POLAHS Principal Scotti Returns

School Turmoil Offers Lessons for a Private-Public Partnership

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

An air of calm rested upon the Port of Los Angeles High School campus on Monday Nov. 10, following the reinstatement of the beloved Principal Tom Scotti who was brought back after resigning over a dust up with Jim Cross the executive director.

It was a welcome change from the heated two-week conflict between parents, teachers and students, and the school’s board of trustees. Scotti received a hero’s welcome after an emotionally charged Friday. Students wearing yellow shirts chanted his name as he returned to the job, some unspecified new powers and an unspecified pay package.

It won’t be business as usual anymore, considering that the schools woes were about more than Scotti’s resignation, or even the continued presence and employment of board President Jayme Wilson and Executive Director Jim Cross—though some think that their days in those positions are numbered.

The groundswell of community activism to bring Scotti back was but a platform to address long festering issues that the board of trustees was too slow to address.

Those festering issues included lack of financial transparency, lack of teacher input on school-site spending and the appearance of board members enriching their friends with no bid contracts.

Issues of Transparency

Diana Chavez-Feipel, a fourth generation longshore worker and highly involved mom, blew the bullhorn on the school’s board of trustees. But she was doing this long before Scotti tendered his resignation.

Aside from sitting on a number of Local 13 commissions, Feipel helped organize countless fundraisers for students throughout the Harbor Area. In fact, it was while she was working on an unrelated fundraising campaign in which she solicited local retailer, Norman’s,  that Feipel’s suspicions were raised.

The San Pedro clothing institution is long known to give back to community organizations through the sale of scrip, whereby a nonprofit buys scrips at a discounted rate from participating retailers and then sell the scrip to members for use at those participating retailers. The nonprofit keeps the difference. After learning that Norman’s accepts scrip for everything except uniforms, she wondered if the maritime high school was getting the best deal on uniforms they possibly could.

This prompted Feipel to ask Jim Cross to see the school’s contract with Norman’s for uniforms as early as February 2014.  Feipel said Cross initially avoided answering her questions, until she cornered him one day in an elevator and forced him to meet with her.

Cross could not be reached as of press time and has been on leave since the tumult over Scotti’s resignation began.

During her quest to see the school’s checkbook, the school’s profit and loss statements and information on all the bids put out by the board in the past four years, Feipel said she learned that Cross opened a credit card account in the school’s name but used his home address as the billing address.

Feipel explained that she engaged in this back and forth for information with Cross until the middle of August when he stopped communicating with her. Feipel had already planned to step up the pressure on Cross for greater transparency well before Scotti’s resignation. But unforeseen circumstances from different directions turned into a perfect storm.

Parents and teachers were frustrated with the lack of transparency and input over resource allocation in the classroom and the students were upset that their beloved principal was seemingly forced to leave.

“At first I did it privately, behind closed doors,” Feipel said. “I’m not a shit talker. Scotti didn’t say anything to me.”

When Feipel saw Scotti’s Oct. 21 letter of resignation sent to parents, she initially didn’t think anything of it. In her words, “principals come and they go.”

It was her daughter’s reaction and the reaction of the rest of the students that changed her mind and caused her to pay attention to the suddenness of his departure. His resignation ultimately caused her to make it a priority and pressure the board to bring the popular principal back.

Feipel’s organizing effort was largely accomplished through email trees, Facebook posts and word of mouth.

The Monday following Scotti’s last day, Oct. 27, parents, students and teachers packed the Executive Council and Finance Committee meeting demanding answers about Scotti’s resignation.  It was here that the idea of a public forum took shape in order to allow the stakeholders to ask questions, but more important vent frustration.

School Site Control of Resources

Among the ongoing issues was the creation of a school-site management council—a council comprised of teachers, administrators, parents and board members, would oversee spending at the school.

One parent at the Nov. 6 public forum, questioned the source of funding for a Washington D.C. field trip for a particular class, as well as the building of a classroom over Scotti’s objections, because of its possible disruption of the math department. Board member Sandra Bradley noted that the monies in part came from grants and other fundraising sources by the teachers. As for the building of the classroom, Cross had it built without the board’s input.

It was in light issues such as this that teachers asked about the status of establishing a School Based Management Council—something the board has been working for more than a year.  Bradley replied that it’s a high priority and that the board is still forming the bylaws, election rules and processes.

One teacher, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions, explained that Scotti was their buffer and their voice to the board.

She said Scotti’s leaving was what prompted the teachers to organize and join the United Teachers of Los Angeles. The teachers voted overwhelmingly for the move, but hurdles still remain.

The idea of a maritime high school was originally conceived in 2002, when there was a Hahn in both the mayor’s and the Council District 15 seat. Port of Los Angeles High School from the very start was intended to be a charter school that prepared students to become tomorrow’s engineers, CEOs and workers at the port. It was also envisioned that the school, along with others, would turn the core of San Pedro into a school town with campuses becoming incubators within the local economy.

