Antioch Middle School. Photo: AUSD

The following message was sent out Monday to parents, guardians and staff:

Good afternoon,

This is Ms. Jones-Douglas, Principal of Antioch Middle School. During 8th grade lunch, a student discharged possible pepper spray or other irritant outside. Approximately 20 students began complaining of eye irritation. Medical personnel administered saline. All other students are in class and safe. Staff has or is contacting the parents/guardians of the students affected.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact the school should you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you.

AUSD Superintendent shared the message with the media. The school is located at the corner of 1500 D Street.

Organizers say paid petitioners gathered 1,500 signatures on both Householder and Thorpe recalls in first two days

Ellie Householder. Photo by AUSD.

By Allen D. Payton

In a Facebook post on the Recall Ellie Householder Facebook page on Thursday, proponent Lindsey Amezcua announced the end of the effort to remove the Antioch School Board Trustee from her position. However, signature gathering for Householder’s recall to remove her as Antioch City Clerk continues. (See related article)

Amezcua wrote, “The Recall Initiative for Ellie Householder, AUSD School Board Trustee has ended and will not move forward.

Please note:  The Recall Initiative for Ellie Householder, Antioch City Clerk is still active and gathering signatures!!

The following quote was provided on behalf of the proponents of the Recall for Ellie Householder, AUSD School Board Trustee:

‘We opted not to turn in the signatures that we collected.  When we missed the deadline to be able to put the recall initiative on the June Primary ballot; we decided that it was not in the best interest of our school district to pursue a special election when Ms. Householder’s term is over in November.

Collectively, we are all pleased with the results.  Our goal was always, to restore peace and collaboration for the Board of Education and we saw a noticeable shift once we began this process.

We woke residents up to the dysfunction that was occurring and we are happy with the impact our attempt had.’”

According to former Antioch School Board Trustee and President Diane Gibson-Gray in a comment below the Facebook post, “The signature gathers collected more signatures than voted for her.”

“Unfortunately, she continues to display her lack of understanding of her elected position,” Gibson-Gray’s comment continued. “The day after the signature due date, she reached out to her favorite news anchor at KTVU Fox 2 with the message, ‘I’m still here….’. Her message should have been, I’ve learned from this experience and will do better to represent all AUSD constituents.”

—————–

Householder came under fire for how she was conducting school board meetings as president, including preventing Superintendent Stephanie Anello from speaking, telling her “you’re not recognized”, as well as violating Robert’s Rules of Order and the state’s Brown Act open meeting law among other reasons. (See related articles here and here)

The dual officeholder currently serves in a citywide seat on the school board, but she moved into Area 1 which is currently represented by Antonio Hernandez whose seat isn’t up for election until 2024. So, unless Householder moves into either Areas 2, where Trustee Mary Rocha lives and whose seat is also up for election, this year or Area 5, she will be unable to run for re-election in November.

Paid Signature Gatherers Hired

The recall effort against both Mayor Lamar Thorpe and City Clerk Householder recently hired paid signature gatherers who obtained 1,500 signatures in just their first two days, Amezcua and Kathy Cabrera, another recall leader, shared.

The deadline for gathering the required signatures for Thorpe is May 11. For Householder’s city clerk recall the deadline is June 6, since hers started later. For more information on the recalls visit www.recallelliehouseholder.com and www.recalllamarthorpe.com.

Shooting of teen and fireworks both occurred in the vicinity

By Allen D. Payton

In response to efforts to obtain information about the lock down of Deer Valley High School on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, Antioch Unified School District Stephanie Anello responded on Saturday, April 2 writing, “Around 2:30 pm that day, a parent from a nearby school called the school and reported that a young adult or teenage males were running towards DVHS wherein at least one weapon was reported.

“We immediately called dispatch and were informed that there was no need to lock down. However, out of an abundance of caution, I instructed the school to lock down until we could assess the situation. Staff walked the perimeter of the school and monitored the gates. At about 2:52 pm we again called dispatch. At that time, we were told that the activity in the neighborhood was firecrackers.

“A reporter called me at around 4:30 PM that same day and notified me that there had been a shooting near the campus at around 2:35 pm. We called staff together for a meeting first thing the next morning as we anticipated confusion and concern. An officer was at the meeting who confirmed that there was miscommunication from dispatch. At approximately the same time there were fireworks in the vicinity there was also a shooting.

Thank you for reaching out and let me know if you have any further questions. I am going to forward this to the rest of the board as well, in case they have similar questions.”

