Acton Agua Dulce Unified School District


Official School created advisory committees.

1-24-06 The school board has established committees to advise them on the decisions. they are held in public the Brown act and attendance are required to be published and all of their documents are public. we are trying to archive agendas, minutes, documents, and other relevant data.

They are suposed to be held in public under the Brown act and attendance are required to be published and all of their documents are public.

The last functioning committee facilities committee essentially shutdown when Max Duran quiz chairperson after the board controlled by the Cathy Howald group removed Charles Brink of the committees and then made the members of the master plan committee their hand-picked supporters

We are still trying to archive agendas, minutes, documents, and other relevant data. Some of the committees have been very cooperative and others have provided nothing. the guidelines from the committees were finally approved in January of 06 and a new application to join was issued on 1-24-06 with the return date of 2-17-06. here is a link to a Word version (doc) that can be filled out and mailed, fax or e-mail it

Facilities Shut down
Finance has failed to provide agendas or data.
Master Plan has failed to provide agendas or data.
Education committee has failed to provide agendas or data.
Creative Funding for Campus Improvement has failed to provide agendas or data


2005 Election Data


Board Agendas, minutes Superintendent's Report, and "Old Bell musings", The district did not provided copies of the Agendas and minutes between 2001 and 2004.
Bonds A loss of Four for Four
Charter School and Educational Foundation
Community Education Committee This has become a private club that became the recall committee and when that failed became the political committee for a better vision to elect a slate of Candidates in the November 2005 election.
School Data Data obtained from public sources
Environmental, Public Records Act and Brown Act
issues
Surplus Property Committee
Surplus property comments, Reconfiguration, Facilities and Site committees
Unification. Here is some history about Unification.


Stories 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996 - 1989


2007 Stories


2006 Stories


12-18-06 Even with the abysmal and dismal performance of the high school, the school board decided to go for a fourth bond issue
9-1-06 The Star Exams results for 2006
8-23-06 The academic staff led by Marty Young again failed the community at Vasquez high school
8-23-06 Apparently Cindi Oberhansley snuck out of the community like a thief in the night on August 10.
8-1-06 Mr. Steve Lorenze quits as principal of the Agua Dulce School.
7-26-06 Marty Young quits as principal of Vasquez High.
5-19-06 There Is No Free Lunch To All Concerned About Our Schools by Ron Bird
5-10-06 Is our AADUSD School Board on the right financial tract?
5-08-06 this is to publish Distaso ravings and how he claims by extending the COPs for another 11 years
5-7-06 DIstaso adding 1.3 million in non- voter approved debt
5-5-06 Here's an opinion piece by Larry Layton and Eleanor Braun
4-10-06 The failure of the master plan survey. The Kathy Howald controlled so-called master plan committee met today. They as usual refused to provide this newspaper with an agenda or minutes of their meetings. This is in violation of the Brown act.
3-28-06 Superintendent and the Kathy's clowns school board agree to put a 4th bond on the November election
3-21-06 Here are the API test results were 04-05 showing the continual failure of Vasquez high school
3-18-06 Failure of the hardship grant and The good news about Meadowlark
3-17-06 The good news about Meadowlark
2-21-06 “MYSPACE.COM” concerns! This website has been lately in the news on sexual criminal issues. Predators are looking for teenage girls and boys. I have been navigating this site for months at the request of some parents. I'm shocked.
2-8-06 The Kathy Howell political action committee
2-8-06 Acton and Agua Dulce have a 50+ history of living with animals and nature.

