Helping Teachers

The Supreme Court blocked a huge employment discrimination lawsuit against the nation’s largest private employer Wal-Mart Stores Inc., declaring that the case did not qualify as a class action.

As The Wall Street Journal reported, the lawsuit was initiated in 2001 by six women on behalf of current and former Wal-Mart employees. The plaintiff class claimed that Wal-Mart’s corporate culture led to negative treatment of female employees in all 41 domestic regions. Specifically, they argued that Wal-Mart paid female workers less than their male counterparts and provided fewer opportunities for advancement. They sought back pay, punitive damages and changes in how the company made pay and promotion decisions.

“In a company of Wal-Mart’s size and geographical scope, it is quite unbelievable that all managers would exercise their discretion in a common way without some common direction,” said Justice Antonin Scalia.

Despite the court’s decision, it was not decided whether the 1.6 million female employees had in fact been discriminated against by the retail giant–it merely stated that the case could not proceed as a class.

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The Ojai Unified School District board has appointed a finance executive to fill the vacancy left by Steve Fields.

Thayne Whipple, 46, a past president of the Ojai Education Foundation, was selected for the post at a meeting Tuesday night.

Trustees decided to make the provisional appointment after Fields, in his second four-year term on the school board, moved to Portland, Ore., last month. If uncontested, Whipple will serve until the end of Fields’ term in November 2012.

“He’s just a very intelligent, affable, articulate and well-respected person in the community,” said Superintendent Hank Bangser.

Whipple’s experience in finance impressed the board, Bangser said.

“I just really wanted to serve where I could and (bring) some of my experience in business and finance,” said Whipple, who has lived with his family in Ojai since 1998.

After interviewing nine candidates Tuesday night, the board voted 4-0 to appoint Whipple.

After a provisional appointment, however, state law allows registered voters to challenge the decision and petition for a special election.

Trustees, too, could have called an election.

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I know it’s annoying, but I keep doing it anyway, complaining about the cost of sending my two children to summer camp. “In the summer, I’m barely even breaking even working,” I say to anyone who will listen. “It’s crazy how much it costs.”

I’m whining because I want the math to work out differently. It’s kind of c-r-a-z-y – and crazy-making – that I’m spending from about $250 to $500 a week, per child. Do some fancy math and that adds up to about $500 to $1000 every week so my 13-year-old son and five-year-old daughter can go to, among others, circus camp, French-speaking art camp, regular-speaking art camp, kayaking camp, rock climbing camp, nature explorer’s camp, tennis camp, amusement park camp, ballet camp, computer-programming camp, creative writing camp, camping camp.

Time to be honest and set my whining aside. Mine is the middle-class whine, coming from someone who, although it’s a financial strain, can all the same afford to send my children to camps that keep their bodies and brains from atrophying during the summer months. Except for one bargain-base

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DALLAS - The Dallas Independent School District will lose $63 million of state funding starting in the next schoolyear. And on Thursday evening, school board trustees sat down to finalize the millions of dollars of budget cuts that are now necessary.

More than 50 people signed up to address the school board prior to the final budget vote.

Among those people was Hobie Hukill, a librarian at Samuell High School who expressed concern about his job and the Dallas students. Librarians are just some of the more than 1,400 positions already eliminated by the district for next year. “Far from being a luxury or something nice to have, we are essential to real student achievement,” Hukill said.

Also among those who attended the Thursday meeting were Mayor-Elect Mike Rawlings, who just wanted to listen, learn and help in any way possible. “What can we do to help you as a school district,” asked Rawlings, “because the kids are our number one priority.”

The good news is that no more layoffs are expected. In fact, the district will actually have to hire people. The DISD is

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This idea sparked from a claim in the staffroom the other day that Comic Sans helps kids learn. Who would have thought it?