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Welcome to the 10th school year for District Deeds!

We launched District Deeds in June, 2014 so the 2014/2015 San Diego Unified school District (SDUSD) school year was the first full year of our analysis and exposure of the rampant Student educational neglect and political/financial corruption of the SDUSD.

On January 1st, in our first post of 2023, we rolled out our “San Diego Unified 2023 “HAT Trick” Resolution – FULL Honesty, Accountability and Transparency!!!”

From January – May, 2023 we provided the “HAT TRICK HANDBOOK – UNIFORM COMPLAINTS“ to arm SDUSD Stakeholders with the legal methods to stand up for the educational rights of their children.  After that we provided the District Deeds Summer Edition offering summer school and other related articles.

In this first post of the 2023/2024 school year we are offering some new features and promise our readers the same in-depth, no holds barred reporting of the SDUSD.

There are two goals we have set for this August through June 2023/2024 school year:

District Deeds Goal #1:  Expand Community Voice

DEFINITION:  SDUSD Stories and opinions from real SDUSD Stakeholders that tell the real truth about surviving the SDUSD dysfunction.

Over the past nine years we have presented the SDUSD Stakeholder experience in a variety of ways but the most interesting and effective method we have used is through the “Whistleblower Series” where stakeholders get to tell their stories directly to our readers.  We will strongly maintain that strategy…but we want to expand that concept, when possible, into more individual and personal descriptions of life in the SDUSD.

We are calling this category…

SPEAK YOUR TRUTH!!! 

With lots of stories from lots of SDUSD Stakeholders it will be impossible for the SDUSD to “blame the messenger”.

The way to offer “Speak Your Truth” stories to District Deeds for posting is a very simple 4 step process:

Step 1:  Send an email to District Deeds at districtdeeds@gmail.com describing your issue/story.  We will review your story with you and ask questions that will help you capsulize your message.

Step 2:  Complete your initial draft for review.  We will review your draft and make suggestions to help ensure your confidentiality.

Step 3:  Complete and submit your final draft for posting.  We will provide a final review (spell check/grammar check).

Step 4:  We will post your story on District Deeds, Facebook, X and other social media platforms.

The stories can be short or long and may be combined periodically with a collection of other stories from many different SDUSD Stakeholders.  In ALL cases your personal contact information will be kept completely confidential unless you prefer it to be posted with your story.

We have a few SDUSD Stakeholders that have already expressed an interest in providing Whistleblower material for Goal#1.  We will be posting these stories as we receive them in Sunday Reads.

DD NOTE:  From time to time we will post stories we have heard on behalf of Stakeholders afraid of SDUSD retribution with their permission. 

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DISTRICT DEEDS GOAL #2: CLARIFY AND CRITIQUE

DEFINITION:  Clarify and critique local and national news outlets/stories representation and misrepresentation of SDUSD so-called accomplishments and massively ignored violations.

Local Journalists assigned to reporting SDUSD activities are in a difficult position.

They get their paycheck by “reporting” on the SDUSD and their job security is dependent upon having SDUSD employee sources in high places to give them a “scoop” for SDUSD issues.

The corrupt expectation of the highly placed SDUSD sources is that the Journalist will present the story, even the most egregious educational violations, in a way that allows the SDUSD from taking any direct blame for their corrupt and/or incompetent management.

The problem is how a well meaning Journalist can present the mass destruction of the education for thousands of SDUSD Students in a way that DOES NOT place the blame on the SDUSD perpetrators that provided them the story and are guilty of that educational crime?

If they tell the WHOLE truth, per this definition from the Urban Dictionary, the SDUSD will simply “gulag anyone” that crosses the line and honestly reports the facts.

If they report the educational crime fully and truthfully, they are sent to the SDUSD Reporter Gulag where they are the LAST individual to get any information from the SDUSD.  This loss of information is negatively overwhelming, especially for newer Journalists that are hoping for a long and productive career reporting about the SDUSD.

