Official SAVE SMC MySpace Page Has Launched!

The long awaited Official SAVE SMC MySpace Profile has launched! We are serious online student journalists dedicated to in-depth coverage of Santa Monica Community College District and its vocational satellite campus, the Academy of Entertainment and Technology. We have been actively fighting for the rights of the SMC Community since 2005 and have over 2000 pages of information available online.


Snapshot of Official SAVE SMC MySpace Page (March 18, 2007)

Now, you can easily search the SAVE SMC Website and Blog in addition to watching all our YouTube videos. Find vital Santa Monica College public records or download state and federal court filings. Check out Jeff Higley's related SMC videos or blog, The Siege Online. Our quick summary of problems that plague our beloved school and its vocational campus, the Academy of Entertainment and Technology (AET), are all here in one easy-to-read page.

We've added new information on the lawsuit filed by the Santa Monica College Student association that includes highlights from the SMC List of Administrative Misconduct written by former SMC student Ryan Flegal to Dr. Robert Agrella of the California State Accreditation Team. Links to our blog articles database and fingertip topics are all here. Or simply kick back and view our Santa Monica College Highlights slideshow while listening to our current music selection. Join one of our MySpace SMC clubs or read our blog entries for updates on our ongoing pilgrimage to SAVE SMC.

Make your voice heard by posting a comment or take a simple moment to add yourself to our friends list. Please make sure to bookmark this page and pass it on to other Santa Monica College students, faculty, staff, and friends. Here's the link:

Our SAVE SMC MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/savesmc.

We thank all of you for your unending and unconditional support!!!

-- Des Manttari,
Editor-in-Chief,
Phoenix Genesis

(c) 2007: Phoenix Genesis/MBS LP

Feel free to link or print this; just include the SAVE SMC URL: http://savesmc.blogspot.com/

Technorati Tags: Santa Monica College, Academy of Entertainment and Technology, public schools, vocational schools, MySpace, lawsuit, Ryan Flegal, administrative misconduct, Jeff Higley, YouTube videos, News and politics, Save SMC, public records

Katharine Muller Begs for Money for AET

On the Santa Monica College Academy of Entertainment and Technology website, Dean of External Programs Katharine Muller begs for money and donations. "We are always looking for donations of equipment and software. An individual or company can also support us with a financial contribution." But this isn't the first time Katharine Muller has thrown up the online plea. As far back as April 1, 2003, Muller provided a sample cover letter addressed to the "Dear friends of the Academy of Entertainment & Technology." In that letter, she wrote in relevant part the following:

"The college received an ominous warning in the past week that a vital funding source for our programs, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (VTEA) funding, may be eliminated from the 2004 Federal Budget. I am asking for your support in the form of letters sent on your letterhead to the mailing list, also attached in electronic form. There are two attachments, one with a draft of the letter and another with the mailing labels. You may forward to other interested parties if you wish."

The referenced mailing labels listed forty congressmen and senators, including Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. In the sample cover letter, Dean Muller states that "this is a threat to all interested in the future of California entertainment and technology businesses and students, present and future." She additionally requested "any brainstorms on ways we could improve."


Dean Katharine Muller Will Work for Food for Uncle Sam
(Note: Parody Photo, Not to Be Taken Seriously.)

Other supporting documents include a draft advocacy letter, dated November 25, 2002, which Muller urges interested parties to edit and personalize. A yellow highlighted paragraph, intended to be edited, states the following:

"I personally am an active participant of the Entertainment Technology advisory board at Santa Monica College, one of the country’s premier community colleges, and can attest to the commitment of the college to meeting industry needs, the involvement of industry in supporting the programs, and the effectiveness of such programs in producing well trained employees. However, college commitment and industry support alone cannot support all vital vocational and technical training programs. Other funds such as annual VTEA allocations are critical to maintaining a level of training necessary to meet industry needs and keeping our economy strong."

