Where's Waldo, but more importantly, Where's Irma?
Back in May, we discovered that the local D11 labor union leader, Irma Valerio, was caught stealing from her own labor union and from the school district. Irma falsified papers to receive double reimbursements for travel in excess of $1,000, which is a felony theft. The following was an email sent out by a union member about the financial shenanigans of the labor union leader. The author is not related to me:
From: COX, SANDRA
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 7:26 AM
Subject: CSEA Alert
You may be concerned and confused by the events of the last few weeks. This communication is to help clarify the issues surrounding these events.
On May 11th in a vote of 8-0, the CSEA Board of Directors called for the President of CSEA's resignation because of the following:
Financial Improprieties
1. The President's expense account was exceeded by 56%. $6,000 was budgeted and $9,341 was spent.
2. The President's total compensation for this school year was to be $107,837 which is a 27% increase over the previous President's compensation. District 11 teachers received a 1% salary increase.
3. The President spent $17,000 on shirts and water bottles for members without board or Uniserve director approval.
4. For the first time since 1997 money had to be transferred from savings to balance the CSEA operating budget.
District Investigation
1. The CSEA President submitted a ProGrad expense voucher to the District that had a forged signature.
2. The president requested $1000 from ProGrad when CSEA had already paid for the trip.
3. The president received the $1000 from ProGrad in June 2006 and kept the $1000 until April 2007 when the CSEA board directed her to return it to the district.
In order to protect the members of this organization and the association's financial well being, the CSEA Board of Directors voted on May 11th to:
1. Ask the President to resign
2. Revoke the President's credit card privileges
3. Cancel the remaining balance of the President's $39,000 supplemental pay
As a result, in a retaliatory action recall petitions have been circulated against CSEA board members who have spoken up and taken positions to protect the membership of CSEA. After being informed of the above details, members have gone back and crossed their names off of the recall petitions. Should you?
Irma asked for and received a double reimbursement for labor union expenses, then she kept the money until she had to be directed to return the money to the public. There was also a forged signature on her paperwork that she submitted to receive her reimbursement, which is a second felony. In addition, you can read the other unethical financial dealings that Irma was involved with.
Logic would dictate that Irma, a teacher when she is not running the labor union, would not be in a position of trust anymore. That logic would be incorrect. According to D11 records, Irma Valerio is back in a D11 classroom teaching 8th graders at Jenkins Middle School.
Labor union members trumpeted their own horns when they removed Irma from her leadership post of the labor union. They bragged that they "did the right thing" by removing her. I agree, although I will also suggest Irma would have never been removed had there not been political infighting within the labor union during 2 school years when teachers should have been focused on teaching. Any good that the labor union leaders performed by ousting Irma has been undone by the fact that these same leaders have allowed her to remain in the classroom. She was so bad that the labor union could not trust her to run their political machine, but labor union leaders have no problem allowing her to lead a classroom of middle school students.
As I have always accurately said, the labor union places its own importance well above the importance of your and my kids.
From: COX, SANDRA
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 7:26 AM
Subject: CSEA Alert
You may be concerned and confused by the events of the last few weeks. This communication is to help clarify the issues surrounding these events.
On May 11th in a vote of 8-0, the CSEA Board of Directors called for the President of CSEA's resignation because of the following:
Financial Improprieties
1. The President's expense account was exceeded by 56%. $6,000 was budgeted and $9,341 was spent.
2. The President's total compensation for this school year was to be $107,837 which is a 27% increase over the previous President's compensation. District 11 teachers received a 1% salary increase.
3. The President spent $17,000 on shirts and water bottles for members without board or Uniserve director approval.
4. For the first time since 1997 money had to be transferred from savings to balance the CSEA operating budget.
District Investigation
1. The CSEA President submitted a ProGrad expense voucher to the District that had a forged signature.
2. The president requested $1000 from ProGrad when CSEA had already paid for the trip.
3. The president received the $1000 from ProGrad in June 2006 and kept the $1000 until April 2007 when the CSEA board directed her to return it to the district.
