When Marne Foster ran for office in 2012, she described herself as a ” P T A “, a Parent Teacher and Administrator.  Within 3 years of Fosters’ election to SDUSD Board of Education  Trustee,  Foster has, through her improper actions,  effectively eliminated her viability in the T & A categories and is questionable in the P if providing a good “parenting” example is part of the equation.

Fosters response TO CHARGES OF FUNDRAiSING IMPROPRIETIES is a watershed event in her tenure as a SDUSD Board of Education Trustee.

With her 518 word “False Apology” where she rationalizes her actions, pulls the “single parent” pity card and attributes her actions to somehow being a good mother, Foster has fully made the transition from a:

PEDAGOGUE [ped–uh-gog, -gawg]: a teacher; schoolteacher.

To a:

DEMAGOGUE [dem–uh-gog, -gawg] a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power

There was NO contrition in her response for the thousands of SDUSD STUDENTS and STAKEHOLDERS SHE BETRAYED.

The coverage of Foster’s response as published in both the Voice of San Diego by Mario Koran and the San Diego Union Tribune by Maureen Magee touched upon the other professional indiscretions perpetrated by Foster and her accomplice Cindy Marten over the last 28 months.

Here is the Official Statement: Marne Foster Fundraiser False Apology Statement

Here is the List of Donors from VOSD: brothers2college Donors from VOSD

In those articles, the phrase Foster uses to describe press coverage of her violations is: “I am also an elected official. My actions can be, and frequently are, parsed, analyzed and criticized.”

To that end, and in keeping with the right of ALL citizens to parse. analyze and criticize the improper and possibly illegal actions of an elected official:

District Deeds Presents:

The Marne Foster Fundraiser False “Apology”:
Pedagogue to Demagogue in 518 Words!

Statement by

San Diego Unified School District Board President

Marne Foster

September 8, 2015

It is a tremendous honor to serve the residents and students of the San Diego Unified School District as a School Board Trustee. And I am deeply pained by the news reports about  the ‘Brothers 2 College’ fundraiser that was held to help my two adult sons pay for their college tuition.

Marne…we can understand you being “pained by the news reports”.  Usually there are NO NEWS REPORTS initially about your improper actions like:

• At Lincoln High School where you improperly intervened (with Supt. Cindy Marten improper support) to remove Dr. Esther Omogbehin.
• At SCPA where you intimidated Teachers, manipulated a weak Counselor to gain improper access to SEALED Documents and got multiple administrators improperly “reassigned” (again with Supt. Cindy Marten improper support)
• In your Marne for School Board 2016 Fundraiser where you improperly and illegally used SDUSD resources – the multi million dollar SDUSD website as a PORTAL to fundraising solicitations for your re-election campaign.

Luckily the SCPA impropriety has gotten some press coverage due to the Grand Jury Report and ridiculous SDUSD Grand Jury Response by her appointed crony Supt. Cindy Marten.

We are sure that the Grand Jury articles must have “deeply pained” her also…it is PAINFUL when you get caught breaking the rules and the law…ASK ANY CONVICT.

But also ASK YOUR VICTIMS!!!

Ask Dr. Esther Omogbehin if she was “pained” from your improper intervention and removal from Lincoln High School.

Ask the Teachers at SCPA if they were “pained” from you intimidation. 

Ask the Senior Administrators like Principal Mitzi Lizarraga and Counselors at SCPA, some of which LOST THEIR JOB if they were “pained” by your improper actions and denials.

And ASK THE THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS that were relegated to SECOND CLASS CITIZENS when YOU IMPROPERLY USED YOUR POWER TO PUT YOUR OWN CHILDREN UNDESERVEDLY AHEAD OF THEM!

“Many know that I am a single parent of four adult children, with three still in college. My children mean the world to me, and like any parent I want to see them succeed in achieving their dreams and making this world a better place.”

Marne – How despicable for you to pull the “single mom” pity card.

