School Board Hires Former Peabody Principal as Consultant for Cesar Chavez

Pat Morales will be paid $40,000 to advise the charter school’s teachers on instructional effectiveness

By Rob Kuznia, Noozhawk Staff Writer | Published on 12.15.2009

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With the long-term fate of the bilingual Cesar Chavez Charter School still in question, the Santa Barbara school board on Tuesday night made its first official attempt to turn the struggling school around, hiring a retired principal from one of the city’s most successful schools — Peabody Charter School — to spend the remainder of the year at Cesar Chavez as a consultant.

At a cost of $40,000 — or about $1,000 a day — former Peabody Principal Pat Morales will advise the school’s teachers on instructional effectiveness, particularly as it pertains to English learners.

The move also marks the first time the district has officially exercised its newfound authority over the Eastside elementary school, which has been under threat of closure this year because of low test scores.

But the tone of Tuesday’s meeting was decidedly more congenial — and low key — than that of other recent meetings.

“The effort going into this, and the optimism — and just the energy — is really something,” school board member Ed Heron said.

Most notably, while the last school board meeting drew so many people that it had to be held in the Santa Barbara High School auditorium, Tuesday’s meeting brought no more than a handful of Cesar Chavez advocates.

Still, the school isn’t out of the rough.

Typically, charter schools, though financed by public tax dollars, enjoy broad autonomy, with parent-dominated boards making major financial decisions. But for Cesar Chavez — a dual-language immersion program where students spend half their time learning in English and the other half in Spanish — that all changed three weeks ago.

In essence, Cesar Chavez was up for its five-year charter renewal, and the Santa Barbara school board was told by district administrators that the school’s test scores were too low to qualify.

However, instead of denying the charter — and effectively closing the school — the school board in late November took the middle road, opting to keep Cesar Chavez open until the end of the school year, but under certain conditions.

Foremost among them was the understanding that Cesar Chavez’s parent-run governance council will come back to the school board with a plan for restructuring by the end of the school year. If the board doesn’t like what Cesar Chavez comes up with, the school could still close this summer. Another condition of approval was that the school board would gain some control over the school, so that a consultant could be hired to improve student achievement.

Moreover, the school board in late November decreed that Cesar Chavez would pick up the $40,000 tab for the consultant, who turned out to be Morales.

On Tuesday night, though, the school board softened its stance somewhat on the money issue, offering to pay $4,000 of that amount to cover Morales’ travel expenses and health benefits.

That came after Cesar Chavez teacher Michael Macioce questioned those extra costs, noting that teachers at his school had recently suffered a 5.7 percent pay cut.

“Why aren’t we negotiating directly with the consultant and paying for the consultant ourselves?” he asked.

Morales’ hiring comes at a time when Cesar Chavez is leaderless. Last month, shortly after learning that the school board was considering school closure, Cesar Chavez’s governance council fired Principal Eva Neuer. Parents and staff at the school have declined to cite a reason for her dismissal, citing personnel confidentiality laws.

Meanwhile, Morales’ duties will not include evaluating the school’s dual-immersion program or helping the governance council create a restructuring plan. Such aid to Cesar Chavez will be carried out by others from the school district. It appears the school’s survival will depend on its ability to write a new charter altogether.

As an administrator, Morales has been credited for her leadership of the San Roque neighborhood’s Peabody Charter School, which shares some similarities with Cesar Chavez. Peabody, for instance, also offers second language instruction in either English or Spanish, although its language program is not as comprehensive as Cesar Chavez’s.

Test scores at Peabody are the second highest of the district’s 10 elementary schools, behind Washington Elementary, a GATE magnet.

Morales will spend the bulk of her time at the school during January, February and March. Superintendent Brian Sarvis said this is because the school needs immediate intervention.

“If changes need to be made, they need to be made now,” he said.

— Noozhawk staff writer Rob Kuznia can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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» SCHATZ on 12.16.09 @ 06:08 AM

A thousand dollars a day.  You are nuts!

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» Close the school on 12.16.09 @ 08:57 AM

Please

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» Mary Jane Sativa on 12.16.09 @ 09:13 AM

Close the school so we can have a new medical marijuana dispensary in the 500 foot vicinity instead.

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» In the Know on 12.16.09 @ 11:28 AM

A fabulous choice!

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» Incredulous on 12.16.09 @ 12:36 PM

$1000 a day in this economy? She must be really tight with someone at the DO.