2005 Stories

12-19-05 Handbell choir is chosen for honor
11-10-05 The election is over We can now come together to fix the school district
10-28-05 Vasquez High School fails to meet the 2004-05 Academic Performance Index (API) School Growth requirement
10-26-05 Hardship Application
10-21-05 the secret operations of the education and creative funding committees violate the Brown act
10-19-05. The Acton Women’s Club first announced the forum in a letter only to Lillian Smith at the Country Journal. It invited the public to come to a School Board Election Candidates’ Forum to ask the candidates questions. What they didn’t say was that the Acton Women’s Club would select the questions which Committee would ask only of selected candidates.
10-13-05 I would suggest the following rule changes for the independent committees based on flaws in you proposed rules. The changes are identified in the attached text I recommend your add paragraph numbers. Presented by Charles Brink to Acton-Agua Dulce School Board for item 12.1 on October 13, 2005
9-23-05 We’ve Got a Superintendent!. the school board scheduled a special meeting, with only 24-hour notice.
9-23-05 This letter is to call your attention to what I believe was a substantial violation of a central provision of the Ralph M. Brown Act,
9-22-05 Another Wagner Failure. At her last board meeting, Superintendent Wagner pulled another disaster out of the continuing problems at Vasquez High
9-13-05 Secret meeting and replacement procedures for a superintendent
9-9-05 The resignation of Linda Wagner superintendent of the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District did not come as surprise
9-8-05 At 9:53 PM Dr. Wagner submitted her notice of resignation to the school board by e-mail.
9-6-05 When a number of the community members raised questions about what the policies said, after numerous complaints, they were given copies of the new policies that are based on CSBA templates with changes made in secret and invisible in the final version by Dr. Wagner
8-31-05 The API test scores are out for 2005. It shows the continuing abysmal performance of Vasquez High and the poor performance of the entire district.
8-31-05 The 2004 to 2006 Certified (teachers) union contract. The Superintend still refuses to disclose the salary steps and columns and the stipends paid in addition to their wages.
8-22-05 Raise Developer Fees and Build Permanent Restrooms
8-15-05 Growth forecast at valley schools remodeling provides elbow room

8-08-05 Letter sent by this paper to the school to receive public notice as required by the State law.
7-15-05 Coach buying used equipment to fire up fans, team
6-30-05 There are 2 gross errors in the budget concerning Fund 25, Capital Facilities.
6-28-05 The proposed 2005-2006 budget is a disaster, filled with illogical assumptions
6-28-05 Comments to the Budget Committee .
6-23-05 Rejection - Rejection -Rejection Based on the 2000 census and projected growth, the district has over 3,600 students. and parents have rejected the school district by pulling about half of the students out of the district.
6-23-05 Dr Wagner admits if she can not cut S600,000 from the 2005-2006 budget the county will take over the School.
6-23-05 How to save the District $152,000 a year and help the kids
6-23-05 I would suggest the following rule changes for the independent committees:
6-9-05 I am again formally requesting notices of Regular, Special and Emergency meetings of the Acton-Agua Dulce School Board and all committees established by the Board, as required by and authorized by the Brown Act and the Public Records Act.
6-9-05 Pursuant to my rights under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250 et seq.), I ask to (inspect and obtain a copy of, if I so choose) the following records, which I understand to be held by your agency. no records were ever provided
5-31-05 Board Study Session Meadowlark MPR Important meeting about our schools come and speak your mind
5-28-05 Dr. Wagner manipulates parents and teachers. It all started with a vast distribution of the District's February 05 Newsletter.
5-26-05 The Budget Advisory Committee Preliminary Report and Initial Recommendations to: the Acton/Agua Dulce Unified School District, Board of Trustees. Presented at the May 26, 2005 Regular Board Meeting
5-26-05 Facilities Committee Review of Budget Committee Request and Recommendations to: the Acton/Agua Dulce Unified School District, Board of Trustees. Presented at the May 26, 2005 Regular Board Meeting
5-24-05 Health careers get booster
5-13-05 Vasquez High official quits over scuffle
5-5-05 Union leader demands the board not listen to community members
4-26-05 Musical Modulars The Acton-Agua Dulce School District has played "Musical Modulars" all too often. These moving costs do nothing to educate kids or build permanent classrooms or schools.
4-20-05 Possible School Reconfiguration To provide the optimum utilization for existing classrooms, we propose moving children instead of classrooms. 3-1-05 On Friday afternoon, February 25, 2005, an electrical fire occurred at Vasquez High
3-1-05 The Board voted to create committees to advise to Board.
2-24-05 Wagner makes another big mistake. We are in the red this year and were probably in the black last year.
2-24-05 In reviewing this service agreement, you remember that I objected to this contract because the board policies and the documents and sources used to devise these policies, while being paid for by the taxpayers of the community, were kept secret from the community on a password protected server controlled by CSBA.
2-21-05 Poor planning on modulars defeated again
2-18-05 Wagner Pimping for the Airport with a Ground school and an assembly
2-13-05 Vasquez pilot program Aviation lessons at school
2-10-05 Parents want their schools back! By Bernard Schwab
2-8-05 Town Hall School Meeting
2-3-05 Comments made by Charles Brink at the 2-3-05 Community input board meeting
1-13-05 Why buy when you can rent
1-11-05 We were just notified the Acton Schools will be OPEN 1-12-05
1-9-05 Dirty Work at the Crossroads or Tempted, Tried and True VHS play productions winter 2005 offering
1-3-05 Is there HOPE for our Kids?
1-1-05 Pinky the great