In order to protect the members of this organization and the association's financial well being, the CSEA Board of Directors voted on May 11th to:
1. Ask the President to resign
2. Revoke the President's credit card privileges
3. Cancel the remaining balance of the President's $39,000 supplemental pay
As a result, in a retaliatory action recall petitions have been circulated against CSEA board members who have spoken up and taken positions to protect the membership of CSEA. After being informed of the above details, members have gone back and crossed their names off of the recall petitions. Should you?
Irma asked for and received a double reimbursement for labor union expenses, then she kept the money until she had to be directed to return the money to the public. There was also a forged signature on her paperwork that she submitted to receive her reimbursement, which is a second felony. In addition, you can read the other unethical financial dealings that Irma was involved with.
Logic would dictate that Irma, a teacher when she is not running the labor union, would not be in a position of trust anymore. That logic would be incorrect. According to D11 records, Irma Valerio is back in a D11 classroom teaching 8th graders at Jenkins Middle School.
Labor union members trumpeted their own horns when they removed Irma from her leadership post of the labor union. They bragged that they "did the right thing" by removing her. I agree, although I will also suggest Irma would have never been removed had there not been political infighting within the labor union during 2 school years when teachers should have been focused on teaching. Any good that the labor union leaders performed by ousting Irma has been undone by the fact that these same leaders have allowed her to remain in the classroom. She was so bad that the labor union could not trust her to run their political machine, but labor union leaders have no problem allowing her to lead a classroom of middle school students.
As I have always accurately said, the labor union places its own importance well above the importance of your and my kids.
posted by Craig Cox | 10:40 AM
4 Comments:
Gee, thanks for the "compliment" Mr. Cox. I'm sure what little credit you had to give some unionistas must have stuck squarely in your craw.
But, of course, you had to find a way to spread at least a little disinformation, didn't you? As a former board member, you have to know that it isn't the union which has allowed Irma to remain in the classroom. That's a management perogative, and they're the ones who placed Irma back at Jenkins. (Without it ever coming before the Board of Ed in the personnel recommendations at any meeting, I believe.) So if you're looking for culprits, I'd be inclined to look at the folks in administration who protected Irma throughout the whole process -- probably some of the same ones that offered the lame reasoning that, since she repaid all the money she misappropriated, no crime had really been committed.
Anonymous Union Mouthpiece, you almost said something correct, but not quite. Management is SUPPOSED to make these decisions, but you and I know that they don't. Bishop and his staff turn to your labor union attorney, Tim Cross, and ask him what he wants to do with corrupt teachers like Irma and they allow him to make the call. According to your faithful allie David Schenkel, it is all about "avoiding litigation."
I will give you credit for inadvertently making a rather good point. The school board is SUPPOSED to be involved in felony cases like this, but this board, which was purchased by your labor union, is so weak and meaningless that they allow the administration to run them rather than performing their statutory duty of running the district.
Dave Schenkel and Glenn Gustafson wanted to drop the whole thing. Great leadership. D11 Treaasurer Jan Tanner knew of the felony and chose to do nothing about it, although she did spend hours trying to stop Eric Christen from receiving a $20 reimbursement for having lunch with constituents. Irma helped pay for Taanner's election. There was no way she was going to do the right thing. As for Terry Bishop, well, the community has quickly learned that he isn't interested in doing anything about anything.
So, we have found common ground. You finally agree with me that the administration and school board are weak and incapable of performing their duties. You are responsible for the board that you bought, so you share in the blame there
I am disappointed to read your blog. It is a blog that says it is telling the truth. Yet when a writer responds with a response that is different or with different information with they are often called unionist whacks or liberals. It is like watching FOX news, anyone that disagrees is told to shut up or called stupid or that dreaded word, liberal. We all want good education for our children! Constant blame and calling of names for those that disagree does not help that cause. It is wasted energy. If you want change, truly investigate the problems of schools. It has more to do with curriculum and teachers. Push for a system that invests in people! That includes adequate health care, good parenting, and a society that values education. Unfortunately, for most it is easier to blame others (teachers, boards, administrators, and the union) as the fault of failing schools. Yet, it is all of us that are responsible. Parents, voters, politicians, also play an extremely important role. We decide if we are willing to pay taxes, how much to spend on schools, and whether to have standardized tests by the politicians we elect. Yet very few of us have spent time actually teaching in classroom, nor do most of us actually understand what students will need to be educated in the 21st century. Yet we often like to tell teachers what they should do. We don't tell doctors how to preform open heart surgery probably because they are valued members of our society. Maybe it is just their high salary that they are deemed more important and thus not questioned. I am sure being the teacher is far more difficult than a being student in the classroom, but that is what most of us base our thoughts about what education is and what it should be.
