The Grade
The ins and outs of K-12 and college education in Kern County.
A blog about Schools & Education.
Real Name: The Grade Jorge Barrientos Address: 1707 Eye Street Bakersfield, CA 93301 Member Since: January 28, 2008 Last Signed In: March 18, 2010 Profile Views: 1076 Blog Views: 76200 6-year-old left on school bus Arvin residents unhappy with 'lowest achieving' schools Aera CEO to speak to math, science students Pepsi dropping out of school $15 million available to BCSD for school construction Three Kern schools to be named physical fitness 'front-runners' CSUB occupational safety program accepts Aera's $500K donation Discovery Channel star to speak at BC CSUB human resources students competing in regional games KHSD cuts 10 classified jobs, appoints new principals January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 February 09 March 09 April 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 August 09 September 09 October 09 November 09 December 09 January 10 February 10 March 10 For more education news, follow The Grade's Twitter at twitter.com/TBCTheGrade. 
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Make sure you check out all the candidates talking about why they are running!
It is great to hear their voices, and we told each candidate to talk about their platform in about 40 seconds, which limits the rambling.
I would love to hear your opinions on this format and whether you find this helpful. Start posting below.
Also, It's time folks. Tuesday you need to take off work, hire a babysitter or just get off the couch to GO VOTE. The Kern High School District is one of the races where...
Here is our final candidate profile for Robert S. Frank II. Read the whole thing here. Since I never posted Frank's candidate questionnaire, it is below.
Age: 36
Board meetings attended last year: None
Regular voter? The Kern County Elections Division shows he voted in 12 out of 12 elections for which he was eligible since 1996.
FIVE QUESTIONS TO ALL CANDIDATES (LIGHTLY EDITED):
1. What is the first thing you’d change about KHSD?
To refocus its attention on the upcoming problems...
There's been talk, including by Inga Barks Wednesday on her 1410 KERN News/Talk radio show, that the media were failing to do their job because they had not reported on Rob Badewitz’s criminal record.
Badewitz is the 21-year-old No on Proposition 8 protester that was kicked and punched by Kern High School District Trustee Ken Mettler last Friday.
Mettler had been rallying for the proposition and said he went over to the "No" side to pick up "Yes" signs at...
Both sides of the Proposition 8 debate are airing ads debating how the marriage initiative would affect the schools.
Would same-sex marriages be highlighted along with traditional ones? Would youngsters have to read books about a two-daddy family?
Local educators say the Nov. 4 ballot measure would not change current policies and curriculum. But a local school trustee is among many who insist gay marriage would have to be part of comprehensive sex education.
Meanwhile, Rosedale Union...
A protestor caught on tape KHSD trustee Ken Mettler punching and kicking another No on 8 protestor Friday night.
No one was arrested or cited.
Watch the video.
Here are some questions: Should he quit from his post? Should he apologize? Is it fair that he was not arrested? If Mettler were up for reelection this round, would you vote for him after watching this video? Is this the media making out mountain out of a molehill? Other thoughts?
Name: Michael Ferguson
Other name(s) used: Mike
Office sought: Fruitvale School District board
Born: 1974, Bakersfield
Spouse's name: Ann
Children: Two: Lauren 9, Dalton 7
Current occupation/employer: Branch manager, SCP Distributors
List employment history (past 20 years):
• SCP, three years
• Butler Construction, one year
• Steve Odgen Concrete, two years
• Self-employed, six years
• Golden Empire Ambulance, three years...
Name: Stan Greene
Office sought: Fruitvale School Board Member
Date and place of birth: 1968, Glens Falls, N.Y.
Spouse's name: Amy
Number of children and ages: Three: 12, 9, 4
Current occupation/employer: Assistant principal, instruction - Bakersfield High School
List employment history (past 20 years):
Two years assistant principal
Six years dean of student discipline
Nine years classroom teacher
Professional licenses:
Clear...
Name: Marta Patricia Muhsen
Other name(s) used: Escobar
Office sought: Fruitvale School District Board Member
Date and place of birth: 1970, Eagle Pass, Texas
Spouse's name: -
Number of children and ages: One, 7 years old
Current occupation/employer: Supervising Legal Process Technician
List employment history (past 20 years): Kern County District Attorney's Office since Sept 1998
How long have you lived in the...
After the last debate, I wanted to take some time and point out some of the main points Barack Obama and John McCain made during the 9-minute education section. I think this part of the debate was especially important because we haven’t heard too much about how each candidate plans to handle the education system, including No Child Left Behind.
I was reminded to do this after watching Meet the Press today and hearing Colin Powell say:
“I think the American people and the...
While balancing on a chair, seventh grader Gabbie Torres placed the final straw on top of a shaky tower of straws and tape.
After it appeared it would hold, she nervously laughed with her mom, Vanessa Rueda, and said “don’t touch it.”
Parents and students crowded into classrooms at Sierra Middle School to conduct hands-on experiments Wednesday night.
As the presidential candidates talked about the shortage of students entering math and science careers, the local chapter...
Name: Marisa G. Wood
Office sought: Kern High School District Trustee
Previous addresses for the past 10 years: Bakersfield
Date and place of birth: 1/7/1961 Walnut Creek, CA
Spouse’s name: John T. Wood
Number of children and ages: John S. (19), Casey (16), Jamie (15)
Current occupation/employer: GATE...
Name: Jeff Locke
Office sought: Kern High School Board of Trustees
Previous addresses for the past 10 years: Bakersfield
Date and place of birth: 6/8/1980 Bakersfield, CA
Spouse’s name: Amanda
Number of children and ages: None
Current occupation/employer: Sales / Williams-Sonoma Inc.
