By John Crowder

A closed session meeting of the Contra Costa County Board of Education on May 7 resulted in an alleged violation of the Brown Act, according to attendees.

The Brown Act is California’s open meeting law that is meant to ensure that public business is, with specified exceptions, conducted openly. In accordance with the act, items discussed by public bodies, such as boards of education, even in closed session, must be properly noticed on the agenda for a meeting and a report must be made following the session stating what decisions were made.

Emails obtained from the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) through a California Public Records Act request reveal that, during the May 7 closed session meeting of the board, attorney Adam Ferber appeared and spoke with those present about the Dozier Libbey Medical High School (DLMHS) conversion charter petition.

The meeting in question came two days after a letter was sent to Bill Clark, Associate Superintendent of the CCCOE, from Scott Holbrook, which stated that his firm, “serves as legal counsel to the Antioch Unified School District. In the letter, Holbrook states, “This controversy (the DLMHS charter petition) has resulted in several streams of litigation which the Contra Costa County Board of Education and Contra Costa County Office of Education will very likely be pulled into if the conversion petition is approved on appeal.”

After listing the potential litigation, Holbrook’s letter concludes, “In light of the foregoing, I strongly urge the Contra Costa County Board of Education and Contra Costa County Office of Education to avoid this controversy in it entirety. My advice to the county boards of education and county offices of education that I regularly counsel under these circumstances would be, at a minimum, to take ‘no action’ and punt this matter to the State Board of Education.”

Ferber’s statement during the board meeting which, according to participants, also recommended that no action be taken on the DLMHS petition, caused some of the board members considerable distress. CCCOE board Vice President Dan Gomes, said, “I think that, in a way, that attorney was working for the district. I was taken aback by the letter from AUSD. This fellow (Ferber) that came in and recommended we do nothing was along the same lines as the AUSD lawyer.” He went on to say, “Ferber went over a script, we ignore, just skip over (approving the petition). I thought to myself, ‘I’ve heard this before (from the AUSD letter)’.”

According to board member Pamela Mirabella, “I was confused about why we were talking about Dozier Libbey in closed session. There were four things on the agenda…not included was Dozier Libbey.”

Board Member Cynthia Ruehlig was even more concerned with Ferber’s presentation. “I think there was an intent to influence the board,” she said. She also stated, “To correct a Brown Act violation, you must report what was said, put it in the minutes, and, if grievous enough, you must report it to the District Attorney.”

Board member Richard Asadoorian stated, “What concerned me was that we were advised to let this attorney speak, and we couldn’t really extend the closed session, and had no real time to respond to this presentation. The only Brown Act issue was that it wasn’t properly put on the agenda.”

Nonetheless, over the next several days, both Mirabella and Ruehlig followed up on their concerns in emails and letters to Dr. Joseph Ovick, Superintendent of Schools for Contra Costa County.

In an email sent on May 12, Mirabella states, “I didn’t agree with the ADUSD lawyer to ‘not take action.’” She goes on to say, “Legal Counsel (Name? Not Cynthia discussed with the County Board anticipated litigation regarding Dozier-libbey and the board took no action. Do we have a brown act problem by not reporting out correctly to the public?” In another email sent by Mirabella to Ovick on May 20, one day after a second closed session meeting which, according to Clark, was held in order to cure any Brown Act problem, she says, “Closed session—after I asked you to remind Dan G. to report out to the public that in closed session the board took no action, he did so. This is against the Brown act and very serious.”

On May 8, the day after the closed session meeting at which Ferber spoke, Ruehlig sent a letter to Ovick, and, in an indication of the seriousness with which she viewed the matter, sent a copy to the Contra Costa County district attorney. In it, she begins by stating, “This letter documents the violations which occurred during closed session of May 7, 2014.”

The letter states, “At this meeting, Atty. Ferber (who was not invited and was, in fact, unknown to all Board Member) discussed an item which was not on the agenda; specifically a threat of a lawsuit from the Antioch Unified School District. This is a violation of the Brown Act that ‘no action or discussion shall be undertaken on any item not appearing on the posted agenda’.”

“In addition, Atty. Ferber provided every Board Member with a copy of a letter threatening the Office of Education with a lawsuit from the Antioch Unified School District.”

“Contact with Atty. Ferber was evident by the District lawyer’s public comment urging the Board to listen to staff and ‘our counsel.’”

Ruehlig describes the presentation by Ferber as a “prohibited ex parte communication,” and urges that several steps be taken to correct the situation, including publishing the comments he made.