A quick glance at AET's pathetic enrollment figures, financial problems, declining industry support, lack of internship and job placements, and questionable status of its vocational certificates paints a rather bleak picture contrary to this highlighted paragraph. As far back as January 31, 2001, the Los Angeles Times ran a short article, quoting a graduate of SMC's AET vocational program, stating that this hot trend of new media was already over. I quote the article as follows:

California community colleges report a significant increase in the number of courses dealing with “new media,” namely courses in Web site design and Web animation. Educators say the courses are essential to matching the needs of the new economy, and participating students agree that the courses are a key step toward finding jobs, often quite lucrative ones. However, some educators question this emphasis on new media, especially considering the current shakeout occurring in the dotcom sector. In fact, some graduates of the courses contend that the new curriculum is already out-of-date. “To be quite honest, it's about over, as far as a hot trend goes,” says Michael Eggert, who graduated from Santa Monica College's Academy of Entertainment Technology and became director of Web production for Wirebreak Entertainment.

Officials at the colleges offering the courses acknowledge that few students actually complete the entire curriculum. Many are only filling out their tech education with desired skills, and others turn in-school internships into full-time jobs.

Three years after AET opened its doors in 1998, it was already in sharp decline. Another three years later and Dean Muller is begging for much needed funding. Another three years later, in 2007, AET has lost most of its industry support, faculty, students, courses, vocational certificates, and funding. According to that November 2002 draft letter:

I have been informed that the Administration is considering eliminating funding that helps community colleges fulfill their mission to provide occupational programs by not reauthorizing funding under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (VTEA) in the 2004 budget. The recent failed vote (49-50; Clinton amendment) in the U.S. Senate to restore Perkins funding to the 2004 budget shows how critical your vote is on this issue and that its fate requires bi-partisan support.

Was this an April Fools joke on the part of Dean Katharine Muller or a harsh pill that too few were willing to swallow? The official Whitehouse website confirms that the Federal Perkins Loans were "ineffective" and "not performing." The analysis of the Perkins Loans states:

The Perkins Loan program is redundant and duplicative, given the broad availability of need-based, subsidized, relatively low-interest loans through the two larger student loan programs (Federal Family Education Loans and Ford Direct Student Loans). These other programs provide nearly $80 billion in new annual loan volume, while Perkins Loans provide only $1 billion.

The statutory program funding allocation formula does not accurately reflect changes in the population of needy students. The current formula allocates aid largely on the basis of past institutional award levels, benefiting the schools that have participated in the program the longest.

The Whitehouse's action plan to improve the program was to simply eliminate it and redirect the funding to the Pell Grant student aid program, which apparently was a better way to spend tax dollars. What does this "ineffective rating" truly mean? According to the Whitehouse, it is the worst possible rating one can receive.

Programs receiving this rating are not using your tax dollars effectively. Ineffective programs have been unable to achieve results due to a lack of clarity regarding the program’s purpose or goals, poor management, or some other significant weakness. A rating of Results Not Demonstrated (RND) indicates that a program has not been able to develop acceptable performance goals or collect data to determine whether it is performing.

Santa Monica College has done everything in its power for the last two years to stonewall production of vital public records under the California Public Records Act. One can now understand why, given the fact that even the Whitehouse cannot receive answers to its questions about why our tax dollars are being wasted. The noble new media wave has washed out. Rather than figure out a way to keep the AET program not only afloat, but to effectively serve its student body, Dean Muller simply wants the recruit people to urge our politicians to thrown more money her way.

The Tech-Prep Education State Grants, according to the Whitehouse website, are also "not performing", with "results not demonstrated." Here's the analysis:

Evaluations show the program does not provide any advantage in terms of program outcomes for students: high school completion, postsecondary enrollment, and academic achievement. For example, the 2004 National Assessment of Vocational Education reported that Tech-Prep and non Tech-Prep students pursue college at comparable rates.

Program activities are redundant with allowable activities under the existing Vocational Education State Grant program. The law allows Vocational Education grantees to establish programs that supports two years of secondary education transitioning into two years of postsecondary education.

The validity and reliability of national level program performance data are limited. The program statute gives States the flexibility to define performance measures resulting in States using varying performance measures that do not share a common standard for validity and reliability and cannot be aggregated.

Again, the Whitehouse's solution is to work with Congress to terminate this program. The Vocational Education State Grants are also "ineffective" and "not performing." According to the Whitehouse's webpage:

Evaluations show the program does not provide advantages in terms of academic achievement. The National Assessment of Vocational Education reported that students in vocational education programs did not perform better in reading, math, and science achievement between grades 8-12 than students who were in the general education programs.

