Householder launches campaign by challenging Wright with false statement about his lack of comment on Antioch Police Officer under investigation

Hack takes out papers to run for third term on Antioch School Board

By Allen Payton

Not even half-way through her term on the Antioch School Board, Trustee Ellie Householder has decided to throw her hat in the ring and become the eighth candidate to run for Mayor of Antioch, in the November election. She took out Nomination Papers for the city’s top office on Thursday, according to a report by City Clerk Arne Simonsen.

In addition, according to the latest report by the Contra Costa Elections office, Antioch School District Trustee Gary Hack is the first candidate to take out Nomination Papers in Area 4, seeking his third term on the board. The retired Antioch teacher was first elected in 2010 placing first out of eight candidates. Hack lost his race for re-election in 2014, placing third behind Walter Ruehlig and Debra Vinson. He then made a successful comeback in 2016, that time placing third behind Crystal Sawyer-White and Diane Gibson-Gray.

Householder, listed formally as Elizabeth on her papers, is the youngest member of the school board to which she was elected in 2018, placing a distant second behind Trustee Mary Rocha, just after finishing college and while completing her master’s degree. If elected, she would also be the city’s youngest mayor in recent history.

On her personal Facebook page, Householder announced her campaign for mayor Thursday evening by writing:

“Congressman John Lewis once said: Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.

In that spirit, today, I pulled papers to run for Mayor of Antioch.

In December, our current mayor (who is trying to get re-elected) took THOUSANDS of dollars from the police union and we wonder why we still have a killer cop (Officer Mellone) in our community. To date, not the mayor or a single council member has said ANYTHING about this.

We deserve better.”

However, in June, Mayor Wright called for an investigation of Officer Michael Mellone by the Antioch Police Department who was hired while facing discipline by his previous employer, the San Francisco Police Department. According to a June 24 Herald article, “In response to a call by Antioch Mayor Sean Wright for an investigation into the hiring of Mellone, Antioch Police Chief Brooks said on Wednesday, ‘the investigation is still in progress.’” More recently, Brooks told the Herald an outside agency was brought in for the investigation and is reviewing over 1,800 pages of documents related to the case of the shooting death of a homeless man, Luís Góngora-Pat, by Mellone, while an SFPD Officer, and his sergeant, in April 2016.

According to several news reports, at the time Mellone was hired, again by the APD in August 2019 – he had previously worked for the department until 2012 – Mellone was facing discipline by the SFPD for escalating the situation and his use of non-lethal force by shooting a bean bag gun at a homeless man, Luís Demetrio Góngora-Pat, who then brandished a large kitchen knife at the officers, and was subsequently shot and killed by their service weapons. The two officers were cleared by both the SF District Attorney and SFPD Internal Affairs Division for their lethal use of force.

A 10-day suspension was recommended by the SFPD’s IAD, and the citizen-run Department of Police Accountability recommended that the (San Francisco) Police Commission suspend Mellone for 45 days. Neither occurred as he was hired by the Antioch Police Department before a final decision was made on any discipline, which could have been delayed further, if Mellone remained with the SFPD and chose to fight it. (A more thorough report by the Herald about the matter will be published once the investigation of Mellone is complete).

Householder joins seven others, including Wright, former Mayor Wade Harper, Councilwoman Monica Wilson and former Planning Commission Chairman Ken Turnage II, along with three others, including one candidate who ran for governor in 2014.

City Clerk Simonsen reported the following Antioch residents have taken out Nomination Papers as of 5 p.m. July 23rd or Qualified for the following offices:

CITY OFFICES

Mayor

Sean Wright (I) – Mayor of Antioch

Julio Mendez

Rakesh Kumar Christian – Qualified on 7/22/20 – candidate for Governor of California in 2014

Kenneth Turnage II – former Antioch Planning Commission Chairman

Monica Wilson – Antioch Councilwoman

Wade Harper – former Mayor of Antioch

Gabriel Makinano

Elizabeth Householder – Antioch School Board Trustee

—————

The Contra Costa Elections office provided the following information for candidates as of 3:59 PM on Thursday:

ANTIOCH SCHOOL BOARD

Area 4

Gary Hack – Antioch School Board Trustee

There were no additional candidates in the other races in Antioch who took out or filed Nomination Papers as of Thursday at 5:00 p.m. To see the latest list of all candidates visit the Election 2020 page on the Antioch Herald website. The list will be updated each day when additional registered Antioch voters take out or file their Nomination Papers. Filing closes on August 7 unless an incumbent chooses to not seek re-election, which only affects the races for mayor, city clerk and city treasurer.