Eastcountytoday.net reported that a 16-year-old male was shot and “showed up at a nearby hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.”

Still required on public transit

Joined by governors of Oregon, Washington to offer more updated health guidance for the three western states

SACRAMENTO – With declining case rates and hospitalizations across the West, California, Oregon and Washington are moving together to update their masking guidance. After 11:59 p.m. on March 11, California, Oregon and Washington will adopt new indoor mask policies and move from mask requirements to mask recommendations in schools.

State policies do not change federal requirements, which still include masks on public transit.

Statement from California Governor Gavin Newsom: “California continues to adjust our policies based on the latest data and science, applying what we’ve learned over the past two years to guide our response to the pandemic. Masks are an effective tool to minimize spread of the virus and future variants, especially when transmission rates are high. We cannot predict the future of the virus, but we are better prepared for it and will continue to take measures rooted in science to keep California moving forward.”

In California, starting March 1, masks will no longer be required for unvaccinated individuals, but will be strongly recommended for all individuals in most indoor settings. After March 11, in schools and childcare facilities, masks will not be required but will be strongly recommended. Masks will still be required for everyone in high transmission settings like public transit, emergency shelters, health care settings, correctional facilities, homeless shelters and long-term care facilities. As always, local jurisdictions may have additional requirements beyond the state guidance.

Newsom also presented his COVID SMARTER Plan introduced on Feb. 17, which stands for Shots, Masks, Awareness, Readiness, Testing, Education and Rx.

Statement from Oregon Governor Kate Brown: “Two years ago today, we identified Oregon’s first case of COVID-19. As has been made clear time and again over the last two years, COVID-19 does not stop at state borders or county lines. On the West Coast, our communities and economies are linked. Together, as we continue to recover from the Omicron surge, we will build resiliency and prepare for the next variant and the next pandemic. As we learn to live with this virus, we must remain vigilant to protect each other and prevent disruption to our schools, businesses, and communities––with a focus on protecting our most vulnerable and the people and communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.”

In Oregon, the Oregon Health Authority rules requiring masks in indoor public places and schools will be lifted after 11:59 p.m. on March 11. Other state and federal requirements, such as those for health care settings, public transit, and other specialized settings, will remain in place for a period of time.

Statement from Washington Governor Jay Inslee: “We’ve continued to monitor data from our state Department of Health, and have determined we are able to adjust the timing of our statewide mask requirement. While this represents another step forward for Washingtonians, we must still be mindful that many within our communities remain vulnerable. Many businesses and families will continue choosing to wear masks, because we’ve learned how effective they are at keeping one another safe. As we transition to this next phase, we will continue to move forward together carefully and cautiously.”

In Washington, indoor mask requirements will be lifted as of 11:59 p.m. on March 11. This new date does not change any other aspect of the updated mask requirements Inslee announced last week. Masks will still be required in certain settings including health care, corrections facilities and long-term care facilities. The Washington State Department of Health will be issuing new guidance for K-12 schools next week so schools can prepare to implement updated safety protocols.

Photos: AUSD

Receive donations from the community

“Nearly 80% of our students now qualify for free or reduced lunch” said Superintendent Anello explaining the reason for the need

By Antioch Unified School District

It started as a simple request and now is a valuable resource for many students at Antioch High.
During their PE classes, teachers Lisa Cuza and Shannon Emerson had many young women asking for items like toothpaste, deodorant, feminine hygiene projects and the like.

Last fall they started a little area in the girls’ locker room dubbed Lady Panther Pantry, which they stocked with basic toiletries like the items above along with hair ties, shampoo, chap sticks, hand sanitizer, razors and toothbrushes.

They initially received donations through various organizations, including the Bethel Island

Woman’s Club. “They have been very generous,” said Emerson.

The supply area was set up with the honor system.

“I can’t express how impressed we are with the level of respect the ladies show our little pantry. It hasn’t been misused in any way,” Emerson added.

However, with half the school year down, so were supplies.

Word spread about the need and within two weeks, the AHS coordinator’s office overflowed with donations from staff and community, including Peggy Daniel, Dr. Bob Deloso, Alice Harden, Cindy Justice and Dr. Matthew Liautaud. Additionally, many alumni stepped up like sisters Janet Aceves, Ann Bergerhouse and Kay Carden, who asked their neighbors to join their drive and ended up with $1,000 in product and gift cards. Total donations added up to about $2,000.

