By Lieutenant Robin Kelley, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at 4:32 P.M., the Antioch Police Department responded to a report of shots fired and a victim down on the ground near Joe’s Liquor store at 1911 D Street. When officers arrived they found a male suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to an area hospital where he was later pronounced deceased. This information is preliminary as the investigation is ongoing.

Antioch Police Investigators are currently following up on leads. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective James Stenger at (925) 779-6894. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

By Allen Payton

Each year, Royal Family Kids, a nonprofit, hosts week long summer camps for children who are currently in the Foster Care System, who have been abandoned, neglected or abused.

RFK-Brentwood is only the second camp in the Bay Area having been hosted and trained by the RFK-Concord camp. This will be RFK-Brentwood’s first year hosting their own camp.

Last year, 39 foster children from Antioch, Brentwood and Oakley went to camp, with a staff of 91 volunteers. This year the goal is to send 40 foster children to camp. Volunteers are given background checks, screened, fingerprinted and interviewed to meet the unique needs and safety of these children.

RFK-Brentwood depends solely on donations of individuals, businesses and organizations, as foster children attend camp for free. The funds provide for the children at camp, plus their supplies and materials.

They are currently raising $60,000.00 to meet all of the needs of the children and staff for the week at camp. Their major fundraiser, a Royal Family Tea will be held on May 10, 2014 at Golden Hills Community Church from 2:00 – 4:00 P.M. Tickets are on sale now at a cost of $15.00 each. Families with children ages 8 and older invited to attend.  For tickets call Connie Rominger at 925-207-9180.

To donate an auction item or raffle prize to the fundraiser or in some other way, call Fundraising Coordinator Sue Bowers at 925-207-9182.

All donations, financial or in-kind, are tax deductible.

Abbacadabra – The Ultimate ABBA Concert
Saturday April 12, 2014 8:00 pm
Tickets: Adults: $27
Seniors (62 & Over): $25
Youth (Ages 6 – 17): Free With Paid Adult or Senior
RESERVED SEATING
El Campanil Theatre is thrilled to be able to return this amazing show – in between their performances in Vegas, Reno and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
With the resurgence of the 1970’s, the music of ABBA is finding its way back into the hearts of those who lived it then and taking over the hearts of those who are experiencing it for the first time now.
The show is authentic in music and dress and is performed to live music. “S.O.S.”, “Super Trooper” and “Dancing Queen” are re-created with such precision you’ll swear you were listening to the originals themselves. The melodies of “Fernando” and “Chiquitita” will rekindle those feelings of first loves. “Take a Chance on Me” and “Voulez Vous” will lift you out of your seat to dance! 

 

This Life (Denmark) – presented by International Film Showcase
Sunday April 13, 2014 1:00 pm
Sunday April 13, 2014 4:00 pm
Tickets: Adults: $8 Seniors (62 & Over): $7
Youth (Ages 10 – 17): Free With Paid Adult or Senior
GENERAL SEATING
The true story of the Fiil’s a family of innkeepers who during Nazi-Germany’s occupation of Denmark took up arms against the German occupiers. But in the fight for freedom, some must die so that others may live.
Director: Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis
Cast:  Jens Jørn Spottag, Bodil Jørgensen, Thomas Ernst
Language: Danis
English Subtitles
Runtime: 122 min.

Joni Morris presents a Tribute to the Music of Patsy Cline
Sunday April 27, 2014 3:00 pm (New Date & Time)
Tickets: Adults: $27
Seniors (62 & Over): $25
Youth (Ages 6 – 17): Free With Paid Adult or Senior
RESERVED SEATING
“Morris Has Cline Down Pat” said the newspaper headlines from the San Francisco Examiner of Joni’s most recent performance there. And the San Francisco chronicle’s Date Book section reads “It’s Patsy All Over Again” of her re-creation of the country and western legend, Patsy Cline, at the bay area’s Alcazar Theatre.
Joni, from Stockton, California, has traveled nationally for the past fifteen years with her extremely talented “Jordanaires singing style” four-piece band. Audiences love her tributes to the music of Patsy Cline, Connie Francis, Legendary Ladies in Country Music, Christmas Shows, and Joni’s own original music, included in every show.
Her performance is a solid one, saturated with true showmanship and authentic sound and personality. We’re transported back to Golden Years of the late 50’s and 60’s with songs like “Crazy,” “Sweet Dreams,” “I Fall to Pieces,” “My Happiness,” and “Where the Boys Are.”
Joni sings each song brilliantly and adds dazzling costumes and comedy too, but nothing shines so bright as her ability to connect with audience.