To Index


2004 Stories

12-21-04 Vasquez High principal 'reassigned'
12-19-04 Vasquez High works to change state rules
12-16-04 Vasquez beset with staffing, permit woes
12-14-04 A School Trustee’s Duty
12-14-04 School board agenda for 12-14-04
12-12-04 From the AV Press Vasquez High: School without a home
12-01-04 Barofsky's final act is to insult the community
11-30-04 Ex-trustee Martin Barofsky confesses!
11-23-04 Charting a new [school] course?
11-18-04 Massive errors in Superintendent's report
11-17-04 School break-in theft nets $9,000 in property
11-16-04 The "we only made some paperwork errors" board
11-15-04 By Wagner This morning, Max Duran, Steve Pinkston, Tim Ballard of Osborne Architects and I met with state architect representatives. The purpose of the meeting was to determine “next steps” at Vasquez. (nothing was done)
11-15-04 Lower the bar...yet again? Haven't we sunk low enough?
11-11-04 Puzzling school board decisions
11-5-04 The School District allowed a package promoting three candidates for the Town Council election to be distributed to students during classes in direct violation of state law.
11-04 Superintendent’s Message by Linda Wagner
10-25-04 School Board meeting moved without legal notice again
11-2-04 We last communicated before you met with Dr. Wagner last week. We have since recovered an original copy of their approved Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND). We have digitalized the County approved Drainage Plan along with the environmental portion of the report.
2004 API scores as released by the State Department of Education.
10-6-04 This is an email exchange between Linda Harbeson, wife of Steve Harbeson, school board president and Bernie Schwab about the Gym
10-5-04 This letter issued 2 years before Linda Wagner unilaterally closed the Gym at Vasquez. This letter clearly shows ALL the Buildings as Vasquez to be unapproved. Question Why only close the GYM when the district and the Board members knew for the last four years all buildings had not been approved - Not just the Gym.
10-4-04 The Full story of the Gym
9-30-04 The School has enough toilets to flush down a million dollars but not enough to meet the state requirements for Meadowlark and Vasquez.
9-27-04 A letter From Wagner announcing her unilateral decision, without board approval and without any independent facts, to close the Vasquez gym tosell a another bond vote that will be rejected just like the last three
Quick report on 9-21-04 school board meeting
9-20-04 A Dumb board for a Dumb district
9-20-04 The Board has violated the Brown Act - again
9-17-04 Ron Bird - After the closing of Acton School.
9-16-04 Here is an E-mail exchange between Fred Heslep and Bernie Schwab
9-15-04 - Request by Surplus Property committee to present their report at the 9-21-04 School Board meeting
9-14-04 - Locked out. As scheduled and posted, the 7/11 surplus committee met on Monday the 13th of September at Meadowlark campus
9-12-04 Acton API scores increases (8%) continue to fall below LA County's 13% and the entire states increase of 10%
9-10-04 Vasquez High School fails No Child Left Behind Act
9-7-04 Cars all over the place at Meadowlark on 9-7-04. Read what the school claimed on the original Meadowlark Environmental documents
6-8-04 An open letter to the School Board about open meetings
9-8-04 Your constantly repeated position that the Surplus Property Committee automatically terminates when the membership drops below 7 members is not supported by Education Code
9-4-04 - LA County confirms on 8-24-04 that the School district violated both California and LA County Law and illegally graded without permit.
To Index
8-30-04 - Vasquez fails the college bound student
8-29-04 - Kill an AP program and keep Acton School open for Behavior (expelled etal) for our district and others?
8-27-04 - Here is the School's response, 37 days after the Natural History Club letter was sent. It dismisses the group's concerns expressed as " great umbrage in the fact that much native flood-retaining vegetation, including hundreds of years old Junipers" as just "landscaping and grading". It's hard for someone from Palmdale to understand our communities' concern with our environment.
8-26-04 The Math at Vasquez Just Does Not Add Up
8-08-04 Here is my response to an E-mail as to whither I would support ther recall
8-5-04 Report on 8-5-04 school board meeting.
8-5-04 The School Board meeting on 8-5-04 will have a bunch of important items.
8-2-04 - Ron Bird made a formal presentation to the Acton Town Council concerning the illegal grading and the lack of notice to the community about the project by the school
7-31-04 Information on the school's illegal grading
7-26-04 This letter was sent to various LA County agencies to report the continuation of illegal grading after the School received a formal stop work order on their illegal grading
7-5-04 Deaf mom says district violated disabled act
6-30-04 The Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District is offering a reward of $1,000 for information on the destruction of school property at Vasquez High School on 6-9-04
6-28-04 Wagner refuses to comply with public records act and demand cash instead
6-25-04 4 million down the drain at Vasquez
6-17-04 Acton Elementary – An Opportunity Waiting to Happen. The Community Education Committee’s Proposal to keep Acton School open and save 2 million dollars

