Anonymous Comments
Diaz dismissed this blog as being "1 or 2 frustrated people" and "It's people hiding behind the shield of anonymity." If retaliation were not a very real and ongoing threat, no one would need the "shield of anonymity". Retaliation is not confined to Diaz. Certain board members are also guilty. Board members may not meddle in personnel issues directly, but they can direct the Superintendent to carry out their personal vendetttas.
Diaz knew nothing about the administrators when she came to work. Then why did she begin a systematic campaign of intimidation and degradation of selected administrators? Patton, Laws and Jenkins were obvious targets. The Board has been mad ever since Louis Martinez gave them 3 year contracts. But, other administrators, clerical staff and instructional staff have been on the receiving end of her dismissive putdowns, outright threats, and cloying, patronizing "Sweetie" diplomacy.
Diaz has no idea what programs are and have been in place in this district. Change for the sake of change is deleterious. The Board wanted change, so she gave them change. They may also have received more than they bargained for - from Diaz and from a frustrated community.
posted by LCPS1 @ 6:25 AM
16 Comments:
IF the "little lady" leaves how much is it going to cost the district?
It seems this is the way she makes extra
income. Sad, is all I can say and at the cost
to our community which will also cost our kids. No
wander so many good teachers are taking
early retirement and GOOD administrators are getting
out.
When is the paper going to print the truth!!!!
Did the school board know that Dr. Diaz had a management style that was based on "creating conflict?" If they did know and hired her because of that then they are as guilty as she for the systematic dismantling of our district and for the low, low, low morale. They had had their chance and must be replaced before they do further damage.
I would like to encourage this blogsite to offer a poll/
Vote of Confidence for the LCPS School Board
Yes, I am confident in this board.
No, I have NO confidence in this board.
Vote of Confidence for Dr. Sonia Diaz, Her vision , and her management style.
Yes, I am confident in Dr. Diaz leadership
No, I have NO confidence in Dr. Diaz leadershp
Please visit
http://haussamen.blogspot.com
Heath has spoken with Lady Voldemort today and also with a few of our state congressional delegation about this situation. As bad as the BOE may be the congressional delegation is worse. The really bad part about this is we just re-elected these people yesterday. They are certainly not listening to their constituents. Lady Voldemort has only been here for 4 months how is it she has friends in such high places. Maybe its because when she visits a school where the elected officials have kids she takes the extra time to go visit those kids. Just imagine if she treated her employees with such perks. Maybe our opinion would be different than it is. What we wanted was a Superintendent not a POLITICIAN. As of this moment our state elected officials are on notice that there are consequences to not listening to their constituents.
This is so sad. Was it really this bad the last time? All I know is that we (all of us) had an agenda for reform based on student achievement - to concoct false stories about our former superintendendent's behavior has led to this - no one will trust anyone... What ever happened to the students? Haven't heard about them in months.
Maybe the real message is:
To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under heaven.
A time to be born; a time to die;
a time to kill a time to heal ...
a time to weep a time to laugh;
a time to mourn a time to dance ...
a time to keep silent a time to speak;
a time to love a time to hate.
Look what hate has gotten for us. Maybe we should examine ourselves -be careful what you ask for, you may get it.
FYI to lcpsunderground blogger : Check out Heath Haussaman's blog at hasssaman.blogspot.com for some inside information about the events that are unfolding today---Looks like Diaz is trying to schmooze her way out of accountability by portraying herself as a hardworking victim of gossip.
I keep hearing that Diaz's defense is that she was hired to bring about "change". Have the school board members shared with we the parents and public just what exact "changes" they want implemented that require intimidation and abuse by the superintendent?
Apparently, Dr. Diaz is now on administrative leave herself. Charles White, a man of experience, humanity and intergrity should be brought in as the interim superintendent. School Board at least learn how to use Google before you hire the next superintendent and make sure it is someone who researches before making decisions, is ethical,respects employee rights,knows our community, reads and follows the negotiated agreements, doesn't flirt with employees, and has some humanity and humility- oh, that would be Charles White.
Clearly, without the authority granted by the Board, Dr. Diaz has no useful purpose. And the Board itself doesn't seem to know what to do, either, even when it SAID it would do something. (Witness the difficulty some parents of learning disabled students are having getting the District the teach their children the way they learn instead of the way the District wants to teach them.) Has anyone thought of the value of a good, old-fashioned shunning yet?
Ummmm, well... I dunno. Call me confused. I mean, this blog confuses the hell out of me. I'm already dopey from reading this stuff.
"Anonymous" always makes me suspicious. Example - Could someone tell me why the super needed a shower in her office? Most people do that at home. Blogger comment: Is this true? Can anyone confirm this?
So, let's pretend I'm posting this as Anonymous.
"Hey people! Sonia was at my house last week and she said y'all are a bunch of dumb hicks."
Seriously, what kind of validity can you give such comments if they are posted by "Anonymous?"