For tickets visit www.elcampaniltheatre.com, stop by the Box Office at 602 W 2nd St., Antioch (next door to the theatre) or call (925) 757-9500.

From the Office of Associate Superintendent, Stephanie Anello in collaboration with Louie Rocha, Principal Antioch High School and Kenneth Gardner, Principal Deer Valley High School

The Antioch Unified School District is once again forced to respond to misinformation from the petitioners attempting to convert Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (DLMHS) to an Independent Charter School. On Friday, April 4, after the Superior Court denied the petitioner’s request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), inaccurate information was sent to parents and media through a press release. The District wishes to respond to this misinformation:

Misinformation #1:

The petitioners’ press release states that the Dozier Independent Charter Petitioners, “won a small victory in the Superior Court of Contra Costa County when the Honorable Judge Laurel Brady agreed that demands being made by the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD), with the regard to a questionable counter charter proposal, were unreasonable.”

Fact:

On Thursday April 03, 2014, the conversion petitioners’ lawyers with barely 24-hours’ notice to the District filed for a TRO against the District and Associate Superintendent Stephanie Anello and Superintendent Dr. Donald Gill.

The petitioners sought to restrain the Dozier–Libbey Medical High School-Dependent Charter School (DLMHS-DCS) from using the name Dozier-Libbey, and from enrolling students and hiring staff to work at the lawfully approved dependent charter school.

The application for the TRO was heard on Friday, April 04, 2014 at the Superior Court of Contra Costa County in Martinez. The Honorable Judge Laurel Brady refused to grant the TRO, due to her need for more time to review the “complexity” of the case, and instead postponed the matter to a full hearing on April 28, 2014

Until the hearing, the Judge requested the District extend the deadline for students and staff to express interest in attending and working at the new dependent charter school until April 28, 2014.

The District agreed to do so. At no time did the judge say that the Dependent Charter was “unreasonable” in its effort to launch this new start-up charter. The Judge also confirmed DLMHS-DCS is not restrained from continuing with its activities.

Misinformation #2:

The petitioners’ press release states, “The process to convert the Dozier Libbey into a public charter school was greatly confused last month, apparently deliberately so, when the district filed and approved its own petition to convert the high-performing medical pathway school into a district-dependent charter school, immediately after denying the original independent charter petition submitted by the faculty of Dozier Libbey Medical High School.”

Fact:

The District has not and will not deliberately confuse our parents and staff! The fact that the petitioners met in secret without involving students, parents, and the community in their plans is what caused confusion. Continued misleading information such as the press release sent out on Friday April 4th continues to confuse students, their parents, and the community.

Misinformation #3:

The petitioners’ press release states, “The legality of the district’s petition is highly suspect as the district was unable to obtain a single signature from Dozier Libbey faculty (California Ed Code requires concurrence of 50% of the current teachers plus one). A preliminary injunction request has been filed with the court against AUSD on behalf of the students, parents, and faculty of Dozier Libbey Medical High School, the hearing for which is set on April 28th.”

Fact:

The DLMHS-DCS petitioners did not file a ‘conversion’ charter petition, they filed a “start-up charter petition” to form a charter school that supports and enhances the current DLMHS. The teacher signature requirements for a “start-up” petition are different in that they may be signed by any teacher “meaningfully interested” in working at the school. It is interesting to note that the dependent charter petition contained 127 teacher signatures “meaningfully interested” in working at the school–nearly six times the number of signatures in support of the independent, conversion charter petition.

Misinformation #4:

The petitioners’ press release states, “Pending this hearing, the judge has ordered the district to withdraw its demand that parents enroll their children in the district’s dependent charter by April 7. The district has repeatedly admonished parents that in failing to do so parents will risk losing their spot at the school next year. The judge further ordered that the district withdraw its demand that Dozier Libbey teachers commit to employment at the district dependent charter by the close of business today, or risk termination.”

Fact:

Judge Brady did not order the District to withdraw any “demand.” Rather, Judge Brady extended the time frame for students to express interest in enrolling in the new DLMHS-DCS. She never used the words “rescind” or “withdraw”. She asked the District to extend the deadline and the District agreed.

Following the approval of the new DLMHS-DCS, parents and community members currently enrolled at DLMHS continued to ask for assurances that their children could attend the new DLMHS-DCS. The District sent out a letter to these parents first granting them a spot if they so choose. Starting a new school takes a lot of planning and hiring so knowing how many students would enroll in the new school was a crucial and necessary first step.