The Last 3rd to 6th grade graduation class for the Acton School. 6-15-04 The Last 3rd to 6th grade graduation class for the Acton School. The Schools future will be decided by the school board.

6-8-04 An open letter to the School Board to work with the community
6-7-04 School board moves 6-10-04 meeting to 6-17-04 without public notice
6-3-04 Acton Elementary – An Opportunity Waiting to Happen By Ron Bird and Charles Brink.
5-25-04 Hardship Hardships for Acton – Agua Dulce Unified
5-20-04 Vasquez High School Play Production presents "She Loves Me"
5-11-04 The Bird’s Eye View: The K-8 Option How Acton Can Close a School without Moving Boundaries or Portables
4-24-04 From the AV press Parents protest closing Acton school
4-27-04 The school board has started to listen to the people of Acton and Agua Dulce
School measure fails yet again
4-12-04 LACOE review of the Acton-Agua Dulce District Second Interim Report
To Index
3-11-04 Issues for the school board to consider to improve the schools and to bring the schools into greater acceptance by the community.
3-3-04 School measure fails yet again Officials cite demographics, in-home education
2-16-04 This Survey by Bernard Schwab
2-16-04 This is the results of a survey by Bernard Schwab, a grand parent and local activist for a better Education (He is not affiliated with any Educational Group or District)
2-13-04 The School Board of Trustees voted unanimously to terminate the contract of Superintendent Don Banderas.
1-22-04 Please provide the actual shortfall for the 2004-2005 year,
1-22-04 I am making a formal request for a copy. Ignored again!
1-15-04 I am making a formal request for a copy. ignored!
To Index


2003 Stories

12-12-03 Acton School kids to ring in Christmas Eve on TV

Trailer park High School Sign 11-7-03 The California Highway patrol confirmed that at 10:45 am a vehicle traveling northbound (actual east toward Palmdale) on 14 veered from the road and crashed down the embankment toward the school playing field. Several reports state the vehicle came to rest in the field. No confirmation from CHP or the School.

