing of the criminal Complaint. School Police referred the Complaint to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office for investigation. Mr. Dailey agreed to the referral of his Complaint. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office found no criminal violations by Superintendent Martinez or other District staff.

 Mr. Dailey received notice that his criminal bullying allegations were unfounded and School Police closed its case on the matter. Mr. Dailey then arrived at the District’s Administration building on May 8, 2014. Mr. Dailey demanded to file a Complaint against the school police officer who referred Mr. Dailey’s criminal complaint to the Sheriff’s Office. After speaking with a supervisor at the School Police, Mr. Dailey was not content. School Police then attempted to schedule a meeting for Mr. Dailey with the School Deputy Police Chief. Mr. Dailey was not satisfied with scheduling a meeting with the Deputy Chief, and refused to leave the School Police offices.

 Mr. Dailey proceeded to various areas of the District’s Administration building, badgering and intimidating various District staff. Mr. Dailey refused to leave the premises, causing School Police to issue a Code Yellow to the Administration Building on 9th Street. Mr. Dailey was then issued a trespass warning. The Reno Police Department was asked to assist in this matter in the event Mr. Dailey continued to refuse to leave the premises.

As a result of yesterday’s incident, WCSD Superintendent Pedro Martinez has issued the following statement:

“There is no higher priority for me than helping all of our children—including Mr. Dailey’s child—succeed and excel. Although we have a record of complaints from Mr. Dailey, none these complaints identify issues that are specific for us to investigate in depth.

“It is unfortunate that these incidents have become a distraction from the wonderful work of our students and staff. I believe this incident has taken the focus away from that positive work, and is instead drawing attention to Mr. Dailey and any personal agenda that he may have. We strongly encourage all of our parents to be involved in their children’s education in a collaborative manner where goals and objectives are clearly outlined and productive problem-solving methods are used.

“Everyone at WCSD is working hard to help our students graduate and connect them to higher education, especially this month as the end of the school year nears. As Superintendent, I have the responsibility to protect and educate all of our children. I am hopeful that Mr. Dailey will begin to provide the WCSD with defined, substantiated concerns so we can work together for a prompt resolution.”

____

Now I don't know the veracity of the parent's complaints, but I have dealt with parents in the past who would throw their weight around and threaten or intimidate staff. Whatever you do, you can NEVER threaten public officials or public employees. It is a crime. This parent is himself a public employee, so he knows.

The district's statement about a settlement is correct. An insurance payout absent a court judgment is not a "win." Only a judgment by a judge or jury is considered a victory. Settlements are employed in order to free the court's docket for criminal cases, and because of that, the civil system is often abused with unmerited cases filed that are designed to extort a pre-trial settlement, as I know only too well.