Additionally, the District sent out a letter to current DLMHS staff asking if they would be interested in working at the new start-up DLMHS-DCS prior to opening the positions for transfer according to the Antioch Education Association (AEA) bargaining contract. At no time were staff told they would be terminated. Proponents of the independent charter appear to have misinformed students and parents.

Misinformation #5:

The petitioners’ press release states, “Although the district’s charter was initially described in public hearing as a new start–up charter, AUSD has since announced via social media that its charter will replace the current Dozier Libbey Medical High School. The district has not yet provided legal justification for how it would accomplish what would appear to be a clear violation of both California Education Code and the Charter School Act of 1992.”

Fact:

The District has not announced via social media that the DLMHS-DCS would replace DLMHS. DLMHS-DCS will enhance and support the current curriculum and supports provided by DLMHS. Once the community advisory committee comprised of parents, community, and staff is established, enhancements such as a dual immersion medical courses, an opportunity for students to receive a seal of bi-literacy, or a middle college opportunity will be discussed.

Misinformation #6:

The petitioners’ press release states, “Supporters of the Dozier-Libbey believe that the court, like much of the Antioch community, will take a dim view of the school district’s attempt, with great expenditure of public funds, to confuse the issue of the school’s legal conversion to a public charter school.”

Fact:

The community has voiced little to no support for the independent, conversion charter petition submitted by the 23 Dozier Libbey Medical High School teachers. In fact, at the public hearing before the Board of Education on March 19, 2014, parents and community members expressed their overwhelming disapproval of the petition to convert DLMHS into an independent charter school.

The petitioners’ press release did get one thing right —the District has been forced to use money and resources that should be going to 18,000 students in order to respond to the unsupported and unnecessary actions of 23 petitioners.

 ———–

Following is the complete press release from the teachers organizing the Dozier-Libbey independent charter conversion:

Antioch Unified School District Ordered to Rescind Dependent Charter Deadlines

Martinez, CA – April 4, 2014 – This morning the students, parents, and teachers of Dozier-Libbey Medical High School, fighting to convert their school to an independent public charter school, won a small victory in the Superior Court of Contra Costa County when the Honorable Judge Laurel Brady agreed that demands being made by the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD), with regard to a questionable counter charter proposal, were unreasonable. 

The process to convert Dozier-Libbey into a public charter school was greatly confused last month, apparently deliberately so, when the district filed and approved its own petition to convert the high-performing medical pathway school into a district-dependent charter school, immediately after denying the original independent charter petition submitted by the faculty of Dozier-Libbey.  The legality of the district’s petition is highly suspect, as the district was unable to obtain a single signature from Dozier-Libbey faculty (California Ed Code requires concurrence of 50% of the current teachers plus one).  A preliminary injunction request has been filed with the court against AUSD on behalf of the students, parents, and faculty of Dozier-Libbey Medical High School , the hearing for which is set on April 28th. 

Pending this hearing, the judge has ordered the district to withdraw its demand that parents enroll their children in the district’s dependent charter by April 7.  The district has repeatedly admonished parents that in failing to do so parents will risk losing their spot at the school next year.  The judge further ordered that the district withdraw its demand that Dozier-Libbey teachers commit to employment at the district dependent charter by the close of business today, or risk termination.

The teachers of Dozier-Libbey filed a petition last February, in accordance with the charter schools section of the California Education Code, to convert their school to a public charter governed by a school board that would be independent of AUSD’s board of trustees.  The teachers’ 121-page petition presents a strong case for significantly improving academic programs and fiscal management at this respected pathway school, however AUSD denied the petition last month, prompting teachers to file an appeal with the Contra Costa County Board of Education.  The school district took the additional step of approving its own charter petition for Dozier-Libbey that would leave the school under the governing authority of the AUSD board.  Although the district’s charter was initially described in public hearing as a new start-up charter, AUSD has since announced via social media that its charter will replace the current Dozier-Libbey Medical High School .  The district has not yet provided legal justification for how it would accomplish what would appear to be a clear violation of both California Education Code and the Charter School Act of 1992. 

Supporters of Dozier-Libbey believe that the court, like much of the Antioch community, will take a dim view of the school district’s attempt, with great expenditure of public funds, to confuse the issue of the school’s legal conversion to a public charter school. 

