Did You Know?

Did you know that a week after we finished the story on Oakland Unified, Randy Ward, the state-appointed administrator, got hired to run the San Diego County Office of Education? Did you know he’ll be making close to, if not more than $250 thousand in base pay, not including perks like a travel allowance? Did you know State Superintendent Jack O’Connell praised Ward’s reform efforts? Did you know the San Francisco Chronicle’s Chip Johnson wrote an article noting that although Ward was considered “unyielding and tyrannical,” in the end “Oakland Owes [a] Debt to Randy Ward”? Did you know that former state Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Easton, who appointed Ward as the designated state administrator when the state took over the Compton Unified School District, wrote a self-serving editorial to the San Francisco Chronicle praising the legislation she wrote allowing the state to takeover financially troubled school districts? Did you know the article’s main focus was a celebration of Randy Ward as an educational leader, titled “Ward Exemplifies Real Leadership in Public Education”? Did you know she describes Ward as “a talented educational leader of great courage, conviction and integrity?” Did you ever think Delaine Eastin would equate “courage, conviction and integrity” with a guy who “winked, touched, and licked his lips” at a female subordinate? In all fairness to Ward, he was not found guilty of sexual harassment. The plaintiff went for the deep pockets and sued the California Department of Education. Though Eastin appointed Ward to Compton as the CDE’s representative, he technically was employed by Compton Unified. For that reason and the fact that the plaintiff only had no further meetings with Ward the case was dropped. Did Mr. Ward engage in the alleged behavior? That’s a matter for our readers to decide.

Did we mention Eastin disclosed that she was responsible for sending Ward to Compton before she sang his (and her own) praises? Did you know one of the biased hymns of praise was for Ward's reputed skill as an effective bean counter? Did you know that an unbiased independent auditor questioned the validity of Ward's budget numbers earlier this year, citing the appearance of intentional obfuscation?

Did you know Eastin’s article claims one of Ward’s strengths was reigning in overly generous employee compensation contracts? In the same article, she complains about the state not living up to its proposition 98 funding requirements. Did you know that Oakland’s teachers received a 4% raise this year after nearly going on strike? Did you know the average teacher salary increase in California was around 3% this year? Did you know Randy Ward received over a 7% raise for two consecutive years?

Speaking of raises, did you know state office holders just received an 18% raise? Did you know one of the people pushing for the salary increase was Jack O’Connell? Did you know that the price of gasoline has increased 28% from where it was this time last year?

Team Unruly wonders if this unmitigated support for Ward by the state’s highest education officials means they equate tyrannical management style with academic success. If Ward was such a great administrator, why not appoint someone with similar management capabilities? We know a petty tyrant who is looking for work. . Do you think O’Connell will appoint her to lead Oakland? Put your money where your mouth is, O’Connell. We dare you. We double dog dare you.

Finally, did you know the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, wants his office to take over the running of Los Angeles Unified, similar to what Michael Bloomberg has done in New York? If you read the Rubber Room article, you know how successful Bloomberg's plan is. Did you know teachers across California received an email from CTA urging them to support Villaraigosa’s takeover plan? Did you read the story about Randy Ward, Jack O’Connell and their connection to billionaire Eli Broad? Did you know Villaraigosa received significant contributions from Eli Broad during his mayoral campaign? You didn’t? We just thought you’d like to know!