SLEAZY MAILER sent out by my TEACHER opponent...accusing me of being a QAnon believer (look it up - crazy beliefs about Satanic and cannibalistic pedophile rings??)  This is why we need to know what Irvine teachers are teaching our kids!  PLEASE VOTE FOR SANITY IN IRVINE SCHOOLS!!

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ELECTION INTERFERENCE?  CONFLICT OF INTEREST? 

IUSD Board President, Ira Glasky, is Campaign Treasurer for one candidate, while he suppresses candidate, Debra Kamm, from putting items on the board agendas!  At the November 15th IUSD Board meeting, Ira Glasky again refused to allow remote public participation in addition to the in-person meetings, for those who cannot make it in person.​

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NEWS:  

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Frequently asked Questions:

• Statewide test results are in.  See FACTS page.  Irvine middle schools were hit HARD - especially in math where many schools experience 12-13% drops in scores.  The Irvine International Academy charter school's scores surpass IUSD in math and science!  That's why Parent Choice is SO important!  See Facts page for details!

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• Concerns about "Social Justice" and components of Critical Race Theory being taught within "antiracist" curriculum were discussed during public comments at the 10-25-22 Board meeting.  Debra Kamm read from the IUSD website which stated that Educators for Social Justice would be in charge of developing "a curriculum that is antiracist" and linked to a website professing that "white people" have internalized racism and internalized white supremacy.  These are the very components which make up CRT.  This portion of the website was DELETED the day after the Board Meeting.  

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• Resolution:  Debra Kamm has requested the IUSD Board adopt a Resolution against discriminatory tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) (whether or not it is labeled CRT) and preserve the right of students not to profess personal thoughts, beliefs or values - which is their legal right.  UPDATE:  Board denies the request until AFTER the election! But parents will NOT be silenced again!  Join us on Tuesday, October 25th at 6:30pm

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• Debra Kamm exposes TEEN TALK curriculum which instructs teachers to put "AGREE" and "DISAGREE" signs up in the classroom and have students profess their PERSONAL BELIEFS regarding "VALUE STATEMENTS."  A sample "Value" states:  Trans people should be able to use whatever bathroom and locker-room they feel comfortable with.  Students need to stand up and profess if they Agree or Disagree - exposing their PERSONAL BELIEFS.  This is against Education Code 51513 which requires parental consent for ANY SURVEY of student's personal beliefs.  See 10-11-22 Board meeting video, timestamp 17:00 and 1:24:00.

  • HOW TO OPT OUT:  Parents have a RIGHT to opt out of any surveys and/or the sex ed curriculum.  Please note that the district is giving surveys to students as young as elementary school, asking them about their views and feelings.  The sex ed curriculum goes from 7th - 12th grades.  Please send an email to your child's principal if you want to opt out and periodically check-in with your child to make sure that the school honors your request.  Note: opting YOUR child out of surveys or sex ed curriculum is your legal right, and it does NOT infringe on the rights of any other student or family.  

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• IUSD Administration Silences Parents: 

  • Public records reveal three IUSD Assistant Superintendents conspired to block emails of parents, instructing a principal to pretend he could not see parent emails. 

  • A flow chart by the IT department shows how the IUSD administration blocks parent emails, holds them for surveillance, and then sends a "NO REPLY" response.  At least one parent had never even communicated with district staff and never received any notification of emails being blocked.

  • Internal emails between the president of the Board and the Superintendent's secretary show they do not want to "reward" parent by ending communication ban. 

  • The Superintendent's Secretary admits that the administration does not keep public records of how many parents it puts on "alternative communication plans" (i.e. blocking communications of the public.)  Note that more than one parent was admonished and blocked for making "public commentary."

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• The IUSD Candidate Forum was held Wednesday, October 12th.  Debra Kamm will break the teacher union monopoly on the Board.  The teacher's union is a special interest group that pays for candidate campaigns, so that those Board members will negotiate favorable terms in union contracts.  The Board is supposed to represent residents and taxpayers of Irvine - not unions!

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Message from Debra Kamm 

 

I am very happy to be running for Irvine Unified School Board, Trustee Area 2 (green) which covers:  

 

Why I am running for Irvine School Board:

During COVID, I became more aware of how the Irvine Unified School District operated and was disappointed to see that parents voices were not being heard regarding the challenges facing their children.  I was shocked when there was an attempt to silence my voice for simply providing factual information and asking questions about how our tax dollars were being spent.   I have since learned that other parents have been banned from communicating with teachers.