Associate Superintendent Clark, in an interview conducted last week, acknowledged a possible Brown Act problem with the meeting, but said he believed it had to do with the technicalities of the agenda and reporting requirements, and not with the discussion of the Dozier-Libbey matter.

“Exposure to legal risk was heightened by this case,” Clark explained. “Enrollment, assumptions with revenue, and the independent charter’s right to occupy the building could be found faulty, and might make us subject to a lawsuit from AUSD. We had every right to discuss this in closed session,.”

He also shared Ferber had been hired to help county staff understand the legal nuances of this particular petition. Clark also noted that, on advice from County Counsel, he believed any Brown Act problem had been cured by the closed session meeting held on May 19, at which the agenda and reporting requirements were met.

The district attorney’s office was contacted, last week, but it was not yet confirmed whether the office was investigating this matter.

Former Dozier-Libbey Principal Nancie Castro speaks at this year’s graduation.  by Luke Johnson

By John Crowder

Nancie Castro, the embattled former principal of Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (DLMHS), announced today that she has accepted a position as Director of Human Resources and Curriculum with the Jefferson School District in Tracy.

Castro had been with the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) since 2008, when she was hired to be the first principal of the newly formed DLMHS. During her time as principal, the school was repeatedly acclaimed for its success. In 2011, it was awarded a Distinguished School award from the California Department of Education. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, on hand for the award ceremony, touted the high Academic Performance Index scores achieved by the school and its rigorous, real-world education focused on helping students prepare for careers in the medical field.

Most recently, DLMHS was listed in the top 700 schools in the United States by U.S. News and World Report, which lauded its 70% Advanced Placement Test participation rate with a student body that has minority enrollment of 77%.

Last February, however, Castro was caught up in controversy after a large majority of the teaching staff filed a petition to convert the campus to a charter school. According to the petitioners, the move was made because of “diverging philosophies between the district and site staffs for program implementation at this innovative, health career-themed school.” AUSD, on the other hand, has characterized the move as “extremely divisive,” and took the unheard of step to create its own, dependent charter school, to thwart what has been labeled by their supporters as a “mutiny.”

On April 9, the district appointed Scott Bergerhouse as principal of the dependent charter school, and Castro was told in late June that she would be moved to a teaching position at another Antioch high school.

In announcing her new position, Castro said, “I feel blessed to have worked alongside the incredibly talented and dedicated teachers and staff, industry partners, supportive parents, and amazing students at Dozier-Libbey for the past eight years. With this team approach our students excelled, and I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished. I was disappointed to be transferred out of Dozier-Libbey, but I am very excited for this new opportunity with the Jefferson School District. I wish the teachers at DLMHS the best in their continued pursuit of excellence.”

Washington, D.C. –  On July 23, 2014 the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment written by Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-09) that would ensure that colleges take into account the unique skills and needs of veterans and military personnel when they’re earning  credits towards a degree or certificate.

Rep. McNerney proposed his amendment to HR 3136, which creates up to 20 competency-based education projects managed by the Department of Education. These projects would allow institutions of higher education (IHE) to come up with creative alternatives to the traditional “credit hour” in order to meet changing learning environments.

Rep. McNerney’s amendment would require schools that are part of the demonstration program to provide information on the number of veteran and military students who attend the school and how it will incorporate those particular student needs into its demonstration project.  

“Service members and veterans often need flexibility to pursue their education goals,” said Rep. McNerney.  “We owe it to these men and women to help them pursue higher education as seamlessly as possible.  My amendment will help keep track of the progress that the veteran and military student populations are making in any new competency-based program and to hold these programs accountable for the progress of veterans.”

H.R. 3136 incorporates new, innovative practices in higher education by allowing students to advance academically by demonstrating competence in a subject, rather than by spending a set amount of time in the classroom.

By Barbara Zivica

“Practical politics consists in ignoring facts.” – Historian Henry Brooks Adams

That’s exactly what the City of Antioch, which is projecting the potential of outpacing revenues in fiscal year 2015-16 and a significant increase in deficit by fiscal year 2016-17, is doing in regard to continuing to allow the Antioch Golf Corporation’s non profit board of directors to again maintain prioritization of payment of an ABAG loan until payments are current and defer payment of two construction loan payments made by the City until there are sufficient revenues to pay both.

