The Sun Sets on the Summer of Kiko: A Conclusion

By now you’ve probably figured out that we made up all that stuff about our media holdings in Iceland, Madagascar, and Slovakia. It might come as a shock, but we really didn’t fire a drug-addicted, alcoholic Icelandic janitor named Gustav who would later turn to Scientology to get clean. Snakeboy and Redbeard are real — as much as an internet persona can be real. They are members of our forum, which you can visit with a click of the mouse . Also true, unfortunately, are all of the cases of tyranny, greed, malfeasance, and corruption we reported.

The truth is writing the Advocate is a time-consuming, masochistic experience. Once Zendejas left, we started the Kiko Award to expose the incompetent, destructive and often criminal actions happening in other school districts. We initiated the award with an expose on the morale-decimating William Bragg, the former head of the Cupertino Unified School District. Though Bragg’s incumbent board supporters won reelection, Bragg submitted an intent to retire letter by the end of December. At least one Cupertino voter credited the Advocate for making it clear to the community that Bragg did more harm than good. We were happy to help.

We also got a little overwhelmed by the pervasiveness of the problems we researched. Dysfunctional school boards and despotic superintendents seemed to be the rule, not the exception. Nor did enough professional educators willingly stand up to these injustices. They either fought for their dignity through union activism, only to be vilified by a complacent media, or more often than not, abandoned their district for saner pastures. We started to wonder if anyone even bothered to read our website since Zendejas’ abrupt departure. Was it worth the time?

So we took a break. In the interim, one fan and member of the Unruly forum asked if the Advocate was dead. We discovered our readership expanded into other states. While our East Side base might have tired of our tirades, others were taking notice. The much needed rest and innumerable martinis did the trick. We were a few mixed drinks away from helping to start a revolution. All we needed were some stories and a jar of olives.

We’ll keep writing the stories and exposing the corruption; we need you to take action. This and future editions of The Advocate will include a Take Action section with contact information so you can prod those in power to find what’s left of their integrity to affect positive change.

Want to really make a school board take notice? The Unruly Advocate makes no money off of the website; we are entirely driven by the volunteer spirit of our community. We obviously aren’t in this for the money. And we aren’t putting our hat out for donations, at least not directly. If you’re feeling philanthropic but a bit unruly in your desire to contribute, make a donation to your favorite school or education program in our name. School boards are required by law to formally accept donations at public meetings. Imagine the look on a scandal-ridden Kiko winner’s face when he or she accepts a donation in the name of the scandal-exposing website responsible for the grand jury investigation.

Like what you’ve read? Looking for a program to support in East Side? We like Independence High School’s teaching academy, Yerba Buena’s engineering and construction magnets, Andrew Hill’s health professions magnet and IB program, and Mt. Pleasant’s animation magnet, to name a few. But any district will do. Tired of the Grossmont trustees speeding up the apocolypse? Send Helix or Steele Canyon a few dollars to support their legal defense funds. The New York rubber room story got you down? Everyone liked that performing arts school in “Fame.”

Just don’t send a rubber check.

We’ll return in late August with a special school board election preview edition. In the meantime, post your comments and suggestions anonymously on the mainpage thread in the fabulous unrulyrus community forum.