Article Misleads Readers on Vickers’ Record

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Editor,

As an involved PTA mom back in 1987 when Jan Vickers was ousted from the school board by voters, I was astonished the Indy found a board member from 20 years ago willing to trivialize that scandal.  Referring to a bruising recall election as a “tempest in a teapot” is historical revisionism to help Vickers’s bid for a seventh four-year term.

Vickers was recalled for supporting retention of a fired LBHS varsity football coach, but the Indy misreports the former NFL player was merely “arrested on a drug charge.”  Actually, he first was arrested for illegal marijuana use, then felony cocaine possession and violently resisting police arrest.

The bad-boy celebrity coach pleaded to keep working with impressionable boys as part of his recovery program.  Vickers chose enablement and co-dependency over consequences and boundaries.

She now blames lack of “policy on addiction treatment.”  But as reported by the Los Angeles Times in 1987, Vickers blamed racism by recall supporters because of coach’s African-American descent.

Along with many others, I experienced Vickers’ attack as racial hate speech by a government official targeting citizens’ civil rights.  We’re still waiting for her apology.

Raising three grandchildren, a pre-schooler, one at TOW and one at Thurston, like many parents I stay informed from a safe distance, but civic duty once again requires me to remind voters of Vickers’ record.

In 2013 she voted to move the school year start to August without public discussion, double central office senior staff, and 1,000% increase for costly outside consultants duplicating senior staff duties!

Vickers voted to hire superintendent’s pals at inflated salaries, soon terminated for failure to perform, including personnel director reportedly fired to avoid sexual harassment charges.

In 2015 she voted to end geometry in middle school, limit science and math acceleration pathways in high school, and end AP honors grade weighting still widely considered for college admission, hurting my grandchildren and all next generation’s learners.

Vickers voted in 2015 for a $10 million raid on school rainy day fund for spending spree on campus build-out, touted as her legacy in current re-election campaign. Some or all that funding should have been invested in teachers and students to develop better learning capacity under new curriculum standards for each campus.

We hear she voted herself gold-plated public employee health insurance for decades.  Nice perk.

For my three grandchildren and all kids in our town, in 2016 I am voting for change.

Michele Nelson, Laguna Beach

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