The Board's Margo Hoffer and Mary Tesoriero agreed the fifth grade youngsters showed talent far beyond their years as they recreated the saga of the confused love of Oberon for Titania.
The Old River version was produced and directed by Julie Romero and Kay Caldwell, and adapted from the original Shakespeare by Caldwell. The players (in order of appearance) were Courtney Alexis, Patricia Yoon, Brooks Ludwick, Daniel Russell, Alexandra Elsken, Jonathan Schibler, Alina Wilson, Paul Najera, Mark Somoza, Brittany Keele, Eric Boone, Ingvar Corona, Joshua Machado, Jason DeLaVega, James Olivarez, Alfredo Fletes, Christina Griffin, Lauren Johnson, Bobby Dame, and Jamie Maxwell.
In other action the Board:
* Noted several calls over protests of firefighters on school property enlisting names for an initiative petition on election day. Superintendent Edward Sussman responded to Boardmember Betty Ferraro's question by saying, "We have no control during elections (when the schools are used as polling places) unless they (the firefighters in this case) disrupt the educational process."
Members of the Board replied that the funding could not be raised under the title of DUSD, and he would have to establish an independent corporation. They suggested the parents reconsider a site they had already rejected at Columbus High School. Adult School Principal Kathy Gorman assured them the Columbus site can be made suitable.
* Heard parent Mario Marroquin resign from the Downey Band Boosters in protest of the departure of the band director.
* Ratified the purchase of 38 portable classrooms for class size reduction from Pace Setter Industries of Atwater, California, in the total amount of $1,014,697 to be charged to the General Fund.
* Accepted a bid and awarded a contract to Med Tox of Santa Ana for a first year amount of $150,000 for asbestos abatement.
* Approved the grant award of $73,299 from the California Dpeartment of Conservation for used beverage container recycling. The funds pay for recycling equipment such as barrels and bins, as well as recycling training and field trips and $5,000 to pay for administrative costs.
* Approved a contract with the South Bay Private Industry Council.
* Reviewed the revised 1998-99 Downey Adult School Course of Study.
* Approved Thursday, Sept. 10, 1998 as the first day of school for the 1998-99 year.
* Reviewed the proposed budget for the 1998-99 fiscal year. Sussman pointed out that salary step increases in classified and certificated personnel alone will amount to over $1 million more in costs in the coming year.
Budget expert Gary Orsinger said the district actually prepares five budgets each year. No definite numbers apply until the state decides what it will allocate the district.
* Accepted a number of donations including cash donations to the scholarship fund at Downey High School of $100 from the Downey Federal Credit Union, $100 from the Downey Savings and Loan Association, $200 from Frantone's Pizza and Spaghetti Villa, $400 from the Los Angeles Insurance Agency, $100 from Luis Meat Market, $100 from Mr. B Liquor, $100 from Mitchell Personnel Services, $100 from National O-Ring Division, $250 from J. Wayne Wilcox; and various electrical supplies to be used in the scoreboard at Warren High School valued at $285 from Morgan Wholesale Electric.
During Board comments, Cheryl Andresen thanked the Soroptimists for their scholarship program. Margo Hoffer thanked the drama departments of Warren and South Middle School for recent outstanding stage productions. And Barbara Samperi thanked Downey Community Hospital for its recent immunization program for children.
The next public meeting of the DUSD Board of Education will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 23, at the Administration Center, 11627 Brookshire Ave.
Larry Hoag, longtime local realtor and property manager who has contributed to many community causes, said he would never have given the money to a private institution. It was clearly understood when the Hospital was built under the oversight of the Hospital Authority which he chaired that it was a public facility.
He said the makeup of the Authority indicated that, with three members appointed by the City Council and two by the County Board of Supervisors.
"Lots 86, 87, 88, 89 and 90 in Tract 4641, County of Los Angeles, State of California, as per map recorded in Book 50, page 6, of Maps in the Office of the County Recorder of said County.
"Lots 63, 64 and 65 in Tract 4641, County of Los Angeles, State of California, as per map recorded in Book 50, Page 6, of Maps in the Office of the County Recorder of said County."
If the chairman of the Authority who built the Hospital insists it is a public institution, and the title to the land clearly puts it under City ownership, then what documentation does the present Hospital management rely on in contending it is privately owned?
In testimony presented Wednesday to a state Senate committee considering AB 146, sponsored by Assemblywoman Sally Havice, which deals with City Council right to oversight of the Hospital, Hospital spokesmen maintained that a land swap between the City and Hospital involving property at the west end of Stewart and Gray Road that went to the City justified the $1 a year rent the Hospital enjoys in terms of the lease.
They also challenged the Havice bill (AB 146) on the grounds it is unconstitutional and impairs the contract (the lease). They asked that Havice get a legal opinion on this. Her bill will come back before the Committee July 1.
The special counsel for the City of Downey, Kathleen Houston Drummy, filed an objection to the Bill Analysis used by the Senate Local Government Committee. Drummy objects to the characterization of the lease, adding the City is currently examining its rights to attend meetings of the Hospital boards, rights that may well finally be settled in a court.
