Team Unruly Recommends a "NO" Vote on Both Incumbents

Support base unclear, but appears to be eroding.

Not interviewed.

Craig Mann's claim to infamy involves his alleged misuse of district funds, based on accusations he used his district credit card for personal gain. It is not so much his apparently sloppy accounting practices that has raised questions about his qualifications, but his recent politically motivated outbursts and attacks on his opponents. The controversy was originally reported in the Mercury News in October 2003, in a story by Jessica Portner and Joelle Tessler. The story charges, "Mann racked up nearly $30,000 in expenses during a period of more than five years, mostly to attend nearly 20 educational conferences."

Craig Mann thinks he is the accountability king, so much so that he harasses his fellow candidates while not taking stock of his own faux paxs. Read this story from the Metro:

THE 'E' WORD

How steamed is East Side Union High School trustee CRAIG MANN over a politcal rival's campaign statements? So angry he not only called LAN NGUYEN at work to protest the language, he also called Nguyen's boss, his campaign manager, the county administrator's office as well as head of the Santa Clara Democrats, STEVE PREMINGER, who also chairs the Campaign Ethics Foundation of Santa Clara. The offending language? Nguyen had the nerve to say that a "crisis in accountability" undermined the district's ability to provide the "best education possible" for East Side students. Nguyen also asked voters to join him to bring back "honesty, integrity and accountability" to the board of trustees. For that bit of nastiness, Mann has threatened to file an ethics complaint against Nguyen. [Dirkatorial pause for the money part] East Side is a district that overspent $14 million to build a high school, is searching for $1.3 million to comply with state budget-reserve requirements, refuses to pay teachers a 4 percent cost-of-living allowance—and, lest we forget, there was the well-publicized credit card fiasco, in which several board members, including Mann, made thousands of dollars in questionable purchases. (Mann acknowledges that at least 3 percent of $30,000 he spent over a six-year period was for personal use, for which he reimbursed the district.)

In a recent response to a Panorama (the ESTA Newsletter) letter, Mann writes:

(Grammar and spelling errors are in the original)

I just read your utterly defamatory, libelous and slanderous letter to the Mercury News editor & reprinted in ESTA's Panorama (better known as the "Paranoia"). Please know that I am sending this to my lawyer for immediate review.

If you knew absolutely anything, you'd know the following:

1) The Dell computer purchased in 2001 was at the average cost of ALL computers purchased for administrators, board members and others, ergo the cost was not in excessive. Again, this is publicly available data, go check it out. Further, it is a district asset, NOT a personal asset. The mistake I admittedly made was to be impatient, not wanting to wait months on a district p.o. and instead used the district procurement card to purchase a district asset. This error in judgement I've already apologized for. The good news is my impatience did not cost the district any more money than had they used the purchase order system to purchase the same.

a) Public officials are customarily afforded enabling tools, usually office equipment to carry out their duties. There is nothing "PERSONAL" about the usage of public funds for these enabling tools.

2) There was "a" (single) political gathering, not "gatherings" (multiple) of which the associated cost was $353 of which I had a legal opinion to substantiate its appropriateness based on a community college board case. Again, this is publically available data go check it out. Further, I reimbursed the district for this expenditure although legally defensible and another $600 dollars worth of "gray area" items on my own, without a demand from the district. I know how to do the right thing w/o being told to do so.

3) If you knew how to read a hotel receipt which is another public record, you'd know that I paid for the noted massage personally, NOT the district.

4) I am the ONLY board member to date that has scoured his expense records over their tenure, one by one, that is why it took the elapsed time of six weeks worth of Mercury News articles for me to speak out. I wanted to get to the bottom of the truth. As a result I discovered of the #30, 000 expenses over a six plus year period, I had an error rate of 3% (in most classes 97% is an "A"), and have long ago reimbursed the district the $1,000 (again public record, go check it out). Further, I am the ONLY board member that demanded that 100% of my records be compiled, sealed, bound and delivered the Santa Clara County DA on November 12, 2004 and to this date they have found no misuse of public funds (again, public record go check it out). While the other two board members covered by the Mercury have not had their records vetted to this date and have not made a single reimbursement for any less than appropriate expenses (and at least one of my colleagues still has yet to submit ANY receipts), mine have been gone over with a fine-toothed comb and ALL necessary reimbursements have been made.

5) Also, I find it a joke, hypocrisy that anyone from ESTA would point a finger at anyone for "fiscal responsiblity." In spite of knowing that the district faces a $4m to $10 budget reduction for the 2005-06 school year, ESTA still insists on a 4% COLA this year, when in the previous year the COLA calculation was a negative 2%, the Board did not take money away from the teachers. The math, if you were able to compute it, means that the COLA should only be 2.9% increase this year. But, no, because the Board was compassionate one year in not taking money away, the association finds no responsibility in helping keep the district financial boat afloat. Also, ESTA is fighting (via grievances) the Article 15.1 declaration by the Board to suspend it, to raise class size from 28/1 to 30/1, which saved the district $3m dollars in this 2004-05 budget year. Further, with health cost having gone up 11% this past year, five times greater than wages, ESTA wants absolutely no changes to the benefits package when it's obvious this too is contributing to our financial ills. Again, you talk about "fiscal responsibility," but you don't walk it. So, as Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia said to Chris Matthews the other night at the Republican Convention, "get out of my face."

My record as noted on by website is the record that I proudly stand by. As THE accountability drum-major on the Board, I have personally driven accountability via transparency on this Board since joining it.. The audits by KPMG and especially the ones by Harvey Rose Accountancy, Inc have provided significant return-on-investment. The total cost of the HRA audits was $180k, but the findings of one time and annual savings total $3m. Do the math.

So, I know this is the political season, and unfortunately you and your associates are stooping to the gutter of the "politics of personal destruction" to seek your desired ends, to bump Juanita and I off the Board to facilitate stopping the reform agenda and to fire Dr. Zendejas. But in the name of God, I implore you to put an end to your defamatory, libelous and slanderous accusations.

Net-net, get out of the "SwiftBoatVetsforTruth" swamp, come up for air from the slimy goo and join the community of truth telling, rational and fair people that largely populate our fine community. Yes, I believe there is hope, even for you.

Best regards,

Craig Mann


Governing Board Member
East Side Union HSD
[phone number omitted by unrulyrus]
http://www.craigmann.org