“They are some amazing folks everywhere who care about our kids,” Emerson shared. “We are so very appreciative and full of gratitude for others sharing in our goal of making sure all ladies at AHS have all they need. One less stress for these young people can make a big difference.”

Questions about the program were asked of AUSD Superintendent Stephanie Anello including, “why is the pantry necessary? Where are the parents of the female students who didn’t have those supplies? Why aren’t they providing them for their daughters? Is there an effort to educate the parents about their responsibilities to do so?”

Anello responded, “As a school district, we offer many resources for our students – from free lunches to health van access and counseling.”

“In this particular instance, the teachers at Antioch High decided to help their students in need with some very basics that, for a variety of hardship reasons, they don’t have access to on a regular basis,” she continued. “The community at large happily and quickly decided to lend a helping hand and support the school.”

“Not that we don’t try to help parents if they ask, but our main focus is to assist and educate our students. Nearly 80% of our students now qualify for free or reduced lunch. In fact, only 15% qualify for reduced, the rest for free lunch which indicated that their household income is a challenge,” Anello shared, explaining the reason for the need.

(If interested in helping, email trinegallegos@antiochschools.net) #WeAreAUSD

Please check back for any updates.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Aerial view of the property at 6600 Deer Valley Road owned by the Antioch school district. Source: AUSD

Used for storage, vandalized, Board declared it “obsolete”

By Allen D. Payton

Screenshot of Facebook post of the “rant” about the house being demolished.

The house owned by the Antioch Unified School District, located at 6600 Deer Valley Road south of Dozier-Libbey Medical High School and southeast of the Antioch Kaiser Medical Center, will be torn down after years of sitting vacant and being “terribly vandalized” according to AUSD Superintendent Stephanie Anello. The board voted to demolish it.

In a recent comment on Facebook, Cambria Dejesus wrote, “Rant… Demo to be done on the school property on Deer Valley Rd.  A beautiful home built in the late 80’s or early 90’s, remodeled for use for the school board, which they no longer use, voted to be destroyed due to vandalism.  It has permanent seating in the yard for at least 100 people, gazebos, and it’s an absolute shame that it set to demo.  I lease property from AUSD and offered to lease it so it can remain to possibly introduce FFA or some agriculture program to the curriculum but was told the board already voted to demo. There is minimal damage to the home from vandalism but something that would stop if occupied.   I think it’s a crying shame it’s going to be destroyed.   Shouldn’t the money be spent on the students, some use planned for the property that will give Antioch’s students a place to get away from it all and perhaps save a few from taking the wrong path.  Country heals.  Rant over.”

Questions were sent to AUSD Superintendent Stephanie Anello asking, “is this true? If so, has the district been using the home? If so, how? If it’s not being used why hasn’t the district been renting it out to someone to create a revenue stream? What are the plans for the property and how many acres does it include?”

According to Anello, “The Board declared the home on the property as ‘obsolete’ at a Board Meeting, as the home has not been used or occupied in decades and has been terribly vandalized over the years. I am not aware of any money being used in the past to renovate the property as stated” in the comment. “To clarify, it has been used for storage, just not used for staff or students.”

“Right now, it is being leased for grazing and we have no immediate alternative plans,” she added. “Our plans will, of course, change depending on the development of the area.”

The property consists of 20.98 acres.

Reece was placed on paid administrative leave earlier this month for the second time in six months, only in position since Nov. 2020

Board promotes Executive Vice Chancellor to Interim Chancellor through June 2024 with $357,714 starting annual base salary

Two other administrators still on paid leave since last year

By Timothy Leong, 4CD Public Information Officer

Former 4CD Chancellor Dr. Bryan Reece. Source: 4CD

At their February 16, 2022, meeting, the Governing Board (Board) of the Contra Costa Community College District accepted the resignation of Dr. Bryan Reece, effective February 11, 2022. He began working for the District as the ninth permanent chancellor on November 1, 2020.

Reece was placed on paid administrative leave by a unanimous vote of the board during a closed session meeting earlier this month. It was the second time the board had done so, the first time occurring in September on a split vote of 3-0-1 with Area 5 Trustee Fernando Sandoval voting to abstain as he was attending the meeting via Zoom. (See related articles here and here)

In an email to faculty and staff, Jeffrey Michels, president of the United Faculty, wrote about the board’s decision to place Reece on paid leave for a second time.