Anony: I am disappointed to read your blog. It is a blog that says it is telling the truth. Yet when a writer responds with a response that is different or with different information with they are often called unionist whacks or liberals. It is like watching FOX news, anyone that disagrees is told to shut up or called stupid or that dreaded word, liberal.
Craig: Please show me where I have not told the truth. You haven't done so in your post. If you read the blog, you will notice that the embittered respondents proudly admit that they are both liberal and unionites, so that is an accurate way to portray them.
Anony: Constant blame and calling of names for those that disagree does not help that cause.
Craig: Read the replies by the anonymous anti-reformers and you will see who cannot tolerate disagreement. I have been very good about posting posts that disagree with me and call me names, etc. I am not the least bit afraid of disagreements. Notice that I am one of the only few who actually let you know who I am. I would suggest that anonymous posters are afraid of disagreements.
Anony: It is like watching FOX news, anyone that disagrees is told to shut up or called stupid or that dreaded word, liberal.
Craig: If you don't like Fox news, don't watch it. Watch CNN or MSNBC and you will get the one side of the news and commentary that makes you comfortable. This blog has nothing to do with Fox news.
Anony: If you want change, truly investigate the problems of schools. It has more to do with curriculum and teachers.
Craig: I have put a lot of effort into investigating and discussing issues of education. Read this blog and show me where anyone from the other side has offered up a solution to our education crisis. Even better, go anywhere and show me where the "education experts" have introduced anything that works. You don't want to lay blame, then you blame curriculum and teachers.
Anony: That includes adequate health care, good parenting, and a society that values education.
Craig: That all sounds great if you are simply offering a sound bite. Our health care is the best in the world, but our education system is not.
Anony: Unfortunately, for most it is easier to blame others (teachers, boards, administrators, and the union) as the fault of failing schools. Yet, it is all of us that are responsible. Parents, voters, politicians, also play an extremely important role. We decide if we are willing to pay taxes, how much to spend on schools, and whether to have standardized tests by the politicians we elect. Yet very few of us have spent time actually teaching in classroom, nor do most of us actually understand what students will need to be educated in the 21st century. Yet we often like to tell teachers what they should do. We don't tell doctors how to preform open heart surgery probably because they are valued members of our society. Maybe it is just their high salary that they are deemed more important and thus not questioned.
Craig: Teachers, boards, administrators, and unions all claim to be the "experts." They are responsible for educating our kids, and they are not keeping up with the rest of the world. You say that we should all be involved, but then you say that we should not tell our "experts" how to do their jobs. You are correct that we pay taxes for our schools. That means that they are our schools. We have an obligation to offer opinions on how well our kids are being educated. D11 is a $500 million per year district. How on earth can they not educate close to 100% of the students with that budget? We demand that doctors have a success rate in surgery of much greater than 50%, yet we accept this mediocre performance of our schools. We expect doctors to have solutions for illnesses, yet we allow our "professional educators" to flounder around and offer no solutions to our education dilemma. So what if most of us have not spent time in a classroom? Even fewer of us have performed surgery, yet we would have a strong opinion if half of all surgical procedures failed to accomplish their intended purpose. The people who don't understand the 21st Century needs of students are the very people who are desperately clinging to the status quo, and that isn't me or any other reformer. We don't allow incompetent surgeons to perform surgery, yet we allow incompetent teachers to teach. The labor union demands that we do this. How is that treating teachers as "valuable?" It treats them as unimportant.
You can't demand that "society" takes responsibility for our declining education system, then demand that this same society keeps its mouth shut when it comes to education issues.
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