The case pending before the Contra Costa Superior Court is Dozier-Libbey Medical High School et al. v. Antioch Unified School District, et al. (Case No. CIVMSN14-0453).  A ruling is scheduled for 9:00am on April 28th.  Updated information can be found online at DozierLibbeyCharter.com.

Guest Commentary

By Jeff Weber

The ongoing effort to convert Dozier-Libbey Medical High School, a high-performing pathway school in the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD), to a public charter school has swelled into a highly publicized, and at times ugly, battle in the court of public opinion.  Emotions are running high on both sides.  If there is a positive side to this political fight, it may be that the people of Antioch now have a much better understanding of their school district and of the wider charter schools movement in America.  Yet many are still asking, why is this all necessary?  Is this really in the best interest of our kids?  The answer is, it could be, if given the chance.  This article will attempt to explain in a rational way how Antioch could be better served by independent charter schools, and how we could get there with minimal disruption to our students.

Today more people in Antioch understand that an independent charter school is still a public school.  The general community will really see little change after a school converts from a district school to a charter.  The school will continue to serve the same students and meet the same state standards.  What will change is the governing board of the school.  A true charter school is independent and governed by a dedicated board of parents and community members that serve only that school.  A charter school’s board will not be distracted by the plethora of issues that the AUSD board of trustees must deal with in its 25-school district. 

It is also clear to most Antioch residents now that Dozier-Libbey teachers are not “stealing” their school.  In fact, the teachers are exercising their rights granted by the California legislature to convert a school to a charter if they feel doing so would better serve the students of that school. 

So why did the teachers of Dozier-Libbey take on this fight?  It was clearly going to be a David versus Goliath match-up from the start, with the district using its vast resources of public money and public employees, while Dozier-Libbey teachers worked extra nights and weekends and paid expenses out of pocket.  It was most certainly not so that teachers could stop giving ‘D’ grades to their students—a suggestion that has been highly publicized, but in fact does not exist in the charter petition objectives. 

The truth is, Dozier-Libbey teachers are risking a lot.  Most have decades of service behind them, and some are well within reach of a comfortable retirement.  They are giving up district tenure and seniority for an uncertain future and salaries that will stay on par with their previous district amounts, at best.  It would be impossible to argue that teachers are pushing the charter conversion for any reason other than the benefit of their students.

And their students do stand to gain a great deal from a charter conversion.  Here are some hard facts and numbers that show where Dozier-Libbey sits as a district school, and where it could be as an independent charter.  These are small examples among many that together represent a current system of educational management that is simply broken.

Early last year Dozier-Libbey teachers used grant money to purchase 15 new laptop computers to serve economically disadvantaged students.  Because of bureaucratic bumbling (an adequate cart could not be found), these brand new computers sat in a school district storeroom for over five months, despite repeated pleas from teachers, and have yet to reach the students who need them.  If Dozier-Libbey were a charter, this educational time would not have been lost.

This year, 20 students at Dozier-Libbey lost their job-shadowing opportunities with Sutter Delta Hospital because insurance forms were inexplicably held then mismanaged by the district bureaucracy, despite repeated calls from the Dozier-Libbey coordinator.  These valuable educational experiences would not have been lost if the necessary paperwork could have been handled in-house by a charter school.

Untold other educational opportunities have been lost to Dozier-Libbey, including real-time interactions with working doctors and nurses around the world, because district-wide policies could not be tailored to fit the needs of this unique school.  By their very nature, school districts like AUSD must operate on a “one size fits all” mentality in order to control such vast numbers of students and schools.  Dozier-Libbey was never designed to be a cookie-cutter high school.  It was created to be innovative.  Dozier-Libbey has numerous new programs ready to be implemented that address mastery learning of core subjects and credit recovery for struggling students, however these programs are not possible under AUSD, either because the other two high schools are not willing to embrace them (one size must fit all), or there is simply no funding to do so at Dozier-Libbey.

The state funding of public schools is based on the daily attendance at that school (known as “ADA”).  Schools like Dozier-Libbey with large percentages of economically disadvantaged students also receive additional federal funding, commonly referred to as “Title 1.”  All of this is taxpayer money that has been earmarked for educating our children.  However, school districts as large as AUSD have many layers of expensive bureaucracy that siphon off much of that student funding.  The combined salaries of the AUSD administrators (Don Gill, Tim Forrester, Stephanie Anello, Mike Santos, Louis Rocha, and Kenneth Gardner), who have spent so much of the past few months fighting the conversion charter, total over a million dollars.  That’s enough money to hire more than 20 librarians (DLMHS currently has one part-time librarian).  And there are literally scores of other administrators in Antioch being paid six-figure salaries who rarely venture near a classroom.  The more that schools operate independently, the less these central administration positions can be justified to the public—and that’s a very scary prospect for those individuals who enjoy them.