The following Open Letter was sent to the AUSD Board on Saturday, July 18 regarding the AUSD webinars of July 16, 2020 and Governor Newsom’s press conference of July 17, 2020

Dear Board Members and Others,

My name is Mark Hadox and I am concerned about the AUSD plans for using the hybrid model for the upcoming 2021 school year.

There are many ideas and various models of school re-opening and learning methods for 2021.

On Friday, Governor Newsom laid out mandatory guidelines for opening schools and closing schools. School openings will only happen upon general county-wide health criteria being met as well as specific school and district criteria.  Now AUSD must form a plan which works within the governor’s criteria and has the best chance of success.

After schools are permitted to open the governor’s plan calls for closing schools and returning to distance learning when any of the following conditions are met:

a) One person in a class with confirmed positive would cause the 14-day quarantine of those exposed to that person.

b) school reverts to distance learning when multiple cohorts have positive cases

c) or school reverts to distance leaning when 5% of students and staff test positive

d) district reverts to distance learning when 25% of schools have been closed

After 14 days under each condition the school may return to in-person instruction with the approval of the local public health officer.

How do those state mandated criteria apply to AUSD in real numbers?

From Wikipedia, there are about 17,000 AUSD students so with a student to teacher ratio of, say 27, the result is approximately 630 classrooms and 630 teachers and hundreds more specialty teachers, substitutes, and staffing.

When each of those 630 classes are split into two cohorts for in-class teaching that will be 1,260 cohorts, spread among 25 schools in the district, including two of our six high schools having about 2,000 students each.

Note, per Contra Costa Health on 7/17, the current positive countywide test rate is 8%.

Applying an 8% positive rate to cohorts of 13 students the result would be 1.04 positives, so it seems pretty clear that right off the bat many cohorts will meet the criteria for the immediate 14-day quarantine of that cohort.  Many more than one of the 1,260 cohorts in the district are certainly going to be affected early on in the school year.

Remember, even just two positive cohorts requires a school to revert to distance learning.

Also, an entire district closure happens when 25% of schools close, which would be 6 of AUSD’s 25 schools, it is readily apparent that a few positives will result in the district meeting the 6 school threshold to close the district quite quickly.

Even if the infection rate is cut in half to 4%, that is still about 700 positive throughout the AUSD population of students and staff.  It only takes as few as 2 positives to close a school and so as few as 12 positives can close six schools and thus the whole district.

The missing key to the governor’s positive test criteria is how will any school find out about any person’s positive test results?

Unless schools themselves test every person entering campus and maintain the results thereof, then the heath of everyone on site will be left up to parents reporting to the school the medical condition of their children. Certainly, the first thought of a parent with a sick child will be childcare and not to call the school to report it. And what about asymptomatic positives? Without testing they will never be found.

While we all want to return to the days prior to corona virus, we must keep in mind that our hope does not out weigh the fact that the corona virus is out there, people transmit it easily, unknowingly, and it will not stop simply because we wish it to.

It is also clear that even if a vaccine is produced, it will likely not be 100% effective and on top of that there may well be a large percentage of parents who will refuse it even if it were 100% effective.  That said, the new normal may be permanent distance learning for a large portion of our student population if, hopefully, being vaccinated becomes a requirement for in-class learning.  Developing a strong distance learning model is imperative.

AUSD needs to get real and go all in on distance learning now.  It is prudent to consider that the new normal for all of 2021 will likely be solely distance learning and to put all effort into making that model work.

Superintendent Anello said that many parents want in class teaching and that the social and emotional needs of the students are a major concern.  But in-class teaching may actually cause emotional harm, really.  Has it been explained to parents how in-class teaching will be done?  The students will be practically seat-belted into their chairs, they will not be able to touch anyone, share anything, or play in any groups, they even need to each their lunches alone at their desks.  They won’t be able to mix with their friends, before, during, or after school.  They will constantly be admonished to keep their masks on, don’t do that, stay over there, etc.