Their choice is simple:

#1: If they cave into the corrupt SDUSD pressure they get rewarded with more stories, a bigger paycheck, journalist awards and a long San Diego journalist career.  Sometimes they are even HIRED with a big raise by the SDUSD perpetrators to help them violate the educational rights of the poorest and neediest Students and Families.

OR

#2: If they refuse to cave into the corrupt SDUSD pressure the journalist is sent to the SDUSD Gulag, and the journalistic career they spent years of education and hard work building is at risk.

Almost all San Diego Journalists that picked #2 are now working somewhere else outside of San Diego County.

District Deeds does NOT have those constraints.

We understand that career dilemma for local journalists and will help spread the FULL insights and truth of SDUSD political, financial and educational corruption through our District Deeds Goal #2 for the 2023/2024 school year.

We will do our best to NOT make the journalist job even harder but we will, as usual, call out news organizations for OBVIOUS pandering.

DISTRICT DEEDS CLARIFY AND CRITIQUE – 8/27/2023

To start off this 2023/2024 strategy we are featuring four stories that strike directly at San Diego Journalist dilemma and ALL are from the San Diego Union Tribune;

#1: “‘Ripe for fraud’: San Diego school employees were paid for thousands of hours without documentation, audit finds” July 22, 2023 by Kristen Taketa

#2: “Nine San Diego school police officers accuse chief and other superiors of harassment, discrimination” August 16, 2023 by Kristen Taketa

#3: “Opinion: The San Diego school police department is setting a very poor example for its students” August 17, 2023  San Diego Union Tribune Editorial Board (SDUTEB)

#4: “Opinion: California education leaders should be embarrassed by efforts to hide K-12 shortcomings” August 25, 2023  San Diego Union Tribune Editorial Board (SDUTEB)

DD NOTE:  All the SDUTEB opinions and the SDUT reporter Taketa stories have a firewall for non subscribers and we urge our readers to subscribe to gain access.

This is a perfect case of a well respected and highly needed local San Diego news outlet missing an opportunity to connect the dots on a widespread educational corruption story that goes all the way up to the State of California level

UT story item #1 by Reporter Taketa spells out time card fraud across the SDUSD universally:

UT story item #2 by Reporter Taketa also spells out “employment violations” in the SDUSD Police Department:

Reporter Taketa neglected to include another fact provided by the Channel 7 San Diego titled “Lawsuit alleges San Diego school police chief’s relationship allowed favoritism, corruption“:

UT Editorial item #3, instead of INCUDING the time card fraud in the SDUSD Police Department as a OVERALL CORRUPT financial mismanagement all the way up to incompetent Superintendent “Cryin Lamont” Jackson, they instead propose to SOLVE the SDUSD Police fraud problems by just closing the Department:

WOW!

One would think that the SDUSD Police lawsuit involving the fraudulent time cards symptom would be indicative of a MUCH LARGER problem in the SDUSD.  Instead of that conclusion, here is the SDUT journalistic solutions to that widespread SDUSD financial corruption and mismanagement disaster:

Opinion: The San Diego school police department is setting a very poor example for its students.

BY THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD
AUG. 17, 2023 11:32 AM PT

The editorial board operates independently from the U-T newsroom but holds itself to similar ethical standards. We base our editorials and endorsements on reporting, interviews and rigorous debate, and strive for accuracy, fairness and civility in our section. What do you think? Let us know.

Key Excerpts:

And…

That’s right…the SDUTEB broke the most basic rule for all ETHICAL journalists when presented with a valid and serious offense lodged by individuals whose life and career is based on the SDUSD Law Enforcement Code of Ethics:

The most basic rule for ALL investigative journalists (from Merriam-Webster) is to NOT…Posing the question whether the corrupt and massively dysfunctional SDUSD actually needs LESS oversight by Police and questions the value of the only SDUSD department that actually HAS a “Code of Ethics” is COMPLETELY missing the point.

It is NOT the Police complainants fault that their superiors are corrupt and that they hide that corruption from SDUSD Stakeholders and Taxpayers.

It is the fault of incompetent Superintendent Cryin’ Lamont Jackson and senior staff along with Trustee Tricky Dick Barrera and his Board of Education Trustee enablers.