“In the words of the Yankees’ Yogi Berra, ‘it’s like déjà vu all over again.’ Last week, with no public explanation besides citing ‘personnel matters,’ the District Governing Board voted unanimously to place Bryan Reece on ‘paid administrative leave,’ and they named Executive Vice Chancellor of Education and Technology Mojdeh Mehdizadeh acting chancellor.”

“Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on managers who don’t report to work certainly seems like a waste, but as we have noted in the past, these decisions are hard to evaluate since most of the facts are kept private,” Michels added

Mojdeh Mezhdizadeh. Photo: 4CD

He was also referring to two other senior administrators that are on paid administrative leave, placed there by Reece last year, Executive Vice Chancellor of Administration Eugene Huff and Vice Chancellor of Human Resources Dio Shipp. (See related article)

“The Governing Board and Dr. Reece have mutually decided to part ways,” said Governing Board President Dr. Judy E. Walters. “We thank Dr. Reece for his service to the District and wish him well as he relocates to Southern California to spend more time with his family.”

The Governing Board also approved a contract with Executive Vice Chancellor, Education and Technology, Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, to become the Interim Chancellor for the period of February 16, 2022, through June 30, 2024, at a starting annual base salary of $357,714. With more than 30 years of experience at the District, mostly in executive leadership roles, the Governing Board is confident Mojdeh provides the steady and stable leadership needed to help advance the District’s mission and vision.”

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

The issue dates back four years and more; board to hold special closed door meeting Wednesday to discuss lawsuits by the three staff members; judge to rule by Friday on release of report

By Allen D. Payton

The Contra Costa Community College District is fighting in court to prevent the release of an investigations report of complaints made by three employees in leadership of the District. Current members, Executive Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services Eugene Huff, Chief Human Resources Officer Diogenes “Dio” Shipp and former Chief Financial Officer Jonah Nicholas made California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests for the release of “Any and all investigation reports delivered to the District concerning complaints made by” them.

Huff and Shipp are currently on paid administrative leave and Nicholas now works for the Chabot Las Positas Community College District in Alameda County.

A “Notice of Intention to Produce Records and Court Documents” was sent Monday to former Governing Board Trustee Greg Enholm from Executive Vice Chancellor for Education and Technology Mojdeh Mehdizadeh. In it she wrote, “the District vigorously opposed the release of the requested records, namely the Investigation Report (‘Report’) prepared by Jessica Armijo, citing a variety of legal privileges including” the “right to privacy” of those mentioned in the Report. However, the letter continues, “In his Jan. 28, 2022 ruling…Judge Jerry Baskin found that none of the purported exemptions apply to the Report.”

The judge further “ordered the Report be submitted for an in-camera review for February 1, 2022” (today), the notice reads.

Mehdizadeh also informed Enholm that the release of the Report “would result in a public disclosure of records containing information related to your role as a Governing Board member”. She suggested if he also objected to the release of the information that he could use a “reverse-CPRA action” for judicial relief and obtain a court order preventing the disclosure.

However, Enholm said he doesn’t care if any information about him or the Report is released.

According to the notice, the District is required to provide a copy of the Report of the investigations by Wednesday, Feb. 2 and “the Court intends to issue its final ruling”, this Friday, February 4 11:15 am.

A special closed session board meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. during which the trustees will discuss litigation with their legal counsel. The cases are Huff et al. v. Contra Costa Community College District, CIV N21-1890 and Huff et al. v. Contra Costa Community College District, CIV C21-02408.

In addition, the board will again discuss the “Public employee discipline/dismissal/release/complaint (Government Code Section 54957)” of Chancellor Bryan Reece.

Huff Explains

“Because we are in litigation, I’m probably not going to answer all your questions,” Huff said when reached for comment. “But I’m happy to provide you with the facts.”

“We have the same attorney and we filed two lawsuits against the District,” he continued. “One is the writ Judge Baskin heard, last Friday, which resulted in our favor.” Regarding the other lawsuit, “we filed a claim against the district about employment discrimination and retaliation.”

The lawsuit filed in court is a public document, Huff pointed out.

“Dio, additionally, has stand-alone claims,” he added.

“We were contract administrators at the time,” Huff stated. Their contracts were not renewed. “We filed for documents related to complaints filed in 2020.”

Dio was put on paid administrative leave in June. Huff was placed on administrative leave in August.

Asked if there was a date certain to the end of his paid leave, Huff replied, “It’s unusual to have a person on paid administrative leave indefinitely. But my current contract runs through June 2022. So, maybe they’re going to just wait it out.”