Garvey Superintendent Seeks to Extinguish Tensions After Heated Board Meeting

By Jim E. Winburn

Garvey School District Superintendent Dr. Sandra Johnson (center) and board member Janet Chin (right) hold a press conference on the heels of last week’s tense school board meeting. -Photo by Jim E. Winburn

With tensions running high between administrators and members of the teachers’ union after Thursday night’s board meeting, Garvey School District officials called an emergency press conference to retain the public’s support and confidence.
Superintendent Dr. Sandra Johnson spoke to members of the local press outside Temple Intermediate School in Rosemead on Monday to express a willingness to work with teachers who supposedly staged a walkout on Friday, Sep. 28, following a late-night board meeting on Thursday.
Board members at the Sep. 27 meeting voted 3-2 to approve the renewal and extension of Superintendent Johnson’s contract despite vocal opposition from the Garvey Education Association, which represents the district’s teachers and is currently in negotiations with the district.
According to Johnson, the press conference was a direct response to the 38 teachers who did not show up for work the day after the board meeting. The superintendent called for both administrators and teachers to work together to “move forward” and beyond the current tensions in the district, saying, “We must have our teachers in the classroom everyday working with students to further their education.”
Johnson said the walkout left fellow teachers and staff, along with parents and students, “scrambling for answers.” She told the press on Monday that classes were not covered until they were able to pull ELL (English Language Learner) Interventionists and academic coaches to cover those classes. “On Friday we had hired a consultant to train our teachers into becoming effective teachers, and the money that we spent for that, taxpayer money, was wasted because the teachers were not there to attend,” Johnson said.
Michael Drange, president of the Garvey Education Association, said that negotiations were not at an impasse with the district, so there was no reason for a walkout. “I don’t know why people were out,” he said. “But I can tell you that it was a late meeting; the vote did not go down until 11 p.m.”
Drange claimed that the same excuse could be given to why the superintendent did not show up to work the next day. “Dr. Johnson wasn’t here either on Friday,” he said. “Was she part of some kind of walkout? She didn’t go to work – because it was a late meeting.”
Emphasizing that everyone needs to focus on the students, Garvey School District board member Janet Chin was cautious about discussing any disciplinary action for those who walked out. “We understand it’s a contentious time, and we don’t want to add fuel to the fire,” Chin said. “We do want to work together, and the superintendent really is holding out an olive branch to our union in hope that we all work together.”
But the tone was much more harsh at the press conference when Johnson called attention to the “unacceptable behavior” by members of the Garvey Education Association at the Sep. 27 board meeting. According to Johnson, students were told to wear red at the board meeting for extra credit and to speak disrespectfully, even slanderously, to her and board members in a show of support for the teachers and staff associations.
“We will not allow this unlawful behavior involving students in political activities and feeding them false information,” the superintendent said.
Invoking district-wide standards of Board Policy and Education Code, Johnson said it is unlawful for employees to involve students in their political activities, warning, “We will hold everyone accountable who continues to be disrespectful to others and provides false information to our students, parents, and community.”
Drange described the late-night board meeting as “600 people in the room, and we’re all fighting for something.” He said maybe three students spoke at the meeting, and one was actually the ASB president representing other students and their concerns.
“We’re not in the habit of telling kids what to do,” Drange said. “By the time kids get to 7th and 8th grade, they have an opinion … And some of them will get up and voice their opinion.”
Speaking at the press conference, Robert Dias, PTA President for Temple Intermediate School, said students were used at the meeting to convey a message that only served the immediate interests of others.
“I respect the teachers and their union, but the decision to involve students in negotiations is totally out of line,” said Dias. “Teaching jobs are very important. And to abuse your position by asking students to aid in negotiations should be a violation of your union code.”
According to the teachers’ union president, the district has not faced any unrest like this in the recent past; and the reason he claims is that “We feel we are not being listened to – at all.”
Drange said the school district has a $2 million deficit, and this is not the time to give the superintendent a $40,000 raise. According to Drange, they gave her an annuity equivalent to the money they would have paid into her retirement and a tax shelter to do it. “And they don’t want us to call it salary, they want STRS (State Teachers’ Retirement System) to call it salary,” he said. “Call it what you want, but that’s spiking your pension.”
In an email reply from Chin, she explained a different bottom line, saying that the district saved money by keeping Johnson as the superintendent. “By not using an executive search firm, we already saved $30,000, plus we saved the district time since we wouldn’t have to undergo a six-month executive search process, saved money on the acclimation period, and the $40,000 is not money going into her monthly paycheck – it goes into an annuity,” Chin said in the email.
“We had a choice,” confirmed Tony Ramos, president of the school board. “We could spend more money and perhaps change the direction of the district, or retain Dr. Johnson and hold this district to a higher standard of education, respect, accountability and communication. She understands what it takes to run this district.”
However, as noted before, this is a 3-2 school board – and with plenty of opinions to spare. School board member and former mayor of Rosemead Bob Bruesch may disagree with last Friday’s walkout, but he claims to understand the teachers’ motivation.
“Their motivation is that they are angry and upset,” said Bruesch. “It was said in our meeting the other night: ‘What are we doing? Is this a little City of Bell? How dare a person demand us to raise her salary so she can spike her retirement in two years and get even more.’ This is unconscionable.”
The Garvey Education Association circulated a flyer last month accusing the superintendent of creating larger class sizes and overcrowding by reducing the number of teachers in the district.
Johnson responded to the teachers’ claim on Sep. 20, saying, “Both the reduction in funding and loss of students have required us to reduce teachers. We need fewer teachers because we have fewer students, and we have had to raise class size somewhat due to budget cuts.”
The superintendent said in her response to the flyer that the district has been unable to negotiate any reductions to date with the association, “so our only choice has been to cut positions.”
For more information on the negotiations, visit the Garvey School District online at www.garvey.k12.ca.us or the Garvey Education Association web site at www.garveyea.org.

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