Annual performance data show that many States are not making adequate progress in achieving positive student outcomes. 15 States did not meet their performance targets for academic achievement at the secondary level; 17 States did not meet their targets for high school completion for school year 2003-04.

The validity and reliability of national-level program performance data are limited. The program statute gives States the flexibility to define performance measures, so States use varying performance measures that do not share a common standard for validity and reliability and do not allow for aggregation.

Again, Congress is urged to eliminate this program. Missing for all of Muller's suggested letters to these various senators and congressmen is hard facts, data, and statistics proving that the AET program works and that our tax dollars are being used wisely. Absent this, any letter alleging this funding serves a purpose is nothing more than hot air. SMC's refusal to disclose public records confirms that AET has something to hide. Why has Santa Monica College so adamantly defied the statutory law and ignored our requests for production under the CPRA?

As AET students, do we not have the right to see the enrollment figures, the current job placement and internship records, and the reason all those vocational certificates never were approved by the California Community College Chancellors Office? Or, alternatively, are we all simply to go along on blind faith, trusting people like Katharine Muller to make it all work flawlessly for us? Personally, I chose fiscal accountability over blind faith. Apparently, given the mass exodus of faculty, students, industry partners, and funding, I am not the only one to feel this way. Perhaps it is time for Dean Katharine Muller to step down from her ivory tower of power and let someone who is perhaps more qualified have a shot at saving this failing program.

-- Des Manttari,
Editor-in-Chief,
Phoenix Genesis

(c) 2007: Phoenix Genesis/MBS LP

Feel free to link or print this; just include the SAVE SMC URL: http://savesmc.blogspot.com/

Technorati Tags: Santa Monica College, Academy of Entertainment and Technology, public schools, vocational schools, federal funding, state funding, Katharine Muller, Federal Perkins Loans, Tech-Prep Education State Grants, Vocational Education State Grants, News and politics, VTEA funding, California Public Records Act

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

In our blog article entitled "SMC Re-arranges Deck Chairs on the Titanic," we discussed the very secretive departure of Robert Sammis from Santa Monica College last November. Sammis had held several positions at SMC, ranging from in-house legal counsel to vice-president of human resources and vice-president of planning and development. Sammis has held a license to practice law in the state of California since December 4, 1990. Prior to coming to SMC, Sammis worked for the law firm of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo. As VP of Human Resources, Sammis ensured that Atkinson would become an outside legal firm for the college.

According to the State Bar of California website, Sammis has now resurfaced in his legal capacity as a labor and employment attorney for the Law Office of Karen T. Meyers in Irvine, California. Prior to founding her law firm, Ms. Meyers served as the Associate Counsel to the Chancellor at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Here's a screenshot from the State Bar website confirming Sammis' employment:


From left to right: Robert Sammis Cooking, Calbar info. for Attorney Robert Sammis.

Well, it appears that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. A quick online search shows that the Law Office of Karen T. Meyers is no stranger to Sammis' former employer, Santa Monica Community College District. In fact, SMC has employed Ms. Meyers' law firm on at least two documented occasions to act as outside legal counsel on behalf of the college in various undisclosed employee complaints. According to the SMC Board of Trustees agenda for March 14, 2005, the District paid $175 an hour, not to exceed $15,000 for a single investigation of an employee complaint. Interestingly, although the alleged legal services began on or about February 16, 2005, the board did not authorize the payment until almost a month later. So, my burning question is precisely who retained this law firm to act on the college's behalf prior to board approval? Here's the screenshot below of the contract for legal services.



Fast-forward to a year later and Ms. Meyers' firm is back on the SMC payroll, this time reeling in $195 an hour, not to exceed $35,000 plus expenses. Suddenly, Ms. Meyers has warranted a $20,000 increase in addition to expenses. How much did these legal expenses cost SMC? Instead of the four months of investigation for one complaint, without missing a beat, the Law Firm of Karen T. Meyers now has secured an entire year of employment to investigate not one, but several employee complaints. According to the SMC Board of Trustees agenda for March 13, 2006, all this cash was paid out via the District Budget and Human Resources. Here's another screenshot of the financial transaction showing the amended contract for legal services.