There are THOUSANDS of Stakeholders, INCLUDING single parents, in the SDUSD that DON”T make over $100,000 a year like you who want the very best for ALL Students.  There are THOUSANDS of Stakeholders who VOLUNTEER FOR NO PAY to help ALL students “succeed in achieving their dreams and making this world a better place”.   

The difference between those selfless supporters and you is that you want to GET PAID by

• The District as a Trustee
• Your community supporters
• SDUSD Contractors who you vote to approve
• Fellow Board Members (John Lee Evans) who you vote to support his initiatives
• The President of the SDEA Teachers Union (Lindsey Burningham) who you vote to approve her Labor contract
• The Chief Negotiator on the SDUSD side for the SDEA Contract (Jennifer Carbuccia)

TO SEND YOUR KIDS TO COLLEGE FOR FREE!!!

And along the way ALSO excuse you for improperly using your SDUSD power and influence to PUT YOUR CHILDREN IN FRONT OF EVERYONE ELSES STUDENTS by opening Sealed Counseling Documents and trying to intimidate Teachers to change grades.

“However, I am also an elected official. My actions can be, and frequently are, parsed, analyzed and criticized. Although it may sound naïve, it never  occurred to me that ‘Marne the Mom’, by supporting an effort to help my sons go to college, was stepping into territory occupied by ‘Marne the Elected Official’. But obviously I was.”

I have NEVER heard anyone inside or outside of the SDUSD use the term “naive” and Marne Foster together in a sentence.

MEDDLIN’ – Yes!

VINDICTIVE – Yes!

INTIMIDATING TO TEACHERS AND STAFF – YES!

CRIMINAL – Yes!

TOTALLY SELF SERVING – Yes!

NAIVE – NEVER!

By the way Marne – “stepping into territory occupied by ‘Marne the Elected Official’.” is not like “oops…I accidentally stepped on your foot”…IT IS A CRIME..AND YOU JUST ADMITTED TO IT!

In the Grand Jury Response by Fosters Crony Cindy Marten responded this way saying that Foster and all the Board Members are FULLY trained:

Recommendation 15·32:  Implement a mandatory annual training program for all trustees  regarding Code of Conduct,Conflict of Interest, Ethics,Roles and Responsibilities of Board Members.

Response:  This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. (Penal Code§ 933.05(b)(4).) The Board collectively, and Board members individually, participate in multiple trainings and workshops regarding Board Governance Immediately prior to or upon taking office, each trustee attends Orientation for New Trustees  regarding  Roles  and  Responsibilities provided  by  the California  School Boards Association (“CSBA”). Thereafter, each trustee attends other trainings provided by  CSBA, which may  include  ethical and appropriate behavior, human  resources practices, legislative policy issues, educational policy and/or strategic leadership.   A summary of the trainings attended by the District’s current trustees is attached.   In addition, the Board holds a Board Workshop annually in which they conduct a self­ assessment regarding their performance in the context of the District’s Board Governance Policies,Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct.

OBVIOUSLY, since the Board of Education training is comprehensive enough to DENY a San Diego County Grand Jury Recommendation, Foster was aware of the impropriety of the fundraiser and HAS ADMITTED TO WILLFULLY AND CONSCIOUSLY VIOLATING THE LAW!

“This was a Mistake of the Heart and I fully take responsibility for my mistakes.”

This was definitely in a different “area” or “category” than the heart…how about one of the following:

“A Mistake of being Unethical”

A Mistake of being Greedy”

“A Mistake of feeling Immune to Prosecution”

“A Mistake of NOT Covering it up Fast Enough”

“A Mistake of Letting Sally Smith Film the Fundraiser”

Take your pick.

“Elected officials need to earn  the public’s trust and maintain that trust every day. To do so, they need to avoid even  the appearance of impropriety. I’ve been assured by legal counsel that my actions were completely legal and proper. Nevertheless, I believe that more is required.”

SO YOU ARE GOING TO RESIGN FROM THE SDUSD SCHOOL BOARD IMMEDIATELY…RIGHT?