The most important issue that no one at the school was injured.
But look at the risk, the photo shows a double gas tanker on the freeway with just a light guardrail would only slow down the vehicle on its way onto the badly situated school site.
11-5-03 Vasquez High School re-labeled as Trailer Trash High School. School claims it was done by vandals at night behind several locked gates under their bright "security lights". You be the judge.
To Index


2000 Stories

9-8-00 Home schoolers tagged as truants
1-19-00 Further Adventures of Dumbing Down the District
To Index


1999 Stories

11-4-99 What if you had an election and nobody cared?
11-4-99 Acton Schools have High Crime rate
LA County 99 API High School Rating List
9-28-99 Dr. Banderas, We are trying to do a story with precise information concerning the new high school. We would like to know the answers to the following questions....:
5-26-99 We would like to see enrollment information for the last twenty-four months,
2 -2-99 "Firing" of the High School Principal at Vasquez
To Index


1998 Stories

9-8-98 Tom Brown Former Acton-Agua Dulce School District Superintendent died today
2-21-98 Union has received a huge raise that will nearly bankrupt the Acton Agua-Dulce District without added taxes.
2-5-98 A Bridge to a new property tax by the School District
2-3-98 Crawford fired and Don Bandaras made acting superintendent
1-24-98 Dr. Crawford states that the Union’s unreasonable demands has set back the opening of Vasquez High, at least on it’s permanent site for one or two years.
To Index


1997 Stories

12-12-97 Comments concerning Environmental Impact Assessment Vasquez High

 12-12-97 Phony Environmental Impact assessment For The "New High School.
11-14-97 Report on the November 14, 1997 meeting. The board ignored the public input at the 11-7-96 hearing and those speaking against Duzsick's choice of an Urban High School with virtually no fields, located directly next to the freeway.
11-8-97 Board Elections
UpFront Editorial :We know who thinks they run (or is that ruin) the schools, its the Union. This Union represents the highest or nearly highest paid teachers in the County depending on how you rank them.
11-7-97 Stacy Nickels letter to the community
10-19-97 Secret actions taken by the board
10-7-97 Facilities and site committees page
10-2-97 We lost a lot of good and caring teachers. By Eleanor Braun, Acton Resident
6-24-97 1997 High Desert Graduating class.
1997 Vasquez Graduating class.
4-24-97 Read about the million dollar raise to the teachers union.
4-15-97 High School property size A urban school with 4 times the area proposed by the board
4-10-97 High School Pot den. See one parent's comments about the High School
4-10-97 Useless motion passed by the board
3-13-97 Traffic Safety issues. The board and the Town Council does nothing make a motion.
3-7-97 Letter to the community Written by a 3rd grade teacher. "Once again I am writing because I am appalled at my third grade class size" .The board never responded to the letter.
2-13-97 Secret actions taken by the board.
2-7-97 Violence prone public parks located at our Schools.
1-14-97 Agua Dulce school is lit up like an urban strip mall after the Booster Cub spent $6,000 on this "improvement".
To Index


1996 Stories

10-22-96 Proposed School Tax A petition to require the school to use a real election instead of a mail in election to add a new school tax.
10-19-96 Letter to Dr. Crawford confirming the $950,000. Dr. Crawford was told by Duzsick that Brink lied and there was no $950,000 entitlement for the school. Here are the facts.
11-7-96 Report on the 11-7-96 special meeting for a public hearing to get community input on High School sites.
To Index


1989 Stories

4-26-89 Elementary School Sites


Acton Schools have High Crime rate according to State report

Even more interesting, Battery and ADW at the Acton-Agua district is higher on a per student basis than the average for all of LA County. The crime of battery is even higher than in the AV District which is Only high school students. Dusick and his union cronies have succeeded in destroying our school system and our community groups.

To Index


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