Racetrack Funding Appears Near

Tulare - The city experienced a flurry of activity last week related to the Tulare Motor Sports Complex project, which apparently is close to getting funded.

As a result of telephone conversations city officials had with representatives of a private investment trust with offices in the U.S. and abroad, the Tulare Redevelopment Agency board was set to meet Friday afternoon to consider a request to receive $120 million earmarked for the racetrack project into a trust account.

The trust account would exist separately from the agency but its name would be on the account and the agency would function basically as an oversight banker, Bob Nance, the city's economic and redevelopment director, told his board.

The meeting was cancelled late Thursday after the underwriter told the city the company was exploring two other options for getting the money into the developer's hands, City Manager Darrel Pyle said.

On our side we remain prepared, if the company wants to use the trust account,” Pyle said.

Getting the Redevelopment Agency to open the trust account would expedite the transfer of money, which can be very slow because of conditions related to Homeland Security, he said.

“We got to speak personally to the people with the cash in their possession,” Pyle said. He declined to identify the company but said it has a Triple-A rating from Standard & Poor's and more than $4 trillion in assets.

Most of the conversations city officials have had have been with company representatives in Switzerland, who initially had included the motor sports project within a global investment portfolio featuring much larger projects, he said.

The decision was made to break-off the racetrack project and get the money into developer's hands now, Pyle said.

The projects that company seeks to fund are those that will aid in worldwide economic recovery, Nance said, adding that because of the high unemployment rate in the area, the racetrack project “meets the requirements of a humanitarian project.”

“Do we get anything,” redevelopment board director Art Cabello asked after Nance explained the situation.

“It just gets the ball rolling,” board President Judy Silicato said.

Director Mark Richmond said the agency will benefit greatly from the nearly $1 billion project, which proposes two racetracks, hotels, retail commercial and industrial office space, a recreational vehicle park, condominiums and other features adjacent to the International Agri-Center.

“If you don't think it will have benefits to everyone in town … we're in the wrong business here,” Richmond said.

The developer, Tulare Motor Sports LLC, had intended to close escrow on land purchases involving the International Agri-Center and individual land owners in that area earlier this year, but did not do so.

The Agri-Center board would not agree to extend the escrow, but other property owners did and most observers seem to think that if the developer can get financing in hand, the Agri-Center will jump back on board.

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'God's Green Garden' Helps Haitian Victims

Tulare - One Haiti relief effort got about a $700 boost after St. Aloysius School children harvested fruits, vegetables and herbs from their new garden and sold them at an on-campus farmer's market.

Market- goers made a donation in lieu of paying a set price and the money was sent to Catholic Relief Services, which has an on-the-ground presence in Haiti.

This wasn't the first time a harvest from “God's Green Garden” – planted in August with a $500 Tulare County Farm Bureau grant – was used to help others.

Second-graders used vegetables to make a soup for the women and children at LightHouse Rescue Mission just before Christmas, teacher Tessie Griesbach said, adding the soup was cooked in a crock-pot in the classroom.

“That was unbelievable,” said Griesbach, who also oversees the garden. “Every time they came in and smelled it they went crazy and they had smiles on their faces all day.”

The idea to donate proceeds from the farmers market to Haiti earthquake victims came from her second graders, she said. The children initially wanted to mail broccoli and cauliflower to the Haitians, but through classroom discussions came to realize that the best way to help was to sell the vegetables, she explained.

“God's Green Garden” is a project that has involved not only students, but parents, former students, St. Aloysius Church parishioners and other community members who have donated time, talent and dollars, Griesbach said.

The garden includes nine planting areas – one for each classroom – a fountain, brick walkway, novelty benches featuring various animals, a 40-foot long wall bench, a large statue of St. Francis of Assisi and 250 stepping stones that feature the handprints of students and staff.

Sara Schultz, a landscape architect who works for the Peace Corps, designed the garden. Her mother, Margaret Schultz, teaches at the school.

While students have put the garden to good use helping others, it also has provided them with hands-on experiences related to the math and science they learn in the classrooms, Griesbach said. In addition, the garden provides a focal point for art, language arts and social sciences activities that are tied to state standards.