She added the Analysis contains conclusory statements about the relationship between the City and Hospital with which the City disagrees. At one point the Analysis states that the City Council members are entitled to only limited inspections and notification of regular Hospital meetings. "The City Council disagrees with that limited view of its rights under the lease," writes Drummy. She adds, "The City Council is also of the view that a de facto assignment of the lease has occurred by virtue of the creation and manner of operation of the parent (Board) and the transfer of authority over the Hospital's operations to the parent."
She adds no legal determination of these differences have yet been made in a court of law.
She points out that while the Hospital has the right to form new corporations and to transfer its assets and activities to those corporations, that right is subject to the requirements that such acts are valid only "so long as such transfers do not violate this Lease or Leasee's charitable purposes as set forth in its articles of incorporation." She adds there is no explicit authorization of the formation and operation of this particular parent in the Lease. And she says the parent has assumed such significant controls over the Hospital's operations that a de facto assignment of the Lease may have occurred.
The sum of her criticism of the Senate Bill Analysis is that it is premature and presumptuous. Wait for the courts to decide, is her message.
While a number of speakers from Downey Community Hospital assured the City Council at a recent Council meeting that all is well at the Hospital and that charitable funds belonging to the Hospital Foundation have not been drained, the state Attorney General's Office is continuing its investigation.
In fact, James Cordi, special deputy attorney general, told The Eagle he has no idea how long the current investigation may take, and that his office has asked for more documents from the Hospital, and is still waiting for them.
Cordi explained some differences over language and definitions that had left those following the Hospital question wondering if the previous Attorney General's probe of the Hospital ever took place. The problem was over the contention that the Attorney General had conducted an "audit" last year of DCH and found nothing wrong. Cordi, when questioned previously, had told the press (including The Eagle) that the Attorney General "does not conduct audits."
While Hospital President and CEO Allen Korneff assured the City Council that all is well at the Hospital, and that the officers and directors of the Hospital had "at all times conducted themselves in accordance with law and ethics," he also told them the Hospital is neither a public nor a municipal facility, but rather is independent, private and non-profit, a public benefit corporation with which the city has no connection other than a lease.
Among those lease terms is the right of oversight by ex-officio (non-voting) members of the Council and City Manager at meetings of the Hospital Board.
Council members were told they could not attend a closed session of that Board earlier this year. And members of the Council are not sure now if that Board is the one they should attend or not. The Hospital's reorganization under a new "parent" Board has left some doubt where the real authority of governance at DCH lies.
Korneff, in his May 26 appearance before the Council, assured the council members that the Board they are allowed to attend still has authority and power. He scoffed at claims all real power has been siphoned off to the "parent" Board.
Documents disclosed when Dr. Ronald Crowell sued the Hospital earlier this year suggest that power over the huge charitable trust administered by the DCH Memorial Trust Foundation may have been transferred or "upstreamed" to the "Parent Board."
Crowell, an ex-officio member of the DCH Board of Trustees, to which he was appointed because he represented the Memorial Trust Foundation, had asked questions about the collateralization of a huge sum to CareMore Medical Group, a for-profit medical group (at that time partially owned by the Hospital). The sum was estimated to be as much as $13 million. When Crowell asked about the alleged loaned funds in a letter to Korneff he received no satisfactory answer. He then filed suit to discover the facts, and was fired from his hospital positions.
Whether the termination of Crowell was legal awaits decision in the courts.
He is not the first to be terminated from affiliation with the Hospital for asking questions. The list includes former DCH Boardmembers, Rosemary Ferraro, Dr. Raymond Pong, Dr. William Neal, Dr. John Kernick, Dr. Verner Waite, and two former board chairmen, John Hundley and Chuck Hutchinson.
Critics of the Hospital have also questioned the prudence of large salaries paid to executives of DCH, including Korneff who earns an annual base salary of $406,000 a year, a figure confirmed by hospital spokesmen in previous interviews with The Downey Eagle. Downey Community Hospital, a 150 bed non-profit facility, is not as large as many non-profit hospitals with far smaller executive overhead.
A survey by the Hay Group published by the American Health Association in its "Hospitals and Health Networks" magazine, which used a sample of 1,108 non-profit and for-profit hospitals found the average base salary for a CEO at all hospitals, regardless of size, was $147,300 in 1997, a fraction of Korneff's base pay.
The national average base salary for a CEO running a 350 bed non-profit hospital with revenues of between $100 million and $200 million was $235,000, still well below Korneff's base pay (and DCH is just 150 beds).
Korneff is not the only large salary paid by the hospital. Several other administrators at DCH earn $200,000 or more a year.
Critics maintain the members of the Hospital Board were under a veil of fear due to the firing of their fellows who asked questions, and were thus easily convinced to vote for salary increases, as well as the transfer of their powers.