The governor requires that every school day, that  anyone entering the campus must receive and pass a health screen, what emotional toll will that take?  Will a student’s cohort’s parents be told that a classmate of their child didn’t pass the health screen, does AUSD plan to inform parents when that happens?  Since cohorts can’t be mixed, what is the protocol for when a teacher is absent?  Oh, and while the governor says that K-2 students are only encouraged to wear masks rather than being required to, mask wearing in public is required for everyone over the age of two, will AUSD require all K-12 students to wear masks?  The governor’s Pandemic Plan states that, “Over the course of the pandemic, most schools will likely face physical closure at some point…”, have the parents been informed that in-class learning will be variable and unpredictable at all levels from classroom, to school, to district?

I would really appreciate a reply to my questions, they are not rhetorical.

I believe that if all parents were provided with a clear picture of their child’s likely in-class learning experience and emotional challenges, that many of those parents who may have wanted in-class learning back in May would not feel that way now.

Sincerely,

Mark Hadox

Antioch Resident and Parent of AUSD graduates

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) will host a telephone town hall to discuss coronavirus, the classroom, our community, and what comes next when school resumes in Contra Costa on Thursday, July 23rd at noon.

Congressman DeSaulnier will be joined on the call by Dr. Bill Walker, former Director of Health Services and current Director of Legislative and Governmental Affairs for Contra Costa Health Services, as well as Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey. During the event, Contra Costa residents will have an opportunity to ask questions about the upcoming school year and local districts’ plans for instruction.

Coronavirus, the Classroom, and our Community Telephone Town Hall
Thursday, July 23, 2020
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. PT

This event is open to the public.

To RSVP and submit a question, click here: https://tthm.wufoo.com/forms/teletownhall-with-congressman-mark-desaulnier/

By Allen Payton

During an announcement, today Governor Gavin Newsom said schools in counties not on the state’s monitoring list can reopen for in-person. But schools in counties on the monitor list must be off the list for 14 consecutive days before being able to reopen. According to a slide he shared, a total of 32 of the state’s 58 counties have been on the state’s monitoring list for 3+ days. Contra Costa continues to be on the state’s monitoring list of counties. The order includes both public and private schools.

“It’s very personal to me as a father of four, 10 years of age or younger, to the 6.15 million kids who are part of the public school education system and the 625,000 adults…who are looking forward to getting back to school…and us parents getting back to work…and to so many other responsibilities as parents and caregivers,” Newsom started off.

He spoke of and provided slides explaining the specific recommendations and guidance.

“Schools must provide meaningful instruction during this pandemic whether they are open…or not,” Newsom said.

He spoke of the health of school staff. “We have to have their backs, as well,” he stated. “Safety is foundational.”

Newsom then shared his Five Principles:

1. Safe in-person school based on local data
2. Mask requirements
3. Physical distancing + other adaptations
4. Regular testing + dedicated contact tracing
5. Rigorous distance learning

“Schools can physically open when the county they are operating in are off the state’s monitoring list for 14 consecutive days,” Newsom announced. ‘However, schools that don’t meet this requirement, they must begin the school year, this fall with distance learning.”

He then spoke of the other four principles.

“All school staff and students third grade and above must wear masks,” he stated. “Students second grade and below we encourage to wear masks or face shields.”

“On the physical distancing side, it’s incumbent upon staff to physically distance at least six feet,” Newsom said.

“The school day should start with symptom checks, temperature checks,” he continued.

Newsom spoke of requirements to test staff regularly, with the state contact tracing workforce of 10,000 people who will prioritize schools, according to one of the slides.

“Distance learning…access to devices. We have put up money for districts to purchase devices…to address this yawning gap in technology and connectivity,” he shared.

“We want to create a challenging environment where assignments are equivalent to what they would get in a classroom environment,” Newsom added.

He spoke of challenges with a breakout of the virus. If the school has cases of more than 5% positive, then we mandate that school close. If 25% of the schools in a district have 5% positive cases, the district must close all schools for 14 days, he explained.