Principal Joel Nunes said the garden also gives students an appreciation for God and all God has given them.

“They also learn about and learn to appreciate the hard work it takes to produce food,” Nunes said.

Griesbach's students have drawn pictures of the garden and written about it in their journals. They have written about how the garden has helped them grow as a student, as a child and with God and they also have written letters telling parents and others about their experiences in the garden.

“I picked Swiss chard. I will use it to make a surprised for you,” one student wrote to her mother. “It will be cool.”

Another told her father: “It was fun. When I was out there, we heard the church bells.”

The school will hold a celebration at 10 a.m. on April 16 when Msgr. Richard Urizalqui, pastor of the church, will bless the garden.

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Trustees Could Move on Voting Issue Tuesday

Tulare - After hearing a synopsis of what the Tulare City School District has learned about the California Voting Rights Act, trustees directed Superintendent Luis Castellanoz to place the issue of voting districts on Tuesday's agenda.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the board room at the district office, 600 North Cherry St.

“I think we're ready to make a decision of some kind,” trustee Phil Plascencia said after last week's meeting. He made the motion to put the item on the agenda and it was seconded by trustee Melissa Janes.

While the city school district is not facing a challenge to its at-large method of electing trustees, a group of residents have filed a lawsuit against the Tulare Local HealthCare District that is scheduled to be heard in Tulare County Superior Court in June.

The lawsuit was filed against the district despite its racially diverse board, which today includes trustees of Latino, African-American and East Indian backgrounds.

The action, among other things, alleges at-large elections have led to racially polarized voting that historically has kept Latino voters from electing their preferred candidate to the board.

Castellanoz told school trustees that the California Voting Rights Act authorizes challenges to at-large elections and also “from-trustee area” elections, which refers to elections in which a candidate must live in a specific trustee area but is elected by all the voters.

The only “safe harbor” under the voting rights act is “by-trustee area” elections, which Castellanoz said occurs when candidates must reside in a specific area and only voters living in that area can elect them.

The superintendent outlined four possible options for the board. He said it could:
• Await the outcome of the hospital district lawsuit.

• “Proactively” change the electoral system, which would protect the district from a lawsuit under California law but not necessarily under federal law.

• Authorize a self-assessment of potential liability and determine whether to change based on the findings.

• Do nothing and if a lawsuit is filed, fight it.

Castellanoz did not offer a recommendation, but outlined reasons to consider changing the method of elections without a self assessment, which he said:

· Could increase interest in district elections.

· Could decrease the cost of running for office.

· Would permit better geographic representation of all parts of the district.

· Would make it easier for trustees to communicate with constituents in light of Tulare's growing population, which is nearing 60,000.

· Would avoid exposure under the state voting rights law.

· Would avoid the cost of a self-assessment.

A self-assessment – which the Tulare Joint Union High School District is conducting – involves hiring an expert to analyze the district's demographics and to review historical election results to determine minority participation, success rate of minority candidates and local outcome on key measures, Castellanoz said.

Such an assessment would also seek to determine whether racially polarized voting occurs by using statistical analysis techniques that plaintiffs' attorneys in lawsuits have employed, he said.

If trustees should decide to move to area elections, Castellanoz said they must get approval from the County Committee on School District organization.

The board also would have to adopt criteria for drawing the trustee area lines, get community input, present multiple draft plans and gather feedback to “fine tune” the final plan, he said.

While changing voting methods generally require a majority vote of district residents, school districts have the option of seeking a waiver from the requirement from the state Board of Education, Castellanoz said.

If the district decides to keep the at-large method of election and then loses a legal challenge, then it is the court that must approve a trustee area plan, he said.

In that case, plaintiffs would have a right to participate in court hearings on the plan, he said, adding the county committee would play no role and an election would not be required, Castellanoz said.

In cases that go to court, plaintiffs who prevail may be awarded fees for attorney and expert services. “Attorneys' fee demands and awards have been substantial.”
He cited the Modesto City Council's unsuccessful bid to challenge the constitutionality of the voting rights law.

The city ended up paying $3 million in fees to the plaintiff and an additional $1.7 million to its own attorneys.