Dozier-Libbey receives from the district only a fraction of its ADA entitlements and none of its Title 1 monies.  The school site principal was given control of only $29,000 last school year, and of that funding amount $5,000 went toward paying a district-negotiated lease for the school’s copy machine.  Another $8,000 went toward paying the school’s librarian to stay an extra hour each day beyond the four hours for which she is contracted by the district.  Fortunately, many Dozier-Libbey teachers have been prolific in writing grant requests for their special projects.  Yet, even such grant money directed to Dozier-Libbey is occasionally siphoned off by the district for other uses.  And Dozier-Libbey suffers because of its own highly efficient fiscal management.  Antioch High School, a school only three times the size of Dozier-Libbey, receives eight times the operating budget from the district!  As a charter school, far more funding allocated by the state and federal government for Dozier-Libbey students would benefit Dozier-Libbey students.

So how does the charter conversion all turn out, and more importantly, what does it do for the kids?  At this point, there are two possible paths that the school district could take.

The first is for AUSD to continue with their current strategy.  The counter petition the district filed to make Dozier-Libbey a “dependent charter” stands on only the shakiest of legal ground, but it will serve to drag the conversion into the courts for possibly months or years—a stated objective made by the district at the school board hearing on their proposal.  They will spend untold thousands from public funds on litigation—money desperately needed by their own students.  (Dozier-Libbey charter petitioners are now receiving legal support from numerous pro-education organizations throughout the state.)  The district will undoubtedly also use this time to make staffing changes at the school, hamstringing a dedicated and highly professional team that has been years in development. 

However, another course of action could be for the leaders of AUSD to put the needs of the students of Antioch ahead of their own egos.  Allow the teachers of Dozier-Libbey, whom they’ve recognized as highly competent professionals, to run with their grand experiment unfettered and unchallenged.  If the charter succeeds, it will benefit not only the students at Dozier-Libbey, but will bring forth innovations and new ideas that can be shared with the entire district (as has been seen in numerous other charter-to-school district relationships).  But if Dozier-Libbey fails to meet its ambitious objectives as a charter, then the charter is simply revoked and the school returns to AUSD management.  These conversions, in either direction, do not need to be messy or expensive.  It is the district that is choosing to make it so. 

And so one can only wonder, what is the district really afraid of?

Jeff Weber is an 18-year veteran of AUSD, and currently teaches world history at Dozier-Libbey Medical High School and one of the organizers of the charter petition.

By Barbara Zivica

According to the California Department of Education, students in the public school system are to have a basic knowledge of and are tested on: English language arts, mathematics, history-social science, science, visual and performing arts.

So why is the AUSD now having students participate in diversity training conducted by the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI – learn more about them, by clicking here) and why is there a new Antioch High School Civil Rights Non-Violence Tolerance Education Social Justice Center on the campus of Antioch High, which incidentally features a mural of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, Governor Jerry Brown, Superintendent Donald Gill, Councilwoman Mary Rocha, whose son is the Principal of AHS, and former school board member and Mayor Wade Harper?

Social Justice is a concept dating back to when Plato in the New Republic formalized the argument that an ideal state would rest on four virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation and justice. Over time the concept has been largely associated with the political philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) who restated in Political Liberalism (1993) “All societies have a basic structure of social, economic, and political institutions, both formal and informal.” Social Justice as conceived by Rawls is an apolitical philosophical concept and may hold some or all of the following beliefs:

1) It is government’s (or those who hold significant power) responsibility to ensure a basic quality of life for all its citizens. 2) Historical inequities insofar as they affect current injustices should be corrected until the actual inequities no longer exist or have been perceptively “negated”. 3) The redistribution of wealth, power and status for the individual and societal good.

Does the last belief sound to you like socialism? It does to me.

Analysis

By John Crowder

The Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees voted, on March 19th, to reject a petition by teachers from Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (DLMHS) to convert their campus to a charter school. At the same time they voted to approve a novel idea presented by three district employees, Antioch High School Principal Louie Rocha, Deer Valley High School Principal Kenneth Gardner, and Assistant Superintendent Stephanie Anello to make the school a “dependent” charter.