“Learning remains non-negotiable. But neither is safety of all of our cohorts of support staff as well as our children,” Newsom said before sharing the latest statewide COVID-19 statistics.

“None of us want to see education virtualized, at least I don’t,” he said. “The one thing we have the power to do to get our kids back into school is, look at this list, again. Wear a mask, physically distance, wash your hands, minimize the mixing.”

“The more we do on this list and we do it on scale the quicker all those counties will get off the monitoring list…and those kids are back in school,” Newsom stated. “It’s incumbent upon us to practice…what we preach as individuals…to model the behavior that can actually extinguish this virus,”

“I saw one study…if every American wore a mask in just a number of weeks, we’ll have dramatically bent the curve,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s too much to ask.”

“Go to that covid19.ca.gov website…to learn more about these continuity plans, Local Continuity Attendance Plans (LCAP),” Newsom concluded before opening up for a question and answer session.

New school year will begin Sept. 1; no decision yet on in classroom or distance learning.

By Allen Payton

During a special meeting, Wednesday evening, the Antioch School Board voted 5-0 for a revised school calendar for 2020-2021 and for contracts with both teachers and management staff. The meeting began at 5:00 p.m.

School Year Schedule

The new school year will begin Monday, September 1st. According to the staff report on the agenda item, district management representatives have worked in collaboration with leadership from the Antioch Education Association (AEA) and the California School Employees Association (CSEA) to develop a revised draft calendar for the 2020-2021 school year in accordance with the provisions of the AUSD-AEA collective bargaining agreement.

Asked if the board has decided on in person classes, distance learning or a combination, Superintendent Stephanie Anello responded, “no decision has been made regarding the learning model.” Asked when she expected that to be decided, she replied, “We hope to make a decision, soon.”

“I am hopeful that a later start date, even if we have to start in distance learning, will make more in person learning possible, as restrictions ease,” Anello added.

Teachers Contract

According to the staff report, the Board of Education and the District Administration have been engaged in contract negotiations with the Antioch Education Association.  The parties reached a tentative agreement on all outstanding matters on June 23, 2020. Since then, the Antioch Education Association membership ratified the tentative agreement.

The contract adopted by the board provides district teachers with a 2% raise in salaries and a 0.12% increase in benefits, resulting in approximately a $1.8 million increase in the district’s budget. View the contract, here.

Management Staff Contract

According to the staff report, the Antioch Management Association (AMA) is comprised of certificated and classified management, supervisory, and confidential employees in the District. Because it is not an exclusive bargaining representative like the Antioch Education Association and the California School Employees Association, all matters regarding compensation, work year and hours, and other terms and conditions of employment for these employees are determined exclusively by the Superintendent and the Board of Education.

The District recently completed negotiations with the Antioch Education Association for the 2019-2020 school year. The terms which were agreed upon between the parties included increases in compensation and increases in the District’s monthly contribution to employee health and welfare benefits. Staff requests that the Board of Education approve equitable increases for employees in the AMA on the Certificated and Classified Management Salary Schedule with the same effective date.

Specifically, it is recommended that:

1) All salary schedules and associated stipends listed on those schedules be increased by 2.00% effective July 1, 2019.

2) The District’s annual contribution to health and welfare benefits be increased to the following levels effective January 1, 2020.

• Employee Only:    $ 11,856.00
• Employee Plus 1:  $ 16,980.00
• Cash in Lieu:        $   3,120.00

The contract approved by the board will increase costs to the District’s general fund for management, supervisory, and confidential staff by approximately $308,659 (including salary and statutory costs) for 2019-2020. View the contract, here.

The district’s contract with classified staff has yet to be approved.

“We are still negotiating,” Anello shared. “However, we expect that it will be finalized, soon.”

The meeting can be viewed at https://youtu.be/8AkqwZYh53U.

Network of six online public schools joined together for a virtual commencement ceremony on June 17 of over 800 students in the Class of 2020 

San Juan Capistrano, CA – California Connections Academy, a tuition-free network of online public schools serving students in grades TK-12 across 32 counties in California since 2004, celebrated more than 800 graduating seniors on June 17. While graduates were unable to walk across the stage to receive their diploma as tradition holds, school administrators and teachers honored the graduates with proper pomp and circumstance during the virtual graduation ceremony.