Your blog (whoever "you" are, Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous) is almost unreadable. I can't figure out who's talking, and I really want to know WHO IS TALKING. It's like speaking with the KKK (which I did back in Alabama in the early 1970s - almost got my po head bashed in). Hard to see the shopkeeper behind the white hood.
So, let me tell you what I've heard. It's from just one person, and I won't tell you who that person is because it was not meant for public consumption, but rather stemmed from a private conversation.
Dr. Diaz expects all employees to be accountable for their performance.
There. That's it, in a nutshell. That's really all I know.
Now, I will reveal my own hidden agenda. I e-mailed Dr. Diaz this morning with a proposal. (I had no prior knowledge of this blog, or this controversy. I only learned of this today at approximately 2:30 p.m.) I figured she might be savvy enough to run with an idea that would place the LCPS at the forefront of the digital revolution. Below is a copy of the e-mail.
Let me end this comment now. I neither support nor oppose Dr. Diaz. Hell, I never met the lady! I would not think of passing judgement on another human being based on anonymous comments. Based on the information supplied here, I am wary of possible "hidden agendas" on the part of these posters. Especially so because most of you are "Anonymous."
Pax,
Jeffrey M. Field
Conlee Elementary
http://consilience.typepad.com
http://consilience.typepad.com/our_stories?
---------------------------------------------
Dear Sonia,
Sandy James happened to mention yesterday that she met you at dinner Sunday. I'm Sandy's EA at Conlee. I have a proposal for you. But first, a little background.
I discovered the power of the internet in 1996. At the time I was teaching elementary school in North Alabama. I was invited to join Howard Rheingold's Electric Minds. I was later tapped to be their first community host. One thing led to another (this was about a year before the bubble burst) and I was offered a full-time job with Electric Minds (named by Time Magazine as one of the top 10 websites for 1997). Of course I grabbed at the chance. Enjoyed several trips to CA (from LA to Santa Barbara and back) and met a lot of interesting folks. After the bubble burst I went back to the classroom.
When I moved to NM I shut down my two websites, No Resistance and Cheeses of Nazareth. While teaching 7th grade social studies at Hatch Middle School I received permission to start a series of blogs which were maintained by my individual classes. I've been blogging ever since.
I joined the Conlee staff this school year. (See Mike Cook's story for more info.)
http://www.lcps.k12.nm.us/News/NewsRelease.asp?ReleaseID=2263
At present I maintain
Teachers' Lounge - http://consilience.typepad.com/
Our Stories - http://consilience.typepad.com/our_stories/
Friends Across the Desert - http://consilience.typepad.com/friends_across_the_desert/
Sharks - http://consilience.typepad.com/sharks/
SpaceQuest! - http://consilience.typepad.com/spacequest/
Here's the proposal - From personal experience I know that teachers rarely, if ever, leverage the internet to their advantage. Two factors are involved. Time (the lack of), and lack of experience.
The solution?
Push and Pull.
Push - Websites of interest are broken down into categories (subject, grade level, etc.) and then "Pushed" daily into the inboxes of LCPS teachers.
Pull - Teachers are encouraged to submit requests for specific learning resources. All requests receive a 24-hour turn around.
Examples of Push and Pull are found on Our Stories. I "Push" websites of interest to students and teachers, while students "Pull" needed websites from me.
What's the fiscal bottom line? Minimal.
Salary for whoever holds the position. (We need to come up with a cute, yet meaningful title. Internet Librarian simply won't do.)
Everything else (the infrastructure) is already in place, so there's no additional cost.
That's enough to get you thinking and brainstorming, Sonia.
If you conclude this idea merits further investigation, touch base with me.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Field
I was at the press conference this afternoon. It is my understanding that she is in pretty tight with the legislators and that they are possibly choosing to "take her side." When a reporter asked Mr. Briseno whether they were investigating the complaints of LCPS staff, he stated to the reporter that this was the first he had heard about it. Come on! How would this be the first time...I'm sure they could cut through the tension with a knife. I would hope that if the State takes over the district, that they take the time to speak with the administrators who have been chastised, belittled and degraded in front of their colleagues. How can any one respect this the "job" she has done? More like the disservice to our district! Dillards awaits her application and so does JC Penney for that matter. As she stated on more than one occasion "Hispanics are just poor PuertoRicans!" So much for her crude comments...she can take her put downs, put them in her little purse, flip her hair and go back where she came from!
I'm sure most have heard. Diaz was put on administrative leave. Local Legistlative delegation is seriously considering yanking this school board and having the state run it.
My well placed sources tell me Diaz is toast and the delegation will go through with this due to some very serious mismanagement issues. Keep piling on, this blog has been very effective. If you have some facts, nows the time!
I hope to god it is true and tranquility will follow.
At this point, this situation with Dr. Diaz and LCPS is all about Lonnie Briseno. And strangely enough Lonnie has found himself in secret little a trap.
It was Lonnie who engaged in a personal vendetta against Bob Ogas and it is still Lonnie who, contrary to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, does not judge people according to the “content of their character.” Instead, Lonnie is most interested in the color of our skin.