The standard boilerplate SDUSD response for these issues are in the articles also:

UT Editorial item #4: “‘Ripe for fraud’:

And in SDUT Article #2: “Nine San Diego school police officers accuse…“ from a former SDUT Reporter who made the lucrative leap to SDUSD Spokesperson provides the standard information denial boilerplate:

But it gets worse.

SDUT Article #4: Just one week AFTER letting the SDUSD Senior Leadership and spokesperson off the hook and suggesting the removal of the SDUSD Police for TELLING THE TRUTH, the SDUTEB on August 25, 2023 flip flopped in article #4: “Opinion: California education leaders should be embarrassed by efforts to hide K-12 shortcomings“!!!

In other words:

On August 17, 2023 the SDUTEB poses the question “Does San Diego Unified even need its own police department if these allegations are true?” suggesting the disbanding of the SDUSD police department for telling the truth about SDUSD corruption.

On August 25, 2023 the SDUTEB says that “California education leaders” should be “embarrassed by efforts to hide K-12 shortcomings“.

So given the SDUTEB options, what should ALL SDUSD Stakeholders, both employees and non-employees, demand to meet the SDUTEB honesty standards?  A or B?

A. Should they tell the truth and have their department shut down for doing so like the Police Officers in the Lawsuit?

B. Should they keep quiet and just be “embarrassed by efforts to hide” SDUSD “K-12 shortcomings”?

District Deeds Answer: NEITHER!

We recommend that the SDUTEB and ALL SDUSD Stakeholders choose OPTION C that we suggested SIX YEARS AGO on February 13. 2017 in  “Resolution Con Job Withdrawn!!! The San Diego Unified Board of Education/Supt. Marten Bullies Lose Their Nerve – Cancel Invitation Insult to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos !!!“:

OPTION C:  FORENSIC AUDIT

District Deeds picks “OPTION C” and believes the SDUSD should be forced to endure a FULL, TOP to BOTTOM, FORENSIC AUDIT of ALL SDUSD Financial, Operational and Management areas.

Here is a sample we posted back then that can be updated to current dysfunction and the current Board of Education and Senior Staff:

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Have the Department of Education Auditors “visit” the books and interview (under oath) past and present employees of the San Diego Unified School District with a forensic audit:

  • Uncover and expose the ways that NCLB and ESSA federal funds have been unethically and improperly redirected away from the students the money was meant for.

  • Uncover and expose any and all the Marten administration Title IX sexual assault cover-ups

  • Uncover and expose any and all the FERPA violations complaints that teachers, administrators and staff were bullied and forced to drop by the Marten administration and Union leadership.

  • Uncover and expose all the REAL Graduation Rate numbers and fine the District for the errors

  • Uncover and expose all the past and present “Marne Foster Type” Free and Reduced Lunch violations.  

  • Uncover and Expose all the fake LCFF and LCAP initiatives and force the SDUSD to follow the rules or risk suspension of Federal Financial Support. 

With the forensic audit and any luck, Secretary DeVos will solve two problems:

  1. Uncover and expose all the SDUSD corruption so ALL Stakeholders fully receive the educational funding, fairness and justice they deserve.
  2. Throw the SDUSD into financial default so the Board and Superintendent will have to be replaced.

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The SDUSD continues to irresponsibly punish employees, students and taxpayers with unethical, irresponsible and educationally dangerous legacy processes and protocols that, according to Article 1, has NOT been audited “for several years”.

This MUST stop and SDUSD Stakeholders, the SDUTEB and ALL local news organizations MUST demand that a FULL FORENSIC AUDIT MUST OCCUR IMMEDIATELY!

The lives and the futures of ALL our SDUSD children demand it!

And SDUTEB, you have done good work in the past…it is time to do it again!

Speak YOUR Truth as a News Organization starting TODAY!!!

Now for our first District Deeds Sunday Reads “Quote of the Week” for the 2023/2024 school year.

“If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.” – Khalil Gibran

IF

  • You have an important story regarding San Diego Unified School District corruption or misdeeds, please e-mail your information to us at districtdeeds@gmail.com.
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