Students gathered with family members, friends, teachers and administrators in an online setting to commemorate this milestone and celebrate the many accomplishments of the Class of 2020. Fortunately, due to the school’s full-time virtual curriculum, seniors at California Connections Academy were able to finish their semester and complete all courses despite the public health crisis.

The following students are California Connections Academy graduates from East County:

• Isabella Macayan, Antioch
• Olivia Gregory, Antioch
• Alden-Christopher Quintanilla-Sanchez, Bay Point
• Rowyn De Witt, Oakley

Unfortunately, the list is incomplete as the school can only share the names of students who have consented to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

“California Connections Academy prepared me well for graduation,” said Isabella Macayan of Antioch. “The teachers are always ready to help if you call and they make time to connect with students. My family feels like we made the right choice when deciding which school to attend.”

Another graduate who lives in East County shared his thoughts.

“California Connections Academy provided me with a flexible schedule and the classes I needed to graduate high school ahead of schedule. Moving from a private school to an online school was a big change but it gave m insight into time-management and self-motivation,” said Alden Christopher Quintanilla-Sanchez of Bay Point. “The school gave me the resources I needed and all I had to do was make good use of them.”

The Class of 2020 is comprised of graduates from six California schools – California Connections Academy Central, California Connections Academy Central Coast, California Connections Academy Monterey Bay, California Connections Academy North Bay, California Connections Academy Ripon and California Connections Academy Southern California – residing in 32 counties throughout the state. Among the graduating class, 65% plan to attend two- or four-year colleges or universities, 11% plan to enter the work force and 8% plan to attend vocational or technical school or join the military. Collectively, the graduating class earned more than $856,000 in scholarship funds and students have been accepted to notable in-state and out-of-state universities including UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, Boston University, Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon, and NYU, among many others.

Among the graduates is California Connections Academy Ripon valedictorian Nthenya Maithya, who came to California Connections Academy in 2018 seeking a flexible schedule that would allow her to excel academically at her own pace. Maithya will attend Villanova University in the fall to study mechanical engineering.

“While attending California Connections Academy, I felt that I had the power to take my education into my own hands and learn about myself along the way,” shared Maithya. She added that she never thought she would be valedictorian. “I always push myself to be the best I can and set high standards for myself. At Connections Academy, I could see that paying off.”

“I am continually inspired by our 2020 graduating class,” said Dr. Richard Savage, California Connections Academy Executive Director. “These students have worked incredibly hard to finish the school year strong and I am so proud of all of their achievements. I have no doubt these students will be the next generation of successful and thoughtful leaders.”

California Connections Academy accommodates the needs of a variety of learners through unique curriculum opportunities, close-knit collaboration with fellow students and staff, supportive teachers and the flexibility to learn from anywhere with an internet connection.

Currently providing more than 7,600 students across six schools with a high-quality, personalized online education, the schools combine California-credentialed teachers with structured LiveLesson(R) online classroom sessions, and a curriculum that meets rigorous state education standards. Through advanced technology tools, teachers work closely with students to nurture their strengths and provide additional support for areas of difficulty, while parents can consistently monitor how their child is performing and progressing. The safe learning environment enables a dynamic student schedule and offers a solution to families with a variety of needs.

For additional information about online education and enrollment, the school is hosting free events for families to learn more. To learn more about California Connections Academy and begin the enrollment process, visit the school’s website.

About California Connections Academy

California Connections Academy is a network of tuition-free, high-quality, highly accountable online public school serving students in grades TK-12 throughout 32 counties via six school sites in California. All six schools are fully accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). California Connections Academy provides students a safe, supportive learning environment with the flexibility to learn from anywhere with an internet connection with an innovative curriculum that meets rigorous state education standards. The combination of state-credentialed teachers, an award-winning curriculum, personalized teacher support, unique electives and community experiences creates a supportive and successful online learning opportunity for families who want an individualized approach to education. For more information, call 1-800-221-2720 or visit the school’s website.