Had the Board simply rejected the petition submitted by the teachers, the issue would have moved through the appeals process to the County and then the State Boards of Education for resolution. But by proposing to create a district-dependent charter school, they have set the stage for a much larger battle. If a school district can stop a school from converting to a charter school simply by writing a counter-petition, the law concerning the conversion of schools to charters could be effectively gutted. The California state charter school movement cannot allow such an outcome, and are certain to take legal action to prevent it.

This may well prove to be a costly battle. One important consideration will be the interpretation of the meaning and intent of the Charter School Act. Which part of the law governs this case will also be considered. The teachers at DLMHS are seeking the conversion of an existing school to a charter school. The court may ultimately be asked to determine whether or not the district can prevent the teachers from exercising this right by means of their counter petition.

The teachers of Dozier Libbey have filed their petition in line with the law concerning the conversion of schools to charter schools in California. This portion of the law is very clear. Section 47601 of the California Education Code (also referred to as the “Charter Schools Act of 1992”) provides: “It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this part, to provide opportunities for teachers, parents, pupils, and community members to establish and maintain schools that operate independently from the existing school district structure…” (For the complete language of the Act, click here).

The charter proposal put forward by the 23 teachers who signed the petition to convert DLMHS meets this intent. The “dependent charter” petition proposed by AUSD staff clearly does not. On page “ii” of the AUSD petition, it states, “The District shall be deemed the exclusive public school employer of the employees of Dozier-Libbey Medical High School, Dependent Charter School…” On page 8, no less than three times, the petition states, “The Charter School will comply with all District requirements and/or policies…” when referring to certain categories of learners. Continuing with their petition, phrases such as, “The District shall be responsible,” “The District shall address,” and “The District may initiate” repeatedly appear. Even more telling is the statement on page 18 of the petition, which reads, “The Charter School’s Executive Committee is comprised of five members appointed by the Board of Trustees…” There can certainly be no independence from the existing school district structure there.

Another problem involving the AUSD petition, should the courts determine that it is the law relating to the conversion of a school to a charter that must be applied, has to do with the collection of signatures. Section 47605, subdivision (a)(2), which is the applicable section when converting an existing public school to a charter school, requires signatures of “not less than 50% of the permanent status teachers currently employed” at the campus to be converted in order for a conversion charter petition to be valid. Once again, the teacher charter petition, with signatures from 23 of the 26 teachers currently teaching at DLMHS, easily meets this criteria. The District proposal, on the other hand, provides many more signatures of teachers, but it appears that not one of those who signed works at the DLMHS campus.

AUSD staff is working hard to defeat the teacher charter proposal. But, with the proposal they have submitted to maintain district control of the school, and refer to it as a charter, they have raised an issue that goes far beyond local politics, and could impact education policy for the entire state. It seems apparent from a plain reading of the law, that what District staff propose would not qualify as a conversion charter school, no matter what it is called.

Nothing seems certain in this situation, however. Ricardo Soto, a Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel for the California Charter Schools Association, told me, last week, that the move by AUSD to create a dependent charter school was unique, something he had never seen in his many years of being involved with education law. For those of us interested in education, the Dozier-Libbey charter battle, far from over, promises to be one of the most important debates we have seen in a long time.

Steven (Skeeter) Lynn Sanchez

December 4, 1954- March 20, 2014

Resident of Antioch

Steven (Skeeter) Lynn Sanchez, 59, of Antioch died Thursday March 19, 2014. Skeeter leaves behind his two daughters Jeni (Steve) Spiegel, Tara (Andrew) Jensen, his son Jason Sanchez his loving grandchildren Devyn Jensen; Joseph, Jacob, and JayLynn Spiegel. He is survived by his mother Patsy Porter, brother John (Shirley) Sanchez, Uncle Tom Garrison, many nieces and nephews that he loved as his own, and countless family and friends.

Skeeter was raised in Antioch and graduated from Antioch High School in 1973. He worked at UPS for 28 years where he made numerous friends with his co-workers and customers. He was well known for volunteering where needed in his community and always staying actively involved. He dedicated his time to Antioch Little League where he coached many teams. He also loved broadcasting Bay Area high school sports with Comcast.

Skeeter was loved for his outgoing personality, contagious laugh, sense of humor, and extremely big heart. His love for God will always be remembered. Skeeter will be greatly missed by all who loved him.

A celebration of life will take place on Friday, April 11, 1:00 P.M. at Golden Hills Community Church 2401 Shady Willow Lane in Brentwood. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to Golden Hills Community Church.