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Poor decisions without San Diego Unified School District Board of Education approval has been a common occurrence during the 4 year tenure of Superintendent Cindy Marten.

Remember the MRAP debacle where Marten neglected to inform the Board of Education that she had funded and wanted to deploy a military grade Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle?

Remember Marten helping convicted Trustee Marne Foster improperly intervene at Lincoln and SCPA without informing the rest of the Board of Education?

Remember “Fostergate” where extensive efforts were made to cover up the false $250,00 claim against the district by Foster?

Marten has done it again…and this time it is an even MORE serious violation.

After we were the first to break the news of the new 6 month e-mail deletion policy on June 9, 2017 that had been immediately and unilaterally enacted by Marten there was a flurry of stories by the traditional San Diego News Media expressing their disbelief and outrage.

The first organization to protest the Marten email deletion policy was CalAware, a non-profit dedicated to ‘Open Government – Free Speech – Protected Reporting” that sent a letter to SDUSD Legal Counsel Donovan protesting the policy.

One of the local San Diego News Organizations, Voice of San Diego, posted an article that provided quotes from multiple SDUSD representatives trying to cover up the fact that Marten improperly implemented the email deletion policy without Board of Education approval.

What we found amazing is that not one traditional San Diego News Organization even mentioned the San Diego Board of Education Governance Policies that Marten violated with her improper action.

Here is a copy of the most recently approved SDUSD Board Governance Policies for your review:

Board Adopted Board Governance Policies Manual – version 12-13-16

District Deeds decided to fill that gap.

With the help of some of our SDUSD Whistleblowers, we have identified the following FIVE violations of SDUSD Board of Education Governance Policies, each of which hold serious disciplinary action up to and including termination against Supt. Cindy Marten.

Our first step was proving the fact that the email deletion policy was actually implemented.

The following email was sent on June 8, 2017 to all SDUSD employees at the direction of Cindy Marten:

The “Email Retention Policy Update” was not sent by Marten until June 21, 2017 – THIRTEEN days later…allowing the “legal” deletion and future redirection of any incriminating emails by EVERY SDUSD employee…including Marten’s Crony inner circle.

It is clear that the Marten “Email Retention Policy” was implemented…at least for those 13 days.

This was a clear overall violation of Marten’s overall responsibilities as Superintendent as defined on page 7 in Board/Superintendent Relationship B/SR-5, item 3:

3. The consistent performance standard for Operational Expectations policies shall be whether the superintendent has:
         a. reasonably interpreted the policy and its subparts;
         b. complied with the provisions of the board policy being monitored.

Marten did not “interpret” or “comply” with the Board Approved Policy…

Marten changed a policy unilaterally without approval by the Board of Education…clearly violating her “Operational Expectations”.

District Deeds will show five instances that this Superintendent “performance standard” was seriously abused and violated by Supt. Cindy Marten:

1.

Policy Type: Governance Culture

GC-2 Governing Commitments – Page 11

6. The board will direct the organization through policy. The board’s major focus will be on the results expected to be achieved by students, rather than on the strategic manner in which the superintendent and staff achieve those results.

Supt. Marten ignored and usurped the authority of the Board to  “direct the organization through policy” and instructed SDUSD personnel to begin deleting emails against existing District Policy without review or approval by Board of Education.

2.

8. The board, by majority vote, may revise or amend these policies at any time, provided the matter has been placed on the board meeting agenda. As a customary practice, a proposed new policy or policy revision will be discussed as a first reading at one session of the board prior to being approved at a subsequent board meeting. A member may initiate a policy addition or change by placing the issue on a board meeting agenda.

By implementing the email deletion policy without Board approval or notice, Supt. Marten prevented the Board of Education to implement the following customary practice: “a proposed new policy or policy revision will be discussed as a first reading at one session of the board prior to being approved at a subsequent board meeting.”

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Policy Type: Operational Expectations

OE-11 Communicating With the Board – Page 48

Operational Result:

The superintendent shall assure that the board is fully and adequately informed about matters relating to board work and significant organizational concern.

3.

5. Assure that the board has adequate information from a variety of internal and external viewpoints to assure informed board decisions.

By implementing the email deletion policy unilaterally without either seeking or providing SDUSD Stakeholders, Taxpayers or San Diego Press Corps “viewpoints” for Board review, Supt. Marten clearly violated this Governance Policy.

4.

6. Inform the board of anticipated significant media coverage.

The Board of Education found out about the Marten email deletion policy for the first time from District Deeds. When the San Diego Media found out they bombarded the Board Trustees with questions.  Marten obviously violated Board Governance Policy by not informing the Board of “anticipated significant media coverage.”

5.

7. Inform the board in advance, where possible, of actions and conditions that likely will result in significant reactions from community.

Marten did not notify the Board OR the community of her rogue email deletion “policy” before she implemented it so she clearly violated this section by not informing the board “in advance”.

As final proof, the following quote by SDUSD Trustee President Richard Barrera proves that Marten is guilty of ALL the Board Governance Policy violations we listed:

According to a Richard Barrera phone interview posted in the previously referenced Voice of San Diego article:

Barrera said he can’t comment on the 6-month timeframe proposed, “without knowing best practices… Why do some agencies do a year? Why do some agencies do three months?”

“It feels like this is a work in progress. We haven’t had much brought to us really,” he said.

Barrera OBVIOUSLY was NOT informed of the Marten email deletion “policy” decision before it was implemented.

The answer is simple:

Supt. Cindy Marten clearly violated SDUSD Board Governance Policy by improperly implementing a policy that allowed deletion of emails without Board approval or notification.

The Board MUST do their duty as SDUSD Trustees and take serious disciplinary action up to and including immediate termination of Supt. Cindy Marten. 

Anything less than a significant suspension or termination for Marten disqualifies the current Board of Education.

If Marten is not removed or suspended, the Board of Education MUST be removed by the City Council, San Diego County or the State of California for dereliction of duty.

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NOTE TO ALL SCHOOL SITE STAKEHOLDERS BEING FORCED TO REPLACE THEIR PRINCIPAL IN THE  2017/18 SCHOOL YEAR:

District Deeds Recommends the following past blog posts exposing the fake SDUSD Principal Selection Process:

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IF

  • Your family has been injured by the San Diego Unified School District, go to the District Deeds Complaint Forms page to find instructions to fight for your Civil Rights!
  • YOU ARE TIRED OF THE COVER UPS AND LIES BY SUPT. CINDY MARTEN… 

Please Click the Link Below and sign the Petition Today and READ the COMMENTS to Support the REMOVAL of Marten by SDUSD Stakeholders! 

FIRE San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten Immediately!

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