Castellanoz noted the Merced High, Merced Elementary, Weaver Elementary and Atwater Elementary districts all changed to trustee area elections in 2009.

The Fresno Unified and Central Unified school districts, as well as the State Center Community College District, are changing to trustee areas this year, he said.

“Dozens of other school districts in the Central Valley have received inquiries from the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, which brought the Modesto and Madera lawsuits,” Castellanoz, said.

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Cherry's Joe Terri to Retire in June

Tulare - When Joe Terri retires in June, the Cherry Avenue Middle School principal doesn't intend to put the needs of students behind him. He just intends to become an advocate for education on a different front.

Terri, who has been with the Tulare City School District since April 1977, said he plans to write letters to and talk with legislators about things he thinks must change if school districts are to help all children succeed in life.

“The Legislature and the public have missed the boat in that not all kids need to go to college,” he said.

He made it clear nobody, including himself, is questioning the need for a “rigorous education,” but those students with “hands-on intelligence,” as he calls it, are not given the same opportunities to perform and attain a high level of success as those who are more academically inclined.

So, our local, state and even national leaders can expect to hear from Terri in not the too distant future

“A letter here, a letter there – maybe it will help,” he said.

The best thing about his 15 years as a classroom teacher – he spent three years teaching in other districts - and the 21 years he has served as an administrator has been the students “far and away,” Terri said. “There's a certain sense of accomplishment and pride in what they're able to do with their lives,” he said, quickly adding with a laugh that “there's a certain amount of pride I have that I didn't totally screw them up or that they succeeded in spite of me.”

Two of those former students, Gary Johnson, now a Tulare County Superior Court judge, and Ira Porchia, Roosevelt School principal, have nothing but high praise and fond memories of Terri in the classroom, on the sports field and as an administrator.

“I think I was in his first or second class at Garden School,” Johnson said. “I was fortunate enough to have Joe as a teacher in the fifth grade and John Beck in the sixth – two of the bigger hitters.”

The pair, who coached him on the field and “molded” him in the classroom, were instrumental in helping him become the person he is today, Johnson said.

While Terri was a “no nonsense teacher” who found unique ways to keep students in line, he was also very compassionate, Johnson said.

He made sure the problem kids got the attention they needed and was never one to quickly turn over a student to the principal for discipline, he said. “He was willing to do the work to try to help a kid.”

He described Terri as a “great coach” who, along with Beck, took his flag football team all the way to the championships held at Lemoore Naval Air Station one year.

“He was devoting a lot of hours … to stuff he didn't have to do,” Johnson said.

Even after he left Garden, Terri continued to play a role in his life, writing recommendations for him and even attending his swearing in ceremony when he became a judge, he said.

Terri was “definitely a fun person to be around” when he was his teacher at Mulcahy School and had a knack for engaging students in history, Porchia said.

Terri would not lecture from notes, but in a storytelling fashion that caused students to ask each other, “Hey, you think he was actually there,” Porchia said. “He would recall such minute details and he rarely had to look in a book.”

Terri's impact on his life continued after he grew up and was hired by the district as a teacher, Porchia said.

“When I was a head teacher, Joe told me to always make sure you take care of your staff and make them feel appreciated,” he said.

That was advice Terri himself followed as he would arrange barbecues where he'd do most of the work or take staff members to Papa Joe's to eat, he said.

“I think he was really good in showing staff in little ways, 'I appreciate what you do,'” Porchia said.

Superintendent Luis Castellanoz, who was principal at Mulcahy when Terri was vice principal, described Terri as “a good-hearted guy who wants the best for kids. He knows the students and their strengths and he'll give you the shirt off his back. I'm glad he was on our team.”

The district will begin work this week to start the search for Terri's replacement, Castellanoz said.

As for Terri, in addition to lobbying Legislators with his letters when he retires, he also plans to spend time with his mother, nourish his love of history by traveling to historical spots such as Little Big Horn and Gettysburg and volunteering.

His wife, Jenny, will continue her job as a second-grade teacher at Pleasant School. The couple has two grown sons, Ryan, a researcher at Queen Mary University at the University of London, and Kevin, a body shop foreman who lives in Marietta, Ga., with his wife.

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