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I believe:

• All children deserve the opportunity to do well regardless of income, race, or disabilities - but 25% of our kids are not meeting English Language Arts standards - and many others have "significant gaps" in achievement according the the LCAP and the California Dashboard.  Irvine can do better! 

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• Parents know their children best.  They have a right to know what is being taught so they can make decisions for their own children - but there is NO WAY to know what is being taught since the District Board has a policy that allows for teachers to bring "learning resources" to class at ANY time without ANY approval or even knowledge of the principal or administration.  This is in conflict with the district policy that says that principals must approve "controversial" topics.  Parents in Irvine come from many diverse cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds and THEIR personal values and beliefs and choices for their children need to be respected.  But that can't happen unless parents know ahead of time what is being taught so that they can opt out if they wish.  This is especially important regarding any "values" that are now being taught in the classroom which may conflict with some personal and religious values and beliefs.  Parents just want TRANSPARENCY and the ability to OPT OUT - that is NOT taking away anyone else's rights.

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• Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent.  IUSD has gotten unprecedented amounts of money over the last 2 years.  Where is this money going?  IUSD contracts allow for attorneys to make up to $1,390 PER HOUR.  At least 5 administrators make a quarter of a million dollars.  Yet, teachers and parents - who make a fraction of that - scrape together money from their own pockets to buy classroom supplies!

 

I am the ONLY candidate who:

Attended IUSD School Board meetings PRIOR to deciding to run.

Advocated for OTHER children for 20 years - not just my own.

Has already made district-wide changes that affect hundreds of our students and all parents/public. (See below.)

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As a concerned citizen, I have already been successful in creating positive changes within IUSD by: 

1) Removing unconstitutional Board policies with the help of the ACLU.  IUSD Board policies prohibited criticism, squelching the rights of parents and community members in conflict with the First Amendment and the California Constitution.  Members of the public may now exercise their free speech rights and bring issues to the Board without fear of being banned from Board meetings.    

2) Protecting your privacy with the ACLU.  IUSD Board policies required the full name, address and phone number of members of the public who gave public comment in violation of the Brown Act.  Members of the public may now give a pseudonym, if they wish, and do not have to provide their private information.

3) Adding items to the agenda for Transparency:  

DENIED- At my request, the 9-13-22 Board agenda includes the item:  "Remote Participation in IUSD Board meetings."  This would allow member of the public who cannot attend in person to call in via Zoom or telephone, or at least have their emails read aloud during the meeting.  The Board refused to allow remote participation like Capistrano, although Zoom participation was allowed at the CAC Meeting just 2 days later, showing that IUSD has the resources and knowledge to provide virtual options for public comment.

DENIED - At my request, the 8-16-22 Board agenda included the item: "Transparency of Litigation Against Students with Disabilities", so that taxpayers are aware that their hard-earned dollars are going to lawsuits against these vulnerable children.  The Board did not discuss or take a vote to include this information on future agendas.

DENIED - IUSD Board refused to add Transparency of Supplementary Materials as a separate agenda item to be discussed at the Tuesday, October 11 Board Meeting.  IUSD policy allows teachers to bring in ANY materials without approval or knowledge of the principal, administration or PARENTS.  That means that ANY political agenda can be taught in ANY classroom!

4) Eliminating disability discrimination throughout IUSD middle schools with the help of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).  Many middle school students with disabilities were not able to take electives like art, music, foreign language, etc. and were expressly prohibited from taking early period PE at some schools.  There were no written course descriptions for special education classes as there were for general education classes, leaving parents confused as to what the classes really entailed.  IUSD agreed to systemic changes, and to be monitored by OCR in a resolution letter.  The Board must provide continual oversight regarding discrimination, as there are currently 2 pending investigations of discrimination and retaliation by OCR (as of 8-25-22).

5) Questioning practices and potential conflicts of interest by Special Education personnel.  I alerted the Board that an IUSD Special Education employee was slated to be an expert witness for another school district in a lawsuit against a family with a child with autism.  Court documents revealed that the expert testimony was regarding high priced attorney fees, for which the district was suing the family.  I was concerned that our tax dollars would be spent in this manner and about a potential conflict of interest of special ed staff.  Simply asking a question about how our tax dollars are spent led to the threat of  "summary termination" of my right to speak at IUSD Board meetings by Ira Glasky, the IUSD Board President.  (See Board meeting comments on 5/3/22).  

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​ Please see the Priorities page for more detailed information.  Thank you in advance for your input and your support!

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Debra Kamm

DebraKammForIrvineSchoolBoard@gmail.com

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