The Downey High faculty nominates students each year, who are then interviewed by the Boand sisters, Lucinda, Resa and Nicole. The Boand family has awarded more than $46,000 over the past eight years to students and teachers at the sisters' alma mater. This year two graduating seniors will receive $2,000 each. Heather Bailie has distinguished herself this year as the editor and chief of the school newspaper. Her teacher, Mr. Shorr said, "She has the brains to organize things, the people skills to get the effort required from the staff, and the personal dependability to pull things together at key times." Heather plans to continue her education at Long Beach City College next fall, with plans to transfer to a UC school later. Resa Evans, one of the Boand daughters, and one of the presenters, said, "Our family looks forward to great things from Heather in the future."
The Boand Family Foundation also awarded two outstanding faculty members at Downey this year. Dolores Flores, a teacher, and Ron Thibodeaux a teacher, will each receive a check for $1,000. They were nominated by the Downey High Senior Class for their outstanding and innovative approach to teaching. Two alumni from Downey were also recognized at the awards assembly. Norahazel Casillas, a recipient of the $2,000 award in 1996, was funded for the fourth consecutive year. The Boand Foundation spokesperson Resa Evans, said, "We are delighted to sponsor Norahazel as she enters her fourth year at UC-Berkeley. Last year's recipient of the prestigious award, Robert Quintero, was also funded this year. Robert is employed full-time at the Disney Studios as an artist and also attends college full-time in order to further his goals as a graphic artist. Mr. Boand stated, "Our family looks forward to a very bright future for this young man.
California Scholarship Federation (CSF) Sealbearers were also in attendance. A Sealbearer is a senior who has been in CSF for four semesters, one of which has to be during their senior year. The Sealbearers were given their ropes on Wednesday, which are to be worn at the graduation ceremony as a symbol of their high academic achievement.
Annie Chang and Paul Ferraro are not only Sealbearers, but they were also the Program Moderators for Senior Awards Night. They were in charge of the running commentary throughout the night.
The seniors all took their seats on the risers located on the stage, with the CSF Sealbearers in the front. Underclassmen were seated in the first two rows in the audience. The students were on the edge of their seats waiting for the awards to be announced since the majority of the recipients were unaware of which awards they would be receiving.
The awards ceremony began with a call to order at 7 p.m. by the Program Moderators, Karen Wise sang the national anthem. John Park led the flag salute, and Grace Chien gave an inspirational. Warren's Principal, Earl Haugen, then welcomed the audience to the 1998 Senior Awards Night.
Grace Chien, who was chosen through teacher recommendations to give the inspirational, stated, "I felt very honored...I was a little bit nervous beforehand, but this opportunity to address my friends and wish them luck was too good to pass up."
The Program Moderators introduced each award by giving some background information about it. The presenter of the award then approached the microphone and announced who the proud recipients of the awards were.
The night ended with a closing by Haugen and a last word and adjournment by Chang and Ferraro.
Petitions were circulated and signatures gathered outside polling places at South and West Middle School and Ward Elementary.
The petition claims the Commission, which would be comprised of five persons appointed by the Council, would study the best and cheapest source of electric power for the city; the best and cheapest telephone service; the best cable TV service; and the best and cheapest fire protection, hazardous materials and emergency services.
Advocates of the move to "go county" say it would save the City money and provide the same service.
Those seeking signatures Tuesday said the petition was much more than a move to turn fire service over to the county.
Former councilwoman Diane Boggs has called the initiative "a distraction." She added any commission would be only advisory and that the City is already looking for the cheapest source of electricity.
Bob Verderber, a member of the Board of Trustees at Cerritos College, said the petitioner he talked to at South was also ignorant of many of the facts concerning the Council.
The initiative's backers have 200 days to gather the needed 6,200 valid signatures of registered Downey voters.
Saturday night's performance had the audience standing and offering shouts and applause as the cast bowed repeated acknowledgments from the footlights.
And what a cast it is! Dirk Rogers is a superb "Phantom," with a lyric baritone that fills the theater. Tracey Williams, while not as powerful, is utterly convincing as "Christine," with a sweetness that is perfect for this version of the Paris Opera House legend, which features book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston.
William Chapman as the "Phantom's" father, was a leading baritone with the New York City Opera for more than 20 years, and still has the quality that thrilled the Big Apple. He teaches voice at his own studio in Los Angeles now. New York's loss is our gain!
The direction by Gary Gordon is wonderful, as is the crisp choreography by D.J. Gray.
"Phantom" plays Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., and Sunday afternoons in matinee performances through June 14. Some shows are already sold out, so call early for reservations. The box office number is 923-1714.
"Phantom's" cast sparkles from top to bottom. Debbie Prutsman is a grand "Carlotta," Jim Sandy is a fine "Cholet," Tom Mesmer plays a convincing "Count," Rusty Vance brings stage poise to his role as "Jean-Claude," and David Corbin is an energetic "Inspector Ledoux." Mark Everett as the "Minister of Culture" and Kit Wilson as "Oberon" sparkle in supporting roles.
If you've seen Lloyd Webber's version, don't be afraid to see this one. It brings its own poignancy to the stage and the DCLO production will not disappoint you. On the contrary, you may have to play a CD of the Webber version to recall it!