Just about all the original founders that were involved in the building of the school in the beginning are still involved with the school on the board of trustees, including Bradley, Jim Cross and Jayme Wilson. The requirement to become a trustee, aside from securing an invitation, is that a potential trustee must donate time, expertise, and money.  This is a  phenomenon that’s quite common in the world of nonprofits, particularly ones that adopt an increasingly corporate structure. Many of the former and current trustees are also members of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

The challenge for boards of trustees in running a public charter school with a corporate model is incorporating democratic processes that are transparent and inviting of all the stakeholders, from the students to the parents.

The Oct. 27 and the Nov. 5 through Nov. 7 meetings became an example that such public-private partnerships have a hiccup.

Channeling Public Anger

The Nov. 6 public forum at Port of Los Angeles High School resembled a public flogging (without the whips).

With Cross absent from the meetings after going on medical leave following the fallout from Scotti’s resignation, Wilson bore the brunt of the public’s anger at the board meetings and public forum.

Students and parents alike asked repeatedly, pointedly and certainly not with the respect accorded to one of the founders of the school, “Why won’t you resign?”

Wilson, in reply, first noted that the school abides by a charter and bylaws and that there’s a procedure for placing and removing members from the board and executive positions.

He later noted that the board of trustees asked him to come back and lead the board given his work and donation of time, resources and leadership in helping found the school nine years ago.

Wilson explained to Random Lengths that though he was one of the original founders of POLAHS, his involvement ended in 2004 when went on to lead the Port Community Advisory Committee. He was asked by board this past July to move forward.

During the public forum, Feipel, formally requested access to the school’s financial documents which aren’t on the school’s website, such as the profit and loss statements, the checkbooks and all of the bids solicited by the board for work done at the school.

Feipel had asked Wilson, private conversations for access to those documents previously. Both he and Feipel agree that he said he would in consultation with school’s lawyer. There’s disagreement on the time frame for that access. Wilson noted that the school is subject to California public records laws, but that the certain systems and processes had to be set up to comply with those laws. Feipel believed she would have immediate access after the several months-long dance with Cross for those records.

Feipel quizzed board member and president of Malaga Bank, Randy Bower on whether board members pay to become trustees.

Bowers explained that Bay Cities National Bank had closed and Malaga took on the accounts. Bowers said former board president and founder Camilla Townsend asked him to join the board for his financial expertise.

Parent Bruce Webb, a retired air force officer, asked for clarification on the embezzlement allegations and fiduciary irresponsibility brought to the attention of the board by Scotti and whether there would be an investigation by a third party.

Bradley batted the rumor down, explaining that there had been no allegations of embezzlement and that a student speaker used the term incorrectly at a previous meeting. The Nov. 6 meeting was intended to be a forum for students, parents and teachers to get answers to questions they couldn’t get during the normal board meetings. It was also intended to be a release valve for the tension that has built up around Port of Los Angeles Board of Trustee President Jayme Wilson and Executive Director Jim Cross since Scotti resigned three weeks ago.

Feipel, worked with Jayme Wilson, Acting Principal Felicia Ivie and lead teacher Mary Jane Werpool to put on the public forum.

Feipel, who attended the Oct. 27 meeting, following Scotti’s last day on the job, believed a public forum was necessary since the board meetings weren’t flexible enough to accommodate the issues parents, students and teachers wanted to address.

Feipel, met with Wilson and at least two lead teachers were involved in the planning of the public forum. Diane requested that Jim Cross, Anne Lee, Randy Bowers and Mark Martis to be among the panel participants. Feipel was informed Cross wouldn’t be able to attend.

The board could not answer questions related to personnel but just about everything else was fair game. The questions centered on when rather than whether Wilson and Cross’ resignation would be tendered, what did the board do to retain Scotti as principal, and when will the board grant access to all the financials and  all the bids of work done at the school.

In regards to Scotti, Wilson’s reply was that he reached out to Scotti through phone and email. Feipel and apparently students and teachers, were incredulous of Wilson’s answer.

Knowing When it’s Time

Rev. Joseph Olomoija, a concerned parent of three students at the school, noted by parents and teachers alike for his constructive comments during tumultuous board meetings, said he believes the board means well, but a second set of eyes are needed.

“Many of the board members like Ms. Townsend and the others had been there since the beginning of the school and they have done a tremendous job in starting such a well-respected school … and all of the board members have given their time and treasure to the school,” Olomoija said. “I think that they gave so much that [the school] looked like something they owned. Though that’s not what they claim, I think that’s where their stronghold was. They have to learn to detach themselves, by saying, ‘Hey, look we’ve started the school, there is nothing for us to gain. It is for the community and I think it’s a good time now for us to give it to others who are qualified and trustworthy to run it so that the dream can continue to be there while the founders are no longer there.’”