List employment history (past 20 years): Teacher, Substitute, Cashier, Painter, Carpenter, Heavy Equipment Operator and...
Name: Joe M. Dobitz
Office sought: Fruitvale School District -School Board Trustee
Date and place of birth: 1940, Hettinger County, N.D.
Spouse's name: Claudia Dobitz
Number of children and ages: Four: 49, 48, 43 and one deceased
Current occupation/employer: Retired general contractor
List employment history (past 20 years): General contractor
Professional licenses: Contractor's license
How long have you lived in the jurisdiction you seek...
Name: Gary Moore
Office sought: Board Member Rosedale Union School Board
Date and place of birth: 1956
Spouse's name: Claudia Moore
Number of children and ages: Two, 19 years, 16 years
Current occupation/employer: Lieutenant for Bakersfield Police Department
List employment history (past 20 years): 30 years at Bakersfield Police Department
Professional licenses: None
How long have you lived in the jurisdiction you seek election? 24 years...
Name: Michael Spickler
Office sought: Rosedale Union School District Board
Previous addresses for the past 10 years:
Date and place of birth: 1960, Bakersfield
Spouse's name: Susan
Number of children and ages: Three, ages 19, 14 and 3
Occupation/employer: Businessman
List employment history (past 20 years):
Bakersfield businessman since 1983
Food industry owner/manager 1983-2003
Real estate and construction manager: 2004-present
How long have you lived in the...
Name: Cody Bennett
Office sought: Rosedale Union School District Board
Previous addresses for the past 10 years:
Northwest Bakersfield 2005-present
Southwest Bakersfield 2003-2005
Northwest Bakersfield 2000-2003
Tehachapi 1989-2000
Date and place of birth: 1978, Visalia
Spouse's name: Haley
Number of children and ages: three children, 5 years, 3 years and 8 months
Occupation/employer: Construction engineer
List employment history (past 20...
There has been a lot written about the Kern High School District race. But really, you should go see and meet the candidates for yourself if possible.
Here's the info:
All seven candidates for the Kern High School District board are scheduled to attend a forum 7 p.m. Thursday in the West High School auditorium.
The district’s Parent Advisory Council is sponsoring the event, and members of the council will question the candidates before turning it over for questions from the...
Here are the paper's endorsements for the Kern High School District race.
The Californian editorial board endorsed Bob Hampton and Chad Vegas, the incumbents.
Columnist Lois Henry endorsed Anyone But Chad.
What are your endorsements? Who are you planning to vote for and why?
Here is the sixth in a series of Kern High School District candidates that will appear on the ballot November 4.
If you have not registered to vote, go to this Web site to print out a registration form and mail it in on Ocober 20.
Also, if you want to see all blog posts on the KHSD election, click at the bottom of this blog on the words KHSD race to see all the stories.
The candidate profile will run Saturday for Chad Vegas. You can read the full story here.
Also, attached to...
I just realized I forgot to post the candidate profile for Larry Bly that ran Monday. Read the whole thing here.
Age: 55
Board meeting attended last year: None
Regular voter? The Kern County Elections Division shows he voted in 9 out of 9 elections for which he was eligible since 1998.
FIVE QUESTIONS TO ALL CANDIDATES (Lightly edited):
1. What is the first thing you’d change about KHSD?
I would propose a bylaw amendment to prohibit the board from supporting or opposing any...
After getting one of those pesky colds here (which I still don't understand how that is possible in 80-degree weather), I am back at work and ready to blog.
At the Kern High School District Board meeting, they approved a pilot program to allow drug-sniffing dogs into schools. The dogs can sniff for drugs in lockers, desks or vehicles on campuses and district-sponsored events.
To avoid any legal issues, the dogs cannot sniff near any students. The pilot program is set to start in the...
On Saturday, a story ran in the paper about whether the Kern High Teachers Association reached out to all seven candidates. Here's a portion:
After re-checking addresses, the Kern High Teachers Association is insisting it sent interview invitations to all high school district trustee candidates before endorsing two of them.
Chuck Cournyea, Robert Frank and Chad Vegas said they did not receive an invitation. Charles Rodriguez did not respond to calls.
The group endorsed Bob Hampton and Bill...
The Kern High School Teachers Association announced Wednesday it’s endorsing incumbent Bob Hampton and candidate Bill Perry for the Kern High School District board.
The board only considered Perry, Hampton and Larry Bly for endorsement because the other four candidates did not arrange for an in-person interview.
Charles Cournyea, Chad Vegas and Robert Frank said they never received an invitation. Charles Rodriguez did not return a call Wednesday evening.
Teachers Association...
Today, District Attorney Ed Jagels said his office would not file charges against KERN 1410 talk show host Scott Cox for the signs he took last week.
Also, after scouring the law, his office is just as shocked as everyone else that charges cannot be filed, he said.
Because the office cannot prove that Cox planned to take the signs permanently, he did not commit theft, Jagels said.
"A person must have intent at the time the item was stolen to permanently deprive the owner of...
Operation “Rolling Thunder” Truancy Sweep in Shafter resuted in 15 citations for truancy, according to the Kern High School District Police Department.
The multi-agency sweep focused on students from Richland School District and Kern High School District.
Check the breaking news blog for more results of the sweep.
Also, I should know around 5 p.m. who the Kern High Faculty Association plans to endorse for the board race.
This endorsement is important because:
-...
If KHSD is not the school board race you are most interested in, do not fear. We will also have stories on the elections for Rosedale and BCSD coming up.
Also, if you are more of a tweeter than a blogger, check out our new Twitter feed at The_Grade.
And not to be repetitive, but I just sent my absentee ballot back to Missouri, since that is where I'm still registered. You should send in your voter registration and postmark it by October 20.
And here's the fourth KHSD candidate...
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