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Opinion
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- Written by: Mike Adams
This mailer quotes a grand jury report from 1994 regarding a complaint about business practices at the Kelseyville School District, when Wally Holbrook was superintendent.
I was on the Board of Trustees at that time and have specific and detailed knowledge about this complaint. Judy Luchsinger was the Lake County superintendent of schools at that time and therefore knows the results of that investigation, since the Lake County Superintendent’s Office participated in the determination of the District Attorney’s Office.
The facts are that a subsequent investigation and annual independent audit showed no mismanagement of district funds. The 1994 audit also was provided to the county superintendent of schools, which confirmed these findings.
For Judy Luchsinger, in concert with the leadership of the Republican Party, to participate in disseminating this misleading, incomplete and false information, while knowing the truth, calls into question the honesty and integrity of her campaign.
In responding to this mailer, there are three key questions:
1) What happened?
2) Why was the issue raised then?
3) Why is the issue being raised now?
What happened?
School districts manage funds for many different programs and each of these programs have budget codes which are used to be sure that funds allocated to specific budgets are spent for the purposes for which they are intended.
In the case mentioned in the grand jury report, funds from one program were miscoded to the wrong fund (less than $500 total). At the end of the year, this miscoding was noted and a transfer was made of the expenditures to the proper fund.
Why was the issue raised then?
When this transfer was made an employee of the district noted the transfer and incorrectly thought expenses were being charged improperly to that fund. This individual reported this to authorities outside the district.
The complaint was investigated, as it should have been, and it was found that the transfer was appropriate.
The grand jury report only notes the complaint and the referral to the District Attorney’s Office for investigation. The grand jury report does not mention the outcome of the subsequent investigation, since it determined that it was not within its jurisdiction.
The final resolution of any question like this is ultimately addressed when the annual independent audit is conducted by an outside auditor, who reviews all expenditures and certifies that those funds have been spent appropriately.
In the end, the Board of Trustees must accept the audit, which we did in the fall of 1994. The fund in question was specifically included in the audit and no exceptions were found.
Why is the issue being raised now?
Judy Luchsinger makes a false and calculated attack when she attempts to use incomplete information to discredit Wally Holbrook, and in doing so also falsely implicates the Board of Trustees and the loyal employees of the Kelseyville School District.
Politics can be tough, but it shouldn’t alter the truth.
Mike Adams served on the Kelseyville Board of Trustees from 1983 to 1995. He lives in Kelseyville.
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- Written by: Russell Cremer
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- Written by: Carol Stambuk
My name is Carol Stambuk and Lynn Thornton was a close and dear best friend. For over three years Lynn’s son, family and friends have been denied receiving justice for her death that was caused solely by Russell Perdock. Since the date of the accident caused by Russ Perdock on April 29, 2006, it is my opinion that he has been protected by Sheriff Rodney Mitchell, as well as District Attorney Jon Hopkins.
Mitchell and Hopkins moved forward with unjustified charges against an innocent man, Bismarck Dinius, which ignited into nationwide attention of the case. Had the charges against Dinius not been so outrageous, this case would have gone on without all of the publicity.
The obvious coverup and perjury that dominated the case was not only a slap in the face of Lynn’s son, family and friends, but to all of you who live in Lake County because of the bad publicity and image that was projected.
I have made this statement before and I want to make it again because I want all of the voters to remember this when they go to the polls. From April 29, 2006, to the months that followed, no one from Mitchell’s office or Hopkins’ office ever contacted Lynn’s family following the accident. We were completely ignored and avoided from the onset. Since when is it standard operating procedure not to contact the family of a victim? Why were they avoiding us?
In the early hours of the day following the accident on April 30, 2006, several calls were made by Lynn’s family to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, asking for information about the accident. Instead of getting any answers or response, they were hung up on. Our voices were completely ignored when we made it publicly known that the wrong man was being charged with her death.
Mitchell and Hopkins exerted more effort to go after an innocent man than to see that justice was done. They made the conscious decision to protect Russ Perdock instead of holding him accountable and to the standards every other person would have been held to.
It was Mitchell’s job and responsibility to bring charges forward against the responsible person, Russ Perdock, because he was the person who drove his speedboat recklessly and crashed into the back of the sailboat on a dark night.
Perdock claimed that there were no lights on the sailboat, but it was proven in the trial that the lights were on. Perdock’s speed, reckless driving and his lack of regard for the safety of others is why he crashed into the sailboat.
In my opinion, Mitchell and Hopkins mishandled the entire case. They were wrong then and continue to be wrong now, and they do not deserve to be in law enforcement leadership roles.
Sheriff Mitchell did not do right by Lynn Thornton and now I am asking the good people of Lake County to help bring justice to Lynn and peace of mind to her son, family and friends. On June 8 you have the opportunity to send a strong message to Rodney Mitchell by voting him out of office and electing Frank Rivero.
Carol Stambuk lives in Rocklin, Calif.
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- Written by: Dennis A. Rollins
As a 29-year educator in Lake County I had the opportunity to work for both of the candidates for county superintendent of schools. I found each of them to be intelligent and hardworking superintendents. They each supported me in my job. As a result, the choice in this election was very difficult for me.
I would like to share the reasons I decided to support Wally Holbrook for county superintendent.
Wally is a 35-year career educator. He has been continuously focused on addressing the issues in education. The experiences he derived from being a parent, teacher, coach, principal, superintendent and leadership coach allow him to view issues from many perspectives. Wally understands the importance of all of these perspectives. From that understanding comes his campaign slogan, “Together We Thrive…Leadership With Experience.”
With Wally this is more than a simple slogan. His leadership style is to bring together those with interests on a particular issue, complete a process of fact finding, searching out solutions, discussing and building consensus. From that process an action plan is developed that participants can feel a part of and work to implement. This is not top down leadership. It takes time, effort and skill to bring people together in this way but it works. However, as I worked with him, I saw that he is decisive and does not hesitate to act when the situation requires it.
During the past five years, Wally has worked as a leadership coach assisting and mentoring new administrators in Northern California. In that role he has developed relationships with many of Lake County’s principals and superintendents. These relationships position him to bring those people together to address student, staff and community needs in a way he has demonstrated to be effective.
Finally, the county’s top educational leader must also keep the focus on individual student success not simply the business aspect of education. In these difficult financial times it is easy to limit your focus to business/financial matters. Wally has presented a “100 Day Plan for Student Success” that will position the Lake County Office of Education in a leadership role to increase student success in Lake County.
I invite you to read that plan and Wally’s platform at http://electwallyholbrook.com and consider him for your vote in the upcoming election.
Dennis A. Rollins lives in Lakeport.