As acting in-house legal counsel for SMC, it would appear that Sammis would have worked alongside Ms. Meyers. Well, one good turn deserves another. Now that Sammis has been allegedly ousted from SMC, Ms. Meyers has scooped him up to work at her law firm. It will be interesting to see if Ms. Meyers will continue to reap the benefits of SMC's public funds for future legal work. If so, attorney Robert Sammis will apparently retain his close legal ties with Santa Monica College.

-- Des Manttari,
Editor-in-Chief,
Phoenix Genesis

(c) 2007: Phoenix Genesis/MBS LP

Feel free to link or print this; just include the SAVE SMC URL: http://savesmc.blogspot.com/

Technorati Tags: Santa Monica College, Robert Sammis, public schools, legal services, Karen T. Meyers, employee complaints, employment law, labor law, legal services, State Bar of California, News and politics, Board of Trustees, human resources

Piedad Robertson Resurfaces at Riverside Community College

According to the Riverside Community College District website, former SMC President Piedad Robertson has suddenly resurfaced in a race to nab the prestigious title of Chancellor. The Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees has allegedly conducted a nationwide search for a new chancellor and has now narrowed down their decision to three finalists. The finalists include Stan Arterberry (chancellor of West Valley-Mission Community College District), Noelia Vela (president of Cerritos College), and Piedad Robertson.


From left to right: Stan Arterberry, Noelia Vela, Piedad Robertson, Winniphred Stone

Both Arterberry and Vela seem to be admirable candidates based on their extensive experience. However, I question how Riverside CCD could even consider Robertson for this new position given her previous less than stellar credentials and the fact that the District had an entire nation of candidates to choose from. Robertson received votes of no confidence from both her former positions as Secretary of Education in Massachusetts and as president of Santa Monica Community College District. While in Massachusetts, Robertson's charter schools were met with lawsuits, investigations, and failed results. After she left her position, it was dissolved.

While at Santa Monica College, Robertson was the subject of a federal lawsuit involving alleged extortion, racketeering, bribery, conversion of student funds, and undue influence. Robertson also met massive criticism from both the SMC faculty association and the classified staff, which led to more litigation involving unfair labor practices. Thanks to Robertson's mismanagement of the college, it now faces serious enrollment and fiscal recovery problems. The Malibu Times has run an online article (May 10, 2006) in which they have uncovered an email sent to all SMC employees from current SMC President Chui L. Tsang, which states in part the following:

"What I have found is that SMC has been plagued with budget instability for the past several years ... What this means is that the college has been spending about $6 million more than it takes in ... If we continue down this road, we face serious financial consequences-even bankruptcy."

After Robertson was ousted from Santa Monica College, she went on to take control as president of the Education Commission of the States in Denver, Colorado. Although it took Robertson approximately a decade to run SMC into the ground, she accomplished this feat with the ECS in about nineteen months. Robertson resigned from the ECS around September 16, 2006. It appears that Robertson's lackey, Winniphred Stone, who has been her right hand throughout her career in Massachusetts, California, and Colorado, has now also left her position as Vice-President of Planning and Development at the ECS. Stone is no longer listed as an employee on the ECS website. Will Stone find herself once again as Robertson's underling if Robertson is selected as Chancellor of Riverside Community College?

Perhaps Riverside Community College is having second thoughts about Robertson. I have noticed that someone from the school's website has been spending a great deal of time over the last week thoroughly reading the SAVE SMC blog and website. Do those in power at Riverside wish to run this college into financial ruin or are there perhaps several corrupt administrators who wish to personally benefit from Robertson's financial wheeling and dealing with taxpayer dollars? As a candidate for chancellor, Robertson is currently visiting the Riverside campus to participate in public forums and to be interviewed by the Board. The Board is using these public forums to aid in their final determination, slated for later this month. Now is the time, regardless of whether you are a student at Riverside, a California taxpayer, or a concerned member of the public, to make your voice heard. Let's work together to keep Piedad Robertson out of California before it is too late.

-- Des Manttari,
Editor-in-Chief,
Phoenix Genesis

(c) 2007: Phoenix Genesis/MBS LP

Feel free to link or print this; just include the SAVE SMC URL: http://savesmc.blogspot.com/

Technorati Tags: Santa Monica College, Riverside Community College, public schools, Piedad Robertson, elections, chancellor, Stan Arterberry, Noelia Vela, public forums, Education Commission of the States, News and politics, Winniphred Stone, Chui L. Tsang