Just who are "Taxpayers for Honest Trustees"? Team Unruly has no idea. But the Mercury News—we mean, John Fensterwald— apparantly knows. In the lead editorial column published Monday, November 1st, Fensterwald, writing on behalf of the Merc, implies the group is connected to the union by opining that Mann and Ramirez "will also stand up to union bullying."

Nice assumption, Information Minister, but hardly fact. Union PAC spending by law has to be open for public record. A mass-mailing anonymous hit piece is expensive and not union style. That's why you have web-sites like unrulyrus.com. It's cheap and neither supported nor funded by union dollars. Is it a hit piece? We guess if taken from the perspective who feels he has a lock on the public expression of opinion and the first amendment right to dissent, yes we suppose you would look at unruly and Taxpayers for Honest Trustees as hit pieces. We feel the same way every time the Merc endorses a school board candidate guilty of a white-collar crime.

Unlike a simple flyer, unruly offers more than opinions. We prefer hanging editorialists with their own words and news articles. That's why there are so many links to Mercury News articles like this one on the 30k Mann spent: *

Fensterwald assumes the Taxpayer mailing was generated by "union bullies". You know the type. The ones that drive around in fancy Mercedes Benzs who live in those fancy Evergreen Valley homes, armed to the teeth with #2 Ticonderogas and pink erasers, ready to scribble an "F" on a test wherever they might find one. Fensterwald proceeds to attack the union on Measure K because lord knows parents and community members can't be that upset with a guy who used their tax dollars to buy a PDA.

Please.

Yes, the union has spent 45k endorsing their candidates, Nguyen and Campos, and it is nine times what the union has spent for Measure K.

But let's be honest, Fensterwald.

The union foresaw some of these financial problems two years ago. They called for a parcel tax in a non-presidential election year when there were NO OTHER PARCEL TAXES ON THE BALLOT. The board did not overly support that parcel tax. It rested on the shoulders of the union to get that measure passed, a measure that faced little opposition from elementary district parcel taxes and included exemptions for seniors.

Now the district is in financial difficulty in large part because the people with the power of the purse—the board of trustees—couldn't reign in their spending. The Mercury consistently blames Joe Coto for these problems, but they never reported the story of the board's chosen attorney. This legal person (a position pushed for by Mann as a way to exert more influence over Joe Coto) reviewed every decision district administrators tried to make. Coto proposed revoking the board's credit cards in the late 90's. The district counsel blocked that decision. Oh, and by the way, that person was quietly dismissed under sexual harassment charges—another story that never graced the pages of the Mercury News.

The union does endorse Measure K. So does Team Unruly. But if Measure K fails, how on earth would that be the fault of the union when stories and editorials abound about how Zendejas is cleaning up the district's financial mess? Does the Mercury actually think voters are that oblivious to not hold the board accountable for their spending practices? Does Fensterwald really believe the voting public will joyfully give x-million dollars a year to the two board members whose negligence has in part necessitated the parcel tax measure in the first place? Isn't it spurious and ironic to criticize negative campaign literature, then bash the union for not endorsing measure K, even though union ground forces have done most of the phone banking and hands on work to get the word out about that measure—on volunteer time?

Fensterwald closes his own large readership hit piece with one accurate statement: "Voters will make their own choices, but it's important they have the facts, not anonymous, spurious, last-minute attacks." The use of "anonymous" by an unsigned Mercury editorial that is in itself a "last-minute attack" is ironic and entertaining. Let's focus on the issue of fact:

1. The Mercury is right. They never did report that Mann charged a massage to taxpayers on one of the trips. That doesn't mean it didn't happen. Mann made the charge and quickly paid that one back when it appeared his credit card expenses would get press coverage.

2. The Merc claims most of that money went toward legitimate educational trips. It's interesting to note that teachers—the ones who directly impact curriculum and students—don't get to take 30 odd K worth of legitimate trips in their entire professional careers. Some of those trips, like to a Democratic political caucus meeting, one could argue have little to do with district promotion and much more to do with self-promotion. Gee, isn't that the same term the Information Minister used in his endorsement of Mann and Ramirez, which you can read here: **

3. Mann did buy a personal computer for "district business." You forgot to mention the PDA et al. Team Unruly has yet to meet teachers with "district-purchased" PDA's. Furthermore, Mann himself, in his e-mail to teacher Rick Caton regarding a signed article that appeared in the union's newsletter, claims he made the Dell purchase because he felt the RPO process took too long. Teachers and administrators have felt that way for years, that's why the ESUHSD has a notorious reputation among the business community for not paying its bills. They also have a rep for strange purchases. This board, for example, spent 16k buying leather chairs for themselves back in the late 90's.

4. While the Mercury wants to imply the union is responsible for Taxpayers for Honest Trustees, they forgot that there are so many others who could be responsible: angry parents, informed voters, and let's not forget there are five other candidates running in this race. In order to do a mass mailing, there has to be a large group of angry people with money to throw into that kind of mailing. Rather than criticize the group, the Mercury should do its job and figure out why so many people are angry. The fact that two different grassroots flyers and at least two websites have appeared in less than one year condemning the actions of the board and their chosen superintendent account for something! Take off the rose-colored glasses and get a clue!

But that's not the Information Ministry's job. They want voters to think everyone is happy in East Side land, that rainbows and lollipops flow freely from the offices at 830 North Capitol Ave. They choose what and what not to report.

THEY DID NOT INFORM THE VOTERS OF: all of Mann, Roach and Hererra's credit card purchases, the Filipino teacher pocket veto issue, the move to fire school advisors, Zendejas' controversial reputation as a superintendent, Zendeja's violation of collective bargaining agreements, why Zendejas left Indianapolis, the mass of lawsuits being levied on the district due to rash decisions, the march on the board by CSEA and other groups, the list of infamous reversals, the Ramirez blow-up at the May board meeting, the subsequent deportation of some Filipino teachers, the change to the class size ratio, the firing of Bill Kugler, the list of questionable expenditures like home loans and media programs, the cuts to district educational programs, the cuts to special ed support positions that have further put the district out of compliance with SPED laws, the negative interim report Zendejas just filed, the questionable shifting of funds from land sales, the two auditing firms that failed to notice those questionable fund transfers—the list goes on and on and on. There is just too much to say in the 125 words the Merc allows its letter writers. That is why there are alternative sources of information—we just aren't as fortunate to have the Mercury's readership.

Team Unruly's opinion reflects the opinion of many. The Mercury's opinion reflects the views of one person. Isn't that just a little too much power for one person to wield? Are we not entitled to our opinion too?

It's not just teachers that are mad. The whole community feels like they've been scammed. And it seems the Mercury is happy to join in the scamming. That's why the time has come to change this school board one election at a time.

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* www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/7269629.htm

** http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/
9925269.htm