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» concerned on 12.16.09 @ 01:37 PM

Wow! How I (and others) miss our principal. Scapegoated for this? Please…

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» Dumb Liberals on 12.16.09 @ 04:29 PM

They love to waste your money..

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» Nu Schul on 12.16.09 @ 04:46 PM

That school just needs smarter students..

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» If something doesn't work on 12.16.09 @ 05:05 PM

Throw a consultant at it. Stay in denial. Throw even more money down the drain.

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» Richard Foster on 12.16.09 @ 05:35 PM

So with this kind of money to spend, at only one school, why did voters pass a parcel tax for the district?  Remember this when the district comes back begging for even more money in three years.

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» Good Start on 12.16.09 @ 06:01 PM

As a parent of kids at Peabody, Morales was a great principal.  A good choice for this problem.  And, if she’s working an entire day for a grand, that’s a fair price.

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» Also in the Know on 12.16.09 @ 06:39 PM

While I think Pat Morales was a good principal, I cannot support this kind of money being spent.  In fact, I would call it abominable.  Who will evaluate her effectiveness? To whom is she accountable?  This is one thousand dollars per day PLUS benefits.  Come on!

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» Can I bus? on 12.16.09 @ 08:15 PM

M.J. Sativa makes an interesting point.

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» Bill Clausen on 12.16.09 @ 08:17 PM

Wow, we have homeless people sleeping in the cold but we can throw all this money around for Pat Morales and of course the study about plastic bags.

So why is California so far in the hole economically?

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» Daniel Petry on 12.16.09 @ 08:22 PM

Reality has not set in.  Daniel Petry

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» sbnative on 12.16.09 @ 10:54 PM

Another $40,000 down the drain. I have the answer. It’s not working…

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» Former Peabody Parent on 12.16.09 @ 11:50 PM

If there is any chance for this school to be saved, Pat Morales is the right person for the job!!!

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» undecided on 12.17.09 @ 09:06 AM

omg are you kidding $1000 a day! wow…is she really that good

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» Mistake? on 12.17.09 @ 10:06 AM

There are more than 40 days left if school.  If she is staying the rest of the year, that is in the 90+ range.  That equates to about $500/day, which is more in line with principal salaries.  Might re-check the information.

[Noozhawk’s note: Her visits to the school will taper off to just a handful of days in April. As the story notes, Pat Morales will primarily work with the school during January, February and March.]

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» Dollars for Pennies on 12.17.09 @ 06:29 PM

$1000 per day?  Hmmm…at my pay rate that means I’d have to work two days per month.

Sounds good. Except I actually have a job I really love, and I’m fine (even proud of) living with much less than the expected norm. 

I’m figuring that doing what I love to do brings me more happiness.  And, unlike common opinion, it’s really not as hard to live with fewer material things that mainstream culture tells us are necessary for happiness.  It’s a big lie.

It’s actually quite liberating.

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» Also in the Know on 12.17.09 @ 09:08 PM

To Dollars for Pennies - It’s not about material acquisition here.  It’s about allocation of resources and the fact that Morales will be overly paid for services which may or may not buttress a flailing school.  $40,000 would keep a first teacher employed for ONE year. This is simply throwing money at a problem.

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» Liberals on 12.18.09 @ 09:33 AM

More tax money going out

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» Morales would be a great on 12.18.09 @ 09:29 PM

Another former Peabody parent backing Morales here. If anyone could tell that school how to turn it around, she could. Peabody is an incredible charter school success story. Their current principal is incredible too. If people really want to save Cesar Chavez, let Morales get in there and work her magic.

Agree that the money spent on bag study is ridiculous.

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» FYI on 12.19.09 @ 09:32 AM

A top of the scale teacher makes about $450 per day in salary and benefits.

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» Also in the Know on 12.19.09 @ 12:52 PM

Her salary will be $1000.00 a day and THEN benefits!

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» They are done! on 12.22.09 @ 04:20 PM

This is disgusting.  The parents, teachers and students had many chances to improve their scores, but they could not.  Why is the district throwing 40,000 dollars to one person to “fix” it.  She is probably a fantastic principle, but honestly, she is only going to be there a few months.  Good principles attract good teacher, but it is clear that these teachers are not good, and the parents have not been doing anything about it. 

Also, the reason for the poor test scores is not because it is a bilingual school.  I have had the pleasure of working at a fantastic bilingual school in San Luis Obispo.

Close the school and move on.

Parents, please stop wasting the money of the district and taking more opportunites from other students.

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