Have we not learned anything?
Another school year has passed. It is a good time for reflection and to start a new.
However, in the SDUHSD we see that they continue the same business as usual, protecting the elite and operating in secret to protect the personal gains of adults.
Have we not learned anything from the ongoing and continuing Varsity Blues Scandal?
Have we not learned that Varsity Blues behavior could be transpiring within our public school campuses where “inner circle” parents use booster groups and foundations as a front to position their students for greater gains during high school that are not afforded to those who are not part of the “inner circle”.
Marsha Sutton used a friend’s situation in her recent article (comment below). At some point this behavior will catch up with the District who is culpable when they support the actions of the embolden and make statements like “I have no control” or just flat out lie. Where these administrators and Board Members are gravely mistaken, they are in control and they are responsible. It will catch up…it is only a matter of time.
It was nice to see Marsha Sutton partially back with her check swing article on June 27, 2019, Education Matters: Improving public education. What is great about this country is we are all afforded an opinion. What makes our country even stronger is when humans can absorb the opinions of others, reflect and move forward in a more collaborative and shared value fashion. It is unfortunate that she has knowledge of facts but won’t present them out of fear.
Ms. Sutton, you did not lose me at your position 4. Eliminate high school sports.
If you have not realized already, the SDUHSD has already eliminated High School Sports. The parents pay 100% for High School Sports in SDUHSD and club teams run everything. What is not realized is that because there is no open discussion about it, some teams have taken advantage of the lack of discussion and adult personal gain ensues. What we as a society is forgetting, is that the value of the public high school is to create a well-rounded educational experience so we can produce well rounded humans.
Article comment: A friend whose son with a 4.4 GPA who was denied admission to an elite college years ago said cynically that she should have hired a soccer coach rather than a physics tutor, given that another star-athlete student was admitted to the same college with a far lower GPA.
Guess what, this is the exact sentiment every Varsity Blues Family thought and then acted upon. This is the exact behavior that is transpiring on our public-school campuses (Ms. Sutton this behavior is not just relegated to sports) when elite teams – dance, theater, robotics, band, sports operate on our public-school campuses under the guise of a booster or foundation that is run by a “special few”. Do you know why these high schools and colleges should be held accountable? They should be held accountable because they are not following the actual policies, they have put in place to protect from this very behavior.
WHY AREN’T THEY…because of the Flow of Money. School leadership (high schools and colleges) are more concerned with the flow of money then how the flow came to be.
Why has the Watchdog Community in this District spent so much energy on the flow of money --because money dictates decisions.
Enjoy the summer… Hopefully 2019-2020 will improve district moral because honesty will take precedent over personal gain of a few.
Thank you Mr. Gumb for allowing us to post your opinion. Because we are about fact based information at Watchdog we have decided to take the liberty to attach some relevant public records to your opinion piece.
Showing historical examples of the lack of checks and balance in SDUHSD – and why a Varsity Blues scenario would be so easy to perpetrate.
October 17, 2017 – Community Members did all the fact finding and showed the District exactly where they were not following policy.
March 16, 219 – District personnel has no idea what happens on campus.
April 4, 2019 – School Board Approved New Policies that District has no intention of enforcing.
5.19.2019 – District continues its lack of checks and balance on private entities operating on campus for a gain.
June 14, 2019 – District Demonstrates they still have no intention of following the policies they have enacted around Foundations and Donations.