It will be up to the Hispanic leadership in this community to recognize Lonnie Briseno for what he is (a cleverly-disguised racist). And it will be up to the Hispanic leadership to smoke him out, because this fatal flaw is far too “sensitive” for any non-Hispanic to ever address in a public forum.
Lonnie’s story begins and ends with his personal obsession with ethnicity. It was Lonnie who pushed for LCPS to hire Martinez instead of seasoned veterans within the school district. Using his considerable ability to persuade, Lonnie conned the rest of the board into hiring Louis Martinez over superior local applicants who could then, and still can lead LCPS.
The rub between Robert Ogas and Louis Martinez was as much about the wishes of Lonnie Briseno as it was about anything else. The Ogas family challenged Briseno politically and of course when Lonnie speaks candidly, we learn that the Ogas family members are simply not the “right” sort of Hispanics. At Mayfield, Bob Ogas had the audacity to manage based strictly on merit rather than ethnicity.
Clashes between Briseno’s stooge (Martinez) and Ogas were inevitable. And eventually the sheer incompetence of Martinez resulted in embarrassment to the district and his firing.
As the “search” for the new superintendent to replace Martinez began and Joanne Patton calmed LCPS down during the interim, Lonnie Briseno was right back to his old tricks. Deftly, he managed to steer the rest of the LCPS board into another terrible hiring decision. Since Lonnie required a Hispanic surname above all else, (including a competent administrator), he was once again instrumental in leading the board away from qualified local superintendent candidates, and towards the hiring of yet another incompetent manager, one, Sonia Diaz.
The atrocious conduct of Sonia Diaz has received incredible space on this site, so the details will be spared on this entry. Diaz condescending style has made her thousands of enemies in record time while she was simultaneously breaking numerous state laws.
What has not received proper attention during this lengthy nightmare is the behavior of Lonnie Briseno. Examine Briseno’s comments at the press conference on Wednesday after Diaz was REMOVED. He was not truthful about anything. It was Briseno who kept the board in session all night defending Diaz. It was Briseno who then voted with the other four board members when he knew he would be the lone vote in favor of Dr. Diaz. Briseno’s vote was made so he could cover his political tracks, while he attempted to keep his options open. Re-read his comments at the press conference. They contradicted his own vote. Lonnie was unwilling to show courage with his vote, though he did attempt to defend his “stooge” at the press conference.
Those of us in the district know that Dr. Diaz sees the world as a caste system. She has spent considerable time cultivating relationships with powerful people, while humiliating those of us she sees as her inferiors. In anticipation of her possible removal, she attempted to call in her markers with local “leaders.”
As members of other branches of government have begun to assess this disaster, their dilemmas border on the edge of comedy. So far, it appears that Diaz has succeeded in convincing a couple of naive legislators (who ran unopposed) to make uninformed and completely asinine statements in her defense. No doubt their statements reflect twisted emotions and ignore the mounting evidence of legal improprieties that will eventually prevent Dr. Diaz from ever having any credibility in this district again.
The motivations of these legislators, in the aftermath of her removal, are actually pretty simple. Like Lonnie Briseno, they would like to somehow save a second Hispanic surname superintendent from embarrassing what they perceive as their “group” of people. It is unfortunate that these people are so easily torn between the real issue of competency and the bogus issue of ethnicity.
The political problem for ethnicity-minded legislators is serious. If they go through the painful legal steps necessary to remove an entirely incompetent school board, they will also have to remove Mr. Lonnie Briseno.
And so it is now poetic justice, that Lonnie is about to learn that there are political limits to his ability to have it both ways. Since Briseno vote made it unanimous to put Diaz on paid leave, he affirmed that the evidence supporting the allegations made against her was already formidable.
Readers of this blog can rest assured that Lonnie Briseno personally engineered the hiring of Louis Martinez and Sonia Diaz. And he did so for terrible reasons. He will probably get away with his deplorable behavior. But if he is removed, justice will be served. And then again, if he survives, it will be the citizen’s job to make sure he does not engineer the hiring of yet another incompetent stooge.
Viva Ogas!
The Ogas' machine tried to unseat Mr. Briceno in the election, but sputtered and "couldn't get it up." Lonnie won by a vote of ALL the people in the district - not just the power mongers. It is the beauty of real democracy. When Dr. Diaz came in to REALLY demean and demolish people's spirit - it was what the "elite few" (don't leave out Del Hansen and his lovely wife) deserved. They made false complaints before - now no one will believe them. It is truly poetic justice.
I personally think that it might be a good thing if the state take over the school district. However, when the district finally does get some real leadership, I think it should be run like the military. Not with regard to the student, per se, but more towards the staff. Especially the administrators. Those who make the most money should be held to a higher standard that the lower paid employees. The staff members who are derelict, or abusive, should be punished-sort of like a court martial in the military. Maybe that is what it will take for the higher ups in the district to start acting like grown ups instead of spoiled little brats who complain about their measley $50K plus bennies while the custodians and ea's and lunchladies and secretaries have to put up with all the dirty work for less than $13/year (plus medical)
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