I guess not…

“I believe in openness and transparency. I believe in accountability. And I believe that the public has the right to know all the details when elected officials are associated with fundraisers in circumstances such as these.”

Marne…SORRY…NO ONE EVER mentions openness, transparency or accountability when describing you.

Actually just the OPPOSITE!

If you are SUCH a BIG believer of Openness, Transparency and Accountability:

• HOW ABOUT SOME INTERVIEWS AND ANSWERS ABOUT YOUR ACTIVITY AT SCPA  
• HOW ABOUT GOING ON PUBLIC RECORD ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO GRAND JURY REPORT
  • THAT YOU KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOU INTERVENED AT
  • WHAT TEACHERS AND STAFF YOU INTIMIDATED
  • THAT EMPLOYEES YOU REMOVED DIRECTLY THROUGH CINDY MARTEN

But wait…FOSTER JUST DID WHAT SHE ACCUSES THE MEDIA OF DOING!

She PARSED!

Foster said: “the public has the right to know all the details when elected officials are associated with fundraisers in circumstances such as these”

Openness, Transparency and Accountability is ONLY applicable when talking about “fundraisers in circumstances such as these”.

NOT POLITICAL FUNDRAISERS illegally run through links on the District Website 

NOT IMPROPER INTERVENTIONS at School Sites

NOT TEACHER/STAFF INTIMIDATION to change grades.

Those examples and any other VIOLATIONS by Foster OBVIOUSLY DO NOT have to meet the  Openness, Transparency and Accountability threshold.

“Accordingly, I have asked the event organizer for a complete accounting of all funds raised and expenses from the event and I am making the entire financial report public. In the interests of complete transparency, I will make public the names and amounts donated for every donor and the amount spent with corresponding vendor name for every expenditure, including the rent paid for the facility.

Any individual who works for or does business with the School District will have their contribution returned. In addition, a small number of contributions were made anonymously online. Since the identity of the donors of these funds is not known, this money will be donated to an independent non-profit, Heartbeat Music Academy, that provides mentoring and leadership development to youth in underserved communities through music education. At the event, raffle tickets were sold for cash. The raffle proceeds will be retained by C. Anthony Cole Repertory Dance Theatre (CACRDT), the nonprofit 501c (3) charitable organization, that organized the event.

This information will be filed with Cheryl Ward, the Clerk of the School District, so any member of the public can see the report for themselves.

Painful though it has been, this has been a learning experience for me.”

Marne – Everyone is SO happy you are willing to return the money you improperly solicited from a SDUSD Trustee, SDEA Union President and multiple SDUSDS Contractors as part of your improper fundraising activity channeled through the PORTAL of the SDUSD multi million dollar website.

Confessions usually bring a lighter sentence in a court of law…although it doesn’t exonerate you from the legal ramifications of your improper activity, especially when bundles with the Grand Jury Report and the Political fundraiser ALSO channeled through the portal of the SDUSD multi million dollar website.

Since you are returning money…I wonder how much you will be returning to the SDUSD for improperly using the SDUSD site for your two fundraisers.  Web portals to DRAW AND ROUTE FUNDRAISER TRAFFIC ARE VERY EXPENSIVE…especially EXCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT websites paid for by taxpayers AND FREQUENTED BY UNASSUMING SDUSD STAKEHOLDERS.

Will that REPAYMENT information “be filed with Cheryl Ward, the Clerk of the School District, so any member of the public can see the report for themselves.”?

We will be looking for it.

“In closing, I also want to reiterate my commitment to fighting for quality education for ALL our children. While my children have already graduated from this District I will continue to fight for the 130,000 students in San Diego Unified who count on our Board to put their needs first.”

Given this admission of guilt and the overwhelming evidence of your violations, you can only hope your “fight for the 130,000 students in San Diego Unified” will be as a community volunteer NON Trustee and not in a courtroom.

PLEASE RESIGN NOW from the SDUSD Board of Education for the good of ALL the 130,000 students in the San Diego Unified AND to set a good example for your “four adult children“ especially “with three still in college“!

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