FACT: The Lone Tree Golf & Event Center isn’t currently generating sufficient revenue to cover the ABAG bonds. The city bills the golf course after payment of the principal and interest is made by the city. The average annual principal and interest payment is $415,000. The golf course has only been paying $250,000 annually toward the ABAG debt and currently owes the city reimbursement of $830,026 for debt service for invoices dating back to November, 2011. If the bonds default, the city is responsible.

The two outstanding construction loan payments, on which the city has continued to allow the golf course to defer payment, are the parking lot improvement loan (original amount $296,220, outstanding amount $222,165 at zero percent interest) and the club house construction loan (original amount $900,000, outstanding amount $900,000 and $29,520 interest to date)

In addition, the City Council has agreed not to charge the golf course for irrigation water to order to make the ABAG bond payments first priority. (The 2002 extension of the operating agreement required the golf course pay $100,000 of the annual irrigation costs, subject to a maximum 4% annual increase and re-evaluation in 2010.) Last year the city’s General Fund paid $90,140 to Delta Diablo for reclaimed water for the golf course. The city doesn’t bill the golf course for any irrigation usage that occurs from the city’s water system ($69,905 in fiscal year 2013.) The city also has responsibility for road maintenance for the road from Golf Course Road to the golf course parking lot.

FACT: The county is replete with competing golf courses and the Lone Tree golf course isn’t the only one that can’t meet its debt payments. It’s a problem sweeping the nation as fewer people play due to the recession and changing priorities. Unfortunately for Antioch which has its own financial challenges, it’s the City itself that’s liable for the golf course’s escalating debt. Perhaps the city should seek bids for a sufficiently capitalized firm to take over management and operation of the Lone Tree Golf & Event Center, as it has decided to do with Humphrey’s Restaurant.

Please join us for an afternoon of huge sales, music, raffles and giveaways to celebrate another successful year at your local Max Muscle Sports Nutrition store at 5887 Lone Tree Way, Suite R in Antioch near OfficeMax.

WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 7 2014 from 4:30 – 6:30p.m. (line starts at 3 p.m.) in Brentwood and 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. in Dublin (line starts at 6 p.m.) 

WHERE:  Johnny Garlic’s 2505 Sand Creek Road #120, Brentwood CA, 94513 Tel. (925) 684 – 7670 

Johnny Garlic’s, 4920 Dublin Blvd Ste 265, Dublin CA, 94568 Tel. (925) 248-2347

DETAILS: Chef, restaurateur and #1 New York Times best-selling author Guy Fieri will be signing copies of his newest cookbook, Guy on Fire: 130 Recipes for Adventures in Outdoor Cooking at two Johnny Garlic’s locations on August 7, 2014.

The line will begin forming at 3 p.m. in Brentwood with the book signing taking place from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. The line for the Dublin book signing will be forming at 6 p.m. and the book signing will take place from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Guy On Fire is available for purchase at the restaurant. It includes Guy’s favorite tips, techniques and recipes for outdoor cooking.

By Lieutenant Morefield, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at approximately 4:10 PM, Antioch Police Department officers responded to a report of a shooting at an apartment complex in the 600 block of Wilbur Avenue. The victims of the shooting were gone when police arrived on scene but eventually located some distance away. The victims reported being shot at while they were driving into the apartment complex on Wilbur Avenue by a known responsible.

None of the three adult female victims, two 23-year-old Antioch residents and a 23-year-old Pittsburg resident, were injured by any of the gunfire, but the vehicle they were travelling in was struck several times.

During the investigation into the incident, information was developed that helped to identify Jamel Lavone Williams, a 25-year-old Bay Point resident, as the suspect.

Approximately two weeks later, on Monday, August 4, 2014, Williams was located by the Federal Marshall’s Fugitive Apprehension Team in the city of Concord. Williams was arrested as a Parolee at Large, as well as for his involvement in this case. He was taken to the Contra Costa County Detention Facility in Martinez on his arrest warrant as well as charges of PC 245(A)(2) – Assault with a deadly weapon (firearm).

The case is currently being prepared for filing with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call Detective Meads with the Antioch Police Department at (925)779-6884.You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

The Antioch City Council candidate filing period is open until 5:00 pm on Friday, August 8th. The law provides that the filing period be extended by five (5) calendar days if an incumbent does not file.

With the passing of Council Member Agopian and in consultation with the County Elections Office, City Clerk Arne Simonsen has declared that Council Member Agopian’s seat is now vacant. There is no longer an incumbent of that Council seat to file for reelection.

The candidate filing period will only be extended five (5) days in the event that the remaining incumbent does not file by 5 p.m. on August 8th.